Tag: Sara Wilson

Torrevieja is beautiful. Located right along the Mediterranean, there’s a reason why thousands of tourists flock here every year. We live about 10 minutes by foot from the beach—in fact, when you exit our building you can see the sea in the distance.

While it’s great to be a short walk from the water, I found myself looking for something more. Perhaps I thought that Torrevieja would have it all: beach, sun, and European charm. I was expecting small, winding streets reserved only for pedestrians, I was envisioning little shops and cafes each offering a unique experience, I dreamed of beautiful, thoughtful architecture that demands admiration. Torrevieja does have charm, but it’s concentrated around the coast.

Our plan to move sounded great. Come to Spain, join a family business, and create one outstanding tapas restaurant. All the ingredients for success were there: David’s dad is a flamenco performer and David is a chef. The plan just needed to be executed.

David left New York City with three huge suitcases and Sushi, our cat, on the 17th of May. He had stayed just long enough to help pack up our New York City apartment before rushing to get back to Spain to take over the kitchen. He left with 1,000 ideas.

It may sound foreign and make no sense at all, but getting my NIE signifies a very important thing: I exist in Spain! My NIE is kind of like an alien number, and while I really have no clue what it actually means, I know that without it I’m a very insignificant person. With my NIE, I can open a bank account, I can rent an apartment, I can pay my taxes (ugh!), and, most importantly, I can apply for a residency card.

I have officially abandoned my status as a tourist and have simply become someone with status; and I accomplished it in less than two weeks! It was much easier than I expected. So what’s the trick?