We've lived in Spain longer than Cornwall
Written by Kat
Yesterday was another milestone for us that feels significant: we've now lived in Valencia longer than we lived in Lostwithiel, Cornwall. We celebrated with a homemade paella on our terrace, which is how we celebrated our very first Christmas in Valencia just a couple of days after we arrived.
When we moved to Valencia in 2016 we were only planning to stay a couple of years, but we've enjoyed living in the city so much and met so many good friends that those couple of years have turned into nearly ten.
Our stay in Cornwall felt like a lifetime: we started our company Iteracy, bought a house, got a dog, got involved in countless organisations and events in Lostwithiel and had a very full and busy life.
It doesn't feel like we've been in Valencia that long, but clearly we have! We lived short-term in a few different neighbourhoods but have been in our current apartment for nearly 8 years. There have been significant health events (including the pandemic, that was a couple of years we won't forget), we no longer have the dog (he didn't enjoy the move but did love Valencia in the end), and we've found a new community of friends.
Things are always changing in the city which is endlessly fascinating: buildings get renovated, shops open and close, entire areas have been pedestrianised or turned into parks. We have explored the region fairly extensively but there are always new places to visit (it's a big region).
Of course we still have very close ties to Lostwithiel and Cornwall. Our company is still registered in Lostwithiel, we still belong to Tech Cornwall, the vast majority of our clients are in the UK and most of those are in Cornwall. We're still involved in many groups albeit remotely: Lost In Film, Lostwithiel Business Group - we even send the town newsletter out to email subscribers every month!
It's interesting to reflect on where our home is, definitely Valencia but there's still a big part of our hearts in Lostwithiel. Will we stay in Valencia forever? Almost certainly not, but we haven't got any plans to move right now. After a 3.5 month trip around Europe on bicycles we'd like to stay in one place for a little while!