Sunshine and Siestas

19/02/2026

So many more people in my network are moving to Spain - and they're moving at my age or later.

Making sense of the bureaucracy, figuring out what area will best suit your and coming up with a budget often takes professional help.

My friend Lisa Sadleir of Moving to Málaga, an award-winning expat relocation service, is offering a five-week course to help you zero in on your roadmap and move to Spain with the smallest amount of hurdles:

https://courses.familylifeinspain.com/course-landing-page

This is not an ad, simply the answer to those of you toying with the idea of finding your place in the sun and doing it hassle-free. From a trusted source who has helped families, retirees and digital nomads make Spain a reality.

This free 4-week online course is for people aged 50+ who have decided to move to Spain and want to be properly prepared.

02/12/2025

Are you following me on Substack yet?

Just about 10 weeks in to our new life in Riyadh, I'm compiling curiosities about life in the Kingdom here: https://substack.com/

You can expect the same authenticity, curiosity and wit on my newsletter. Sunshine and Siestas will remain a time capsule and a love letter to Southern Spain as I revamp the layout and update posts (yikes).

Mashalla you'll follow me over to a new medium!

16/10/2025

Sevilla, Barcelona, Valencia - how to choose a city for study abroad when each is unique? I break down the most popular places in Spain for students in my latest for Typical Non Spanish by Caser

Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla... These are some of the Spanish cities that attract the highest number of students. Discover the best places to study in Spain.

06/10/2025

Habibi, big news on my blog: http://www.sunshineandsiestas.com/2025/10/05/sunshine-and-siestas-and-sandstorms/

04/09/2025

Digital nomad visas have jumped in Spain - nearly 50K were granted last year. Like all visas, they require plenty of paperwork and research. I've made it easy for you to suss out the health insurance you'll need:

Discover the best insurance for digital nomads in Spain and learn about visa requirements, living costs, and ideal cities for remote work in 2025.

27/06/2025

I often get asked about differences in vaccination schedules when moving to Spain with children (or having them here!). Here's a comprehensive guide of what to know.

When you are expecting a baby, you have to consider the vaccination of your child. In this post, we explain the baby vaccination card in Spain.

14/06/2025

My latest for Typical Non Spanish by Caser explores common sports injuries. Currently icing some sore muscles myself on a Saturday night1

09/01/2023

Telemedicine has been growing steadily in the virtual age. Before you talk to your doctor virtually, discover what you need to know before an online doctor consultation.

29/06/2021

Oh, um, hi. Or hola. Or bonjour.

I scrapped together 20 minutes a day and nearly 5,000 words about moving to France. It's been a year since we landed in Lyon already, c'est incroyable!

http://www.sunshineandsiestas.com/2021/06/29/moving-in-france-in-2020-covid/

I have a few more posts I hope to write this summer, but is there anything you're particularly interested in hearing or knowing about?

2020 will be the year that the world stopped for so many. But for me, it’s the year I got to live in France. France was a lovely little séjour, despite those pesky aspects of living abroad. E…

14/04/2021

Oh, hi. Right. The pandemic. Moving to France. I got busy!

But I did an interview about living in Seville (right, we're back as of Christmas). You can read it here:

Cat is a Chicago girl who's lived in Southern Spain since 2007.

09/12/2020

My friends Kris and Tom at Travel Past 50 Travel Community have shared their Christmas traditions from Spain (they lived just steps off the Plaza Mayor of Madrid when they were just married!). We're toning it down this year but the season is truly magical:

Christmas traditions in Spain involve holiday cakes and food, Christmas markets, nativities, and processions. Here are highlights.