Madeline Waid and her husband Jim made the decision to retire early in Spain to enjoy a lower cost of living. Their dream quickly turned to tragedy when Jim was diagnosed with terminal cancer, ultimately passing away in 2022.
As they neared their retirement, Madeline Waid and her husband Jim, both from the United States, were eager to spread their wings. The couple, who were based in Randolph, Vermont, had previously considered relocating, but started “seriously looking at getting out of the US” in late 2016. The former anesthesiologist says she didn’t feel as though she had enough money to retire earlier in the United States, and was keen to move somewhere with a lower cost of living.
“I knew I was ready to retire, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to, maybe for potentially many more years if I stayed in the States,” Madeline, originally from Elko, Nevada, tells CNN Travel. Retirement dream Her husband, who’d lived in Germany during his childhood, had “always wanted to move back to Europe” and Madeline became more open to this idea when “politics in the US got more intolerant.” Jim, an IT professor who previously taught in countries such as Iraq, got his wish when they relocated to Spain in September 2019. “It was feasible for us to retire early on his social security, sell our house, move here and live a good life,” she says. “And that’s what we did.” The couple lived a carefree life in Spain together for two years. But everything changed back in 2021, when Jim was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He passed away in late 2022. Looking back on the circumstances that led to their move, Madeline, who has two children from her first marriage, explains that they had initially looked into moving to Germany, where Jim had many fond memories. “Germany didn’t want us because we were old, retired people,” she explains, adding that they also considered South America and Portugal before deciding on Spain. After doing some research into various Spanish destinations, the couple, who married in 2003, settled on the city of Valencia, situated on Spain’s eastern coast, taking a trip over to make sure that it was the right place for the
RETIREMENT SPAIN TRAGEDY CANCER UNITED STATES
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