Part one · 2 steps
Visa & residency
Start the Non-Lucrative Visa (NLV) path
Spain's route for retirees. Plan on roughly $2,786/month of provable income — pension, Social Security, dividends — and expect the consulate to want it documented. The current read:
From our Alicante research
NLV requires ~€2,400/mo (€28,800/yr) for a single applicant plus ~€600/mo (~€7,200/yr) per dependent, so a couple needs ~€3,000/mo / €36,000/yr — figures as of 2026 (pegged to 400% of IPREM; unchanged because Spain passed no new 2026 budget). Proven via passive income (pension, dividends, rents) or equivalent savings. Apply at a US consulate before arrival; renewable, leads to permanent residency after 5 yrs. Important catch: the NLV legally prohibits ANY work, including remote/freelance — it is a true retiree visa. The old Golden Visa (real-estate route) was abolished in April 2025.
Read the full Alicante profile →Get key documents apostilled + certified-translated
Birth/marriage certificates, background checks — start early; it's slow, and every residency application wants them.
Our visa paperwork guide →Part two · 3 steps
Healthcare
Map your care in Alicante
Know where you'd go before you need it — the hospital for something serious, the specialist, the pharmacy that speaks English. Here's our current read:
From our Alicante research
Excellent acute care. Public system (SNS) is high quality but generally closed to non-EU NLV holders, who must carry full private insurance (a visa requirement). Private cover is cheap and good (e.g. Sanitas/MAPFRE/Adeslas, often €100-200/mo for a couple). The Costa Blanca has an unusually deep bench of English-speaking GPs and clinics due to the British population. Major public hospital: Hospital General Universitario de Alicante (Dr. Balmis); strong private options (HLA Vistahermosa, Quironsalud). Top-tier specialist care is a ~1.5-2 hr train to Valencia or ~50 min flight to Madrid/Barcelona.
Read the full Alicante profile →Know what Medicare does — and doesn't — cover abroad
Original Medicare generally doesn't cover care outside the US. Whatever your plan becomes, it has to answer that gap.
Medicare abroad, explained →Compare international / expat health insurance
See what international health plans actually cover — and what they cost.
Part three · 5 steps
Money & taxes
Pressure-test your Alicante budget
A comfortable month in Alicante runs about $3,172 for a couple, at current exchange rates. Build your own version on top of that base — your rent tier, your healthcare, your flights home — and see what's left over.
Build the real monthly number →Understand US taxes as an expat in Spain
You still file US taxes abroad, and FBAR applies once foreign accounts pass $10,000. The country side matters just as much:
From our Alicante research
Worldwide taxation for residents: spend 183+ days/yr and Spain taxes your global income (top marginal ~47% general / ~30% savings; pensions on progressive scale). A US-Spain tax treaty exists and prevents true double taxation via foreign tax credits. US Social Security is contested — the treaty text suggests US-only taxing rights, but the Spanish tax agency increasingly taxes it with a credit. There is NO special flat-tax regime for ordinary retirees (the Beckham regime excludes pensioners/passive income). This is the single biggest downside for affluent US retirees.
Read the full Alicante profile →Set up low-fee international money transfers
Bank wires quietly cost 3–5% in bad FX; specialists are far cheaper.
Have someone check the retirement math before you commit
Plan day-to-day cash + card access (and a backup card)
Check your cards' foreign-ATM fees before you go, and carry a backup card on a different network in case one gets swallowed.
Part four · 4 steps
The scouting trip
Book the Alicante reconnaissance trip
Not a vacation — a rehearsal. Rent in an ordinary neighborhood for a few weeks and live a normal week: groceries, buses, a doctor's appointment, a quiet Tuesday. Getting there and back:
From our Alicante research
No nonstop flights from Alicante-Elche (ALC) to the US. Reaching the US East Coast means one connection via Madrid or a European hub (Lisbon, Amsterdam, Paris, London) — realistically ~11-13 hrs door-to-door including layover. ALC is, however, extremely well connected to the UK/Europe (huge low-cost network), so intra-Europe travel and family visits routing through London are very easy.
Read the full Alicante profile →Compare trip insurance for the scouting trip
Read the safety picture for yourself
Alicante sits under a US State Department Level 2 (“exercise increased caution”) advisory. Check the current one before you book, then weigh it against the on-the-ground picture:
From our Alicante research
Very safe by global standards — low violent crime. Numbeo (2026) crime index ~34-36 (low-moderate), safety index ~64-65. Main issue is petty theft/pickpocketing in tourist zones, the Mercado area, beaches and on transport in summer. US State Dept has Spain at Level 2 ("Exercise Increased Caution"), driven by generic European terrorism risk, not local street crime.
Read the full Alicante profile →Test the season, not the postcard
Every place has a month the brochures skip. If you can, scout in the worst one:
From our Alicante research
Classic Mediterranean: hot dry summers (28-32C/highs) and mild winters (day highs ~16-18C, nights can dip to ~6-8C). ~300 sunny days/yr and one of the driest, mildest winters in mainland Europe — but NOT tropical-warm year round; January is sweater-and-jacket weather, and most homes rely on space heaters rather than central heat.
Read the full Alicante profile →Part five · 6 steps
The move itself
Rent first — live a full season before you even think about buying
The single biggest regret-saver. The market isn't going anywhere.
Book a short-term furnished rental for your landing
Give yourself 1–3 months to find the right neighborhood.
Decide what to ship, store, or sell
Shipping a household is expensive; many movers regret over-shipping.
Re-home your US mail before you go
Banks, the IRS, Medicare — the mail keeps coming after you leave. Keep a US address you check from anywhere, or hand the whole job to a service.
Sort pet import + airline requirements early
Timelines for vaccines and paperwork can be months.
Our pet-move guide →Scan and cloud-back-up every key document
Passports, prescriptions, insurance cards, the marriage certificate — one folder you can open from any phone, anywhere.
Part six · 4 steps
Settling in
Find your people in Alicante
Loneliness is the #1 reason people move home — build the community before you build anything else. What's already there:
From our Alicante research
One of the largest, most established English-speaking expat hubs in continental Europe — decades-deep British (and Scandinavian/Dutch/Belgian) communities across Alicante city and the wider Costa Blanca (Torrevieja, Jávea, Dénia, Alfaz del Pi). Abundant English-speaking lawyers, real-estate agents, doctors, clubs and Facebook groups. Easy soft landing; the flip side is it's easy to live in an anglophone bubble and never learn Spanish.
Read the full Alicante profile →Join the expat community before you arrive
Start the conversations months before the flight.
Our community guide →Set up a local SIM + home internet
If your phone's unlocked, an eSIM can cover you from day one; sort home internet once you have an address.
Start the language — even 20 words changes everything
Spanish is what your daily life will run in — the clinic front desk, the market, the neighbors. A head start pays off from day one.
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