I'm Jessica Smith, and I'm 35 years old.

我叫 Jessica Smith，今年 35 歲。

And I'm Eric Smith, and I'm 37 years old.

我叫 Eric Smith，今年 37 歲。

And we actually relocated from Kansas all the way to Spain back in 2021.

實際上，早在 2021 年，我們就從堪薩斯州搬到了西班牙。

And we live in La Grona, Spain with our two and a half year old son.

我們和兩歲半的兒子住在西班牙的拉格羅納。

And also our two rescue dogs.

還有我們的兩隻救援來的狗。

When we first moved here, I was teaching English for the first two years.

我們剛搬到這裡的頭兩年，我一直在教英語。

So I was getting 700 euro every month.

我每個月都能拿到 700 歐元。

We knew we wanted to find a way to live in Spain long term.

我們知道，我們想在西班牙長期生活下去。

And we also knew that we needed to find other ways to eventually make money if we wanted to stay living in Spain.

我們也知道，如果想繼續住在西班牙，我們需要找到其他賺錢的方法。

Jessica actually one day decided to start a TikTok account.

實際上，Jessica 有一天決定開設一個 TikTok 帳號。

Looking for eggs at a grocery store in Spain?

在西班牙的一家雜貨店買雞蛋？

No need to look in the refrigerator section because they're right here at room temperature.

無需到冰箱區尋找，因為它們就在室溫下。

People seem really interested in our lives abroad.

人們似乎對我們在國外的生活很感興趣。

At that point, we never really considered it as a career.

那時，我們從未真正把它當作職業。

We posted our, I guess now famous TikTok.

我們發佈了現在很有名的 TikTok 影片。

I mean, why not La Grona?

我是說，「為什麼不是選擇拉格羅納」？

Not why La Grona?

而不是「為什麼選擇拉格羅納」？

Why not?

為什麼不呢？

Basically overnight, it goes completely viral.

基本上在一夜之間，這部影片就爆紅了。

And we have all these people contacting us, all these news outlets.

所有這些人都在聯繫我們，新聞機構都在聯繫我們。

We did a live interview in Spanish completely on national television in Spain.

我們在西班牙國家電視臺用西班牙語進行了現場採訪。

We quickly realized that this is something that's valuable.

我們很快就意識到，這是一件非常有價值的事情。

Marketing in English for Spain and in Spain isn't common.

用英語為西班牙和在西班牙進行行銷並不常見。

This is something that we realized that we could offer.

我們意識到我們可以提供這樣的服務。

[They are now self-employed content creators promoting their region and living in Spain]

[他們現在是自營的內容創作者，宣傳他們的地區並生活在西班牙]

If you know, you know.

知之為知之，不知為不知。

They're so good.

它們太棒了。

Look how beautiful that is.

看，多漂亮啊。

It's delicious.

太好吃了。

We're still in the first year of really establishing our business.

我們還處在創業的第一年。

So right now we're making anywhere from $1,000 to about $4,000 a month.

所以現在我們每月的收入從 1000 美元到 4000 美元不等。

Just depending on how many jobs we get, how many projects we're working on.

這取決於我們接到多少工作，正在做多少項目。

So we live in La Grona, which is the capital of La Rioja, Spain.

所以我們住在拉格羅納，這是西班牙拉里奧哈的首都。

The city that we live in is very affordable compared to other big cities in Spain.

與西班牙其他大城市相比，我們居住的城市非常經濟實惠。

So it's more affordable than Madrid.

比馬德里更經濟實惠。

It's more affordable than Barcelona.

比巴塞羅那更經濟實惠。

Hello, welcome to our home here in La Grona, Spain.

你好，歡迎來到我們在西班牙拉格羅納的家。

We pay about $915 for rent.

我們的房租約為 915 美元。

We have a big terrace that we absolutely love.

我們有一個大露臺，我們非常喜歡。

This is our terrace, our absolutely favorite part of the house.

這是我們的露臺，也是我們最喜歡的地方。

We love having dinner here almost every night.

我們幾乎每晚都喜歡在這裡吃晚餐。

Cheers!

乾杯！

Cheers!

乾杯！

Right now we're spending around $600 a month on groceries.

現在，我們每月在食品雜貨上的花費約為 600 美元。

That's a lot here.

在這裡算很多錢。

That's a lot here, but I'm married to a chef and we have to go to six different grocery stores to get the right seasoning and we have to get the fresh bread.

在這裡算很多，但我嫁給了一位大廚，我們得去六家不同的雜貨店才能買到合適的調味料，還得買到新鮮的麵包。

It's like another full-time job.

這就像是另一份全職工作。

Should I get the cheap brand or the expensive brand?

我應該買便宜的牌子還是昂貴的牌子？

That's always the question, right?

這一直是個問題，對嗎？

And La Grona in particular, it's a very comfortable city for families.

特別是拉格羅納，它是一座非常適合家庭居住的城市。

Everything is close.

一切都近在咫尺。

That's what I love the most.

這是我最喜歡的。

It's a very comfortable 15-minute city to live in that has a great quality of life.

這是一個去哪都在 15 分鐘車程的非常舒適的城市，生活品質極高。

I love being able to walk everywhere.

我喜歡能走到任何地方。

Depending upon the month for daycare for our son, we pay on average around $230 or $260 per month.

根據兒子日托的月份，我們平均每月支付約 230 或 260 美元。

And that is full-time daycare for us.

這就是我們的全天制托兒所。

For healthcare, we pay about $2,300 for the year and that's for myself, Eric and our son.

在醫療保健方面，我們一年要支付大約 2300 美元，這是我自己、Eric 和兒子的費用。

And that covers dental and everything.

還包括牙科和其他一切費用。

We don't pay any deductibles or anything either.

我們也不用支付任何免賠額或其他費用。

[Jessica and Eric also studied Spanish at the local university]

[Jessica 和 Eric 還在當地大學學習了西班牙語]

Financially, what has changed in how we spend our money is in the United States, we lived our lives inside.

在經濟上，我們花錢的方式發生了變化，在美國，我們的生活是在室內。

So, you know, we had the big screen TV.

所以，我們有大螢幕電視。

You had your, what is it called, PS?

你有你的，叫什麼來著，PS？

PlayStation.

PlayStation。

PlayStation.

PlayStation。

Where here, we found ourselves spending all of our time outside of the house.

在這裡，我們發現自己把所有時間都花在了戶外。

(Speaking in Spanish) We need two orders of champis.

（用西班牙語發言）我們需要兩份 champis。

I mean, we come back in our house to rest, eat, sleep, but that's pretty much it.

我的意思是，我們回到家裡休息、吃飯、睡覺，但差不多就是這樣。

When we lived in the United States, we thought about money all the time.

我們在美國生活時，無時無刻不在考慮錢的問題。

Where here, it's more like the benefits rather than the goal of money.

而在這裡，與其說是為了賺錢，不如說是為了利益。

I've really enjoyed that mental change.

我非常享受這種心理變化。

I was a sous chef at a country club in Kansas and I worked minimum probably 60 hours a week.

我曾是堪薩斯州一家鄉村俱樂部的副主廚，每週至少工作 60 個小時。

60 hours a week.

每週 60 小時。

[Jessica owned and managed her own pet and house-sitting business]

[傑西卡擁有並管理自己的寵物和看家事業]

I thought that was my dream was to manage a business of this type.

我想，我的夢想就是管理一家這樣的企業。

I was completely unfulfilled.

我完全沒有滿足感。

We owned our own house.

我們擁有自己的房子。

We owned two cars.

我們有兩輛車。

We both had careers and good jobs and we had all of these things.

我們都有事業和好工作，我們擁有所有這些東西。

The only thing from your typical American dream that we're missing is having a family.

在典型的美國夢中，我們唯一缺少的就是家庭。

[They spent the next three years trying to have a child]

[他們在接下來的三年裡試圖生孩子]

After we had trouble starting a family.

在我們組建家庭遇到困難之後，

And then the pandemic.

然後發生疫情。

That's when we decided we're going to look into moving to Spain.

就在那時，我們決定搬到西班牙去住。

And at that point, I needed a break so bad.

那時，我非常需要休息。

I was like, sure, let's just act like we're 20 and let's move to Spain and it will be fine.

我當時想，當然，我們就裝作 20 歲的樣子，搬到西班牙去住就好了。

About six months into the process, we found out that we were pregnant.

大約六個月後，我們發現自己懷孕了。

Surprise.

驚喜吧。

All of our family was like, "Oh, of course, you'll stay in Kansas then."

我們所有的家人都說：「哦，那你們當然會留在堪薩斯吧。」

Nobody picks up their whole lives and then is also pregnant and then also doesn't speak the language.

沒有人會在懷孕期間搬家，更不用說還不會說當地語言。

And we both look at each other and we're like, "Well, they have babies everywhere, right?"

我們倆面面相覷，心想：「到處都有孩子，對吧？」

The first 24 hours, we absolutely had a lot of doubts as to whether or not we made the right decision.

最初的 24 小時，我們對自己的決定是否正確充滿了懷疑。

A hundred percent.

百分之百。

[Quinton was born two months after they arrived in Spain]

We wouldn't trade this for the world.

我們不會用這一切來交換。

We love living here.

我們喜歡住在這裡。

We love our daily life.

我們熱愛我們的日常生活。

I would say the biggest thing that we just miss is we wish our families could be here with us.

我想說，我們最懷念的事情就是希望家人能和我們在一起。

But for us, we don't at all regret our decision.

但對我們來說，我們一點也不後悔當初的決定。

Spain is, in my opinion, one of the best places for kids because they can pretty much go everywhere.

在我看來，西班牙是最適合孩子們的地方之一，因為他們幾乎可以去任何地方。

I mean, obviously, we don't take them to like the disco.

我的意思是，很明顯，我們不會帶他們去迪斯科舞廳。

When we go dancing at three in the morning, he does not come with us.

我們凌晨三點去跳舞時，他不和我們一起去。

But basically everywhere else, he comes with us.

但基本上其他地方，他都和我們一起去。

And for me, that's the most amazing part is I can be a mother and also be myself.

對我來說，最神奇的是我既能做母親，又能做我自己。

I don't have to choose.

我不需要選擇。

And in many ways, we are absolutely living our dream life right now.

在很多方面，我們現在絕對過著夢想中的生活。

Spain is our home.

西班牙是我們的家

Spain is where we want to be.

西班牙是我們想去的地方。

So yes, we finally made our dream come true of living in Spain.

是的，我們終於實現了在西班牙生活的夢想。