Exploring the journey of automotive journalists transitioning into retirement, this episode highlights the personal experiences of moving to Galicia, Spain. The discussion covers practical advice on real estate, visa processes, and the joys of a slower lifestyle in a picturesque setting. With insights into financial planning and the bureaucratic hurdles of relocating abroad, listeners gain valuable perspectives on preparing for retirement while embracing new adventures. The hosts share their excitement for the future and the importance of being ready for unexpected changes in one's career.
Topics:retirement planningexpat lifereal estate in spainvisa processesfinancial adviceslow livingcultural adaptationhealthcare in spain
In this episode, we hit the road with automotive journalist Jeff Zurschmeide as he discusses his retirement plans in Galicia, Spain. Jeff offers practical insights into why this region stands out as an affordable, enjoyable, and culturally rich destination for life after a career in automotive journalism. From cost of living to quality of life, this conversation is valuable for anyone considering where—and how—to spend their post-career years.
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"Here we are in the outside Denver on Operation Frodo. We're seeing in the Volkswagen Atlas."
The Volkswagen Atlas is a big SUV that can seat a lot of people and has plenty of room for luggage. It’s made by Volkswagen, a German car company.
The Volkswagen Atlas is a midsize crossover SUV produced by the German automaker Volkswagen. It offers three rows of seating, spacious cargo space, and a range of engine options suitable for families and everyday driving.
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Here we are in the outside Denver on Operation Frodo. We're seeing in the Volkswagen Atlas. I'm with Jeff. How are you Jeff? I am fantastic.
So this is going to be the last podcast, the last episode for 2025. And I guess you and me, you're way ahead of the process already. Get ready for retirement.
Yes. And the last time I did a recording with you, you were working with a star magazine. Like a week later, like you were it. What happened there? Can you tell now?
Oh, you know, I was the editor in chief of the star, which is the membership magazine, Sadie's Ben's Club of America. And you know, just one day they called and said,
we're going to go in a different direction and goodbye. And the local newspaper that I had written for in Portland, Oregon, for some time also was shutting down operations that same week. So I turned to my wife and said,
well, I think I just retired. And turned out we, you know, we were in a good shape to retire. And like all writers, you know, I'm still writing.
And you will ever always continue to. Yes, writers, writers retire when they keel over dead. Exactly.
And so anyway, we started thinking about retirement in the next phase of life. And I just turned 62. And so I thought, you know, if I'm ever going to live overseas, anywhere outside of the United States, I'd better do it now.
Because in 10 years, it's not going to be easier. That's the thing. I mean, sorry for interrupting. But when we get to this age, I'm also 62 and I'm like, you want to be able to do other stuff because why do you want to be on a wheelchair in those long lines?
And then they get into the to the to the airport, I mean, to the plane. And like, you know, wheelchair, you can hardly walk and like, you want to be able to move and do some stuff, right?
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, one of the reasons that I chose Galicia as my destination was, I mean, my wife and I have walked the Camino de Santiago twice.
Yeah. And every time we arrive in Galicia, it just feels like coming home. That's nice.
It's such a wonderful part of the world. And I'm still in Spain, much more affordable than the rest of Spain.
Yeah. I've become really really expensive and popular.
Are these the steel affordable, affordable? It's, it's, it's, it's a slower pace of life. I love the weather there. The climate is almost the same as Portland.
It's a lot like Portland or actually the place where we're going, the climate is virtually the same as Monterey, California.
And so, walkability was going to be huge for us. Yeah.
I got a place that was right, right in the downtown area of this town called Aguarda, which is near the main city.
Oh, it's near Vigo. It's south of Vigo. It's just north of the Portuguese border, which is the River Minio.
And we got ourselves a nice little townhouse right in the downtown area.
So you step out the door and there's cafes and bars and restaurants and everything you need right within walking distance.
Because we want to, we want to walk more. And, you know, again, as we age, we're thinking, you know, having a grocery store around the corner, you know, no bad thing.
And so I'm working on my Spanish, you know, you'll append the end day. Appendient, sorry, I still need work.
So that's part of the process. Yeah. If you don't try, you don't, you don't know. Yeah.
So I'm working on my Spanish so that I'm not a complete American yet when I get there.
And everybody that I've met there in, in Aguarda has been thrilled that my wife and I are going to come and live there.
And I can't wait. I just can't wait. Let's try to make this something helpful for people who are in the same stage of their lives.
So why would we be your recommendations? You obviously have already done a lot of work. And actually you already purchased a place we had.
We're ready. We don't mind sharing like where the prices are, what do you prepare financially for that? How do you do it?
Well, there's, there are lots of options. If you, if you want to live in a flat, you know, in an apartment in Galicia, you can, you can buy one of those nice good sized apartment for, you know, right around 100,000 to 150,000 euros.
I mean, end up right there. Yeah, you can always more by that. But you can buy a decent place that's ready to move into for that amount.
We, we paid 220,000 euros for our townhouse, but that's got five bedrooms and two garage and yeah, lots of it's, it's a really nice house if I do say so myself.
And I would also say just if you're on Facebook, there are multiple, multiple groups devoted to the expat life, you know, and down to really specific areas.
If you want to be an expat in Malaga, if you want to be an expat in Toledo or anywhere you want to go.
And then when you go to actually get started, we did our real estate search on idealista.com, yeah, the idealist plus a.com idealista and that's a, that's a real estate website for old space.
The hotel here in the US, right? Zillow for all of you exactly. In fact, you can, you can look for places anywhere you want in Europe on idealista.
And then we, you know, we started asking on the expat groups for recommendations for a realtor and some advice. And we found this organization called Galicia and Greenspan and they've been fantastic to work with.
They hooked me up with my attorney there in Spain, which you will need an attorney.
That's the other thing. Yeah, there's a lot. It's not just like back and goal. You know, the Spanish are very big on contracts.
And so you need an attorney to make up the contract for the sale and they, they call them abogados over there.
And abogado, not like avocado, not an avocado, not a green fruit, but an abogado, like an advocate.
So they handle all the paperwork and government stuff that you have no prayer of getting through on your own as an American.
Because you also told me you have to translate all the documents by your official translator and see it by the consulate and everything.
Well, that's to get your visa. So we talked about visa. You need you need the real estate agent and the abogado to and a notary to notaries do a lot more in Spain than they do in America.
You need to then that's just to buy your house. Then there's a whole another government process for getting your immigration visa.
And for most Americans, there are two visa options. And one of them is called non lucrative and you cannot have any work income.
Not even, not even digital, no, like you know, that's the other one.
Oh, nomad, where you can have a job outside of Spain. For example, I'm going to keep writing for a couple of magazines here in America.
It's not going to make me a ton of money, but a little bit and it'll help and it keeps my hand in.
So I'm going to ask for a digital nomad. My wife does not plan to work at all so she can go for a non lucrative visa.
So you can't have, you can't work in America. You can't work in Spain. You can't work in Russia.
You just, yeah, and you have to prove that you have enough money in the bank or passive income, like social security pensions and so on.
But it's not very much, right? No, it's not very much. It's about it's about $35,000 for two people for a couple.
Oh, so you don't have $35,000 in savings. If you don't have that amount of money, you're going to find it very difficult to find.
Yeah, and everything else. And then you have to get an FBI background check, which is actually really simple to do.
You just call them up and pay them $50 and they do it. I don't know. I don't know if it's $50.
Did you clear it? Did you clear it? I haven't done it yet. We haven't started on our waiting until our house is closed.
We are on our visa paperwork. But everything, as you pointed out, has to be translated and what they call Apple Steal.
And the translation, you can't do it on Google translated. It has to be translated by a licensed translator of the Spanish language who's licensed to work in Spain.
Yeah, maybe it's a bit of a racket, but I don't know. It's part of the process.
And then it has to be what they call Apple Steal. Apple Steal is just basically notarized.
Oh, okay. Somebody goes and says, yes, this is really you, you are who you say you are.
The real translator did it and all that kind of thing. Yeah, the real translator did it.
And all of that. And then you take all of that and you have to get an appointment at the nearest Spanish consulate, which for me is in San Francisco.
And you go in and they did give you an interview, ask you why you're going to move to Spain and everything.
And so it's a bit of a process, right? It's a little bureaucratic.
Well, it's fun, I think.
What do you say? I mean, why is we're not working that much?
I'm happy to do the work to let the Spanish government know that you're a good person.
I intend to come there. I intend to live there for the next five to 10 years, at least.
And you also have to, as an extra narrow, you have to purchase private health insurance, which in Spain, any American is going to just giggle because it's absurdly inexpensive.
Yeah, it's like a hundred bucks per person per month for full.
And that gives you the same insurance coverage that you get on Spanish national health.
It's like a hybrid basement, knee replacement.
Yeah, whatever you need, it takes care of it.
And then after you've been there for five years on your non lucrative or digital nomad visa, you can get that translated to a permanent resident visa, like a green card.
And then once you get the green card, you're on national health.
And the medical system in Spain is excellent. We've used it. My wife got injured on the Camino.
And we had to just walk in without any insurance and pay cash. And it was still absurdly inexpensive.
Because the health system in Europe, basically outside the US, it's not a business. It's really a health service.
Yeah, it's not a it's not a for-profit industry in Spain.
You get excellent care and at a real bargain price.
So, you know, and that's another reason, right, with the current chaos in the US health care system.
Yeah, I mean, if I stay here and have to buy market rate health insurance, I'm going to have to go back to work.
We don't have enough money.
And if I go and live in Spain, then I'm enjoying my retirement.
So, hopefully that will be helpful for a lot of people who are thinking about this.
I'm going to tell you I have a couple more minutes. I'm doing my own thing in Chile.
So, further away from you, and then the US and all that.
I'm just in the process of building a little house for around the same amount of money that you are.
So, my project decides the construction that will be like to share places.
You can go and visit the Chile when the house is done.
Absolutely, yes.
We can go to Spain and we can come maybe you keep a house in Portland and keep a house in Miami.
So, we can rotate and go around and like so.
Well, you can have the automotive journalist's vacation pool where we go.
They tell me that retired or stay me retired.
Yeah, stay me retired.
So, I mean, it's a great story, I think.
And again, I've been doing a lot of research too and a lot of writing,
actually columns about my experience and all that.
I think the main key is to be prepared and to be mentally ready.
This is going to happen, you know?
Oh, yeah.
So, if you're not ready, if you didn't do your savings, you don't do your planning.
One day, for example, when they surprise you with like getting rid of you at the magazine in the newspaper,
it wasn't a little shocking, but you were ready where, like, thinking about it.
Oh, I knew it was coming.
Exactly.
And that's, I think, the key and the message for people who are listening to it.
And I know that at that stage mentally, get ready because it's going to happen, right?
If you're in your 50s, sock away every dollar you can.
Yeah.
Because they, I might have been probably would have been able to get another, you know, full-time gig, like that editor job.
But I didn't want to.
I, I, by the time the ax fell, I was like, okay, I'm ready to get out of here.
And, but I did.
I spent my 50s, socking away as much money as I could.
Yeah, work hard.
Enjoy too.
But like, get, start getting ready because time will not forgive you.
Well, I won't forgive you.
And you never know when, when you're going to get the ax for any given job.
And you will too.
And you will.
It's going to happen.
All will get the ax.
And I've known people who got the ax in their late 50s from corporate jobs.
And, and we're not ready to retire.
And found that getting hired in your late 50s is really hard.
And especially nowadays with AI, you know, the media outlets closing and cutting stuff and all that.
Yeah, it's really, really difficult.
It's a good time.
If you're a journalist, it's a good time to be retired.
Yeah.
If you, you know, when they tell you, do you want to be 20 again?
I said, no, thank you.
I already went through that.
And people who are 20 don't get into journalism because it doesn't pay anymore.
You won't be able to do what we're doing, right?
Well, I, you know, I've talked to people who are involved in AI and they universally just say, you know, in five years,
we're going to be replacing programmers with, with AI.
I know.
And whether that's true or not, you know, that's, but that's their goal.
Our goal is to get rid of a whole generation of white collar, you know, formerly good family wage.
And our goal is to speak, to enjoy Spain, Galicia's, Estudias, Chile, Miami, Portland.
So, right?
My goal is to, is to eat all the mariscos in Galicia.
Well, I go and visit you and do that.
Thank you, Javan. Good luck.
And again, my invitation is up and when you, when my house is ready, you can come and I'll go and visit you for sure.
Count on it. Thank you.
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Listen to him.
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If you take time without calling someone, it's the moment.
Because more than a conversation, it's your opportunity to say something that will always remember you.
In these parties, share love with a call.
Felices fiestas te desea y ciencia y conectar lo cambia todo.
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