‘What began as a potentially isolating move has morphed into a gathering of the clan’

We left our home in Dublin at the end of August, 2019, and set sail for France with our two dogs. Aged 55 and 66 at the time and with enough money to keep us going for two to three months, we left Ireland terrified, but optimistic.

Paul was in receipt of a pension and I had high hopes of picking up a job once we settled into the house we had rented for a year in the Pyrenees, just near the border of Spain.

Alas, work was hard to come by in this region and a few short months later with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, things were looking fairly dismal.

Paul’s pension was regular but not substantial enough for the two of us to live on. I had to find a way to earn a living. Experienced in administrative work, I managed to set myself up as a Virtual Assistant and secured some wonderful clients that remain with me today.

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Being in a strange place and still not knowing many people exacerbated the enormity of our move

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Things looked to be on the up and then in 2020 Covid struck. As it was for the rest of the world, the pandemic was a lonely time for us and on many occasions we questioned the wisdom of our move, but we’d made our bed at that stage.

At that time Paul’s son was living in England, and I have three daughters – Sinead, was living in Dublin, Hannah in Hanoi and Emily was working in Northern Ireland. So many families, even those living close to each other, experienced the isolation brought about by the pandemic. For us, being in a strange place and still not knowing many people exacerbated the enormity of our move.

There were positives in it for us as well though. The world quickly adapted to working online, so I felt secure that I would always be able to keep working, which was a big relief. It also brought home to us the importance of family, friends and loved ones. When the world did start to reopen, we were delighted to have our kids come over to visit and to finally be able to give them a taste of life abroad.

What happened next astounded me.

After almost two years of lockdowns and with Paul and I paving the way, Sinead decided to move to Spain with her fiance, Stuart. They moved to the Costa del Sol, to beautiful Mijas. We went to see them at the first opportunity and fell in love with the area.

In Spain, they were tantalisingly near to us, but still quite a trek. They drove up and spent New Year’s Day with us and probably under the influence of the glorious French wine, which we had grown partial to, we made the easy decision to relocate, yet again, down to Spain.

This was so much easier than the move to France and four months later we arrived at our new home in Spain with our three dogs. We had lost poor Alfie in France, but gained two rescue dogs! We drove down over the weekend and working online meant I didn’t even have to take a day off!

I was in my new home office, resuming normal(ish) service on Monday morning. It really was that simple. I completed the necessary registration and went from Micro-Entrepreneur on Friday to Autonomo in Spain on Monday. It was pretty seamless.

Starting over at 55 seemed daunting, but I am so glad we took the plunge four years later

My second daughter, Hannah moved back from Vietnam after the pandemic and now lives in Chania, Crete teaching English and Art, running “Paint & Wine” nights in a couple of different venues.

Emily, my youngest, took a year off and went travelling through most of Asia. She finished her travels by walking the Camino de Santiago and arrived here in Mijas some weeks ago. She is exploring staying here and working as an English-speaking veterinary surgeon.

Sinead and Stuart, got married last summer, and have had an offer accepted on a house less than five minutes’ drive from us.

Paul and I finally tied the knot back in Dublin last August. His son and his wife came to visit us last month and wouldn’t rule out relocating too at some future date.

Starting over at 55 seemed daunting, but I am so glad we took the plunge four years later. I love my life here and I am constantly asked how to get started as a virtual assistant. I have launched a free group offering training and guides on how to relocate and plan to have a coaching/mentoring programme in place soon.

What began as a potentially isolating move has morphed into a “gathering of the clan”, and I can’t say I’m unhappy about that! We’ve been lucky and feel like we are living our “best life”.

Margaret Kennedy is from Dundrum, Dublin. She lived in Leopardstown with her now husband Paul Hodson before they went to Torreilles near Perpignan in France. They now live on the Costa del Sol, Mijas, Spain

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