The Wright Adventures

I may be a bit bold here in posting this before we have completed the process, but perhaps that is all part of the tension. Every story must have tension. We started our visa planning and document collection in March. We were ready to submit when we learned that the Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco was suffering from staffing challenges that put their visa processing, especially for retirement visas, on hold until late this year or early next. Upon advice of legal counsel, we changed our legal residence to David’s childhood home. This meant rebuilding the documents for the visa submission to Houston. We will detail the documents for the visa in a separate section as many readers will not need the detail. Continue Reading →

We had found a flat that met our needs and more. We established a contract to purchase and headed home to organize ourselves for this delightfully unexpected opportunity. Transactions in Spain, however, are not like transactions in the US. We had a lot to learn about power of attorney, the importance of relationships, reserves and deposits, naked property and usufruct, the need for cashier checks, and the clarity of closing. Continue Reading →

It was not supposed to happen in this order. We were very clear that our visit to València was to be an opportunity to view homes. We were not going to purchase anything. There was an order to this project, and we needed to keep the order. But this is not our first home purchase, and when you see it, you know. Continue Reading →

The journey to retirement is one that includes questions about location, and location includes questions about cost. We thought about Europe and we looked again at France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, but the research deepened with Spain. Continue Reading →