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In this episode of Spainly Living, Michelle speaks with Carlos Romero, a New Yorker, former Harvard University education technology strategist and AI education consultant, about moving to Spain with his wife and young children in search of a more values led, family centred life.

Carlos shares his journey from New York to Boston, working at Harvard and living what looked like the American dream, to choosing a different kind of wealth: time with his children, safety, sunshine, community, nature, good food and a slower rhythm of life in Spain.

This episode is especially useful for families thinking about moving to Spain, parents wondering whether they can relocate with children and anyone questioning whether career status, long commutes and financial success are worth it when family life feels squeezed.

Carlos explains how Spain had been in his imagination for years, partly through his family history and Latin American background. After first visiting Spain in his twenties, he felt an immediate cultural connection.

Years later, he and his future wife walked the Camino de Santiago together, travelling from Paris through Spain, completing the Camino Primitivo and reaching Finisterra, where Carlos proposed. That journey deepened their love for Spain and planted the seed for a future move.

Michelle and Carlos discuss the practical reality of relocating to Spain from the United States, including saving money, financial planning, preparing documents, getting birth certificates apostilled, applying for the non-lucrative visa, attending the Spanish consulate appointments and organising the move step by step.

Carlos also shares why his father’s advice “make a spreadsheet” became one of the most practical tools for turning a dream into a plan.

Carlos and his family tried different areas of Spain before settling in the Alicante region. They lived in Mallorca, Sevilla and the coast of Granada before identifying Alicante as the best fit for their values: access to beaches, mountains, schools, services, transport, healthcare, an airport, international connections and a strong family lifestyle.

Carlos gives honest insight into the challenges of moving to Spain with young children, including letting go of belongings, starting again, building a new network, finding community, navigating Spanish bureaucracy and understanding what documents and systems you need in place. He also shares one of the biggest practical surprises for Americans moving to Spain: a US driving licence cannot simply be exchanged, meaning many Americans may need to start again with the Spanish driving test, including learning to drive a manual car.

This conversation also goes deeper than paperwork. Carlos and Michelle talk about leaving behind professional status, shedding material possessions, rebuilding networks, choosing values over prestige and doing the inner work required to make such a major life change.

They also discuss entrepreneurship in Spain, AI education, starting a business as an expat, building value in a new market and the opportunity Alicante offers as a dynamic international city that still retains its Spanish character.

This is a thoughtful, practical and deeply human conversation for anyone dreaming of moving to Spain but wondering whether they can really make it work.

As Carlos beautifully says in the episode, moving to Spain may not make your bank account bigger straight away, but it can make you “rich in soul”.