Two Months Before Our Move Abroad: Selling, Sorting, and Starting Fresh
We’re officially two months out from our move to Spain—and life feels like a chaotic (but meaningful) mix of sorting, selling, signing, scanning, and saying goodbye.
This phase is far from glamorous, but it’s a crucial part of making a big international move happen. If you’re curious about what really goes into preparing for a long-term relocation—or you’re planning your own—here’s what we’re focused on right now:
🏡 1. Selling Our House
One of the biggest decisions we made was to sell our home instead of renting it out.
We knew we didn’t want the responsibility of managing a property from overseas—and we wanted to free up our finances for our new life in Spain.
The process has been… prolonged. What we thought would be a fast and furious process has stretched out so much longer than we anticipated. But we’re getting closer and closer to being on the market, and progress is the priority right now.
What’s helped:
- Keeping a checklist of tasks for both listing prep and moving logistics. We used this simple notepad to make sure we know what each day’s goals are.
- Mentally preparing to let go of a space that’s meant a lot to us
- Reminding ourselves that all the work will be worth it when we’re sipping drinks on a beach in the Mediterranean somewhere
🗂️ 2. Gathering ALL the Paperwork
We’re applying for a digital nomad visa, and the paperwork is no joke. From FBI background checks to apostilles, bank statements, proof of income, and copies of every vital doc known to man (or at least the state of Texas)—it’s a massive undertaking.
To stay organized, we’ve created both an accordion file folder and an external hard drive with every scanned document in English and Spanish.
Biggest surprise so far: How long certain documents (like apostilles or translations) actually take. If you’re doing this, start early and just know it’s going to take longer than you planned!
🧺 3. Paring Down Our Personal Belongings
This is the most emotionally loaded task—deciding what stays, what gets sold or donated, and what comes with us.
We’ve donated boxes upon boxes of clothes, sold furniture, and listed hundreds of items on Facebook Marketplace. We’re bringing only what fits in six suitcases total, so everything has to earn its spot.
What’s helped:
- Asking: Do I love this, or am I just used to owning it? Will it serve my new life? Do I need the item, or just the memory?
- Having a system and sticking to it – we did phases of letting go; it made it easier to handle. I think I did 5 phases to get my clothes does to a manageable amount!
- Using these vacuum bags and a simple luggage scale to test what actually fits and avoid overweight baggage surprises
💻 4. Redefining Work While Redefining “Home”
One of the biggest shifts we’ve made—outside of selling almost everything we own—has been transitioning from W-2 employees to self-employed. We no longer clock in or report to a manager, and that freedom has been both empowering and a little bit terrifying.
Earlier this year, we stepped away from traditional full-time roles and built something new: a mix of contract work, creative projects, and entrepreneurship. That flexibility is one of the reasons this move is even possible. But it also means we’ve had to rebuild every system we once took for granted—paychecks, taxes, healthcare, even defining what a “workweek” looks like.
Remote work is part of what’s enabling our move abroad, but it also forces us to be more intentional about everything. We’ve had to ask ourselves hard questions: What kind of clients do we want to work with? How many hours a week is enough? How do we build a business that supports our lifestyle instead of one that controls it?
There’s no HR department guiding this version of our lives—just the two of us, figuring it out as we go. And honestly? We’re never going back.
🧭 What’s Next
We still have logistics to handle—canceling services, closing accounts, booking our final flights, and completing the packing process.
But even in the overwhelm, we keep reminding ourselves: This is what we’ve wanted. We’re building a life with more freedom, less clutter, and more room to explore.
If you’re planning a move like this—or just dreaming about one—stay tuned. We’ll keep sharing every messy, meaningful step along the way.
– Lauren & Lee
Want a peek at the tools, apps, and gear actually getting us through this move? We’ve added a short list here.
This post contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase through them.
LAUREN & LEE ROBERTS 
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