International Living Community

Hi there! That's great that you're looking to spend the winter in Spain. Have you been to Valencia and Cartegena yet? If not, both are lovely options and quite different.

Valencia is Spain's 3rd large city (population about 800,000) with a lot of culture, restuarants, arts, and entertainment, as well as mild winters, although lows can get into the 40s and highs are in the 60s.

Cartagena is very lovely, however, a much different lifestyle than Valencia. It's a smaller city (around 200,000) and will be more laid back, and has much less going on. However, there is lots to see in and around the city.

Spain has a wonderful public and private healthare system. Your wife being Italian, she may be able to get on a EHIC: https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies-and-activities/moving-working-europe/eu-social-security-coordination/european-health-insurance-card/how-use-card/spain-european-health-insurance-card_en

Let us know if you have any questions!

Cepee, IL Correspondent - Spain

Hi there! That's wonderful! What did your son study in the Netherlands?

The job market in Spain is tough as the country suffers from high unemployment and low wages. Getting a visa sponsorship is difficult, however, some roles that are in demand may qualify for the highly qualifeid visa (tech, finance, senior management).

An easier route to Spain is through the digital nomad visa (DNV). If Chris can get a qualifying remote job that is based outside of Spain, he could apply for the DNV and take his remote job to Spain. In this case he would not require a visa sponsorship. This is the most popular route right now for remote workers who want to move to Spain.

After 2 years on the digital nomad visa in Spain, since he is a Colombian citizen, he could apply for Spanish citizenship. After applying for citizenship the waittime to a response/approval is generally 6 months to 2 years.

I hope this helps! Please le us know if you have any quesitons.

Cepee, IL Correspondent - Spain

Hello, I am also a new member and will be watching and reading everything here! We just spent 2 months in Spain/Portugal this past Fall as we are considering moving there. I am 73 and had no problem renting a car in Barcelona and driving all over Spain and Portugal for 2 months. Some rental car companies in Europe don't allow driving the car over the borders. We've always used SYXT Rental and we recommend them. As a side note - we were not as thrilled with Portugal as we thought we would be. We like Spain much better.