Leaving the City of Angels: A Priest Finds Sanctuary in Madrid

A former teacher and Episcopal priest, Jeffrey Clawson has worked for social justice all his life. And today’s divisive political climate in the US alarms him.

"If you are happy and enjoying life, you don’t have a place for a lot of anger and cruelty. I want to live in a place where people are happy. I find Spaniards to be very happy people."

As a gay man, Jeffrey wanted to find a country where he felt completely comfortable. "My experience is that Spain is one of the most accepting countries for LGBTQ people. I need to feel safe. I’m living with newfound freedom in Madrid."

Jeffrey’s original plan was to retire in Mexico City, where he had visited many times. He says, "I love Mexico City. It ticked the boxes I was looking for. Then I found out Madrid did too." Jeffrey wanted to live in a big city with good public transportation and a lower cost of living. "What I found in Madrid was that the air was so much cleaner than Mexico City."

Jeffrey has secured his residency visa for Spain and is now six months into his new life in Madrid.

Jeffrey was born near Los Angeles and lived most of his life in LA, where he had a career as a public school teacher. After that, he became a priest in the Episcopal Church of the United States. His love of travel took him to many different places in the world, including some, like Mexico City, where he considered living. Right before the pandemic, he was hired to work as a priest for the Church of England in Manchester. As soon as the lockdowns were over, he went to visit a friend in Madrid.

"I really, really liked it," says Jeffrey. He returned to Madrid several times. Although he could have extended his work visa in the UK, he opted not to. "I decided that I wanted to live in Spain, in Madrid."

He originally applied for a self-employment visa at the Spanish consulate in Manchester, so he could work as an English teacher in Spain. "You need a lot of paperwork, a lot of documents, then they all have to be translated into Spanish. Most of the documents are only valid for 90 days. I had all of my paperwork together and ready. A Spanish attorney had looked over everything, and it was good, but I couldn’t get an appointment at the Manchester consulate in time."

It took Jeffrey four months to get an appointment to submit his application. He says, "Then I waited. I waited for months. Finally, I decided to no longer pursue it." In the meantime, he rented an apartment in Madrid and stayed there for the 90 out of 180 days that the Schengen visa allows. When his Schengen time ran out, he traveled to Mexico. Finally, he returned to Los Angeles.

"I began the process all over again," he says, ruefully.

Getting a Visa Takes Patience

For a Spanish Non-Lucrative Visa, prep well, stay patient, and connect with expats for guidance.|©iStock/Vladislav Zolotov

This time, he applied for the Non-Lucrative Visa, which requires less paperwork but doesn’t allow any type of employment. "Indeed, it was quicker. I had no problem in Los Angeles, but it still took time to get the appointment.

A month later, he went to the consulate with all his papers in order. He spent almost an hour going over every document with the official. Finally, she told him that they would keep his passport and send him an email in six to eight weeks to come pick up his passport and visa. "I went home and waited and looked every day. It didn’t take six to eight weeks. It took two weeks. The very next day, I walked into the consulate and picked up my passport. The visa was affixed to one of the pages."

His advice to other North Americans who are applying for residence in Spain: "It’s complicated. What you need at the beginning is patience and perseverance. It can be frustrating. The other thing you need to do is read, read, and re-read the instructions on the website of your consulate because every consulate has its own rules. It doesn’t make sense, but I’ve looked, and it’s true. You have to read those things so carefully, and then have everything in order. You need to know somebody who has already been through the process to help you with questions (see Connect With Expats box below) because the consulates are not going to help you, but it’s an easy thing once you get to the consulate."

Half the Cost of L.A.

Jeffrey explores the stunning arches and intricate details inside Córdoba’s iconic Mezquita.|©Jeffrey Clawson

For Jeffrey, Spain is worth the hassle. Prior to the move, he expected the cost of living in Madrid to be about half that of Los Angeles based on his research using numbeo.com. "But it’s actually less than half because what was not included in that estimate was transportation. In Los Angeles, you just have to have a car. That’s expensive. Public transportation in Madrid is efficient. It’s clean, frequent, and so cheap."

Jeffrey pays €1,500 ($1,627) for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in central Madrid. He says that in Los Angeles, the rent for a similar place would be more than double that, "Even the expensive rents in Madrid are still cheaper than Los Angeles."

He explains that Madrid has many neighborhoods. The more central you are, the more expensive it is. "If you want to move out farther, you’re still connected by very good transportation, and it would be much cheaper," he says.

"I had a fantasy that I would have a window that faced a park in central Madrid. There aren’t many places like that. Madrid has a lot of busy streets. I like that, but I wanted a view of a park. It came to me."

He explains, "My friend Marsha has a friend who owns an apartment and had a tenant leaving. She asked me, "Do you think you might be interested?’ I said, ‘Of course!’ She sent me photographs, and the first thing I noticed was that the living room window had a view of a park. Not only that, there is no street below. I am just facing this beautiful park."

So Safe, So Clean, and the Food!

Jeffrey savors Madrid's diverse, affordable cuisine, enjoying three-course meals and a healthier lifestyle.|©iStock/fotoVoyager

"I know, as with any big city, there are pickpockets," Jeffrey explains, "but I can feel safe even at night. It’s very nocturnal. A lot of people go out at night, late. You’ll see all ages. You’ll see families with young children playing around outdoors at midnight. It’s a very safe place to be walking around in."

Madrid’s cleanliness impressed him, "If you get on a bus in Madrid, it’s just spotlessly clean, and if you get on the metro, it’s spotlessly clean. I remember walking in one of the metro cars and thinking, ‘It looks like it has never been used before, like this is the first group of people who have even stepped on it,’ but I knew it wasn’t. It’s just so clean. They power wash the streets and sidewalks at night at least once a week."

Jeffrey enjoys eating in restaurants and cafes. "The food is so wonderful," he says, "And it’s so much cheaper than in Los Angeles." He can indulge in a three-course meal with wine at midday for the cost of eating at McDonald’s in LA. "Because Madrid is so cosmopolitan, there are restaurants with food from all over the world as well as Spanish food. There’s just no end to enjoying food in Madrid." Nonetheless, because of the Mediterranean diet and less sedentary lifestyle, Jeffrey has lost weight.

Even though he feels far away from US politics when he’s in Spain, Jeffrey remains politically active and continues to vote, which you can still do after you move to another country. "I have not tuned out the political noise… but I’ve turned down the volume in my head. I’ve done a lot of good things. Now I’m at a point where I’m ready to enjoy life."