6 Things We (Happily) Don’t Have After Moving to Spain

It’s been a year since my family moved from San Antonio, Texas, to Valencia, Spain. We reduced our belongings by about 97%, which is mind-boggling in itself, but what I want to highlight here are six of those things, some major and some minor, that we don’t have anymore and how not having them has made our lives better. 

Many of you will think we’re crazy and I’m used to that. Hopefully, some will find this illuminating for your own way of living with less. Doing things differently can make one feel odd, but it’s also freeing. And when you get used to how good it feels to live on your own terms, there’s really no reason to try to squeeze yourself into anyone else’s idea of the good life ever again. 

Here are the six things we do without:

1. We don’t have a car. We were already a one-car family, but now we are a no-car family. My hands down favorite aspect of living in Valencia is that we do not need a car. Valencia is a beautiful, walkable, bike-friendly city. We can walk to everything we need. I also do not miss the accompanying car expenses like insurance premiums, repair bills, oil changes, annual registration and inspection, and gasoline.

2. We don’t have a clothes dryer. The washing machine is located in the kitchen next to the sink which is very common in Spain. It takes just 37 minutes to wash a load of laundry. When it stops spinning, we use clothespins to hang everything on the three laundry lines outside the kitchen window or the three lines outside our bedroom window. There’s a nice breeze eight floors up, so the clothes dry quickly.

3. We don’t have a dishwasher. Our landlord offered to purchase a dishwasher before we moved in, but we thanked him and declined. I always hand-washed a lot of dishes, pots, pans and lids anyway, and would rather just have them all done and put away rather than loading a dishwasher and having to put them away later.

4. We don’t have a microwave. We could buy one, but haven’t because 1) I don’t want to lose the counter space and 2) it would encourage buying and consuming processed food. We’re trying to eat a Mediterranean diet, and the temptation to buy frozen snacks and meals would be too great if we had one.

5. We don’t have jobs. We applied for non-lucrative visas that do not allow us to work here. After decades of working, contributing to savings and investment plans, plus the magic of compounding interest, we do not need to work. This has been wonderful and an adjustment for two people who like being productive and still feel the need to accomplish. We’re still finding our footing but it’s nice, and I can’t say enough about how not keeping up with the Joneses has worked for us. 

6. We don’t have a mortgage. We sold our house in April 2021 when the house-buying frenzy was heating up. For most of the 11 years we owned our charming (under 1500 square feet), mid-century house, we enjoyed it. After a while though, maintenance and the expense of older-house repairs became more of a burden. Watering a large yard in Texas results in insane water bills. Definitely don’t miss those! 

These six things are considered necessary by many, but I know there are people like us that wouldn’t mind going carless, quitting their job, downsizing their dwelling and doing without some creature comforts. Please feel free to comment below; I’d love to hear your thoughts. My next post will be 6 Things We (Happily) Have After Moving to Spain.

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Want to know more about our first move abroad? I wrote a book! Times New Roman: How We Quit Our Jobs, Gave Away Our Stuff & Moved to Italy