After a number of failed IVF rounds, health issues and the death of their beloved dog, U.S. couple Jason Luban and Selena Medlen were in need of a change of scenery.
The couple, then based in Oakland, California, had pencilled in a trip to Andalusia, Spain, months before, but were unsure whether to go ahead with it when the health of Luban, who has torsion dystonia, a rare movement disorder, began to deteriorate.“We were figuring out how to get him healthy again,” Medlen tells CNN Travel, before explaining that Luban was also grieving the loss of a friend and mentor. “So we had this vacation on the books, and we weren’t sure if he could travel.
“As we left Seville for Ronda, something shifted,” says Luban, an acupuncturist. “The land. The energy. “All the plants were blooming. “Everything kind of came together for just a day or two while we were here,” says Luban, who is originally from Oregon while Medlen is from Texas. “Selena said, ‘If we’re not going to have a kid, I want my life to be f**king fabulous,’” recalls Luban. “And we were like, ‘Okay, what does that look like?’”
Luban jokes that they found themselves walking down the road with their suitcases thinking, “Oh my God, what did we do to our lives?” “It’s probably the reason we stayed,” admits Medlen. “Because it was such a great place for forming community.” “I think we struggled with the siesta concept,” admits Medlen. “We’d be gung-ho to get a bunch of things done, and we’d run into town to do those mundane tasks that we all have to do.The pair admit that it took them some time to transition from being around expats constantly, to integrating within the Spanish community, and say that this is something that they’re still navigating.
While the couple have private medical insurance, Luban was initially admitted to a public hospital, which wasn’t covered under their policy. “Once that happened, within a couple of months, our families were saying, ‘Don’t come back,’” says Luban, explaining that their relatives had been eager for them to return before the election result.
“The biggest thing is that we can manage our stress much better here,” he says. “When we’re not constantly worrying about our safety, money or whatever.”As they only had enough funds to cover a year living in Spain without working, the couple needed to start earning money again in order to extend their time there.
They both try to work around 20 hours a week, and say they’ve been able to live comfortably this way because their money goes much further in Spain.
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