About US
Hi! We’re Frank & Lissette.
In 2014 we left Canada to travel full-time. For 6 years we “slow travelled” the world, usually staying in one location 1-2 months and using it as a base to explore a region. In all we’ve visited about 50 countries during our travels including a year where we lived in Croatia.
We’ve written about our travel adventures on our other blog, The Travels of Bbqboy and Spanky.
In 2019, we decided that 2020 would be the year that we settle down somewhere. We decided that “somewhere” would be Spain.
After Covid locked us down for 4 months in León (in Northern Spain), we made it back to Canada where we applied for a Spanish non-lucrative Visa. We were accepted – and on the 1st of October 2020 we flew back to Spain to start our new lives as Spanish Residents.
So why Mapping Spain? The Travels of Bbqboy and Spanky will always be our primary blog but it’s a general blog about travel, travel destinations, and travel experiences. Readers there might not be interested in always reading about Spain. That’s why we’ve set up this website. Mapping Spain will drill down in greater detail and will cater more to those specifically interested in travelling to Spain and/or looking to settle in Spain as we have. I’ll be writing about Spanish destinations, culture, food, wine, as well as hiking and cycling (a couple of my favorite activities). I’ll only cover Spain on this blog.
We hope our blog helps and inspires, in turn we appreciate any feedback or ideas!
Related: Why Spain? How we got here
Contact info: [email protected]
Looking to work with us? Have a look at our “Work with Us” page on our other blog for more details.
Hello, my wife and I love your web site and all of your articles. We are in our mid – 50’s and interested in buying a condo in Spain to live in a portion of the year and rent the remaining portion of the year. So we have prepared our wish list of what we want in a location, and currently doing our research of the various locations. Your article on “where to live as a retiree in spain” was extremely useful to read. Nerja seems to tick all the boxes for us at this time. We found many rental/property management companies on the internet for Nerja and elsewhere in Spain that will rent and manage your condo for a percentage fee. There are so many that it is intimidating. How do we know that they will do a good job to advertise and promote our condo on the rental market? Do you have any advice on how to select a reputable rental/property management company?
Hi Luc,
I’m sorry, it’s not something we have experience with. I would suggest that once you have found the right location to live, that you join a Facebook group (ever town/region seems to have a FB group with lots of expat members) and that you ask the question there. AS you say, there are so many companies in this line of work and those companies vary by region. So you want to find one that is highly recommended where you intend to move…
Hi Frank,
Wonderful blog with really valuable info.
I’m from the U.S. & looking to retire in Spain in early 2024 on a NLV.
I plan on using an immigration lawyer, and you mention above that you have (or know of)
a really good attorney—I imagine that’s an immigration attorney?
If you would provide their name I’d be so grateful.
Thanks so much & looking forward to your future posts!
Dayna
Hi Dayna. Yes, you’ll see the link here. If you’re interested, just fill out the form and I’ll pass on your contact info. They’re very good, we used them when we did our own NLV.
Thank you for the kind words! 🙂
Greetings, I love your blog! We have no been to Spain and are planning our first trip for this February. At this point we are planning to fly into Madrid train to Malaga, spend a week with friends and then travel the coast to Barcelona and fly home. My question to you is what is the best way to travel from Malaga to Barcelona if we want to do that in 3-4 days and sight see along the way. Our plan was to rent a car but we are wondering if there is a better way?
On another note, can you suggest the best way to rent a home in Spain if we wanted to stay say 4-6 months? We would be looking for a quiet little community probably near the sea and travel from there.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for the kind words!
Why not fly into Malaga? It’ll save you both time and money taking the train. Easy connection to Malaga through Madrid.
As for Malaga – Barcelona…why not do by train? You can go to Granada by train from Malaga in just over an hour(spend at least 1 full day). Then go to Cordoba also by train, takes about 90 min (again, at least one full day). From there it is easy taking the train to Barcelona (with a connection in Madrid). Seems to me easier and less expensive than renting a car and you’ll see some of the most beautiful cities in Spain.
Renting a home 4-6 months: you’d probably have to look for a real estate agent wherever you think you’d want to be. Sometimes best off renting a place on Airbnb the first month while you’re searching for something more long term…
Thank you both of you for this web site and Facebook group.
It’s very helpful for a semi retired oldie like me trying to navigate spain and where to settle down.
Regards Gerard
Just stumbled upon your site and read A. Peachey’s interview about the exact three towns we are pondering! We have 5 more years till the move, but best be prepared and learn as much before hand. We’ll continue to check-in and see what’s new! Great information.
Thank you very much for the kind comment John!
Fabulous website with valuable , well written information. I especially appreciated the review of the various cities on the southern coast with the “pros and cons” and “what we liked” and “what we didn’t like” format.
Thanks for your effort.
Thank you for the kind comment 🙂
Nice site and blog, guys! Always appreciate helpful information. I’d love it if there were some interviews with professionals who are familiar with the local legal procedures, like a lawyer, gestor, realtor, tax consultant…etc. There were many surprises about certain requirements here especially for those who are renting rather than home owners. I’m about to embark on a whole other journey of converting my NLV to something that permits employment, the thought of the process is daunting already! Anyway, keep up the amazing work, guys!
(We’re from Malaysia & Ireland and moved here from Hong Kong after living in several countries in Asia the past decade)
Hi Emily,
Thanks for your comment and suggestion. Yes, we will have a few posts along those lines coming up. The only thing is that many issues (such as the one you mention about converting an NLV) are very specialized and unique. Believe me, I have my own issues 🙂 But if you ever need a good lawyer let me know, we have one that’s been very helpful.
Hello!
I’ve been enjoying reading your articles aand you’ve got us watching YouTube videos, of Nerja! It’s so lovely…
I wonder if you can offer any information regarding some our (not “must haves”) “ would like to haves”:
We are active retirees- originally from NYC, currently living near
Austin, Texas (to be near our grandchild, who’s now turning 20!)… we feel it’s our time, now… we’ve traveled through Europe often but would love to find a permanent location somewhere near Malaga- the main thing that would offer comfort is knowing if there are communities specifically for 55+ folks… urbanizations that’s would offer “age appropriate “ sense of community… preferably in the hills – do you have any idea if those even exist over there? I’ve had a hard time trying to get that info! 🤷🏼♀️ Thanks so much for any input! Beth
Hi Beth,
Thank you for the comment!
Tons of 55+ people here, it’s actually the main demographic among foreigners. I’d even say it’s 60+, ie. retirement age. Especially along the coast. We’re on the young side here 🙂
Lots of places in the hills. How about Frigiliana for example? (we’ve got a visit & video planned in near future).
I hope I’ve answered your question. If not let me know…
Hi Beth and Frank;
We are in similar situation with my husband, who receives a Federal Pension. We live on Long Island NY and looking to move abroad. We are trying to get tax advise here in the US first about what is best to do with our house, pension, future SS, etc, since we are American citizens. Any recommendations will ge deeply appreciated.
Thank you!
Gabriela
John-I’ve started looking into the tax issue and my preliminary investigations do suggest that the 10% tax on pension income provides a significant advantage. What I have also found out is that there is much less property in desirable areas in Portugal than Spain
Hello, thx for the research and postings. Many sites on line say Portugal is favorable over Spain for expats due to a 10% lower tax rate. Got any idea how to confirm this or really see how taxes affect a non-lucrative resident is affected?
You’ve given me a great topic for a future post 🙂 I honestly haven’t looked into any of that.