Livia Dabs

As a fellow immigrant (or expat, if you prefer) in Spain, for the past two years, I sympathize quite a bit with this essay by a U.S. woman who's been living with her family in a small Andalusian town for the past four, and has been loving it. She comments, " Everything I could only dream of in the US happened here in Spain without being filthy rich. Without owning luxuries, my life feels very luxurious" - and proceeds to give great examples. My life in Madrid is more expensive than hers in the province of Granada, but still, I feel like I could not afford to move back to the USA at this point. One example: what my husband and I were laying out for healthcare in the States basically pays the rent on our apartment here, as private health insurance (we aren't yet eligible for free national healthcare) costs us just 100 euros ($113) a month. Groceries are usually cheaper and often of better quality, and the list goes on.