I thought I wanted the American dream. Moving to a small city in Spain changed my mind.

Kevin Schreck in Simat de la Valldigna.

Courtesy of Kevin Schreck Kevin Schreck moved from a small town in North Carolina to Valencia, Spain, for a teaching program.

Schreck expected a short stay, but fell for Valencia and does not plan to return to the US.

He told Business Insider that he feels safer and happier in Spain, and his life is more affordable.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kevin Schreck, a 33-year-old from North Carolina who moved to Spain in 2018.

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I was pursuing a master's in Spanish when I met my husband, who was also working on his master's.

He's from Valencia , so when we finished our programs, I thought, "He's lived here for a couple of years, why don't I go ahead and try Spain?" I applied to a Spanish program that places native English speakers in public schools as classroom language assistants.

I got really lucky and was assigned to a school in Valencia.

At first, my plan was to live there for a couple of years, improve my Spanish, and then return to the US to become a language teacher.

I imagined having the typical American dream, you know, a house with a big yard and all that.

But I fell in love with Spain .

I have so many fond memories of my first year in Valencia.

I was this guy from Wilmington, North Carolina, learning about a new culture, trying new foods, meeting a ton of people, and going out with my husband and his friends.