Original subtitles

This view is priceless.

[narrator] Imagine a world of bargain dream real estate.

-Just $41,000. -[Larry] What?

This is unheard of for the States.

Global destinations.

-Bonjour! -I'm gonna embarrass myself.

Fromagerie.

I love it! Great way to meet your neighbors.

-Yeah. -[Lainey laughs] Yeah.

-[bell tolling] -This architecture is amazing.

And local expert know-how.

[Suzanne] The cost of this in the States --

[Brittnee] I think it would be double for sure.

The cost of living here is so much more affordable

than the U.S.

It is definitely a bargain.

Thank you!

You can afford to live your dream.

Whoo! [laughs]

I can't believe this is going to be my new home.

At a price you never thought possible.

You did incredible!

This is exactly what we came all this way for.

[bell tolling]

-[Shawn] Back to the plaza. -Oh, always back to the plaza.

This whole feeling right now, this is why we're in Galicia.

I love this part.

You ready to find our future home?

-[Shawn] Mm-hmm. -[Lainey] I feel like it's everything

we dreamed about.

Galicia.

This region on the northwest coast of Spain,

is just an hour's flight from the capital, Madrid.

And it's wild.

With 1,000 miles of rugged coastline,

it's where the Atlantic meets Europe.

Galicia is a mecca for hikers,

walking the famous Celtic pilgrimage Camino routes.

And if you're prepared to do the legwork,

you can still buy a bargain home here

for less than $150,000 U.S. dollars.

[Lainey] In New York City, I used to be a full-time dance instructor

for swing dancing, and Shawn was in my beginner class.

We fell in love with Galicia while walking

the Camino de Santiago.

Because of that trip, we decided to uproot

our chaotic lives and embrace a more outdoorsy lifestyle.

[Shawn] We're renting here in Spain, but we really want to buy

a forever home that we can grow into in Galicia.

Being five and a half thousand miles from New York,

finding a bargain home here will need some local expertise.

[Micaela] Spain's been my home for over three years now.

I live, breathe, and sleep property.

This region is a little bit less well-known,

and that means the property opportunities are epic.

-Lainey and Shawn! -Hey!

Hello!

-Here we are in beautiful Santiago. -[Shawn] Yeah.

So tell me, what drew you to this area?

The lifestyle resonates with us.

We like to hike. I like to surf.

[Lainey] We're content creators.

We make videos on the Camino de Santiago route,

and there's just something really special about the region

that just drew us here.

The energy, the culture, the green spaces.

-Price-wise -- -[Shawn] Mm-hmm.

What could you have afforded in New York?

-A really big box. -[Micaela] Oh --

We just reached the point where we said,

"This is too much for us. We'll never own anything

if we live in New York."

Why is now such an important time?

We've spent years working so hard for this.

We've saved so much, and we wanna put our nest egg

into someplace that we can live.

I'm working with $150,000 to $170,000 U.S. dollars.

-Yeah. -Mm-hmm.

And in terms of prices, here in Galicia,

it's 30% or 40% cheaper than Madrid or Barcelona.

So what's the dream?

I love the -- the nature and the solitude

of the countryside. Shawn really loves the coast.

The coast is nice for me, but that's not my --

my number one choice. -[all chuckling]

We want an area that we can walk to at least a bar

or a small grocery store.

What are the true non-negotiables?

[Shawn] Two or three bedrooms would be nice.

We also cook quite a bit, so a kitchen

where we don't bump into each other

or I hit my head on cabinets,

which is what happens in our apartment now.

I would love a view,

even if it's just out one of the windows.

Yeah, and in terms of space outside,

it can be a terrace, a balcony,

or a little garden area. -[Shawn] Mm-hmm.

-OK, this list is getting longer. -The list is getting longer.

The search for a bargain home is starting

in Shawn's dream location --

in a surfer's paradise on the Atlantic coast.

An hour and 20 minutes' drive from Santiago

is the traditional fishing town of Corme.

[Micaela] Why is being close to the sea so important to you, Shawn?

I'm originally from California,

so I kind of grew up going to the beach.

I was a surf instructor back in college,

so it feels really good to have the ocean nearby.

He's like a fish and if he doesn't get his body,

like, in salt water, he just dries out.

While Galician property prices are some of the lowest

in Spain,

Spaniards seeking dreamy summer retreats snap up second homes

on the coast, pushing up prices.

It's up this way.

So the closer you are to the ocean,

the more expensive the house.

But this village still offers plenty of bargains.

[Micaela] So what are your first impressions?

-Salty. -[all laugh]

I mean, we got a view of the water coming in,

which is always nice. -It's the top apartment.

It's turnkey, all newly renovated.

And the most important thing is the price.

Yeah.

-It's $151,000 U.S. dollars. -Wow.

That price on the coast is really rare.

Super rare. Let's go!

Let's go.

-[Shawn] After you. -[Lainey] Yeah, yeah.

[gasps]

-[Shawn] Yeah! -[Lainey laughs]

-Wow! -[Shawn] That's ridiculous.

That's like a million-dollar view.

-[Shawn] Yeah. -[Lainey] This is nice.

-[Shawn] Yeah. -It's really modern.

This beautiful, top-floor apartment

has been renovated

to make the most of the stunning sea views.

With an open-plan kitchen-living area,

one bathroom, and two bedrooms.

[Lainey] It's like an eat-in kitchen too.

-[Shawn] Yeah, yeah, yeah. -[Lainey] I like that, wow.

[Shawn] I mean, it's cozy for sure.

Yeah, but it's got a lot of built-ins.

It looks like it has a lot of storage.

[Shawn laughing] Oh, what the heck!

[both laughing]

-You're not gonna hit your head. -[Shawn] Yeah, I'm not gonna hit

my head. -[Lainey laughs] Yeah.

The feature of the place is the view.

-Yeah, let's check -- -This is gorgeous.

-[Lainey laughs] -But you can't beat that.

[seagulls cawing]

-There it is. You can hear it too. -Aw.

For $150,000 with that view, you're one road away

from the sea.

I mean, I couldn't have done any better.

I'm just really hoping they love it as much as I do.

Honestly, I can't believe the price point for this.

How is this $150,000? [chuckles]

[Shawn] You could never get an apartment like this

in New York for what this is listed at.

[Lainey] Definitely not.

-Ooh. -[Shawn] Oh, awesome.

-[Lainey] This is super modern. -Sweet.

-[Lainey] That's the positives of a smaller apartment. -Mm-hmm.

Is it's really easy to maintain and clean,

so we could just close it up and go on a trip.

[Shawn] Yeah, this is the main bedroom.

OK, it's small, but even the bedroom gets

really nice light. -[Shawn] Yeah, yeah.

[both] Ooh!

-[Lainey] Automatic! -[both laughing]

-[Shawn] The future is here. -Nice.

This is nice, but that means you're gonna sleep well.

-Last room. -This is bigger than I expected.

[Shawn] This would probably be the office.

I don't know if there's any room for a pull-out bed.

-It'd be a little tight. Yeah, for sure. -[Lainey] Mm-hmm.

I am concerned that it's a little small.

-Yeah. -[Lainey] Yeah.

I'm honestly kind of surprised it's in the budget

on the coast with a view. -[Lainey laughs]

My only concern really, would just be storage and space.

Like, where would you put your surfboard?

-In the ocean. -[laughs]

All the time.

It would never come out of the ocean.

Micaela crushed it. Honestly, like this

is gonna be tough to say no to.

[seagulls cawing]

-Hey. -Hi. [chuckles]

So how did I do?

-[Lainey] Wow. -[Shawn] You did really well.

-Absolutely amazing. -Yeah.

But we have to consider that it's not very close

to a train station.

And at the same time, we know we love this area.

You could see yourself going out for a surf in the morning.

-Thumbs up. -I'm blown away.

-It -- it's a really strong start. -Just gonna

give myself. -Yeah, well done.

Next, Micaela's taking Shawn and Lainey inland.

-[Micaela] I mean, that view -- stunning. -[Shawn] Yeah.

[Micaela] This is not at all like the south of Spain.

It's so green here.

This is what we love about Galicia.

House prices drop by a third as you move away

from the coast.

And there's still access to water.

-Ha! Ho! -[Lainey laughs] Oh my goodness!

I think my feet are burning.

-[Shawn] Ha! -[Lainey] This is beautiful.

-This is the hottest corner. -[Shawn] Whoa!

-Wow. It's hot. -[both groaning]

-[Micaela] But we're in the land of thermal spas, you know? -[Shawn groaning]

-[blows sharply] -We have to do this.

-[Lainey] Oh! -[Shawn] Oh, yeah.

I love it.

It's hard to listen to you right now

because I'm too relaxed. -[Micaela] Really?

[all laugh]

-We've lost him. -[Lainey laughs]

You could show us literally anything after this

and it'd be fine.

[Lainey] One of the reasons we left New York City is we wanted to be

more in touch with nature, more green, and Galicia really

ticks all those boxes for us.

Two hours from the coast is Monterroso.

A small town with a twice monthly market,

renowned for its delicious fresh octopus.

[Micaela] The property itself is in a very small stone village,

which I think you guys are going to be enchanted with.

I can see us walking down these roads together,

training for our next Camino.

-[Micaela] This is it. -[Lainey] Wow.

So many beautiful stone buildings.

And buying in a rural area, you get a lot more bang

for your buck.

This next property is four times bigger

than the coastal apartment.

[Shawn] Nice!

Oh, wow!

[Micaela] Pretty special, right?

-[Shawn] Yeah, this is perfect. -[Lainey] Yeah.

This house is on the market for $186,000,

so it is a little bit over budget. -[Shawn] Mm-hmm.

But I can negotiate that for you.

We're less than 10 minutes away from Monterroso.

-Wow. -Big, beautiful stone house.

This is classic Galicia.

-This is what we want. -[Micaela] Head on through.

-[Shawn] Thank you. -[Lainey] Oh, thank you.

[Lainey] This door is huge.

-[gasps] -Nice!

-Whoa! -[Lainey and Shawn laugh]

[Shawn] Oh, man.

[Lainey] Wow, I mean, this is farmhouse dream.

-Look at the chestnut beams. -[Shawn] Oh, yeah.

[Lainey gasps]

This charming traditional stone house comes with almost

half an acre of land.

Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a dining room.

-[Shawn] Super open. -[Lainey] This is Galicia --

the balcony. -[Shawn laughs]

-We could fit the first apartment in here. -[Lainey laughs]

In just the -- in just the entryway.

Does it feel good? Does it feel homey?

-Yeah, it feels really homey. -[Shawn] Yeah.

I could see myself just walking down the lane and going for a hike.

-Being just us. -And then coming back home

and lounging in this beautiful space. -[Shawn] Yeah.

So have I changed your mind a little bit?

I mean, is this enticing you away from the coast?

Yeah, there's a lot to look at,

but this is a super strong start.

-OK, don't hit your head, though. [laughs] -[Shawn grunts]

Like, "I'm fine." [laughs]

-Traditional. -[Lainey] This is big.

-I like a bigger kitchen. -[Shawn] Mm-hmm.

You know, when we cook, I spread out so much.

-Yeah, you do. -I think I could make

a lot of really delicious things in here. -[Shawn] Yeah.

-[Lainey] Wow. -It's a good sized space.

-This is a kitchen I could work with, for sure. -[Lainey] Yeah.

[gasps] Oh, wow.

-This is a huge room. -This is very you.

It's got a really great view of the garden too.

[Shawn] Stone houses don't always have a ton of light.

So I like that I can look in any direction

and it's still pretty well lit.

[Lainey] That's true. It's something to think about,

the temperature is going to be kind of the same

almost all year round

because the walls are so thick. -[Shawn] Yeah.

I like how everything's centered around the courtyard too.

Wait, wait, wait, Shawn, hang on.

Wait -- what's this?

[Shawn laughing] I have no idea.

I gotta know.

Wait -- what?

-[Shawn] Oh, it's -- -[Lainey] It's a well?

-[Shawn laughs] -[Lainey] Wait, I can see the water.

-[gasps] -[Shawn] Check out the top.

-OK. -Oh, my God.

Upstairs are three double bedrooms and a family bathroom.

[Lainey] This is almost like a whole suite over here.

-[Shawn] OK. -[Lainey] This is beautiful.

Oh, this is huge.

-[Lainey] I think this is the biggest bedroom. -[Shawn] Yeah.

I feel like this would be our room.

-This is beautiful. -Very quiet.

-[Lainey] So quiet. -Yeah, nothing.

-It's a restful place. -[Lainey] Mm-hmm, yeah.

Lots of, like, interesting little nooks

and crannies, but it feels pretty peaceful.

[Lainey] Wow, so that place was so different.

Do you feel like it's you?

Do you feel like this is what you're looking for?

-I mean, it's got all those details that I really love. -Mm-hmm.

I do worry about the upkeep -- just the daily cleaning.

It's a lifestyle choice.

-It's a lifestyle shift. -Yeah, yeah.

[Shawn] I don't see a lot of work that needs to be done,

which is great, but we're gonna be at the top of the budget,

and we would probably need to buy a car. -Hmm.

I mean, it's a lot to consider, honestly.

Like, it's different, but I like it.

Galicia, a food lover's heaven.

As well as fresh Atlantic seafood and Albariño wine,

one of the region's specialties is cheese.

-[Micaela] Here we are. -[Lainey] I can smell it.

[cheering] [chuckles]

Hey.

[speaking in Spanish]

[all] Ooh!

[Micaela] Sieving -- sieving out the curds from the whey.

[cheesemaker speaking in Spanish]

-One hand on the base and one hand -- -One hand on the top.

[Lainey] So just move it around, pull it out.

[Micaela] Pressing it and draining it.

[speaking in Spanish]

[speaking in Spanish]

Oh!

-[Micaela] Oh, you turned it over. -[Lainey] OK.

He's made cheese before.

-Let's try one more cheese. -We're trying some different cheese.

[cheesemaker speaking in Spanish]

[crunching]

Delicious and so creamy. You've never had it

as fresh as this.

-Oh, definitely not. -Impossible.

[Lainey] I think we're gonna have to buy a lot of it

for our house, which means we're gonna need a cheese cave.

The list is growing.

What have I done?

Still trying to check off every box on their list,

Micaela has another bargain property

for Lainey and Shawn to view.

Not everyone can often leave

and move to Spain, unfortunately.

So how were you guys able to do that?

We are living in Spain on the non-lucrative visas,

based on our savings for people our age.

We were fortunate enough to save up quite a bit

before we moved to Spain, so we're pretty close

to getting long-term residency.

-That means that we can stay in Spain. -[Micaela] Hmm.

And a big part of that means integrating into the community,

buying something, feeling more permanent,

like literally putting some roots down.

And maybe those roots will be here,

just an hour from the coast in Rábade.

In the northeast of Galicia, this area around Rábade

is a nature lover's paradise.

With lush green valleys, pine trees, beautiful rivers,

and, you guessed it, a Camino Trail.

[dog barking]

Within walking distance of the town is this classic

Galician farmhouse set on its own private plot of land.

-[Lainey gasping] What? -[Micaela laughs]

-This is huge! -There's a lot to take in.

I mean, my first impression is it just has some of those

features that feel so Galician. -Price wise, it's $170,000.

-So we're at the top end of your budget. -[Shawn] Yeah, but --

But I can negotiate that if you love it.

My first thought is this feels like a place

that we could grow. -Mm-hmm.

[Lainey] Try out different things.

[Micaela] Go on through. -[Lainey] Thank you.

-Ooh. -[Lainey] It's a big entryway.

-[Shawn] Solid. -[Lainey] Yeah.

-Wow. -I'm not gonna hit my head.

Oh, it's really tall ceilings. I love it.

The main house has over 5,000 square feet of property,

with a kitchen, dining room, four bedrooms,

and it comes fully furnished.

It also has more than three quarters of an acre

of land and outbuildings.

Wow.

-This kitchen's huge. -[Shawn] This is nice.

This is really nice. Ooh, it's marble.

-[Shawn] It's real marble. -Yeah.

-Wait, look at this old stove. I love these. -[Shawn laughs]

Look at this.

[Shawn] Oh, that's actually a real stove.

-[Lainey] It's a real oven. -Yeah, that's the wood fire.

-[Lainey] Oh, it is wood. -This is super Spanish.

Definitely think we'd have to add a little more pantry

storage space in here. -[Shawn] OK.

-With how much I love to cook. -Right.

Upstairs is a central living room and four bedrooms.

Ooh, I love these wood floors.

-Yeah, this is awesome. -[gasps]

-Oh, I'd hang out up here all the time. -[Shawn laughs]

There's so much light in here. It's so beautiful.

-Yeah, no, this is nice. -Oh -- OK, wait.

That's very me. This is very me.

-That is very me. -[both chuckling]

-I don't even know where to go. There's so many doors. -Yeah.

How's the vibe treating you?

-I mean, you know, I love this old style stuff. -[Shawn laughs]

I know there are more maintenance,

but I really love the details. -Mm. That's a point.

Yeah, yeah. She's already dancing.

No neighbor downstairs.

There's no neighbor downstairs.

You can dance as loud as you want.

You can, like, literally shuffle off

to Buffalo. -Oh, yeah, like this?

Wow.

[Shawn] This is definitely one of the four, but it's small,

but this could be, like, office.

[Lainey] Yeah.

Oh, so this is the other bedroom.

[Shawn] Nice view.

I can see just, like, being able to see out the window

and hear the cows from next door.

I think if we were to buy this property,

we would want to slowly make some changes

just to spruce it up and modernize

a couple things. -Yeah, awesome.

While they view, Micaela's getting updates

on the property so far.

Oh, they absolutely loved it.

Yeah, those views really impressed them.

[Lainey] This house is supposed to be huge,

so I'm so curious what is behind this door?

-Oh. -Oh, man.

[Lainey] Whoa.

There's like another secret house.

[Lainey] OK, there's stairs.

-More. -[Lainey] It's really dark up here.

-[click] -[Shawn] There it is.

Wow! What?

I mean, this could be dance studio.

-Sure. -I don't know.

-[Shawn] Scariest dance studio in the world. -[Lainey laughs]

-Is that a bat? No. -[Shawn laughs]

[Lainey] No, it's like a hook.

-[Shawn] Hey, hey. -[Micaela] Hello, hello.

-How was that? -That was interesting.

It was huge.

So many of those original details that I love.

And it's gonna need quite a bit of work,

so I think the budget is becoming more important for me.

But I've got something else that might make you

even more confused, some news.

-So the seaside apartment are open to offers. -Mm-hmm.

And I think they would take, maybe, as much

as $10,000 off the price. -Oh, wow.

You can buy a lot of surfboards for $10,000.

-[Lainey] Yeah. -I think it's -- yeah, you're confusing us.

There's a lot to weigh up.

[Shawn] What did you think of the first place,

that seaside apartment? -The view was my favorite part.

[Shawn] Really, really good price for that location.

[Lainey] I think it is a bit small.

I just don't know if I can see it there, past five years.

Right.

It just doesn't give us that room to grow.

That stone house was a Galician dream,

like chestnut beams,

interior courtyard, but still open somehow.

The price was higher, though.

[Lainey] That's a big consideration.

But I think my biggest problem was --

well, your biggest problem is the height of the ceiling.

[laughs]

But the countryside cottage was the biggest place we saw

in terms of land space and how much of a project it would be. -[Shawn] Mm-hmm.

I loved the kitchen. We had a dining room.

I think it might be a bit much for us to take on

as our first home.

And that house does feel like it takes a lot of maintenance.

But it would be super fun. I don't know.

I think we could pick any of them.

-Yeah. -They would require adjustments no matter where we go.

[Lainey] Yeah, I agree with that.

We loved all the properties Micaela showed us,

but sadly, they were all either too big, too small,

or too remote. We're still renting in Ourense.

[Shawn] But we do have some news

that has impacted our Galician house hunts.

We're having a baby!

And finding out we're pregnant has changed

our priorities a lot.

[Shawn] But we're definitely looking at some cities along the coast,

so that we have easy access to schools and,

you know, all the sorts of shops

and things that a family wants to do.

We can't wait to start our Spanish family life

here in Galicia.