Letara’s story: finding her village
Moving your life to a new country is daunting at any stage, but for Letara, who was also navigating motherhood for the first time, it was a whole new beginning. We sat down to talk about slowing down, moving to Spain with a new baby, and finding a village.
When Letara became pregnant during the second UK lockdown in early 2021, something shifted. Like many new mothers-to-be, she and her now husband, Radu, found themselves questioning what kind of life they wanted for their child, and where they truly wanted to raise her.
“We just started thinking about what it would be like to bring up a baby in the UK,” she says. “And whether that was really what we wanted.”
That question opened the door to a place she already knew well. Spain wasn’t unfamiliar: Letara’s dad has lived there for around 20 years, and she’d visited many times over the years. It was somewhere she’d imagined moving to before meeting Radu, but at the time it felt too big a leap to take alone. Having a family changed that.
Why Spain felt like the right place to raise a family
“When we visited my dad while I was pregnant, and I was there with my partner, that’s when it really clicked. We thought this might actually be the best place to raise our little girl.”
The hope was simple: a slower pace of life, more sunshine, and the chance to truly enjoy their daughter’s early years.
Letara’s daughter was just nine months old when the family made the move. They initially stayed with her dad and his partner, which Letara says was ideal at the time. “My daughter was so young that she was happy just to be with me. I was breastfeeding, and it was lovely to slow down with her by the pool, sun on our shoulders, nowhere we needed to be.”
Adjusting to life in Spain with a baby
She credits the good weather and the outdoor lifestyle with making those early days easier. “Ever since my daughter was a young baby, she’s loved being outside and was less content indoors. Back in the UK, when she was tiny, I was always outside pushing her in the pram because that would keep her happy, so I was super grateful that we could spend so much time outdoors in the nice weather.”
Being in such a walkable place was a godsend when Letara’s daughter developed quite extreme motion sickness, which meant the family could only travel short distances. “That’s something you never think about before moving,” she laughs. “It came as my daughter was becoming more active and wanted to explore, but thankfully we found some groups nearby, so that was manageable.”
Building a support network abroad
As Letara thinks back to those early days, she admits one of the hardest parts was the lack of an immediate support network. As someone who once craved mum and baby groups after having my own children, I can’t imagine being a new mum in a new country. Letara nods knowingly. “You don’t have your village,” she says honestly. “But having my dad around and a husband who works from home probably made me feel less isolated than I might have otherwise.”
The first year of motherhood often feels like a blur, and Letara remembers those first few months in Spain as surreal, like an extended holiday rather than real life. It wasn’t until the family returned from a Christmas visit to the UK, about six months after moving, that Spain finally felt like home.
Enjoying a slower pace of life in Spain
As the family settled into their new rhythm, one of the greatest gifts Spain gave Letara was time. “I didn’t start working again until about two years after my daughter was born,” she explains. “If we’d stayed in the UK, I probably would have had to go back to work straight after maternity leave, and that’s not what I wanted.”
The lower cost of living, combined with her partner’s ability to work remotely, made that choice possible, something many families crave but struggle to afford.
Making friends and finding community as an expat mum
While Letara says meeting people often happens naturally through parks, nurseries, and Facebook groups, she acknowledges that it can take time to build a true support network. When family friends moved nearby the year after she arrived, Letara felt her small circle beginning to strengthen, with people to lean on when needed and share the load where possible.
When Letara did go back to work, her daughter joined a private nursery in their Spanish town, and that’s when even more friendships started to form. “Once your child starts nursery or school, that’s when things open up socially,” she says. The party invitations begin, the chats at drop-off deepen, and everyday life starts to feel more connected.
Finding community through culture and connection
And while Letara and her husband were eager to meet locals and connect with the international community, they’re especially grateful for finding a community from Radu’s home country, Romania. “They seemed to find us,” she smiles. “At nursery, in restaurants, by the pool, we just kept meeting them.” Radu is now part of the Romanian church community, and the couple even chose to get married in a nearby Romanian church, where the priest has since become a close friend.
It strikes me that building a village in a new country can be random, messy, and full of surprises, but that over time, you do find your people.
Putting down roots and looking to the future
Almost four years after they first arrived, Letara and her husband are now about to purchase their first home in Spain, a sure sign they’re firmly putting down roots and that the leap was worth it.
When I ask Letara about the future, her hopes are simple. “We want to continue enjoying an easier way of life in the sunshine (although this winter has tested that a little), and a more outdoors-focused childhood for our daughter.”
“I also want her to be bilingual, even trilingual,” she adds. “To grow up spending time outside, enjoying longer days, and having that sense of freedom.”
And there’s one lesson she’s keen to pass on, one she wishes she’d acted on sooner.
“Learn Spanish,” she says without hesitation. “I really regret not doing it earlier. It’s hard when you have a young child, no real village, and work to juggle, but it’s so important. I will do it eventually. I know I will.”
Nearly four years on, the leap that once felt daunting has become the foundation for a slower, sunnier family life, one that so many people dream of.
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