My husband and I both work full-time from home with decent incomes (our GHI is around US$100K-US$120K). We have one 14 month-old daughter and 2 dogs and have decided we’d like to relocate to Spain for at least a year given that we have finally solidified our work from home careers.

I have a few questions that I would be so grateful to have answered! 😊

1) our gross household income translates to roughly 80,000 euros. is that enough income to have a decent lifestyle? we’d like a 2 bedroom home or apartment and would like to be in or near barcelona (but are open to suggestions), have access to good health care and child care and live in a safe community that is more arty/hipster in nature. we also want to be able to travel fairly regularly.

2) i’ve heard that it’s cheaper to buy an apartment than rent one right now in spain, is that true?

3) i’ve been to barcelona and love it so that is why it’s our top choice but we are more than open to other ideas. we’d like to stay coastal, have access to the best health care (i have some health conditions and also having a child, I want to make sure we are always within close distance of a good pediatricians and hospitals), live in a fairly urban environment or at least within half an hour of one, good farmer’s markets and arts-scenes. so if you ideas other than barcelona, please share! 😊

4) about our dogs, we may ask a relative to house them in the US for the year as we are terrified of flying them over and the risks that poses for them. has anyone flown their dogs from the US? id’ lvoe any insight on that process.

thanks so much in advance!

Sounds good! 80k per year will have you living a solidly upper class lifestyle I would say.

Have you seen our thread on where to live in Barcelona? It has a lot of good info for you.

I did see that thread and Gracia definitely sounded like the perfect fit for us. I just wondered if there were other parts of Spain that people also thought sounded like a good fit.

Thanks for the reply. Solidly upper class sounds too good to be true! Maybe we’ll never want to come back! 😊

any thoughts on the other questions would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, there’s probably no reason why you’d leave unless you struggle with the language… BCN is pretty much perfect. 😊

in your opinion, do you think buying is better than renting these days?

i’m trying to find a good rental/buying resource other than craigslist…can you recommend one?

import animals and pets into Spain. Includes: certifications, verterinarians’ certificates, regulations, pet passports etc please look at the link from the site http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/information/importing_pets_how_to_bring_your_pet_to_spain/

and here a American trained, English (and Spanish) speaking veterinarian , dont for get if you go back you have do all again but back to Usa ...
dog travels on the same plane you do, in a cargo compartment that’s pressurized, lighted, and heated. It’s where all kinds of fragile items (flowers etc )Air travel is stressful for pets . If you are flying to Madrid, Dr. Elizabeth Nave, an American trained, English (and Spanish) speaking veterinarian can handle the Spanish end of the transaction for you at a reasonable fee. She also stays completely current on the regulations regarding bringing all types of pets into Spain. Her website is at: http://www.aahvet.com. She is also a highly professional and compassionate vet who offers house calls (Airport calls ) if you need pet care in Madrid Airport .

jurdy

thanks. I can’t imagine being comfortable flying our dogs there - one is a french bulldog and the other a pitbull mix (yes, i realize that’s a whole other can of worms in spite of the fact he is the sweetest animal on earth). french bulldogs are incredibly sensitive and our pitbull is the most anxious thing and i fear that the flight would be so risky for them. lots to think about.

another question:

my husband was born in Colombia and is fluent in spanish but I am not. I studied spanish in high school and college but can not converse comfortably at all. i’d very much like to become fluent though and that is a very important aspect of spending a year or more in spain. i’ve heard granada is the best place to learn but is barcelona also good?

Expatriator for got to give you the link “where to live in Barcelona” there but here it is http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/forum/viewthread/1048/

The Best Ways to Learn Spanish are get back in two it again , (the get by spanish ) here a link aswell to spainexpat.com Language Area , http://www.spainexpat.com/spain/category/C42/Language/

Now you say you in the Usa will have tree way of picking up TVE (Televisi?n Espa?ola ) from Espana
1 . DirecTV (USA)    Channel 460
2.  Dish Network (USA) Channel 840
3.  http://www.rtve.es/ try to watch the news(Telediario) and you pick up some of you spanish

TVE Internacional is an internationally-broadcast Spanish language channel run by Spain’s national broadcaster, TVE. Programming includes a mix of news, discussion-based programmes and drama and documentaries from TVE’s La 1 and La 2 Spanish networks. It was launched in 1989. It is broadcast in Spain and worldwide (especially North America, Hispanic Latin America, and Equatorial Guinea).

Several news bulletins are provided during the day, covering a mixed Spanish and International agenda. Telediario is a bulletin produced for and also broadcast in Spain, simulcast on the international station. However, editions of Telediario Internacional are also produced specially for the channel. A daily showbiz magazine, Gente, is broadcast nightly at 7pm GMT.

short information films about Spain and its wildlife,

and dont for get you have alot of Radio and tv (media ) in Usa that is in Spanish aswell , start listening

Hey Littlebird!

May I suggest Sitges? It’s 35km south of Barcelona, a beautiful, small coastal town with every amenity you’ve mentioned. It’s a lovely town for a family and very arty & hipster, too. There are also many foreign residents here that speak English, so you could develop a social network. There are English-speaking estate agents that can help you find a place to live. It’s worth a visit while trying to sort things out!