In 2005, we were just a young married couple without children from Los Angeles—me, Lia, and my husband Akida—traveling through southern Spain, Andalusia. 

Somewhere between Seville, Córdoba, Málaga, and Almería… we found ourselves in Granada.

In Granda, we made a promise:

"One day, within 10 years, we would live in Spain."

Ten years later, in 2015, then with two young boys, we tried to make that dream real.

What we didn’t realize was, however, is how unprepared we actually were.

We didn’t know we needed visas.
We didn’t know who to trust.
We didn’t understand the Spanish system at all.

We thought relocating would be easy and exciting.

Instead, it was confusing, stressful and overwhelming.

After choosing Barcelona as the perfect city to live in Spain—because it truly has everything—nothing worked the way it should've.

We struggled to find the right school.

We couldn't figure out where to live.

We couldn’t find reliable help.
And the immigration process? A complete nightmare.

That’s when it initially hit me:

Barcelona needs a relocation expert to help families move to Barcelona stress-free.

So, embarrassingly, we had to go back to Los Angeles and we tried to move to Barcelona again 2 years later.

But when we applied for visas 2 years later—they got denied.

We then applied for our visas a second time!

Eventually, we had to fly to Barcelona without visa approvals—because time was running out.

We searched for neighborhoods, negotiated leases in a language we didn’t speak, and had to sign contracts and documentation we didn’t even understand.

It was so stressful it almost broke our family.

At one point, we lost an apartment because of a legal conflict between two real estate agencies that had the same listing.

Basically, everything that could go wrong—did.

Somehow, we kept going.

We learned the relocation to process to Barcelona the hard way—through real consequences, real risks, and real uncertainties.

Then by a miracle, our visas were approved.

We then made the difficult decision to move to Barcelona even though things weren't really settled.

Six months into finally living in Barcelona, just as we were starting to find our footing, everything changed.

My husband lost the business he had built in Los Angeles—overnight.

No warning. No control.

Now we were in a new country, raising two kids, with no clear plan.

That moment forced the decision:

Go back… or build something new in Barcelona?

At the same time, something else was happening.

Despite the challenges, we began to love our new life in Barcelona.

We had to learn to navigate schools, doctors, daily life—in Spanish.
We had created community.
We had turned uncertainty into belonging.

Our kids were thriving.
We were present.
Life felt… better.

Simpler. More real.

This led us to realize something powerful:

Barcelona wasn’t just a place we wanted to live—it was the place we wanted to live forever.

And that’s when everything became clear.

The problem wasn’t Barcelona.

The problem was a stress-free path to relocate to Barcelona.

We had lived every mistake:

• Bad advice
• Broken bureaucratic systems
• Risky decisions
• Untrustworthy Spanish advisors
• Rental scams

This led me to build the solution that I wish we had when we were moving to Barcelona.

So, in 2019, BCN Life was founded—with the mission to be the trusted guide for American families who didn't want to gamble with their move to Barcelona.

We combined firsthand experience with deep local knowledge, and built a service rooted in trust, precision, and American premium quality support.

We have helped over 100 families relocate to Barcelona and live their best life in Barcelona.

No guesswork.
No unnecessary risks.
No costly mistakes.

From securing exceptional homes…

From building dream homes...
To navigating complex visa processes…
To ensuring families land in Barcelona with clarity and confidence.

We make your entire journey seamless.

Because when done right, moving to Barcelona isn’t stressful.

It’s transformational.

You only get one chance to relocate to Barcelona and live your best life to Barcelona.

And when the stakes are this high, “figuring it out” isn’t the best strategy.

I've already walked this path myself—the uncertainty, the setbacks, the consequences of getting it wrong.

This is why I created BCN Life.

So you don’t have to take risks—we've already learned from all of them.

All you have to do is… trust us to help you live your best life in Barcelona.

Sincerely,

Lia Morse Mashaka