Never Retire: The Problem With Spain Isn’t Spain—It’s the People Monetizing It
Not so slowly but surely, the vendors at the market and the people who work in local cafes, bars, and restaurants are starting to recognize us.
When we do things—like bike to the beach—my wife and I look at one another and say, this is precisely the type of thing we envisioned ourselves doing. It’s what we planned for, hoped and anticipated. And now—here we are—doing it. Every little aspect of doing life coming together to form the lifestyle we craved but could only half-ass in Los Angeles.
As my wife gets set to create in a local ceramics co-working space and we prepare to launch Friki de Bici (Bike Geek) together, life in Spain is everything we hoped and planned for—and then some. Living here has exceeded expectations—so much so that I can’t even glimpse myself living in the United States again.
I think things have worked out so well so far and that we have taken little missteps in stride—(losing an apartment we thought we had, getting a bum refrigerator in the apartment we ended up renting, me catching a head cold this weekend!)—because:
We grounded the expectations we set in reality.
We based these expectations on a strong sense of who we are as individuals and as a couple and extensive experience living in large cities.
I write as I have always written. I want to share my experiences so that they might entertain and—in some cases—help inform you on your own. The only thing I’m selling is this contribution to the literature (as if the internet is some lofty body of work!). It’s what I have been doing for roughly 20 years now.
Today, my “content” revolves around living in Spain because that’s what I am doing now and—if all continues to go as hoped, planned, and intended—for the rest of my life.
One thing I have been careful not to do since landing in Spain is to sell people a dream or a nightmare, particularly those who are considering or planning a move here.
We heard horror stories about how difficult it is to deal with Spanish bureaucracy and systems and got a little spooked. Good thing we did. Because it has made me realize that the people creating problems—(and, as you’ll see in a second, nightmares)—so they can solve them for you (and you can live your dream) are the actual scammers.
It’s not the Spanish government, utility companies, and landlords you must watch out for. People on social media and YouTube are spewing hyperbole like this tripe from a popular duo who has joined the crowded field of trying to get people to pay them for step-by-step guidance on moving to Spain.
This is exactly what they do—
Talk about how much they love it here.
Reinforce the myth that everything is backward here (which makes you wonder how Spain could get it so right as a place to live if they can’t do anything right).
Then, use this fear tactic to solve the problem they’re helping create for you.
It’s pathetic and needs to be called out.
For example—
Consider this actual social media post from this couple—