I first dreamed of living in Europe during middle school and high school when my family hosted international exchange students from all over the world. I had visited several of them during my university years and I had big plans to graduate and move to Paris.
However, life had other plans for me and after going to law school, having four kids, and settling into life on the East Coast, I had pretty much given up on that original dream.
Then during the pandemic, facing a divorce and soon to be empty nest, the dream came back to me. Since I need to relocate and restart my life anyway, why not make it into an adventure?
With lots of time on my hands, I started researching my options. I first focused again on France, but I had been studying Spanish as my pandemic project and I had some good friends in Spain, so I decided I would go to Spain for three months on a tourist visa as a trial run.
Then I needed to decide where in Spain I would set up. I wanted to test myself and really see how life would be as an immigrant to another country, so I didn’t want to spend that time traveling. This trip would be about negotiating daily life and challenges, not sight-seeing.
I also wanted to be close to Barcelona since it’s one of my favorite places in the world and has easy access to the East Coast to travel back to friends and family. For those reasons, I started researching the Costa Dorada area south of Barcelona and quickly settled on Tarragona.
Tarragona is just an hour south of Barcelona on the Mediterranean with easy access by local and high-speed train and buses. It was also the Roman capital of Hispania and is full of UNESCO World Heritage Sites from its Roman days.
The population is just under 150,000 so it’s big enough to have a lot going on without being overwhelming. And finally, Tarragona has an active expat community which I thought would be helpful as I learned the language and got settled.
I arrived in Tarragona in September of 2022 and knew, almost immediately, that I was home. Life as an immigrant isn’t always easy, but for me, it’s always been fun and challenging.
Tarragona more than lived up to my expectations—there are wonderful parties, events, and cultural celebrations, the architecture and Roman ruins still take my breath away, and the people have been warm and welcoming.
Coming from the United States, the lower cost of living, the incredible health care system, and extensive public transportation system have given me the time and space to settle into my life here and make decisions without the financial stress that I would have had in my home country.
As part of my visa requirements, I needed to get and keep private health insurance for all the five years I could acquire the temporary residency.
The cost was unbelievable to me. One of the biggest hurdles in my life in the U.S. was dealing with health care costs. I almost burst into tears when I got my quote for my plan here. Four years ago, my plan started at €1,100 per year with no copays and no deductibles. I currently pay about €1,500 ($1,708) a year. It covers everything, including dental and vision. I was looking at paying much more than that per month in the States.
Plus, the health care here is beyond excellent. Tarragona has plenty of big clinics where you can get checked for several specialties, and they are super professional and efficient. I’ve been really happy with it.
I’ve also been able to spend time intensively studying Spanish and Catalan, buying and renovating an apartment, and making friends and building relationships inside and outside of the expat community.
After four years in my new home, I can say without question that it’s possible to turn dreams into the reality of a life better than anything I could have dreamed of as a teenager. And I wake up every day to the adventure of that new life!
Sincerely,
Beth Little
Contributor, Overseas Living Letter
