We are the Burtons - a family of 9 who sold everything we owned and moved from Austin Texas to Valencia, Spain, to embark on an exciting new adventure!
Follow us on our journey as we cope with the joy and drama of living abroad while learning a new language, culture, and way of life. It isn't always easy, but we sure have some fun!
Not sure if you feel comfortable sharing but which type of visa did you obtain? We've been looking into moving to Valencia and the only options we could find were getting sponsored by a Spanish company or non-lucrative. Is there another option we or missing?
Hey great question. We first tried to get a visa as micro biz owners - mad e a perspectus etc and presented the plan but that was rejected quickly. In the end our only real option was the non-lucrative. Maja did all the reading and paperwork and it all went very smoothly (aside from filing in July so once we hit August everything shut down for the month). I believe there is now a digital nomad visa and perhaps some other options that you could look in to. Suerte and many blessings on your adventure!
Glad to help! It’s been a wild ride, plenty of ups and downs. But the good far outweighs the bad. And the bad ain’t really bad - just the stress of learning and adapting and looking a little foolish from time to time. Haha
I love it when English natives speak such a good Spanish. Rare to see and that's why I love the effort. As for your question, as many said, "al" which is a contraction of "a el", in this context means flavored, not being the main ingredient rather than made with cocoa.
So, the other kids knew Texas was in North América !!!... I know from people having sent their kids to study last year of High School to USA (mainly to improve their English), the local kids, when they found out where these kids were coming from, they situated Spain somewhere south of México. Can you believe it ?¿?¿?..., last year of High School and no clue of where Spain was placed in the world map !!!.., they even ignored who had been the founders of so many actual North American towns and gave names to rivers, mountains, canyons, states.....
So true!! We realized the same thing when we told people we were moving! Some people thought it was somewhere in Latin America. They asked, “can you drink the water there?” “Do they have cars.” But we have experienced that it goes both ways to some degree. (I once had a long discussion trying to explain that NYC is not the capital of New York. And that there’s a whole state outside of the island.) All Seems to depend on local school systems, no matter what country your from, and peoples’ own interest in geography, history, travel, etc. But, it’s true, the US could really do better about actually knowing more about the rest of the world. Rather than just tragic news stories from abroad.
@@bbbvoyage I agree. We have to deploy more interest and know more about the world history, both politically and geographically, and stop focusing exclusively on our botton belly/local tales.
Yeah, even us native speakers struggle with accents😂. It's the same in English, Scottish accent or Cockney ridden English was impossible to understand. Some Southern accents in the US are hard too. 😮
Have I told you that it was years living here before I realized (after seeing it written) that Irene IS actually the same name as the EEUU Irene?!🤦🏻♂️ hahahajajajaja
@@bbbvoyage 😂 It doesn’t make sense to my US friends when I say Ee-rehn-ay but when I tell them it’s the Spanish pronunciation of Irene, they get why I use it.
On the meals schedule... keep doing yours, as much as is possible for you. One way or another you'll achieve the goal which is simply... not being hungry, whatever the meal planning. Let's give the body what it asks for, WHEN it asks for it. The whole thing will eventually come to a satisfying enough merger of meal times. Just don't be hungry because "you shouldn't be" at a particular time in the day. But for me as a Spaniard the real touchstone of your adventure is the answer to a single question ¿are your kids happy with their lives? Obviously, they need a time of adaption to be able to judge it, just as they would if the family moved to, say, Wyoming. But in the end, that will be your gauge: your children's feelings about it. Beginnings are never easy (unless you've already been given "it all" out of privilege). I bet starting up your businesses was not a walk in the park... Keep having an open mind, it will work.
Thanks for the encouraging words! The kids are very happy indeed. We’ve been in Valencia 7 years now and they are totally integrated, with good friends and a bright future;) Abrazos!
Something that is not mentioned is that this country has all the requirements so that they do not have stress because the people are very welcoming. In another country it would surely be something else.
Keep up the good work man! No te desanimes. Es verdad que en todos los idiomas, lo más difícil es acostumbrarse a los diferentes dialectos y en español ¡hay muchos! 😊
Una duda, cuando en el minuto 8:49 dices "Americans" no se si sois "argentinos", "cubanos", "chilenos", etc. Yo creía que "América" era un continente, pero seguro que estoy equivocado. ¿Me lo explicas?
Ah, tienes razón! Es un error cultural habitual de mi país. Los estadounidenses siempre nos referimos a nosotros mismos como "American" en lugar de decir norteamericanos. Supongo es porque Estados Unidos es un país muy grande…y posiblemente a que somos egoístas, jaja. También en inglés se dice “The United States Of América” y mientras que otros países de las Américas no ponen "de América" en su nombre. Tb si traduces “estadounidense” literalmente es como decir “United Statian” y en ingles eso suena raro. Espero q me explico bien;) saludos!
Ah, y somos de Texas. “El mejor país de los Estados Unidos!” (una broma de los orgullosos Tejanos. Pq Texas es un estado de los EEUU. El mejor estado;)
Sé que ésto en concreto no es lo que preguntas, pero si las etiquetas de comida son igual que las latas o comida animal, la preposición 'de' o 'al (a el)' también tiene su significado. Por ejemplo, y crema DE CACAO supone que en su composición de ingredientes, hay cacao por un porcentaje mayor al 20%. Mientras que crema AL CACAO, CON CACAO, SABOR A CACAO pueden responder a que tiene menor porcentaje en la composición. Es decir, la proposición DE responde a una mayor cantidad de ingrediente en la composición. Que no lo aseguro, solo he relacionado. Es complicado hablar bien el castellano y no soy lingüista, pero quédate con la que te suene mejor, y pa' alante.
Vuestra historia con la busqueda de colegio en otro país y el problema del idioma, lo he vivido con mi hijo también, pero emigrando de España hacia Suiza! Tuve las mismas inquiétudes !
@@bbbvoyage Seguimos aqui en Suiza, ya va para 10 años...El ya terminó la Uni y trabaja en la HR en la empresa de su primo y bueno habla 5 idiomas y con amigos de diversos países. Al final como padres nos angustiamos más qué ellos 😁
OMG, you two are on your way to having Spanish grandchildren... are you two ready? Grandparents are very important in Spanish culture and spend a lot of time with their grandchildren. And seven children can result in an average of fourteen grandchildren... It's half a joke, enjoy, you are great. In short, more than Spaniards, we are humans who live in Spain. 🙂
To anyone looking to move to Spain with their kids, I strongly recommend you to send them to a private school or at least a semi-private one (the ones called "colegio concertado"), basically because the socialist government has set a recent ideological leftist law for public schools that allows children to pass course without the need of passing the yearly global exams and prioritizing the "immersion" of less advanced students at the expense of the progress of more advanced ones.
@@neiss2 Please don't pay attention to what this neo-fascist says, unfortunately it seems to be a rising trend throughout Europe. Each autonomous community is responsible for the operation of its schools and health care since these are transferred, and Valencia is precisely governed today unfortunately by the right along with ultra-right partners, so imagine the ignorance of this individual, I recommend 100% in Valencian-Catalan since Spanish is sure to be mastered without problems whether they want it or not
Do not join the Whatsapp parents groups! That's hell on earth. Thank you very much for choosing our country to live! There are a number of important choices that you have to make: Tortilla with or without onions, Bullfighting yes or not, Real Madrid or Barça, Mahou or Estrella Galicia. Take your time to choose carefully every one of them 😃, they seem to be trivial but here all of them are important.
Jajaja this is the best comment!! Well, after 7 years in Valencia: - we learned the hard way about the class WhatsApp groups. But it can be very entertaining. Hahaha - tortilla: controversial I know but, big fan of both. Even bigger fan of tortilla with sobrasada or alcachofa - Mahou all the way! - bullfighting: Hard pass - but most importantly GRANOTA!!! Un fuerte abrazo desde valencia;)
Los niños pequeños se acostumbran a todo enseguida. Creo que muchas veces son los adultos los que se estresan más, porque supongo que será difícil vivir en un país extranjero en el que siempre que quieras comunicarte debes esforzarte en hablar otra lengua y comportarse de la manera que se espera en ese país. Imagino es difícil relajarse en esas condiciones. Por otra parte, la mayoría de los extranjeros se acomodan enseguida a la vida en España, donde la gente suele ser hospitalaria y comprensiva, y donde se come muy bien (estamos muy orgullosos de la comida y los extranjeros suelen apreciarla mucho) :D
Exactamente! Los niños son como esponjas y los padres están estresados jaja. Es importante que los padres se esfuercen en no trasladar su estrés a los peques. Hubo momentos duros pero ahora después de 7 años aquí estamos bien integrados y muy contentos. Es como dices, los españoles son súper amables y la comida está muy buena. Aunque echamos de menos la barbacoa texana y la comida tex-mex, jaja! Salud!
Lo mejor es la educación pública, los concertados son un invento de la política de la derecha y la Iglesia católica para que se financien sus colegios con dinero público, Mucho mejor el sistema y el profesorado de la pública con diferencia, porque sus profesores han hecho pruebas para obtener sus plazas y trabajan de forma coordinada y en la privada, los profesores pueden ser familiares del dueño y al ser un negocio deben seguir las directrices de éste.
Es increíble la cantidad de estadounidenses que estan emigrando a España y en concreto a Valencia y mas curioso aún es que vienen buscando tranquilidad y calidad de vida...!!! Saludos de vuestro vecino del norte ( Castellón ) y disfrutar de la vida...
De verdad @josemaria4503 😉 Parece que hay mucha peña que quieren vivir en España y sus alrededores para experimentar una cultura tan rica con tanta historia y una gente tan amable y abierta. Un fuerte abrazo desde Valencia!
@@Marta-rz7iq eso no te lo voy a discutir 😁😁 pero en general el modo de vida en España es más relajado intentando disfrutar más de la vida, el trabajo es la que nos permite vivir así, primero la familia y luego el trabajo.
New subscriber here! We’re from New York and were looking to move to Spain in the next year or so… we’ve been a couple times and we will be there in August to look into neighborhoods/schools ect… we love Valencia too ! Wish u and the family all best!!
Us too!! Where are you from in New York? Were in the Hudson Valley region. We will be there end of August as well looking at the Valencia/ Malga region. Best of luck to you and your family!
