Moving from Switzerland to Jerez
It's exciting and difficult at the same time. I know, I've been there myself.
Making the decision to move to another country is an act of courage. You probably have firm roots in a place, a circle of friends, maybe the perfect job. Life is smiling on you.
But we do it in search of what we feel is missing, knowing that it will make us happier than we already are. In my case, I missed my family and, while I was at it, I missed the sun, the food, the people, the culture, the pace of life ... in short: life in southern Spain.
When we decided to return, we were faced with the big question. Where will we live? Do we want to buy? Do we want to rent?
Before buying, we wanted to experience the city, feel its pulse and see which area and type of housing suited our needs – I hadn’t lived in Jerez for a long time. We decided to rent a place that would allow us to live and work, with a view to keeping it as a workplace in the future.
It had to be on a street that was quiet at night. It had to be central, bright and, if possible, with an outdoor space for enjoying the city's good weather.
Soon we found a ground floor flat in the city centre that met our initial requirements but also needed a little renovation.
But is it possible to renovate a place you are going to rent?
In this case, we were able to do so because the owners were interested in offering a rent-to-buy contract, which combines a property rental with a promise of future sale. It allows the tenant to live in the property and, after an agreed period of time, decide whether or not to buy it. During the rental period, the tenant pays a monthly rent and an initial premium, and if they decide to buy, part or all of that rent is deducted from the final sale price. It suited us because our intention was to turn it into our office once we had bought our permanent home.
So we spoke to the owners and explained our idea of transforming it into a place suited to what we were looking for. When we showed them the project we had in mind, they were amazed. Without a doubt, it was a way to add value to a space that, according to the owners, had been impossible to rent for years because it was never suitable for any use!
Only one wall needed
We decided to knock down the partitions that had been built over the years and put up a single partition that would divide the space into a daytime work area facing the street and a more private area facing the inner courtyard.
We placed the kitchen with the future use of the space in mind and looked for the essential furniture needed to create a cosy and pleasant atmosphere.
In architecture they say less is more. This is how we achieved bright, interconnected, welcoming spaces that are full of life.
When you move from one country to another you leave many things behind, but you also realise that we need very little to have a full and happy life and that the most important things in life do not take up physical space.
On the other hand, the time we have spent living here has allowed us to focus on finding our ideal home, and now we are excited about our next project.
