Alright now that I shared my awesome new job, I can finally share with you how moving abroad is going.
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For Spain beware of past (and present) corruption that led to building construction on top of seasonal streams, that often run dry for years until they don’t, slamming everything on their path with a 5-meter tsunami wave. We call them “riera” (plural “rieres”), also “barranc” (or “barranco” in Spanish).
If you are looking for a place with good food, proximity to both mountains and sea, and many sunny days, the city of Girona (and nearby towns) is hard to beat. Likewise but with less sun, and directly on the coast, Donosti.
@albertcardona I'm going to Girona this Friday!!
Edit: I'm viewing houses around Girona, in Platja D'Aro and outside of Barcelona. Barcelona itself is way too big and busy for me (plus I don't want to contribute to the insane housing crisis there), so hopefully Girona is nice.
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@Gina is it the rain or also darkness that you’re trying to avoid? Cause Stockholm is quite sunny and with quite little rain tbh
@deach if Stockholm didn't have endless dark winters I'd move there in a heartbeat. In fact I almost moved there during my 2nd year of Uni in Amsterdam. Beautiful city.
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@Jetro I'd rather not stay on an island. For some reason I get a bit claustrophobic after a few weeks
Portugal is nice, but doesnt feel like my place.@Gina fair
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Okay so, I'm still not 100% sure whether I'm making the right choice. I always thought I'd end up in a nice farm house in France, but because of tax reasons France is not an option. And because of weather reasons the whole of Northern Europe isn't an option
So it basically comes down to Spain
or Italy. 
Edit: I'm staying in Europe to minimise timezone differences. #moveabroad
@Gina I'm curious (not arguing, been there) if the FR/Tax reason is pro or perso ?
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@Gina if you can afford to leave most of your things in a warehouse I would go mobile for a year and stay 2 or 3 months on each country and if possible on different cities. In Spain changing province can feel like changing country social and climate-wise.
If it’s for timezone I would also explore options from Egypt to Morocco. The Atlantic coast is amazing.
Also Spain and Italy have heatwave issues, I would look for northern mountain areas. Ivrea is delightful.
@itorres I have two cats to haul around 🥲 So I kind of just want to find the place and move once.
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Okay so, I'm still not 100% sure whether I'm making the right choice. I always thought I'd end up in a nice farm house in France, but because of tax reasons France is not an option. And because of weather reasons the whole of Northern Europe isn't an option
So it basically comes down to Spain
or Italy. Edit: I'm staying in Europe to minimise timezone differences. #moveabroad
@Gina haven't lived in either, just have my tourist experiences where I always go Italy over Spain. Then again, that is mostly cities, if you had a farmhouse in mind you would propably go more rural. And while I always fall for the charm of Italy, the difference in temperament to me feels like 'pittig' vs 'lief'.
I did a railroad trip with my son a couple of years ago, Milan, Rome and Lugano. Was pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere in Milan. Also love Rome but it is farther away. -
@Gina I'm curious (not arguing, been there) if the FR/Tax reason is pro or perso ?
@Nono what does pro or perso mean?
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@Nono what does pro or perso mean?
@Gina sorry, by perso: If it's a personnal reason, you don't want to pay so much taxes.
Pro: If it's your job that's imcompatible (for whatever reason) with the french taxes -
@deach if Stockholm didn't have endless dark winters I'd move there in a heartbeat. In fact I almost moved there during my 2nd year of Uni in Amsterdam. Beautiful city.
@Gina yeah I understand, it doesn’t affect me too much but if it does for you then it’s not a good option. Too bad cause I do think it is a fantastic place
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Okay so, I'm still not 100% sure whether I'm making the right choice. I always thought I'd end up in a nice farm house in France, but because of tax reasons France is not an option. And because of weather reasons the whole of Northern Europe isn't an option
So it basically comes down to Spain
or Italy. Edit: I'm staying in Europe to minimise timezone differences. #moveabroad
It doesn't help that I'm a snobby little Goldilocks that is searching for a place that feels "just right" based on:
- sunny and coastal
- green nature
- access to outdoor sports
- a tech community around
- an expat community that is not retirees
- generally educated populace around
- indoor sports such as a bouldering hall, crossfit gym and yoga studio
- able to buy a house with a garden for max €500k.
- within 1.5 hrs of an international airport
- mountains would be cool -
@itorres I have two cats to haul around 🥲 So I kind of just want to find the place and move once.
@Gina then you should come to Cat-alonia or go to Cat-ania.
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@Gina sorry, by perso: If it's a personnal reason, you don't want to pay so much taxes.
Pro: If it's your job that's imcompatible (for whatever reason) with the french taxes@Nono both. It would take tens of thousands out of my pocket.
Then again, if you're able to buy a much cheaper house it might offset the cost.
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@albertcardona I'm going to Girona this Friday!!
Edit: I'm viewing houses around Girona, in Platja D'Aro and outside of Barcelona. Barcelona itself is way too big and busy for me (plus I don't want to contribute to the insane housing crisis there), so hopefully Girona is nice.
@Gina @albertcardona Gina Girona sounds absolutely fabulous btw
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It doesn't help that I'm a snobby little Goldilocks that is searching for a place that feels "just right" based on:
- sunny and coastal
- green nature
- access to outdoor sports
- a tech community around
- an expat community that is not retirees
- generally educated populace around
- indoor sports such as a bouldering hall, crossfit gym and yoga studio
- able to buy a house with a garden for max €500k.
- within 1.5 hrs of an international airport
- mountains would be cool@Gina this is how i imagine greece.
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It doesn't help that I'm a snobby little Goldilocks that is searching for a place that feels "just right" based on:
- sunny and coastal
- green nature
- access to outdoor sports
- a tech community around
- an expat community that is not retirees
- generally educated populace around
- indoor sports such as a bouldering hall, crossfit gym and yoga studio
- able to buy a house with a garden for max €500k.
- within 1.5 hrs of an international airport
- mountains would be cool@Gina As a retiree bound for Spain after nearly 2 years of research, this actually seems do-able.
FWIW, the advice I keep getting is emphatically "Learn to speak Spanish as quickly as possible"
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It doesn't help that I'm a snobby little Goldilocks that is searching for a place that feels "just right" based on:
- sunny and coastal
- green nature
- access to outdoor sports
- a tech community around
- an expat community that is not retirees
- generally educated populace around
- indoor sports such as a bouldering hall, crossfit gym and yoga studio
- able to buy a house with a garden for max €500k.
- within 1.5 hrs of an international airport
- mountains would be cool@Gina I think that only exists in virtual reality.
In real life, sunny & coastal places with all those requirements are going to be hyperexpensive and still burning down every third year, have two months of drought alternating with floods or get wiped out by the increasingly angry oceans before they get a chance to sink under them.
You might have to compromise. A lot
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@Gina this is how i imagine greece.
@willi Greece is amazing, were it not that a lot of places feel very bare because all the young and educated people either moved to Athens or abroad. Athens was a vibe but way too big and busy.
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@Gina As a retiree bound for Spain after nearly 2 years of research, this actually seems do-able.
FWIW, the advice I keep getting is emphatically "Learn to speak Spanish as quickly as possible"
@ericg absolutely. I'd learn Catalan as well, if I ended up there.
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@Gina I think that only exists in virtual reality.
In real life, sunny & coastal places with all those requirements are going to be hyperexpensive and still burning down every third year, have two months of drought alternating with floods or get wiped out by the increasingly angry oceans before they get a chance to sink under them.
You might have to compromise. A lot
@yngmar Australia has it
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@ericg absolutely. I'd learn Catalan as well, if I ended up there.
@Gina Mind the wealth taxes in Catalunya in case you haven't already looked into that.
