American Living in Spain Shares Why (SO RELATABLE)

Kalie from ExpatsEverywhere sits down with Paul, an American who recently bought an apartment in Valencia, Spain and is in the process of moving. He talks about the crazy rollercoaster he went on with trying to purchase a home, how affordable the city is, how he enjoys life in Valencia because of the pace of life, how much you need to live on, the cafe culture, who the city is not built for, and more.

00:00 Intro
00:23 What was life like before moving to Valencia?
02:47 Do you need to know Spanish if you move to Valencia?
03:24 How did you prepare to move to Valencia?
06:37 What do you recommend people do to get set up and settled?
08:55 What is the process of traveling with your pets like?
09:46 How should people prepare to adapt easily?
11:00 Did you find any sources particularly helpful?
11:21 How affordable is Valencia and what is the cost of living like?
13:13 What is Valencia like?
14:32 What were some difficulties you had in the beginning?
15:49 Did you learn anything new about yourself?
17:08 What are some key differences between living in the US vs Spain?
17:34 What is your daily life in Valencia like?
18:53 What kind of person is Valencia not for?
20:10 How has living abroad transformed your life?

* ABOUT US *
Josh and Kalie left the US for a life abroad in 2009 and haven't looked back. They have lived in Spain, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and are currently in Portugal. Yes, they realize they only moved to countries starting with the letter "S" until they spoiled that streak with their move to Portugal. Follow ExpatsEverywhere as we aim to get information to you through expat interviews, city breakdowns, expat life, travel, vlogs, and more.

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* EXTRA HELP *

[Garcwyn]

“It helps to know Spanish in Spain”. Not short of a divine revelation

[joseyomismo]

Sometimes it gives the impression that you want the whole world to adapt to you, without taking into account that you are the outsiders. Nobody is going to bite you for not knowing Spanish, but at least try to learn it and mix with the people there where you are.
A hug from Valencia.

[karadizon]

Spain is affordable with food. We just returned from Barcelona and didn’t know how inexpensive food was. Hope to visit Valencia and Seville someday

[mariareid]

What an awesome interview with Paul … Thank you 😊

[terrisokolow]

Great interview with Paul. I can tell he really fits well with Valencia. Good job, Kalie!

[condorflies-recitationsbyc]

Nice interview. Looks like Paul is a non-resident of Spain (less than 183 days/year) so he’s not taxed on his US income in Spain. If he has any income generated in Spain he’d taxed on it in Spain and US. Navigating the tax issues and understanding the double taxation nuances can be quite tricky.

[pavel]

Great interview. You’re asking very good meaningful questions 👍🏻

[GDoggProductions]

Great interview 👏👏👏 Paul is very well-spoken 💪 great lil video 📽

[prajjwal]

This was so great! He has a very gentle voice💛🥂

[Eric-Marsh]

Valencia is a great city and might be a choice for us if we were looking for city life. We ended up living in the mountains near Gandia, an hour south of Valencia because we love the area but don't want to be city dwellers.

Yes, speaking Spanish helps but many here speak Valeciano.

[DjBrunoFiasco]

This such a great video. Very relatable to my situation. One more spot to put on my list.

Thank you Kelly.

[pedrocgrn]

Great interview. Looking to potentially live in either Spain or Portugal for a year or two. I speak both languages. I want to give my family a different cultural experience.

[markdonaldson]

I am going to retire to Portugal or Spain. I spent a month in Spain, and a month in Portugal many years ago. Both were incredible. I did find Spain more relaxing in a way though. Barcelona might be to expensive for me. I am targeting a town between Valencia, or just outside, & Barcelona. Everything the interviewee said about Spain in general is dead on...I swear my pulse was 20% lower when I left.

[senoritasofiavalencia]

Actually... Valencia used to be one of the biggest spot in Spain for clubbing with the "Ruta de Bacalao", and has many amazing and huge clubs in and just outside of Valencia.
And... Ibiza is very close...
That's why lots of Erasmus students enjoy the place, as well as digital nomads and older expats.

[gerars]

Great interview! I’m curious. Do you know which neighborhood Paul bought his property?

[tootz]

There is a misuse of the phase 'instant gratification, especially from Americans. If I want an ice cream and I want it now that's instant gratification. What is hard for immigrants is the length of time that paperwork and the government take to have things completed. Expecting things to take less than 3-6 months is not expecting 'instant gratification'.

[markgoldstein]

I would love to have a conversation with Paul on being an Expat in Valencia. I live in Phoenix, AZ originally from NYC. Would love to know more about living there.

[tafareactions]

There is something that I don't quite understand, US citizens come to live in my country attracted, above all, by our relaxed, chil and leyback way of life, however, in almost all the videos I have seen on this topic, they spend their lives Moaning and complaining because things are not done right away, business hours, etc. They want everything to be at their disposal 24/7 and at the moment. My conclusion is that they want our way of life but only for themselves, and we Spaniards have to adopt their way of life to serve them 24/7. Furthermore, the increase in US expats in Valencia is starting to be a problem for locals, especially due to the increase in housing and rental prices, since their purchasing power is higher than that of Spain and everything seems very cheap to them, so Therefore, this causes an increase in prices and is unaffordable for the local population. In fact, Andorra prohibits foreigners from buying houses due to this problem.

[joaoramoscarvalho]

What are the cons of living in Valencia?

[hellophoenix]

I would’ve loved seeing his partner’s perspective ! Spain is a great country and their medical services is better than Portugal. But it’s faster to get Portuguese citizenship than the Spanish.