Thursday, February 5th "You can tell when they really want to live in Sevilla"

Having this web site has allowed me to meet some really great people both online and offline, as well as get some interesting opportunities. I was interviewed by Diario de Sevilla and got a full page article. Not soon afterwards I received many calls from possible clients about website work. It's nice how a plug like that goes a long way. So thanks to Manolo Conradi who writes for the paper in the Vivir en Sevilla section! I also have been asked for some information for a few UK travel magazines, but I am still waiting for the first publication who wants to actually pay me (please write!). Well, I may be old and dead before that happens, so on to other things...

I get a lot of emails from students and people like me with questions or requests for information ranging from something basic to very detailed needs. It's amazing some of the stuff I can overlook, so I like these types of inquiries. Most of you have good intentions, and for some I don't know if you'll ever make it over to live. For some of you I think you'll definitely make it, as you are asking all the right questions and have a plan. Such is the case with Karen, whom I met the other day after trading an email or two. Karen is from California and is here studying for her CELTA certification to teach English to Spanish speakers. She's learning a useful skill, brushing up on her Spanish and getting the feel for Sevilla while her partner (Hi Sean!) is back home keeping everything together in the US for the month. They hope to make it here in a year or two - very realistic with plenty of time to plan all the little details. Karen had plenty of questions regarding all the practical stuff - bank accounts, saved money, furnished and unfurnished apartments, utilities, contracts, agencies, visas, etc. Then some of the other stuff which may not seem so necessary, but shows just how much you can plan ahead - DVD formats, mobile versus land lines, cable television - trying to understand a little more of some of the creature comforts can be important. I especially like the 10 things I was glad a brought question! I think I only came up with about 4 things - all those misc cooking utensils were high on my list, as well as burning my entire CD collection to an external hard drive and some cans of green chile (I spent a year or two in New Mexico!). Finally, Karen's views on politics made it easy for us to get off-topic while returning to the topic. Make sense? Well, "leaning left" can quickly turn into a discussion of the differences between the US and Spain, the social services provided by the government and the like. And that can lead to topics like health insurance, prescription medicine costs and a whole host of other issues.

So where am I going with all of this - I don't know exactly, but a few places maybe:

1. I still have a lot I want to add to this site for those of you wanting to make the move, so I promise to add more information on the practical moving stuff.
2. If you want to move to Sevilla and are settled down somewhere give yourself a lot of planning time.
3. Think like Karen and Sean - start making a list of the little things as well as the big things. The sooner you know the answers the less you have to worry about at the end.
4. It's fun to meet new people - whether online or in person!