It is SUNNY in Barcelona! Ashley and I hit the beach for a drink this week (or a bottle), got the patio set up, hit the park with the kids, walks, etc - Yay! Just a few things here as the immigration topic below takes up lots of space and time….but it’s a great story yo!
First, Quick hits!
Kids are crushing it. Hayes is thriving academically at ASB and Ellory as well. Hayes is trying Juditsu and Ellory is enrolled in flag football (best arm on an all-boy-team FYI!) and we are shopping for soccer leagues for them both. We are being aware of time commitment - we do not want to run them daily to activities - we did too much of that stateside and here it will detract from other family activities and travel we wish to do.
I am coming stateside end of this month! Can’t wait! (let me know if you want to drink or eat I’m really good at both).
They don’t have the tooth fairy here. They have El Ratoncito Pérez (aka Perez the Mouse, the Tooth Mouse, el Ratón de los Dientes, or el Ratón Pérez). He apparently lived with his family in a cookie box on the streets of Madrid. Oh Senior Pérez would travel through the pipes in the city to reach the children of Madrid who had lost their teeth. He would replace the tooth with a gift. I think it sounds totally ridiculous - but I guess so does a small flying ferry that takes teeth and leaves a few bucks or candy. Ellory has lost a ton of teeth since being here so she and the rat have had a few interactions I guess.
We have visitors coming this month! Can’t wait to see Linda and Ryan (Ashley’s mom and older bro)! We are planning to make their trip special!
I had a conversation in a skateboard store and even made a joke in Spanish. I was proud! (still, my Spanish is horrific at best).
People recognize me around town and that feels good. I’m sure it’s easy for them - a tall, loud, goofy-looking American that can’t speak Spanish for shit but tries his heart out (even in a predominately Catlan part of town) and drinks lots of _______ (coffee, wine, vodka). It feels good to have them know my order (cafe doble!) or vodka tonic (tónica de vodka) for sure though.
Pics of Ellory’s 7-year bday party below - Ashley found an amazing place and put together a great time in the Bari Gotic! Candy making!!
See a VIDEO by clicking here ——→ BDAY PARTY!!
I still don’t understand why all the music (música) here is American music in English. Gym, cabs, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. I get into a cab where the driver speaks zero English and he is listening to English-speaking American music. Someone, please explain this to me I am sure they have good music here! (they have great Italian music in Italy I know from 2019 the kids loved it!).
We have our next few trips set up - Canary Islands, Greece, Italy, Paris, London-Paris, Costa Brava, Germany, Switzerland, Sardinia, and maybe Mallorca or Ibiza.
Pics of the house next blog! SOON…I know the post below is dense…
The Legal Process Getting Here.
I have had a few reach out and ask about the process to ‘legally’ get here to Barcelona. I’ll tell you that if it was only up to me we would not be here. All guys want to ‘marry well’ or ‘out of your league’ and I’m glad I did with Ashley. She is amazing at many things but one is an organization of things, which is not a core strength for me! We started the process in October with the goal of starting the kids on 10 January. All we talked with (including our Spanish lawyers and the Spanish consulate in Chicago said no way it happens before abril so just plan for the 2023 school year in septiembre). I have never been a fan of low expectations or naysayers so we decided to hell with them, we will be here by January 11th so I could take Alex out for a drink on his birthday. Goddamn, we crush goals. The process to get here legally included the following:
Getting paperwork together for application -
We hired Spanish lawyers to process the paperwork there. With their consult, we had 1500+ pages of documentation (printed - thanks UPS Store!) - tons of overnight shipping (FedEx tu es muy caro!!) - trips to the notary and apostille - trips to the courthouse for marriage and birth certificates - FBI background checks - notes from our physicians saying we have no diseases - statements from our finance people saying we have enough money to live without government assistance - tax returns - company documents - and TONS more I am forgetting.
We had to get all the paperwork together BEFORE we submitted for an appointment in Chicago.
We also had to have paperwork to show we had already rented a flat (lease and contract), had private health insurance (even though they have a single-payer government ran system (yes!) we had to buy private insurance for some reason), a Spanish bank account (cuenta bancaria) with a deposit, and so much more. Yes, we had to have a LEASE SIGNED to increase the chances we were approved for the visas (of note, there are 4+ types of visas to apply for - we are on the ‘non-lucrative visa’ so this is the application process for that type. The ‘golden visa’ is granted if someone wants to buy a property for over 500,000€ in Spain (FYI for 500k here you can get a 10x20 closet with a small sink!). We are renters for the first time in 20 years.
Submitting for Visa appointment in Chicago. We had to have all documentation done and then an email per person to Chicago asking for an appointment at the Spanish Consulate. How long does it take? They don't tell you - you don't know if they have the email or if you are in processing or accidentally deleted. You then get an email saying your appointment is X and it’s set. If the time doesn’t work they ‘will give it to someone else if you do not want the appointment’ - so we had to drop everything and head for the big Windy City. One thing - Hayes's passport was going to expire in January 2023, and they could have given us shit for this as it technically needed to be through January, not expire IN January. We assumed they would be picky so to Arkansas down and back for me and Hayes to get an overnight passport after fake plane tickets were bought and we may have misrepresented a few things to the US Government. Drive 17 hours round trip to Arkansas (we made the most of it you best believe!!) and then to Chicago 19 hours round trip - hotels, food, etc. You bet your sweet ass we got them to Millenial Park, a deep-dish pizza, and enough Garrets Popcorn to kill a horse.
To Chicago - the gal at the consulate thought we lost our shit with all the paperwork and page count. Better over prepared than under in a situation like this I guess! It took 2.5x longer than the appointment with some back and forth and a little arguing with them, but they accepted it and said we ‘would receive the passports in the mail’. “3 weeks?” I asked - she laughs, looks at me like I’m a damned moron, and said “no, I said at least 10-12 weeks.” Back to KC to be in limbo! (keep in mind we sold our home and were living with my father and Vickie - two of our very special people in these lives we get to live (it’s the 2nd time we have had the privilege of living with them!). Oh, and on the way home from Chicago the consulate called and said we can’t submit because we didn’t leave a document that states I own my company (we reviewed it with them, submitted, then she said she didn’t need it). Back to FedEx in the morning for another costly overnight shipping fee…..
All this going on while our home of 12 years was sold (what a great place!), we packed a container and shipped it to BCN. We were living our normal lives (kids in school and Ash and I doing our thang) while living at Dad and Vickies. It was super fun drinking wine with them nightly and watching them get some last-minute time with the kids. One thing we will never forget is seeing them get all this time with the kids - we can’t wait until they get here end of May!
I booked refundable airfare every 3rd day through January - we didn’t know when we would get the visas and I didn’t want to spend a ridiculous amount on airfare for one-way tickets for 4 traveling internationally inside 3 days. I canceled them as they came and went and we were without visas.
Our visas came 7 January (enero) - we flew out on the 10th and I had drinks with Alex on the 11th - just as promised. The universe definetely is a friendly place and wants to make all of us happy…
We then get to BCN and have to register the house, apply for NIE’s (national ID), apply for other shit I don’t even understand, go get the NIE’s, file this thing, do that thing, etc. We are good until next January - then we need to do some of this again….
So, all in it is very possible to get here and rock! We were in more of a push to get it done quickly so it was a little more stressful and costly vs doing it all yourself over 6-8 months. Huge shout out to Ashley - if it weren’t for her organization skills and micromanaging (LOL babe) skills we would not be here - so much went into this and I’m grateful to have her on this team. Huge shoutout to Alex and Marta for helping us there on the ground - we love you two!
One thing - I am now convinced that for anyone to have an opinion on immigration (legal/illegal) in the US (southern border) they must go through what we went through. I can imagine it is not much easier and more costly for legal immigration into the USA.
Struggles
Always struggles. Constant ‘I miss….’ daily mentions of ‘this is hard…..’ but it is a magical place. More and more I miss the random conversations in a coffee shop or bar. Most interactions in English I participate in have been planned out - Padel, lunches or dinners, playdates with the kid’s friends, etc (I have lots of lunches and dinners though!). Life is very different here - and we are loving the victories, the struggles, the failures, and the pure joy we see in ourselves and our kids. My good friend Kate Patrick (605 Real Estate yay!!) said on a recent podcast:
“We should not take the mundane for granted. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you do but take it all in and appreciate it today - you know tomorrow is not guaranteed.”
It makes sense perfect. In KC, South Dakota, Europe or in between, this is solid advice. Doesn’t matter where you are or what you do, you best enjoy this day.
For future (house pics coming next time!) topics below:
More updates.
Different vs weird.
Diets and lifestyle - health and wealth.
The healthcare system
The people of ASB (the kids school)
Travel and adventure.
Pics of our home, our neighborhood, favorite restaurants and shops, etc.
As always feel free to write, visit, or email.
It’s so exciting to see your adventures! This is such an incredible experience for your family. Tell Ellory the Unicorns miss her! ⚽️🦄😊