What Moving to Spain Will Be Like For Me

I am moving to Spain this year in August. A long time coming. I am moving for no reason other than I want to. I have been to 35 countries. And in America, I have been to 43 states plus Washington D.C. (that leaves 7 states I have not been to yet. I will still go someday). But for now I’m done seeing stuff here in America. I’m part of the 3% of Americans who have seen between 44-49 states, as of a 2022 survey.

I chose August because that’s when my lease is up here in my apartment in Staten Island, a borough of New York City. From now until then I will go through several phases of getting rid of nearly all of my possessions. I considered keeping my rent-stabilized apartment but decided I do not want to pay for two places anymore. I paid for two places during the years I was bi-coastal between New York City and Los Angeles. Plus, saving money with just one place will better position me to purchase a place in Europe maybe in a few years. Unless I win the lottery. Except I don’t play the lottery. 😏 So how am I doing this?

During the next five months, I will:

Get rid of corporate office clothes I no longer wear. I have been either a hybrid worker or a fully remote worker for over 10 years. Really no reason to keep them. I will donate them to Dress for Success.

Scan in ALL hard copy/physical photos. Some in photo albums (I wish the future me could have told the younger me not to spend so much money on photo albums). The rest are in boxes. Low end estimate is that I have over 10,000 physical photos. (yes, ten thousand). Not sure I can complete this in time. Stay tuned.

Sell all of my inventory in my Ebay store which I’ve successfully been running since 2010. At times it’s been a side hustle. Other times, it’s been more of a significant part of my income. Either way, I still love being an ecommerce retailer.

Start setting aside stuff I will keep. I’m not going to rent a storage space here in America. Instead I have sweet talked some dear life long friends to hold a box or two for me. This is for stuff like the few pieces of childhood keepsakes or Christmas decor I want to keep. But to put it in perspective, this is a small amount, as I plan to sell or donate an estimated 80% of my possessions.

I will even part with my favorite electric calculator (adding machine) that I inherited from one of my first accounting jobs. I still use it, but I don’t need it. It’s more of a sentimental attachment, but I’m ok to part with it.

I’m also getting rid of my high school yearbooks and approximately 15 family reunion T-shirts. I will probably go through a series of reaching out to see if anyone wants these and just ship to them. I also have an old ornament that my cousin handmade and gave to me for Christmas when we were little kids. She is a grandma now, so I’m going to see if she wants it to give to her grandkids. Basically, if I can find a new home for some of this personal, sentimental stuff, I am ok to take the time to do this. If not, I will donate them to Goodwill and they will find new homes.

My estimated timeline is to have the bulk of this done by mid-June. From June through August, I will continue scanning in photos. I will also start getting rid of furniture.

At that point it will be easier to see what I’m left with. The end goal is to have only what I’m taking to Spain that will fit into a large suitcase (but not like a gigantic oversized one). I don’t need to take much.

This is a picture of me that my friend took tonight as we walked back from The Basement, my favorite local bar. I love this short walk home. The sun is setting in the distance towards New Jersey. There is a high school on the right and the street is lined with these tall trees each with their own character. I’m ready to leave this place where I’ve lived for 12 years, but I have loved living here.