Hi Cosby

I am American too and live near Valencia with an 11 year old daughter! We were able to obtain residencia very easily because my daughter has a British passport as well as American. As the mother of an EU citizen they couldn't deny me. Maybe you have a family connection that will help or if you still have your Spanish citizenship it's a no brainer. As for work, I agree with Chris that Madrid will be very expensive and in Spain the salarys are just not compenserate with those in the US or UK. Valencia on the other hand is cheaper to live (if you plan to rent the rents bear no relation to the value of the property - they are very low). I would suggest you try to get work lined up before you come. Apply to multinationals with ops here in Spain. I wouldn't recommend coming without a job hoping to find one. You may end up settling for much less than you are capable of. Additionally, the small Spanish companies do not pay well. If you can work from home and set up autonomo (self employed) expect to pay about 260€ per month social security. The good news about that for us Americans is that it covers medical care for you entire family (wife and kids) and the medical care in Spain is superb. You won't need health insurance. That's it for now. Feel free to write in if you have any more questions.