The pandemic certainly uprooted all of our lives, made me re-evaluate what was important, and eventually I moved to Spain. In early March (2020), my co-workers and I were anxiously discussing the rising Covid-19 infections around our downtown Manhattan office. A week later, my whole office began working remotely. And so my world shrunk to my Brooklyn apartment and the grocery stores down the street.
At this time, I received an important letter from the U.S. government. The government just approved my Fiancé Visa. My partner Laura, a Spanish Citizen from Barcelona, and I agreed to apply for the visa, get married in the United States and begin our new life together in New York City. Nearly a year prior we had gathered all the necessary documents (a large undertaking in itself!), paid the $595 fee, and kept our ongoing WhatsApp relationship strong until our glorious approval letter would come.
The United States and European Union close borders
Except, the United States and European Union closed its borders to each other shortly before our Fiancé visa approval. Furthermore, New York City was at the time the epicenter of the pandemic, and many industries were completely shutting down. If we did indeed proceed to bring Laura to the United States (a legal impossibility all of the sudden), then the both of us would be living in a high-priced New York City apartment with very few job prospects for her. Also my stable job position now seemed precarious as many New York City architecture firms were beginning mass lay-offs. Thus, living in New York City seemed increasingly like a bad idea.
What if instead we could live in Spain? Laura is in Barcelona with her family nearby ready to provide help. The cost of living is much lower than New York City, the EU is a strong diverse economy, and at the time was handling the pandemic much more effectively than the United States. Importantly, if I managed to enter Spain, Laura and I would face a much less involved and costly process of officially registering as a couple than in the United States. Barcelona is also one of Europe’s largest tech hub, and I wanted to transition into the tech. field long-term.
New nations gained entry to the E.U. except Americans
The only problem is that it was still impossible to travel between the United States and the European Union freely. Since March, we paid close attention to updates on travel restrictions. With every passing week, new nations gained entry to the E.U., but American citizens still couldn’t enter. During the summer, my firm laid off several staff members, including myself and my team. I became unemployed for the first time after nearly seven years of continuous employment from my first position. The only way forward now was Spain, and an opportunity to learn as much as possible to transition into tech.
The end of August arrived, and still there were no indicators that the E.U. would grant U.S. citizens entry. Except that in the social media sphere a new handle of #LoveIsNotTourism was trending. From their website, “Love Is Not Tourism is a global grassroots movement dedicated to reuniting binational couples and families who have been forcibly separated by travel bans and border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.” #LoveIsNotTourism became our main source for travel updates. One day on a large #LoveIsNotTourism WhatsApp chat, a member of the group reposted a twitter post. The Spanish Ministry of Interiors announced that they would open up travel to international couples. A day later, Spain became another nation that would allow international couples to reunite.
Everything would be easy now, so I thought
Except that the instructions for submitting the documents to get this new travel approval was unclear. I called the New York City embassy to get clarity, and the staff were also initially unclear on the process. So I called back several times. After several phone conversations the next few days, I then submitted what I hoped to be the right documentation. (a breeze after completing the Fiance visa). A few days after that pass, and I hear nothing from the embassy. So again I call back again and get no status updates whatsoever. After these months of complete uncertainty and drawn-out bureaucratic processes, we knew we were very close to reuniting, but admittedly completely losing our patience. So Laura sent an escalated email with documentation on her end, including her identification as a Spanish citizen. A few hours after the embassy responded.
Finally, I received approval from the Spanish government
I had an official approval from the Spanish government to fly to Spain. Per the stipulation of this approval, I had to get a flight after two weeks from the date of approval. And so I packed two large suitcases, and finally had an incremental small step forward towards a newly revised life plan after nearly a whole year period of complete instability, uncertainty, and rapid changes. I arrive to a nearly empty JFK airport, check in my luggage, and experience a completely empty security line for the first time in my life. Total time of check-in and security: < 1 minute. Thus, I made it to Barcelona at the end of September 2020 during a global pandemic.
After finally making it to Spain, I reflect on the fact that no matter how well you plan, there is no guarantee of success. The pandemic has disrupted not just my life, but seemingly all of our collective human lives. We recognized the futility of maintaining our comfortable status quo as our plans and anticipations for the future did not pan out. Yet throughout this bewildering experience, Laura and I, trusted in each other, and hoped for a brighter future for us. So, was it a right decision to move to Spain? Yes, because we cannot solely hold on to career or the familiar when making a decision. For a truly remarkable life, you have to embrace the unknown and those willing to embrace the unknown with you.