Never Retire: What Transportation—and Olive Oil—Really Costs in Spain
October field notes on movement, simplicity, and neighborhood life 🫒
Never Retire is field notes from midlife abroad.
I write from Spain, but this isn’t a travel blog. It’s a lens on how daily costs, routines, and choices add up to a second act that works—financially, emotionally, and practically.
Every post brings the numbers, the stories, and the takeaways you can use to build a life that doesn’t coast and doesn’t quit.
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Here’s what transportation costs for us in Valencia right now:
Metro and bus: €5-€10/month (depending on trips)—most months €0.
Rideshare/taxi: never—except the occasional (twice so far) airport ride—about €18.
Bikes (maintenance + parts): around €10–€20/month average, including one €96 charge for two new tires, two tubes, and a basic tuneup.
We don’t own a car.
Total: €20–€40 a month, for everything.
In Los Angeles, at our peak of car ownership, we spent $300–$500 monthly on gas, parking, and car insurance—before car payments, maintenance, or the mental toll of driving everywhere.
I did some math.
In Los Angeles, we had to drive to yoga—20 times a month X $1.50 each = $30. Now we ride our bikes or walk. For free.
In November 2024 in LA, we spent $161.16 on rideshares. In October, $149.67. Most of these rides where to bars and restaurants. You know what happens there.
When I had a car payment, it was about $350 a month. Now, we have zero fixed transportation/car expenses. But the savings and ease of life are more evident in the smaller here and there costs that add up.
🇪🇸 The real story isn’t the savings or even how living in a human-scaled environment changes your life—it’s how everything moves differently here.
Here’s a story to make the point in a different way than we normally do—