For Regina and John Zdravich, the Italian dream began more than 20 years ago, after a friendship with a young Italian exchange student they were hosting got them thinking about the future.
The couple from Northwest Indiana had no way of knowing at the time it would send them on an intercontinental odyssey that would encompass frustration, homelessness and finally happiness in an unexpected destination.
It was back in 2001 when they formed a close bond with their young lodger, going on to visit her in Italy three times, during which they âfell in loveâ with the country and began to think about what life would be like if they moved there.
âThen we had another foreign exchange student from Germany,â John tells CNN Travel.
âAnd we started thinking, âWell, maybe we would do this, because we kept going back to visit them in Europe.â
Something different
As they got closer to their retirement, the couple, whoâve been married since 1988, started to take the idea more seriously.
âWe had lived in the US all our lives and wanted to try something different,â says Regina, who had several different jobs over the years, but was working as a bookkeeper before retiring.
They were also keen to downsize.
âOur house was too big for us,â says Regina. âAnd we knew we would have to move somewhere. And then we thought, âLetâs just go overseas.ââ
The Zdravichs, who both retired at the age of 62, had gotten to know Italy well during their visits, so it was top of their list of destinations to move to.
After doing some research into the prospect, they decided to go for it, and set about selling their three-bedroom home in Northwest Indiana in 2017.
The couple then packed some of their essential belongings into a crate, shipped them over to Italy, and âstarted getting rid of everything we owned.â
âWe started selling stuff online, as much stuff as we could sell,â says Regina. âWe gave a bunch to charity. It took a long time to get rid of everything.â
According to John, they âdid wellâ from the sale of their house and were âpretty financially comfortableâ as they prepared to relocate.
The Zdravichs left the US for Italy in January 2018, with their cat Sonya in tow. But things didnât exactly go to plan.
They moved into an apartment in Salerno, near Naples, and began the process of applying for an elective residence visa, also known as an Italian retirement visa, a long-stay permit for non-EU citizens with a specific amount of passive income who intend to take residence in Italy.
âWe needed a national fiscal ID (a tax code similar to a Social Security number) and we needed a lease on an apartment proving we had a place to stay,â says Regina.
After three months, the couple returned to the US to complete the rest of the process through the Italian Consulate in Detroit, hoping theyâd be able to return to the country permanently once they had their paperwork in order.
Stumbling blocks
While they provided as much documentation as they could, the Zdravichs say they found the process âan absolute nightmare,â and reached a major stumbling block when they were asked to produce their income tax returns with their retirement income.
âThat wasnât going to happen for another year,â says Regina, pointing out that she had only retired at the end of 2017.
Realizing that they were unlikely to be approved without these details, the disheartened couple chose to withdraw their application, and asked for their passports to be sent back to them.
âThen we thought, âWhat the hell are we going to do?ââ adds Regina.
At this point, the couple, whoâd been staying in Airbnbs in Indiana and northern Wisconsin while they submitted their paperwork, didnât really have anywhere to go.
âWe were homeless,â says Regina. âWe had no home. No car. Nothing. And it was winter in Northwest Indiana, which is snow, ice, all that kind of stuff.â
Unsure of what step to take next, they chose to return to Italy to try to figure things out.
While they were there, the Zdravichs scoured website forums for advice or information from others whoâd been in similar situations and learned that some whoâd struggled to gain residency in Italy had chosen to retire to Spain instead.
âWe thought, âOkay, we can do that,ââ says Regina.
As the couple had never visited Spain before, they decided to travel there to see if it was somewhere they could envision themselves living.
âWeâd been back to Italy a number of times and travelled to quite a bit of the country⌠But Spain had never been on our radar, other than being able to point to it on the map,â admits John.
While in the country, they took a gamble and signed a year-long lease on an apartment so that theyâd have a place to stay if everything worked out.
The Zdravichs then decided to return to the US once again, renting an apartment in Chicago, while they got their affairs in order.
At this stage, John, whose father is from southeast European country Serbia, began the process of obtaining Serbian citizenship, which would ultimately make a move to another European country much simpler if things were to go wrong again.
âWe were kind of located near the Serbian consulate and the Spanish consulate (in the US),â says Regina. âSo then we started the process with both of them.â
Johnâs Serbian citizenship came through after about a month, according to Regina.
The couple were granted Non-Lucrative visas (or retirement visas,) a permit that allows non-EU nationals to live in the country without working or engaging in any professional activity, for Spain, within around three months.
âIt was a process that was like having a full-time job,â she adds.
Spanish move
In August 2018, around eight months after originally leaving the US for Italy, the Zdravichs arrived back in Spain to begin their new lives.
The change of location created much confusion for the couple during their first few months in the country, particularly when it came to the language.
âIt was kind of disorienting, because we had been studying Italian,â says Regina. âAnd literally overnight, we got rid of all of our Italian books and Rosetta Stone and went out and got it in Spanish.â
Despite their disorientation, the couple threw themselves into life in Spain, basing themselves in beach town Oliva, situated in the region of Valencia.
The Zdravichs quickly found that they enjoyed the Spanish lifestyle very much.
âThe Spanish like to have fun,â says John, adding that he finds Spaniards to be âa little more laid back.â
âThis would be a great place to have been 40 years younger. They have their fiestas. We have fun.â
The couple, who had previously bought and renovated homes together, went on to purchase a three-bedroom home in the town of Garcia in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, with two hectares of land for 165,000 euros (around US$184,000) in November 2018.
âWe had horses when we lived in the U.S., and we knew we wanted to have horses again,â says Regina.
âSo thatâs why a place with land was attractive to us. And plus, weâre in sort of a nature-zone area.
âFor us and what we wanted to do, it was just the perfect setting, even though it was in Catalonia, which has its own language and wants to break away from Spain.â
While the house âwas in really good shape,â the Zdravichs went on to spend around 10,000 euros (about US$11,187) on renovation work, and a further 15,000 euros on a new solar power system.
âWeâre actually on the River Ebro, which the Spanish might not think is that big of a deal,â says John.
âBut in the United States, to be living on a major river is, even though I donât fish anymore, itâs nice.â
One of the biggest struggles they say theyâve encountered since relocating has been learning the language, particularly now that theyâre in Catalonia, which has its own language, Catalan â as well as its own parliament and flag.
The autonomous region held a referendum for independence from Spain back in 2017.
âSometimes we get mixed up⌠They speak Catalan, especially in these small towns,â says Regina. âThey want to hang on to their Catalan language.
âAnd we need to know Spanish because all of the official stuff that we have to do is done in SpanishâŚ
âThe fact that there is a second language here, has made our progress a little bit slower I think.â
John points out that many of their friends in the country are retirees from England, which hasnât helped matters.
âWe do take language classes,â he says. âBut since we donât work, we speak English to each other (all the time).â
Another aspect of living in Spain that Regina finds difficult is the use of the metric system.
âIâm baffled,â she admits. âRecipes baffle me because I just canât get my head wrapped around it. Iâm finally getting used to the temperature.â
Affordability factor
The couple, who now have long-term residency cards, have found Spain to be much more affordable than the U.S., particularly when it comes to eating out.
âSometimes itâs almost like you canât afford not to go out to dinner,â says John. âBecause itâs so affordable.
âAnd if you donât like wine, youâre in the wrong place. Because wine here is excellent and itâs affordable.â
The Zdravichs are also full of praise for the countryâs âamazingâ public healthcare system.
They say they bought a private health insurance policy during their âfirst couple of yearsâ in Spain, but were then able to register for healthcare after providing their residency documentation and health records.
Catalonia has its own public health system, which can be accessed by any of its residents.
âJohn had to have back surgery, we didnât pay a penny,â says Regina. âYou go and you buy a prescription, and you can use your pocket change.
âIn the U.S., itâs just insane how expensive health care is. And here it just isnât.â
According to Regina, the couple save a lot of money each year on her asthma medication, which wasnât covered by her health insurance in the U.S.
However, there are some things that are more expensive in Spain.
âWe pay more in income taxes in Spain than what we do in the United States,â she says. âBut I feel like we get a lot for it⌠The roads are in perfect condition. Thereâs a lot of social type services if you need them.â
Although theyâve also found fuel to be more costly in Spain, the couple say that they drive shorter distances now, so this hasnât impacted them massively.
âGoing out to do things is way less expensive than what it is in the US,â says Regina. âSo overall, itâs a lot cheaper to live here.
âLiving in the U.S. on the money that we have, I think it would be a little more tricky.â
The Zdravichs have only returned home a few times since relocating to Spain permanently and say that, while they miss their friends, they donât miss living there.
âAmericaâs pretty much gone off the deep end right now,â says John. âWe watch the evening news every night, and you just sit there and you go, âItâs getting crazier and crazier.ââ
They have no desire to return permanently, and say they keep their visits to a minimum as they find travelling long distances particularly gruelling nowadays.
When reflecting on their unsuccessful attempt to obtain residency for Italy, the couple now feel that things might have turned out differently if theyâd hired an immigration lawyer.
In fact, they say theyâd advise anyone attempting to relocate to a new country permanently to use one, provided that they âhave the money to be able to do that.â
âWe did it all on our own, and it was an awful lot of work,â says Regina. âThereâs a lot of documentation youâve got to pull together⌠You have to be organized.â
Although they were âvery, very disappointedâ to have to give up on their Italian dream in 2018, the Zdravichs are now very happy in Spain and remain in touch with the former exchange student who first introduced them to the idea of living in Italy.
âWe had our hearts set on Italy,â says Regina. âBut in hindsight, I think it might have worked out better.â