“We agreed to move to Valencia for a year, but within a couple months of being here, we decided we’d be here at least two… maybe for good…”
Now, it’s been three years and they still don’t see themselves leaving…
I was sitting in a little café across the street from the Torres de Quart, the 15th-century, one-time gates to the city, now surrounded by modern apartment buildings, speaking with the then-somewhat-new transplant, Micah Hart, who moved to Spain from Atlanta, Georgia, in September 2022, with his wife and two sons.
While we sipped café con leches and munched on tostadas, Micah told me his family’s story.
He shared it again on a recent panel of Europe expats, take a listen in this week’s video…
Got a question? Want to see us cover a particular topic? Write to me here.
Kat Kalashian,
Editor LIOS Confidential
Video Transcript
Intro
Kathleen Peddicord
Welcome back, everyone. I’m Kathleen Peddicord, founder and president of Live and Invest Overseas. Today we’re joined by Micah, an expat currently based in Valencia, Spain.
How Did You End Up in Valencia?
Kathleen Peddicord
Micah, how long have you been living in Valencia, and where did you move from?
Micah
We’ve been in Valencia for almost two years. Before that, we were living in Atlanta, Georgia.
Kathleen Peddicord
How did you end up in Valencia? Was it a straight line, or did the story take a few turns?
Micah
The short answer I usually give is that we moved to Valencia because we wanted our kids to learn German, which is actually true.
Our children were in a dual-language program in Atlanta that taught German, and originally we were only planning to go abroad for one year. We wanted to find a place where they could continue their German studies so they could return to the same program later if we moved back.
By the time we made the decision, though, most of the schools we were considering were already full. Germany funds German-language schools all over the world, and the only two we could find with space were in Bilbao and Valencia, Spain.
We couldn’t get into the school in Bilbao, so Valencia became the option. We visited, and by the time we found out the school situation there also wasn’t going to work out, we had already fallen in love with the city. Valencia checked a lot of boxes for everything else we were looking for, and we decided it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for our kids to learn Spanish instead.
Kathleen Peddicord
That’s a great story. It really makes the point that you do not always end up where you first planned to go, but sometimes you end up exactly where you belong.
Micah
That has absolutely been true for us. Valencia turned out to be the perfect place for what we were looking for. It has beaches, it’s on the Mediterranean, the mountains are nearby, it’s flat, the people are friendly, the food is great, the cost of living is good, and we can bike almost everywhere. We don’t need a car. It really checked every box.
How Is Your Life in Valencia Going?
Kathleen Peddicord
And it’s you, your wife, and your two children, right?
Micah
Yes, we have two kids who are now 10 and 12.
Kathleen Peddicord
You’ve all been there almost two years now. How are the kids doing?
Micah
They are living their best life. For us, one of the main reasons for moving abroad was the impact it could have on our children. We wanted them to build resilience, learn how to navigate uncertainty, and become more adaptable.
They were eight and ten when we arrived, and now they’re both basically fluent in Spanish, which is a little frustrating for the rest of us because none of us spoke Spanish when we first got there.
At this point, if we need to go to the doctor or the bank, we can bring our ten-year-old along and he can tell us what’s going on.
Kathleen Peddicord
You really do have to let go of your ego in situations like that. We’ve had similar experiences in France and Panama where our children speak for us because their language skills are better than ours.
Working in Valencia, Spain
Kathleen Peddicord
Are you still working while living in Valencia?
Micah
Yes. My job is a little unusual. I host a live game show, so I travel back to the United States periodically for tours, which is why I’m in the States at the moment. My wife works remotely, so together we have a lot of flexibility.
One positive shift that came out of the pandemic is that it became much easier for people to take their jobs and do them from somewhere else. That has made this lifestyle possible for us.
The Best Things About Valencia
Kathleen Peddicord
What are your three favorite things about living in Valencia?
Micah
The first is the independence our kids have here. There are so many things they can do in Spain that we would never have let them do in the United States. For example, our ten-year-old will walk 20 minutes to the Central Market by himself, buy things from different vendors, and walk home alone. That is something we would never have allowed in Atlanta, even if the destination had been much closer.
The second is the pace of life. People are out and about, they are friendly, and they are smiling. Compared with life in the United States, especially in a place like Atlanta, everything feels less rushed and more human.
One of our favorite parts of Valencia is Turia, the huge park that runs through the city. It used to be a riverbed, and now it is a nine-kilometer green space. We live only two blocks from it, so we can ride our bikes there, go for runs, play with the kids, and meet friends for picnics. We can spend hours there without it needing to be a major planned event.
The third is the food. I love going to the Central Market, practicing Spanish, buying produce from local vendors, and cooking it the same day. The food tastes better, and it is also much cheaper.
The Cost of Living in Valencia
Kathleen Peddicord
Is your overall cost of living in Valencia lower than it was in Atlanta?
Micah
Yes and no. Our day-to-day expenses are definitely lower, but I think we probably end up spending about the same overall because we do so much more. We travel much more than we did when we lived in Atlanta.
In a way, we’re just redirecting our money. Instead of spending it on the same kinds of routines and activities we had before, we might now use it for a weekend trip to another European city. I’m much happier with where our money is going.
Dining out is significantly cheaper. If my wife and I go out to dinner, it probably costs about half of what we would spend in the United States. Even something like a bottle of wine at a restaurant can be surprisingly affordable.
Downsides to Valencia
Kathleen Peddicord
What about Valencia does not make you happy?
Micah
The biggest downside is the bureaucracy. It is absurd. We started the process to renew our visa last November, and it still is not finished. By the time everything is resolved, we may have been there almost another full year after our residency technically expired.
That said, no one seems particularly alarmed by the delay. No one is knocking on our door telling us to leave. Still, every time I travel back and forth, I do have that moment of uncertainty in the back of my mind.
Kathleen Peddicord
That sounds very familiar. We have had similar experiences in Panama. The bureaucracy can be exhausting, but it often seems to function according to its own logic and pace.
Micah
Exactly. We’ve been working with a company that helps us navigate the visa renewal process, and in our case it has absolutely been worth the money. I normally hate paying for something I could theoretically do myself, but this is one area where having professional help has taken a huge amount of stress off our shoulders.
They tell us what needs to be done, where we need to be, and when we need to be there. That has made the whole process much more manageable.
Kathleen Peddicord
I think that is smart, not a failure. There is no reason to become an expert in bureaucracy if it does not add value to your life.
Micah
That’s how we’ve come to see it too. Spain definitely has a “we’ll figure it out” atmosphere. It can be frustrating if you need something handled quickly, but it is also part of the larger lifestyle tradeoff.
In the United States, things are generally more punctual and systems are more rigid. In Spain, appointments may not happen exactly when scheduled, buses may not arrive exactly on time, and processes can move much more slowly. But that same slower rhythm is also part of what makes the quality of life better.
It does make planning harder when you need to get something done, but for us the tradeoff has been worth it.
What Do You Wish Someone Had Told You Before Moving to Valencia?
Kathleen Peddicord
If you could give two or three pieces of advice to someone who is just beginning to dream about making a move like this, what would you tell them?
Micah
The biggest thing I would say is that this is much more feasible than most people realize. It may seem like an impossible undertaking, but it is not. It does take effort, but it can be done, and usually much more easily than people expect.
You just have to be proactive and start working on it. That is probably what I would tell my earlier self: just begin. If you start taking steps, you will get there.
The world has also never been better set up for this kind of move. Remote work has made international living more accessible, and online expat communities make it much easier to build connections and get advice.
One of the biggest fears people have about moving abroad is ending up alone in a place where they do not know anyone and do not speak the language. We felt that concern too. But once we got to Valencia, we found community much faster than we expected.
We do not want to spend all our time only with expats. We moved to experience local culture and immerse ourselves as much as possible. But it is still incredibly helpful to find people who understand what you are going through and can offer advice and support.
So my advice would be this: do not let yourself feel overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time, and know that this kind of move is possible.
