Her Husband Moved to Barcelona for Their Relationship; Now She Wants to Leave

From Long Distance to Barcelona

They met at 23, and their relationship began with an intense summer romance. For the next nine months, they navigated the challenges of living apart, visiting when possible and missing each other deeply.

After she took a short-term job in California, he found a place in Barcelona in 2007 so they could be together. Leaving his small Mediterranean hometown, his local business and familiar lifestyle was, she says, one of the most generous things anyone has done for her.

A Life Built Together

The couple continued building their life in Barcelona and married in 2015. She knew the city felt bittersweet for him: He valued their life there, but still felt connected to his seaside hometown. They have kept a home in Peñíscola, a way to maintain a connection to the life he left behind.

Ready for a New Chapter

More recently, she has wanted adventure: living abroad, discovering unfamiliar places and exploring career opportunities in another country. She also hopes to use her journalism experience elsewhere, and has begun considering leaving Barcelona.

She was nervous about raising the idea, even though her husband had never developed a deep emotional attachment to Barcelona. Instead, he was thrilled when she told him she wanted to live abroad, and his remote job gives him flexibility to work from anywhere.

Keeping a Spanish Home

They agreed to keep their place in Peñíscola for Spanish summers, with the possibility of renting it during the sunny spring and autumn months. Moving abroad would take them farther from his hometown and family, but they would still have a home to return to.

Their destination will likely depend on work. She feels they have completed a chapter in Barcelona and is ready to begin another, with her husband encouraging the move.