Ready for a change
In our last post, I detailed the reasons Chuck and I have for our move to Spain. In this post, I will discuss why we decided on moving to Madrid first, before settling permanently in another city.
We are interested in settling in a smaller, coastal city, because one of our intentions in leaving Washington is to transition into a different style of living. We’ve both lived in multi-family housing (dorms or condos) our entire lives since graduating from high school. At this point at least, we think we’d like to live in a more residential area in a single-family house. So, choosing a home to buy will require many trips to these cities, during different seasons, until we find a place that feels right.
Why not move directly to the sea?
Since one of our requirements for our next home is to live near the Mediterranean, we strongly considered moving directly to a seaside city first. This has some obvious advantages. Our current plan means we are shipping our furniture and kitchen goods to Madrid first. Then, after we settle on a city and purchase a place, we have to find movers to move again. If we moved directly to a location on the water, we would save money and spare ourselves the hassle of moving twice.
The other advantage of moving directly is that we would be building relationships with people in a place we plan on staying for a while. At one level, this means finding the best fishmonger and produce stall at the market where we will plan to buy for years. It also means learning which is the best dry cleaners, etc., only once. But at a deeper level, moving directly to our long-term city means starting on the task of finding a circle of friends with a view to the fact that we will be there for the long term. Moving to a city and then moving in a year or two means starting relationships and then changing those relationships into long-distance ones.
However, as we considered the places we thought about living, we just weren’t sure we could commit (as I describe below). I also joined several FaceBook groups for American and European immigrants to Spain, and new places that seemed really attractive kept popping up. This made us realize that while we had traveled to a fair number of places in Spain, it’s a big country with lots of options. We needed to learn more and feel like we had really done our due diligence before committing.
Where we’ve thought about living in Spain: Valencia
So, what are some of the coastal places we are looking into? First among them is the city of Valencia in the Valencian Community, which is probably still the likely choice. We visited Valencia for the first time 12 years ago for my birthday and loved it. We returned there on a combo 30th anniversary and scouting trip in May and still really loved it. We met a wonderful lesbian couple (from Belgium and Canada) with twin children, who graciously showed us around their beautiful suburban home and answered our endless questions. The seafood in Valencia is amazing, the beaches gorgeous and wide, and as the third-largest city in Spain, Valencia is a great place to live.
What are autonomous communitIes?
Autonomous Communities are a little hard for Americans to understand and I claim no special expertise on this subject. But as I understand them, they are regional governments that are distinguished by shared languages and history, and therefore, many have a shared sense of being their own distinct nation. They are composed of constituent provinces.
The closest analogy for the US might be to imagine the American South as an autonomous community, since it was (briefly) independent, and it has its own accent and culture. The difference is in Spain the sense of nationality is rooted in thousands of years of history, including distinct languages (such as Basque or Catalan) that were a part of political entities (the Kingdom of Aragon or the Islamic Caliphate of Al-Andalus) for literally hundreds of years before the existence of a unified Spain, speaking Castellano (the term for the language we call Spanish).
Where we’ve thought about living in Spain: Malaga and Torremolinos
We also took a trip to Andalucía, Spain’s large southern autonomous community. We visited the city of Malaga during Spring Break in 2022. Our reasons for visiting Malaga were simple: it’s warmer year-round in Coastal Andalucía than in other regions, and Malaga has a small gay town nearby called Torremolinos.
Malaga itself was gorgeous. The downtown is spotlessly clean, there is a working port which is cool, and the food and seafood are spectacular. We had amazing tapas and seafood rice (arroz de mariscos) and the market was great. However, because of Torremolinos, gay life isn’t really focused in the city. It also felt a little too small for our taste.
Our visit to Torremolinos was underwhelming. The beach there is really beautiful, and there’s a super nice gay beach club and restaurant. However, the little town of Torremolinos is bland, with nondescript blocks of apartments. The gay bars, restaurants, and clubs are mainly in a pedestrian mall in the center of town. So, Torremolinos felt more like a place we might come for a long weekend to enjoy the beach, but not someplace we wanted to live. If we were to move to this area we would choose Malaga city over the surrounding area. However, it’s not at the top of our list because we like Valencia better.
So, why Madrid?
On our Valencia scouting trip in May, we were convinced we wanted to move there directly. However, spending the afternoon and evening before our flight in Madrid reminded us that:
- Madrid’s gay community is large, diverse, and tons of fun.
- We weren’t quite ready to leave big-city life behind.
- We’ve not lived in a city of Madrid’s caliber (equal to a London, New York, or Paris) and so we wanted that kind of experience, at least for a while.
In addition, as I mentioned, Spain is a big country with tons of options that we’ve not explored. We are both intrigued by island living and so we want to explore Palma de Mallorca. A lot of people swear by Alicante as the best place in Spain. We’ve also never been to Green Spain, in the North, which—uneasy Global Warming future aside—has a climate more akin to Ireland or Normandy than dry, sunny Spain. Basically, we don’t want to make a large investment in property until we feel like we’ve explored all of these possibilities.
It’s Madrid
So, why are we moving to Madrid? At least partially because it’s Madrid. While saying that as one reason we are moving to Madrid seems uninformative, it’s a pretty common reason how people who choose it as a permanent home describe their decision: “I live in Madrid because it’s Madrid.” What they mean by that comprises a constellation of reasons which I will deal with below, but basically what they are saying is, Madrid is a unique and special place with a distinctive feel and culture. This is also true of many other parts of Spain. For example, any visitor to Barcelona can likewise feel the special magic brought about by the intersection of Catalan and Spanish culture in a city over 2,000 years old. So, what then is Madrid’s magic for us?
Center of Gay Life and Culture
First and foremost, Madrid is a center of gay life and culture in Spain. By some estimates, the city’s LGBTQIA+ community population is 500,000 people. We love that gay life in Madrid centers on Chueca Plaza and it always feels fun and manageable. While there are gay enclaves in other neighborhoods, the concentration of LGBTQIA+ people in Chueca is very refreshing.
Largest City and Cultural Center
Secondly, Madrid is the country’s largest city, and therefore a center of culture, politics, food, and the arts. Because the Spanish crown was based there, Madrid’s Prado and Reina Sofia museums are world-class institutions. In many ways, Madrid combines the functions of New York, Los Angeles, and Washington within Spain, serving as a center of finance, culture, and government.
No Car Needed
One of our goals in moving to Spain, at least initially, is to not have a car. Moving to Madrid makes that easy. Unlike much of Barcelona, which can feel expansive outside of the Gothic Quarter, more of Madrid feels walkable. Madrid’s metro system is extensive. The city invests heavily in the metro and is constantly expanding it. The city is also well-served by an extensive network of buses, as well as taxis and car-sharing apps.
No Wealth Tax
Spain’s wealth tax is a cause for concern for many retirees, who depend on their investments to fund their lives. While the tax is complicated (and varies between each of the autonomous communities), it is clear that it’s better to own property when you pay it, as you are given an exemption for your home. So, as a couple who will be selling a high-value condo in Washington without buying property right away in Spain, the fact that Madrid offers its residents a 100% exemption from the tax is very attractive.
Great “Ethnic” Food and Great Retail
Madrid has all manner of “ethnic” or international food and a wide range of retail, including Costco, Sephora, Diesel, etc. Smaller cities have much, much slimmer international food options and retail is often within their local El Corte Ingles department store branch. While El Corte Ingles is really wonderful, as we transition to life in Spain, moving to Madrid—where there are some familiar food and shopping experiences— feels like a good way to transition towards life in one of the smaller cities.
Center of Rail and Air Transport
Moving to Madrid puts us in the center of Spain’s transportation network. Spain’s wonderful high-speed rail system is centered in Madrid and connects to all of the major areas of the country. In addition, the Madrid airport offers direct flights all over Spain, making visits to potential permanent homes easy. It’s also a gateway to the rest of Europe.
Other Reasons and Conclusion
Many of our other reasons for moving to Madrid are the same as our overall reasons for moving to Spain. But I would like to mention safety: Madrid is a big city and is much safer and free of violent crime than a similar city in the United States. In fact, some of the prominent YouTube couples in Spain report that people feel secure walking home at night alone in most parts of Madrid. So, despite an issue with petty theft and pickpocketing, it’s a safe place to live.
Although our eventual plan is to purchase a single-family home near the Mediterranean Sea, we feel like there are many places to explore and so we are not yet ready to commit. These, then, are our reasons for moving to Madrid before we move to our permanent home:
- It’s Madrid
- Center of gay life and culture
- Largest city and cultural center
- No car needed
- No wealth tax
- Great international food and great retail
- Center of rail and air transport
- All of our other reasons for wanting to move to Spain, including safety
Great article! I live about half the year in Valencia and the other half on the Costa Brava, with beautiful Girona being my nearest city. If you haven’t already, many towns on the Costa Brava are well worth exploring. All the best!
I’m finding this journey fascinating–thank you for letting me experience it vicariously! Any chance these blog entries might someday be a book?
You are too kind my friend. I would say never say never!
I will enjoy reading your posts. My husband John and I are from Boston, but we lived in Madrid in 2006 with our then young children and traveled extensively throughout Spain. Have so many fond memories of that year! We have gone back many times and are planning our next trip this fall – this time to consider possible retirement destinations – Valencia and Tarragona are two on our list that we plan to check out!
We too have been going back and forth on where to live in Spain. I lived in Madrid for 2 years as a student. My husband and I would also prefer being by the ocean. But we are also strongly considering Madrid as a starting point; Walkability, still have friends in Madrid, variety of life, good medical care, above all quality of life.
The main reason right now that we are thinking of Madrid is the ease of travel between US and Madrid. We have young adult children who will be remaining in CA. There are direct flights from Madrid. I just can’t stand the thought of one long flight, followed by another short flight, followed by a bus, train, or taxi to get home.
I figure a year renting in Madrid will give us an idea of whether life away from CA is what we really want.