This is Part 3 of a series. If you haven’t read at all, click here. If you need to read Part 2, click here

Picture this- it’s early July and we haven’t even been married for a month. Meaning only a couple weeks before, we were walking down the streets of Manhattan and strolling through art galleries in different capitals. There we were, laying in a bed that wasn’t ours, stressing about the future. The question “what do we do” bounced between us about 5 times a day. I was oddly confident that all would work out, while Nana became the more stressed one. We spent maybe a week locked up in that room, both our laptops on our legs and our phones open on different emails and chats with real estate agents. “Sevilla or Barcelona?” became the main point, as we compared quality of life, job opportunities and cost of living. Both had their pros and cons.

Barcelona had the beach and big city. We could enjoy the benefits of cooling off in the summer in the Mediterranean Sea while also having the possibility to discover chic and modern wine bars or find anything that we want in the concrete jungle. However- the cost of living in Barcelona is the highest in all of Spain, and we struggled to find an apartment that was reasonably priced and big enough for the three of us. On top of that, real estate agencies are overflowing with demand having only a small supply- so anything good would get taken within seconds of being posted online. If things couldn’t get worse, the landlords know the supply is short. Therefore, they try to push the agency fees onto the renter when they are the ones who should bear the fee.

The cost of living in Barcelona is higher, the city is bigger, and the life would be intense. Though there would be more job opportunities for someone like me who still needs to learn Spanish. We had only visited the city back in June of 2023, so it had been a year since we wandered the streets to feel the vibe. Plus, we had only stayed in the city for maybe two days last year, did we even see everything? Maybe we only saw the bright and beautiful facade built for tourists but didn’t dig into the real life there. We finally found one apartment in the city that wasn’t taken, so we sent in our application.

Sevilla hands down stole our hearts. We were in the city only a few months prior to this whole debate, saw the city in ‘down season’ (winter) and loved it. The air smelt of oranges, the people were happy, the Spanish culture was ever-present, the food and restaurants were delicious, and the city felt safe and clean. Andalusia is a stunning region of Spain and hosts villages on villages overflowing with character and charm. The city itself had plenty of activities, parks, museums and restaurants. We also only spent a few days in the city but were eager to spend more. On top of beautiful, the city was cheap compared to our usual habits. We checked apartments and found super affordable rent and plenty of square meters to host our families.

However, we might have been so taken aback because we had just spent over three weeks in Portugal in winter, which was a dead country in low season with little to do. Plus, as Sevilla is the hottest city in Europe in the summer, it was already mid-70’s in February which had us excited for warm weather in winter. But- hottest city in all of Europe is a pretty big title. With Grimes being a pug, heat is something we should avoid at all costs, and the closest beach from Sevilla is over an hour away by car. On top of the weather problem, Sevilla has much less job opportunities for expats and not knowing Spanish in such a ‘Spanish’ city, we would struggle.

Since the cost of living is cheap, so are the salaries. We would be expecting minimum wage, regardless of our competences and degrees. Many locals are looking for jobs desperately, which has led them to accept lower salaries and the people who have jobs- don’t leave. Meaning there was nothing for me to do. Also, with the cheap apartments we found the majority of them being outdated and not renovated. The kitchens were obviously from the 80’s and the furnished apartments looked as if an old couple handed down their home to their children and they just put it up for rent. It wasn’t a vibe. One last huge setback for us- bullfighting is prominent in the South and in Sevilla. I am going to avoid going into the details of how bullfighting works- as it disgusts me, but I know I would struggle to live in a place that supports this barbaric ‘sport’.

We also found an apartment that was perfect for us and sent in our application. We made a pact that whichever accepted- that is the city we would move to. We were spending days and hours on end stressing on the next step that we needed to be able to move on from it. Honestly, since getting together with Nana, life hasn’t been less of perfect. She has brought me so much luck and love and ease that I had no doubt in my mind that the Universe would guide us in the right choice.

The response for Sevilla came back quickly. The landlord of the apartment refused our request. It was strange though, as we were asking for a rental contract for over a year and paid in full for the downpayment and first month. The response was unreasonable, she was wanting us to rent August but we only asked for as of September. The landlord was willing to turn down a whole year of income security for a question of a month.

The response for Barcelona followed. Positive response, with the first month and downpayment having been paid. We were moving to Barcelona. Relief followed, with us being able to celebrate and enjoy the next couple of months. We had less than six weeks to relax but also prepare our move to Spain. It was a really crazy feeling to know what was coming but not being able to project ourselves into it. I was reconstructing our apartment on Sims only using the photos from the rental agency website. From our Sims reality, we then planned what we needed to move around, what we needed to buy, and where we would go and get everything. From Google Maps, we mapped out our next favourite grocery store, gym, bar, cinema, etc.

We joined Barcelona groups on Facebook and started making friends before even being there, we planned out activities and thing we would need to do once settled. We figured out how to move our things out of the random Swiss basement- we would use the rental van from our girls road trip that would be happening right after the move-in date. The more we dug into our new life, the more we got excited. I had a wife for less than a month but her as my partner for over a year and we hardly ever had a day of peace. This was our chance to finally U-Haul- as God intended.

I will go into the how the move went and the necessary administrative work we have to do to be here in a later time. What is important is that we are here, in Barcelona. We have moved in- we are safe, we are happy and we are healthy. We love our new home, we are practically completely settled in and we LOVE the city. In our neighbourhood, we have literally everything we need and even more than. It is insane, I am still in awe how I managed to live where I was and stay unhappy for so long. The Spanish are friendly and welcoming, the ‘big city’ feels more like big neighbourhoods. We honestly are just in love and I am excited to get to take you on this journey with me.

I will get back super soon with more updates on this new life and lifestyle. Until then…

All my love.

Bullfighting is a cruel act against bulls. Every year, around 35,000 bulls are tormented, tortured and killed in Spain alone. The majority of bullfighting attendees are tourists, and never return to see a fight again in their lives. TOURISM is what keeps this industry alive. The bulls never have a fighting chance to defend themselves and much less- survive.

Many prominent former bullfighters report that the bull is intentionally debilitated with tranquilizers and laxatives, beatings to the kidneys, petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes to blur vision, heavy weights hung around their neck for weeks before the fight, and confinement in darkness for hours before being released into the bright arena.

A well-known bullfight veterinarian, Dr. Manuel Sanz, reports that in 1987 more than 90 percent of bulls killed in fights had their horns “shaved” before the fight. Horn shaving involves sawing off several inches of the horns so the bull misses his thrusts at the altered angle.

The matador, two picadors on horses, and three men on foot stab the bull repeatedly when he enters the ring. After the bull has been completely weakened by fear, blood loss, and exhaustion, the matador attempts to make a clean kill with a sword to the heart. Unfortunately for the suffering bull, the matador rarely succeeds and must make several thrusts, often missing the bull’s heart and piercing his lungs instead. Often a dagger must be used to cut the spinal cord and spare the audience the sight of a defenseless animal in the throes of death. The bull may still be fully conscious but paralyzed when his ears and tail are cut off as the final show of “victory.”

Donate to stop this cruel practice at CAS International