@ochaos yes I'm excited! We can't retire yet either but can work anywhere remotely. Downsizing in advance will certainly help for when you're ready to move. We're pretty minimalist and have a small space to begin with, but it still feels like a ton of stuff to get rid of when you're downsizing into rolling luggage!
Sold tons of stuff this weekend ahead of the move - turntable, karaoke, Lego, furniture, KitchenAid mixer, instapot... But there's also so much little stuff that's hard to sell and I'd hate to toss. Like a big box of SBCs, various chips, servos, old raspberry Pi's, etc. 🤔 maybe i should just donate a "#maker box" or sell it cheap.
Good luck! If you’re taking suggestions, I would recommend Valencia. Full disclosure: It’s the only city in Spain that I know well, but I know it to be very livable and walkable. The long park of the Turia River is an amazing asset.
@donray yes, please! I visited Valencia and Madrid last April and both had their merits, but Valencia was soo nice and green. The plaza del Ayuntamiento and palm tree lined boulevards... Beautiful.
But then even more important to me is quality of schools for my 4yo and some good diversity. (I'd prefer that my daughter not be the single token non-white kid in class.) And if I can't find a good Indian restaurant I'll be very sad! I think that's where Madrid has the advantage. 🤔 I need to do more research.
I know a family in Valencia that lives in the Exposición neighborhood. They are from Pakistan, and they have 3 kids (2 in school, I think). I could ask them which school the kids go to and how they like it.
The family I know in Valencia sends their kids to Colegio Mestalla -- a public school. The kids seem to like it. My friends live west of the Mestalla stadium a couple of blocks (very nice area). The school is a couple of blocks east of the stadium. The students at the schools are "from India, Pakistan, China, and many Latinos... In the class, there is a mixture of kids." I'm sure there are quite a few local kids, too, although private school are common. https://www.ceipmestalla.com/
@donray thank you, this is helpful! The Spanish school system is soo complicated. It seems we'll arrive just in time for school registration for next year.
There are a lot more private schools (at least compared to where I live), so public schools are not representative of the whole neighborhood. Colegio Mestalla, as a public school, is going to have more kids from families with fewer resources. There are some very rich people in that neighborhood, but their kids could very well go to other schools.
@donray yep, and that's part of why I want public school with regular folks as opposed to something more exclusive. And it's nice that this neighborhood is still wayy more affordable than most of Madrid!
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