Latest Posts

For those of my friends that follow me online, you may have noticed that I’m currently in the process of buying a flat here in Valencia. While the process isn’t quite over yet, I wanted to give people information on everything that is involved here. I’ll break this out into a multi-part series, the first part of which is this one: how to find a property in Spain. Looking For A Property If you’re starting out in a search for a property, chances are you are already looking at some of the more popular real estate websites such as idealista.es […]

I’ve been living in Spain, and consequently Europe now, for about ten months. While I’ve always enjoyed the time I’ve spent in ‘the old world’, I’ve really come to appreciate it much more now than I’m an actual resident here in Spain. So I thought I’d make a post about some of the aspects of living in Europe I really enjoy. Freedom of Travel Previously as a Canadian resident I was allowed up to a 90 day visit in a rolling 180 day window in any of the Schengen countries. That may sound like a lot, but there are 26 […]

Well it’s hard to believe, but I’ve been in Spain nearly ten months now. My original non-lucrative residency is valid until August 30th, 2019, but the rules stipulate that a person can start the renewal process up to 60 days in advance, which means I can start the renewal process on July 1, 2019. The renewal process is significantly less involved than the first application – you don’t need any criminal record checks for example, and the fees are basically administrative in nature. So I’m mostly looking at this as a formality. Compared to the original visa though (which was […]

In a previous article we showed how to obtain your digital certificate here in Spain. One of the benefits of having it is it will allow you to do some services here in Spain that would normally involve having to take a trip somewhere and stand in a queue for an hour or more, or make an online appointment and eventually show up somewhere. One such service is the empadronamiento – registering with the town hall. You will need to do your first empadronamiento in person once arriving in Spain, that’s basically so they can check your documentation and your […]

I’m currently in the process of applying for a non-lucrative visa to come live in Spain for a year. While there are many different visa options you can apply for to enter Spain – such as a work visa or a student visa – the non-lucrative visa is great for people who want to enjoy Spain without being a student or working locally. The name, “non-lucrative”, basically refers to the fact that you can’t earn any money with it. Unfortunately what that means is a bit confusing (as are many other things about Spanish visas in general, but we’ll get […]

One of the aspects of living in Spain that always surprises me is just how up to date Spain is in terms of technology. For example, banking in Spain is way more advanced than in Canada – with just a few clicks I can send money to any other person in the EU using their IBAN number. Credit cards can easily be added to Apple or Android pay (unlike in North America where some banks are still holding out, trying to release their own competing services), and payments can even be split up over multiple months (not that this is […]

Approximately two weeks ago I hit my six month milestone here in Spain, and as such, thought it would be a really great time to update everyone on my Spanish adventure. Living In Valencia In case you missed it, last year I applied for (and was granted) residency to live in Spain for a year. My original plan was to travel around Spain and potentially visit various different parts of the country over the course of my stay here. Unfortunately as soon as I arrived I quickly realized that one of the requirements of my residency required me to actual […]

I’m currently in Jávea, Spain, which is actually where I was in May of 2018 when I first came up with the idea of moving to Spain. Jávea is a cute idillic location right on the Mediterranean with a population of around 27,000 people. The closest train station to Jávea is actually in a little town about 15 minutes away called Denia. That means Jávea is a bit isolated, which in many ways is a positive since it’s still a bit of a secret. Denia is actually one of the locations you can catch a ferry to Ibiza, so there […]

After managing to complete your appointment to get your TIE residency card, the next step is to simply wait the 30 days until you are allowed to pick it up. I actually was going to be busy that day, so I went down around day 28 to the police station. I was originally told to just show up, without an appointment, so that’s what I did. When I arrived there were several large line-ups, one on each side. I was told picking up your TIE card is really quick, so I assumed neither one was for me. But once I […]

If you’ve found this page, chances are you’re a Canadian, looking out the window at the snow or the endless months of winter dreariness and wishing you were somewhere else. I know, because that’s exactly what I was doing approximately a year ago when I came up with the idea of moving to Spain from Canada. And here I am now, a year later, living in the beautiful coastal city of Valencia and eating paella with new my Spanish friends. You can read about some of my reasons for moving to Spain here. So what does it take to move […]