Jeroen & Pablo(38)

Pablo and I met in Eindhoven, where he worked as a Spanish engineer at ASML. After six years together we adopted Noa from Colombia. Life in Eindhoven was good, but Pablo missed his country and culture. When ASML offered a sabbatical program, we decided to go to Spain for a year. That year became permanent.

Gran Canaria was a deliberate choice. The island is known as one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly places in Europe. The annual Pride in Maspalomas attracts 200,000 visitors. But it goes beyond parties — the local population is genuinely tolerant. Noa's school has multiple rainbow families and the teachers treat it as completely normal.

Registering our family went smoothly. Pablo as a Spanish citizen didn't need an NIE, but I did. Noa's Dutch adoption certificate needed to be legalized through an apostille. The certificado de registro as EU citizen cost me €12 at the Oficina de Extranjeros in Las Palmas. We did the empadronamiento the same day at the ayuntamiento. The whole procedure took two weeks.

I work remotely as a UX researcher for an Eindhoven tech company. My salary is paid in the Netherlands, but I pay tax in Spain through the IRPF system. A tax advisor in Las Palmas helps me with the annual return. Thanks to the Canary Islands tax advantage I effectively pay less than in the Netherlands. Pablo teaches Spanish part-time at a language institute and earns €1,200 per month.

Our house in Telde — a detached bungalow with garden and three bedrooms — costs €950 per month. Noa attends the local colegio and now speaks three languages: Dutch with me, Spanish with Pablo, and English at school. We arranged health insurance through the Seguridad Social as working EU citizens. The Centro de Salud in Telde is excellent.

What touches us most: Noa is growing up in an environment where nobody bats an eye at two dads. She has friends from Spain, Germany and Morocco. At school they make projects about different family types. The warmth of Canarian society — literally and figuratively — makes us feel more at home here than anywhere in the world.