Pounding the Pavement

I mentioned in my last post that I had discovered that the way one finds property and works with real estate agencies is different in Spain than in the US and that I may need to change tactics.  I finally decided to make that change, which the real estate agent who I was working with completely understood.  That freed me to go out on my own, stop into the local agencies in the neighborhood, contact agents on places that I would see on the internet, and see lots more places.  It definitely opened the floodgate of possibilities.  I only found

two so far that I had a real interest in.  The one that I had posted a picture of in my prior post turned out to be out of my price range (I looked at two condos, both with similar dimensions, but the one I was interested in was two floors above the other and the agent failed to mention to me that it was 30,000 euros more than the other one was).  There is another one that I am considering and I looked at it again today (Monday).  I think I'll be making an offer on this tomorrow morning.  We'll see what will happen next. This is not stopping me from looking at other condos and continuing to get a feel for the types of units that are available in my price range.

My friend Carlos helping me find the right flat

It's important to mention that I have it been doing this mostly on my own.  A number of friends have offered to help, including my friend Jordi.  However, most of them work during the day, which is the time I am looking at property.  I have been very fortunate, though, to have my friend Carlos, who is from Malaga and is visiting his partner here in Barcelona, to have the time during the day to accompany me in seeing potential homes.  What a difference that makes!  He has been such a help during this process.

I finally did get to register myself in the city. After registering, today I took that paperwork along with my other documents to the national police to obtain my residency card.  I had to go online to set up an appointment, which I did on Thursday.  It all went smoothly and received a receipt that I will take with me in three weeks to pick up my card, after paying 15 euros.  That card is good for one year, which I will need to renew around that time.

In a prior post I mentioned that I set up temporary quarters by renting a room through March 31.  Silly me to think that I would find a place to buy, make an offer, complete the sale, and move in within the first 22 days
of being here.  So, with a little more than a week to go, I realized that I need to figure out what to do.  I first checked with my current place, but I could only stay here until April 2, just two days more.  Luckily, a GMCW chorus friend passed me the name of an American friend who lives in Barcelona.  I had lunch with him and his partner on Friday.  During our conversation, I mentioned my situation.  He responded by saying that his ex has a roommate who is leaving and is looking for someone to rent his second bedroom.  We both went over tonight to meet his ex and to see if this is something I would like to do.  It's in a great location and I will actually have more space and a private bathroom for less money than I spent in my current location.  Also, it's a flexible arrangement in that I can stay there for as long as I need until I have my own place that is ready for me to move into.  I feel very fortunate!

Finally, I found out that my things that I shipped by boat will be arriving around April 7.  It may sit in the port

for a while before I get a call to go down and pick it up.  But my fantasy about finding a place before my current lodging expired also included that I would have a place before my things arrived.  Again, I woke up to the fact that I needed to store my things until I actually had a place.  So today I talked with a popular storage facility in Barcelona called Bluespace.  They will be able to store my boxes and even pick them up at the dock for me (for a price, of course!).  So, I am now set to have my boxes stored.  They will prorate however many days or weeks (or months) that I will need to keep my things there.  The prices are reasonable and all in all it's a good deal.

I've Arrived - Finally!

Jordi and friends on my arrival on Tuesday

On Tuesday morning, March 11, I finally arrived to Barcelona, coming here on a one-way ticket. The flight, the bags, going through customs (there wasn't any) all went fine. My friend William was there to pick me up and take me to the place where I was (and still am) renting a room.  After dropping my bags off and pulling out some essentials, I went to the Spanish bank where I have my account, got my bank card, and was able to access the cash that I had transferred. Later I met up with my friend Jordi and some of his friends, some of whom I met in September, to say goodbye to one of them who was leaving for a month to visit his family. It was a very fun evening and my Spanish was being pushed to the max. It was a great start to my new life here.

Office where I need to register with the city

The rest of the week has been more challenging. One of the things that I need to do is to register with the city. But given that I am in temporary quarters, I needed to work with one of my friends here to help fill out the paperwork and to vouch for me. On Thursday I went with everything in hand.  When my number was called I handed the woman my documents.  She quickly looked things up in the database.  Then in rapid Spanish she explained that there was a problem.  My form, which I filled out and my friend signed, had the address number as "117".  But the database shows the address as "117-119".  So, she then printed out a new form to modify the original form, which my friend will need to fill out and sign.  Now that's bureaucracy!  It really wasn't that simple to understand her, and it took a few times to comprehend the crux of the issue.  She said that my difficulty in comprehending this problem is not surprising.  She said that most Spaniards don't understand these types of issues!  I met with my friend soon afterwards.  Although he speaks perfect Catalan, he couldn't understand the form.  He called the whole process "una estupidez" (stupidity) and said that he will accompany me on Tuesday, his first day off of work, to be sure that all questions are answered, the form is filled out correctly to their satisfaction and to also give him a piece of his mind.  Hopefully all will be resolved tomorrow morning.

House hunting is going slowly.  I'm learning that the process to buy a house here is different than in the U.S.

A small but nicely designed possibility

(which is not surprising). One of those differences is in the U.S. we usually work with one real estate agent.  That agent has access to almost all the properties that are available in the area that you are interested in.  The agent sets up times to see these places and he or she takes you around.  However, in Barcelona, there is no central database where everyone shares that information.  Many houses are exclusive to just one agency.  A person seeking to buy doesn't work with just one agent, but rather may go to many different agencies to find the property they are interested in.  What has complicated things for me is that I made arrangements through a U.S.real estate agency who contacted a Spanish real estate agency to work with me.  I met the real estate agent, Maria, last September.  She's very nice, speaks excellent English, and she is someone I believe I can trust.  However, it's a lot of work on her part to set up appointments, negotiate with other agencies to see if they would collaborate with her, and on top of that, she lives outside of Barcelona, so it's an effort for her to meet me in the city.  All in all, I have a lot of free time on my hands.  I want to continue to stick with her this week and see what she comes up with (I'm looking too and sending her links of places that seem interesting).  But it may be that I have to change the game plan and be a "free agent".  If I do that I'll explain that to her before I change tactics.

Another interesting thing about real estate agents and agencies is that they don't do a lot of work on the

weekends. So, this Sunday I met up with a gay group of hikers here and we walked about 13 miles going from one town to another.  We got lost along the way (we hit a few dead-ends and had to back-track), but we  eventually reached our destination at St. Sadurni, a large town that is known for its Cava (Catalan sparkling wine).  We got on the train at 8:10 am to reach our starting point in Capalledes at 9:30 am and finally reached St. Sadurni at 5 pm.  We jumped on the train and returned to Barcelona at about 7 pm.  It was a long day, but a lot of fun, got to speak a lot of Spanish, saw some wonderful vistas and countryside, and my feet felt very sore toward the end!

My Final Week in the U.S.

In less than a week, I'll be in Barcelona for good.  It's hard to believe and sometimes I have to pinch myself to be sure that I am not dreaming.  I am filled with mixed emotions, not because I have doubts about going.  That question had been settled many years ago.  No, I have no regrets.  But in my life there are many people here in the DC area that I will greatly miss.  These last few weeks of visiting with them have reminded me of these friendships and the importance that they have in my life.  Thank goodness for Facebook! (LOL!).  Seriously, although not all my friends and family are on Facebook, and although there are some serious short-comings and frustrations with that particular social media app, it does create a sense of uninterrupted connection with friends, especially those who are not geographically close to me.  I know that I will be using much more of Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, Google Voice with Talkatone, Viber (another VOIP phone app), Vonage and email to stay connected with friends and family here.

Dave, Carol, Chris & I in the Northern Neck (Virginia)

It seems that I timed it just right, giving myself five weeks after I retired to move to Barcelona.  I've been able to get all my packing for shipping done, I got my ID from the federal government (OPM) as a retiree, received my first interim payment (although I received an estimate of my pension from my agency, OPM does the final calculation after a person retires - it takes about 4-6 months - and in the meantime they send a lower-than-expected amount each month until they complete the process and then send the retiree the remainder that was owed him during that period of time), and was able to see friends one last time before I go.  Last weekend Chris and I spent time with Dave and Carol, former OCC colleagues, in their lovely home in Reedville, VA in the Northern Neck.  I came back early on Sunday for Shambhala Day at the Shambhala Meditation Center.  It was wonderful to see all the people I have gotten to know and love at the center.  I'll have one final opportunity to say goodbye to friends this Saturday at my friends' house, Bill and David, who have been so gracious to host a Farewell Party for me in their home.

Also, it has also been such a delight to spend so much time with Chris over these last 5 weeks (see my earlier post about Chris below).  The weather has cooperated too in that regard!  Since Chris is a teacher for the Alexandria school system, he's had a number of days when school was closed or delayed because of the snow.  We've certainly taken advantage of that!  This time together has allowed us to get to know each other better and deepen the love that we have for each other.  I know that my heart will ache tremendously when we part on March 10.  At the same time, I am so excited that Chris will be visiting me for two weeks in July.

I still have lots of details to complete between now and March 10, but it's all very doable and I know I'll be ready for the trip of a lifetime.

Some Photos from My Retirement Party at the OCC

My work friends, Andy and David, sent me the video and the photos they took at my party.  I'd like to share a few of these with you.

Below is a link to a video on YouTube of the gathering of colleagues and talks that my director, best work friend and I gave at my party.

Video of Retirement Party and Talks


Here is the link to all the photos from the party.
All Photos from the Retirement Party

Chris

Life can be very unpredictable and can present us with gifts and opportunities that do not fit into our best laid plans.  At least I am experiencing this phenomena at this time.  Over the last couple of months a very loving relationship has been developing between Chris and me.  And especially over these last five days, it has intensified and deepened.  It was an amazing Valentine's Day weekend, spending almost 24 hours a day with Chris.

What is utterly incredible for me is to see the emotional maturity in both of us to fully embrace the deep love we feel for each other and at the same time know and accept that on March 10 I will be leaving for Barcelona.  You might think it is crazy to get involved in a relationship that will involve indeterminable separation within the next few weeks.  I certainly thought so.  But the feelings that we have both felt
for each other were undeniably real and as we danced around those emotions, we both discovered a strength inside each of us to expose ourselves to both the joy and the pain of this reality.

I don't know how all of this will turn out.  But I do know how rich this relationship has been and how much this has taught me about my own capacity for love.  I also continually hear messages from Chris about how much he has learned and has grown as a result of this honest and caring exploration of each other's love.

Neither of us knows what will become of "us".  But underlying all of this is a deep trust that this is good and right and that it will give birth to more good for each of us, whether together or apart.

Spanish Bank Account

One of the mysteries of moving to Spain was opening a Spanish bank account.  Part of the reason for that is that there are so many obstacles for Americans to open foreign bank accounts due to the restrictions that have been put into place by the US on owning off-shore accounts in order to prevent money laundering, financing terrorism, and  tax evasion.  So even though there are Spanish banks which have branches here in the US and there are US banks that have branches in Spain, there is an impenetrable barrier to bank in both countries from one account.

A friend of mine who is also moving to Spain soon decided to go with Citibank and opened a "Gold" account, which requires a minimum of $50,000 remaining in the account to avoid a number of bank transaction fees when transferring money from a US Citibank account to a Spanish Citibank account.  I considered this, but I was put off by the high balance that I would need to maintain.

My Spanish Real Estate agent recommended to me a Spanish bank called NovaGalicia that have local branches in Barcelona.  She used to work for the bank and helped me to obtain favorable conditions with the bank manager.  Spanish banks generate many more fees than US banks for its clients, so I was appreciative of this offering.

I also learned from a book on buying property in Spain about "Foreign Exchange Specialists" that can provide one with the ability to transfer money to foreign banks with favorable exchange rates and minimal fees - much better than banks.  I decided to go with USForex and opened an account with them.

Over the last few days, I provided the bank with my NIE number (it's a number that I received with my visa, like a social security number, and allows me to make financial transactions, including opening a bank account and buying a house) and other information showing my work status as retired with a pension.

Just this morning I received confirmation about my new Spanish bank account!  That with a US accountant to ensure that I am in keeping with US tax laws, I believe I now have my basic financial structures in place for my upcoming move.

Packing & Moving - Ugh!

In four weeks I will be taking all the boxes that I will have packed up to Baltimore, which then will be shipped by boat to Barcelona.  At first I thought I would just take two suitcases with me and start everything anew.  Well, that thought didn't last long!  But I am constantly trying to find a balance between those "things" that I really do want and need in Spain and the other "chachka" that really holds no significance or serves no future need.  In spite of this constant examination, I will probably take a little more than what I actually should, with the emphasis on "a LITTLE more".

I decided to go with International Cargo/Export Shipping Co.  The information on their website is excellent and their rates seem reasonable.  Having 5 weeks of not working, I decided to do my own packing.  And it just so happens that my new neighbor across the street is in the military and just got back from Italy with tons of sturdy boxes that can be reused.  So I have 8 boxes packed so far.  I'll probably have another 7-9 boxes before I'm done.

I have not moved often in my life and so I find this process to be somewhat exasperating and painful.  My mother used to be a pack rat and I've inherited some of that (just ask Tom!).  This process really reveals my attachment to things.  My Buddhist training is serving me well in seeing those feelings just as they are - feelings - and then deciding whether I should keep it, give it away or toss it.  It's actually pretty liberating!  But I also find that it doesn't get easier, at least up to now.

They said that the shipment should arrive by around April 1. I was actually hoping it would take longer! I may need a temporary storage facility until I find my future home.