Palace of the Generalitat
I went to Wikipedia to look up a detail about an important building and there was no English article about it. So I fixed it. Such a fun building the Palau de la Generalitat Valenciana. Continue Reading →
Author: David Wright Gibson
David has spent many years gradually building some understanding of human history. He continues to be fascinated by the way our species works together to create and destroy, to birth and to kill, to love and to hate. He has a particular fondness for the history of the British Isles, and a strong interest in deepening his understanding of European history.
A Path to Tranquility: Stoicism and Buddhism
As I begin again to write more, I wanted to share with my friends some of what I’ve been reading recently about stoic philosophy. I have found this a fascinating subject. I have had the book with which I started my learning sitting upon my shelf for years. So join me as I learn more about living in tranquility and joy. Continue Reading →
Time Travel and History
Time travel. We think of it as a way to experience the past, but do we even truly experience the present? And when we read or write about the past, is it really itself, or still a filtered view of our present? Continue Reading →
A Year in Valencia
We are told a story about retirement. It is a tale full of quiet days, naps, and perhaps some regret that the job is not there to provide interest to the day. Patrick and I do not know who has this retirement, but it is not our experience. This first full year has been full of friends and family, events and excitement, visiting and visitors. We are so very grateful. Continue Reading →
Culture Shift: Retirement and Spain
It has been almost a year now that we have been living in Spain, and more than a year since we retired from our careers. Retirement has brought new perspectives on our work. The emphasis on that work in our lives is thrown into sharp relief by the move away from it, but also by our new life and new friends in Spain. Continue Reading →
Immigration and a new home
It has been a fair few months since I last reported here. As one can imagine, a great deal has happened. Most of this is related to settling into the new home and the new life as a retired person. Here I will report on our experience with the last steps in our first annual Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV). Then I will reflect on some of our experiences of the culture. Continue Reading →
Viviendo el Visado Loco: Making it to Spain
Life is what happens when we were making other plans. We thought our visit to Texas would be short. We thought our visa would be processed quickly. We spent four hot months in Texas. Our new home being finished, we executed our move ahead of our visa approval and received it two weeks after arriving in València. So, visas and relocation are our topics today. Continue Reading →
Transcontinental Visa Drama
I may be a bit bold here in posting this before we have completed the process, but perhaps that is all part of the tension. Every story must have tension. We started our visa planning and document collection in March. We were ready to submit when we learned that the Consulate General of Spain in San Francisco was suffering from staffing challenges that put their visa processing, especially for retirement visas, on hold until late this year or early next. Upon advice of legal counsel, we changed our legal residence to David’s childhood home. This meant rebuilding the documents for the visa submission to Houston. We will detail the documents for the visa in a separate section as many readers will not need the detail. Continue Reading →
No juego con la ley: Purchasing Property in València
We had found a flat that met our needs and more. We established a contract to purchase and headed home to organize ourselves for this delightfully unexpected opportunity. Transactions in Spain, however, are not like transactions in the US. We had a lot to learn about power of attorney, the importance of relationships, reserves and deposits, naked property and usufruct, the need for cashier checks, and the clarity of closing. Continue Reading →
Out of Order: Buying a Home in València
It was not supposed to happen in this order. We were very clear that our visit to València was to be an opportunity to view homes. We were not going to purchase anything. There was an order to this project, and we needed to keep the order. But this is not our first home purchase, and when you see it, you know. Continue Reading →