Last year, my wife Luci and I made a decision that a lot of people in our life thought might be too risky.
I was working in marketing for a large American corporation and Luci worked in the mental health field. We lived with our daughter, now 7 years old, in our cozy beach bungalow in Ormond Beach, Florida. We had what many would consider a stable life. But we’d reached a point where stability wasn’t the same as fulfillment.
For years, we had worked multiple jobs, took on side hustles, and poured our free time into handmade crafts and artistic endeavors. Every extra dollar went toward our goal of creating a life with more freedom, access to nature and quality time together as a family. It felt like if we truly wanted this, we had to make a change.
We decided to try Spain. I’m Dominican-American, my wife is Cuban-American and we both speak Spanish, which we knew would likely make adapting to daily life somewhat easier. I’d also lived in Spain before, when I worked there as an English teacher 20 years ago.
Over the course of five months we rented out our Florida home, withdrew our daughter from school, packed up our family keepsakes and our art supplies and shipped them all across the Atlantic in a single container.
We boarded that plane for Spain with no guarantee that everything would work out. Our Digital Nomad Visa was still being processed, and we wouldn’t receive approval until after we had already arrived. It was one of the biggest leaps of faith we’d ever taken.
Finding our ‘impossible’ dream home
When we first arrived, we assumed we would have to rent. While we got situated, we stayed in an Airbnb in Alicante. We spent six weeks looking at properties and quickly realized that many rentals were more expensive than we had expected. I remember saying to my wife, “How are we going to afford this?”
Then, in July of 2025, while watching video from a YouTube channel we had followed for years, we came across a 5-bedroom, 2-bathroom 1600-square-foot house for sale in the Andalusian village of Castil de Campos, in southern Spain.
A stunning view of Castil de Campos.Photo: Gabriel Pecot/CNBC Make It
We jumped on it, and bought the home for about $72,000. The price seemed almost impossible, but we were able to pay fully in cash. We don’t have a mortgage.
Each month, we typically pay about $350 for groceries, $116 for water, $116 for electricity, $116 for phone and internet, $230 for health insurance, $127 for our accountant, $103 for social security and $58 for home insurance. Our monthly living budget comes to about $1,216 for our family of three.
We’re surrounded by olive groves and mountains, our neighbors look out for each other and we’ve been able to make this place our own.
Building our business and joining our community
In April, we opened our creative studio in the village. We offer workshops in pottery, sewing, nature-inspired arts, and handmade crafts. We want to provide a space for visitors and locals to slow down and immerse themselves in art.
Our first month we earned just $50. Some might see that as discouraging, but we saw it as proof that someone believed in our idea enough to pay for it. That was enough to keep us going. And thanks to the supplies that we’d shipped across the ocean, we were also able to reduce our startup costs early on.
Inside our craft studio.Photo: Gabriel Pecot/CNBC Make It
I’ve continued working as a freelance marketing strategist, with my income generally ranging from approximately $7,000 to $9,000 per month, depending on my current contracts. That income has allowed us to continue upgrading the property and build the business gradually, rather than expecting it to immediately support our family.
We have invested approximately $60,000 into transforming our home, including the guest house, pool, and outdoor areas. Our home retreat, Stay & Create, will officially open to the public in May 2027.
Our transformed outdoor space. We can’t wait to share it with visitors.Photo: Gabriel Pecot/CNBC Make It
Accessibility, affordability and new adventures
We love how relaxing Castil de Campos is, but there is also so much to do here, and in the surrounding villages like Iznájar, Lucena, and Baena. They always surprise us with something new to explore.
We like to go to Granada for outdoor activities, Jaén for shopping, and Córdoba for a night out in the city. All of them are about an hour away. We can also more accessibly and affordably take trips to places like Barcelona, Madrid and Paris.
Shopping in the village. The cost of living is very affordable here.Photo: Gabriel Pecot/CNBC Make It
We really enjoy Spanish food, but as a Latina family, we’re also drawn to different cuisines and love exploring other cultures through food. Nearby Priego de Córdoba has some lovely tapas spots and fruit and vegetable stands with incredible fresh produce. A van even comes through our village each week delivering produce from local farms.
Our goal when we got here was to travel more, enjoy our lives and spend less. We didn’t want to constantly feel like we were on a hamster wheel. We’ve been able to make that happen, but we’ve also definitely had to adapt to our new environment.
Sharing in art and community at the studio, as a family.Photo: Gabriel Pecot/CNBC Make It
The biggest surprise about living in Spain
I’ve found that moving countries takes courage, but the adjustment isn’t just in the big moments. It’s learning when the shops close, how to get what you need without the conveniences you’re used to, and how to build a routine that works for your family. Those small details are what make a new place feel like home over time.
Definitely the biggest surprise since moving here has been the pace of life. In the US, we’re used to getting things done right away. Where we live, there’s no Uber Eats, for example, and anything you think is super important might be handled tomorrow or next week.
It took some time and adjustment, but now our village feels like home.Photo: Gabriel Pecot/CNBC Make It
In that same vein, the midday siesta surprised us too. It sounds heavenly, but we’re still getting used to planning around it! And since I work with clients in the United States and here, I’m often working across time zones, which can stretch the day in odd ways.
All of this can be frustrating at times and managing logistics and unfamiliar bureaucracy takes patience. But there’s also something beautiful about a place that doesn’t organize every day around urgency.
Looking back, leaving the United States was about choosing to pursue a different definition of success. We’re not chasing after corporate promotions or bigger houses. Now, success looks like mornings overlooking the olive groves, afternoons spent creating art with people from around the world and watching our daughter grow up in a community we love.
Alicia Sanchez is an Afro-Latina marketing strategist and entrepreneur who helps businesses build lasting customer relationships through email marketing, retention, bilingual strategy, and brand activations. Alongside her wife, Luci Peraza, she co-founded Felicita & Faustina, a creative studio and stay-and-create experience in Andalusia, Spain. In their writing, Alicia and Luci bring a marketer’s eye and a business owner’s perspective to entrepreneurship, creativity, and building a life on your own terms.
*Conversions from euros to USD were done using the OANDA conversion rate of 1 euro to 1.16 USD on Sep. 11, 2026.
