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Buzz Feed
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
27 Top-Rated Products That Truly Deliver
A leave-in conditioning spray for curly hair to tame your little one's hair and get rid of any knots and tangles. Reviewers call it the best product ever for a reason! An itty-bitty toenail brace set that will correct the natural curve of your toenails and sort out any niggly pains that have come with it over the years. A Nuvo cabinet paint kit so you can give your home an HGTV-worthy makeover without having to actually learn all of the tricky, time-consuming things, like stripping and priming. A CeraVe salicylic acid body wash to get rid of any scabbing or flare-ups from keratosis pilaris (otherwise known as "chicken skin"). It gently smoothes and exfoliates skin without any harsh ingredients. John Frieda's Frizz Ease Leave-In Conditioner to protect your locks from heat and humidity while smoothing and detangling at the same time. Basically, you won't have to worry about looking like Monica during that one episode of Friends (IYKYK). Promising review: "I swear by this product. Helps with frizz, hair is shinier, and also helps condition to make brushing through my hair after a shower less painful." —Kathryn it from Amazon for $8.97. Or a bottle of Ouai wave spray if you still want the lived-in beachy look but don't fancy using any heat on your hair. I have a natural wave to my hair and I swear by this stuff for when I want to embrace the look without putting in much effort. Promising review: "I cannot go anywhere without this, it's my favorite wave spray I've ever used. Doesn't leave your hair crusty and keeps my waves all day even at work. It's a must for naturally wavy-haired girls. Even my brother uses it!!" —Elle it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in three sizes). A jar of Brazilian Bum Bum Cream that has become a cult-favorite body lotion. This sweet, sweet product is infused with caffeine, guarana extract, and coconut oil to help simultaneously tighten *and* smooth skin. It also smells like sunshine in a jar, which is reason enough for me to *add to cart.* A six-pack of jumbo Spacesaver vacuum storage bags because it's about time you actually store your off-season items in an orderly manner instead of shoving them all in a heap at the bottom of your closet. Promising review: "I've just downsized from a large home in the suburbs to condo living in downtown. Purging and getting rid of so much stuff that I've accumulated throughout the years was life-changing! I had quite a bit of really nice bedding that I wanted to keep but had very little storage space. I decided to order these jumbo bags for king down duvets, thick blankets, and king-sized pillows. I was amazed at how much these held, how easy they were to pack/vacuum, and how much I could fit in such a small space!" —Raquel MossGet it from Amazon for $22.99+ (available in four sizes and a variety pack). A veggie chopper that will become the holy grail of your kitchen. This incredible invention chops, spiralizes, and slices vegetables in an instant, and the built-in container means there's gonna be absolutely zero mess. So long, chopping boards. An electric can opener so you can say goodbye to sharp can edges and bits of label in the food because you can't quite grasp using a manual tin opener. This bad boy will open your cans with a simple touch of a button. Promising review: "This is an amazing tool! It's about the same size as a manual can opener, but this is automatic. All you have to do is place it on the can and press the button and it turns on its own. Just press the button again once it reaches the starting point and it disengages and turns off. This doesn't leave sharp lid edges like regular openers. What a lifesaver!" —Rachel YoungGet it from Amazon for $29.99 (available in four colors). A paw-protecting balm to use year-round. It will guard against scorching hot sidewalks and sand in the summer, as well as ice and salt in the winter months. It'll keep paw pads really moisturized, too. Some reviewers even use it on their own tattoos to help them heal. Promising review: "I live in Florida, where the pavement gets very hot in the summer. I started to notice my dog's pads getting chapped and rough. Whenever I would touch them, he would recoil, which made me think they were bothering him. I ordered Mushers because I hate when my hands are dry, and I couldn't stand to think my baby might be uncomfortable or even in pain! It was actually difficult to apply at first because my dog's paws were so rough. After the first application, I noticed a difference in the texture of his paws. Not just immediately after application, but the following day as well. When I went to apply the next day, I noticed it was significantly easier to apply because my dog's paws were significantly softer. With every subsequent application, I noticed my dog's paws were softer and less rough. After five days of application, they feel like a baby's butt! Definitely recommend it and will be repurchasing. This has become part of my pup's routine." —Lexi BergerGet it from Amazon for $15.99. A 7-in-1 Instant Pot for making meal times a breeze. Whip up your favorite soup, batch cook rice for the week, or toss some meat and veggies into the pot before work and come home to a delicious slow-cooked stew. A hydrating eye cream with a 98% nature-derived formula that will magically restore under-eye skin for a brighter and smoother appearance. See ya later, eye bags! Promising review: "I am 59 and always getting accused of being in my mid-40s! I have used Andalou Naturals Luminous Eye Serum for at least three years. I would not be without it. My regular moisturizer works fine on the rest of my face, but if I try to use it only on my eyes, I can see the difference. All I need to do is gently tap on the Andalou Eye Serum and I can see the crepeyness disappear." —M. ReitcheckGet it from Amazon for $12.69. An affordable Essence mascara that'll give you sky-high lashes for a fraction of the cost of higher-end mascaras. Just one coat will give you the blackest, boldest, most dramatic lashes, and no one will ever guess that you paid less than five (!!) bucks for them. Promising review: "I have probably tried every mascara on the market, and this blows them all out of the park. Let me start by saying that I wear contact lenses, so it's important that nothing flakes off into my eyes during the day from my mascara, and after wearing this mascara countless times, I have never had an issue with it. It goes on easily; it builds, it thickens, and it separates. It makes you look like you're wearing false eyelashes. I can honestly say that I can go out with mascara and blush and feel made up without putting on eyeliner and eyeshadow. It doesn't flake into your eyes even if you accidentally rub your eyes, and it's easily removed with either makeup remover, or soap and water, or the Makeup Eraser pads. I sincerely hope they stay in business because I will be a fan for life, and there's not many things I can say that about." —HSL826Get it from Amazon for $4.99+ (available in a pack of one or three). A ~handy~ standing weed-pulling tool that takes the chore out of pulling the unwanted "flowers" out of your yard. No more bending down on your hands and knees. Promising review: "This weed puller is legit! I was telling my husband that I needed big pliers to pull the deep weeds because I needed some leverage, and I happened upon this on Amazon. I never really think these things work, but OH, IT WORKS! It's so easy to use, it really grabs the roots, and it's a really well-built tool. The only thing… make sure you carry a poker or something because mud and rocks and mulch get lodged in the crevices pretty easily. I want to go pull more weeds! Some roots were as thick and long as carrots, and this tool dominated them! It's a must-buy!" —CERGet it from Amazon for $44.99. A rechargeable mosquito repellent because nothing ruins a backyard BBQ or a patio happy hour like some unwanted guests. It might not look like it's working (there's no sound or smell), but reviewers say that it is certainly effective. Promising review: "The Thermacell Mosquito Repellent is a game-changer for my New England patio! Living in an area plagued by mosquitoes, I had tried numerous products with disappointing results. However, the moment I started using Thermacell, I was amazed. It created a protective barrier that kept mosquitoes away, allowing me to enjoy bug-free evenings outdoors. The odorless operation, long-lasting performance, and portability make this device a must-have for anyone seeking relief from mosquitoes. Thermacell has truly transformed my outdoor experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone dealing with mosquito problems." —Ray SalemiGet it from Amazon for $29.98+ (available in four colors). A set of cleaning K-Cups because yes, it's a pain cleaning your coffee machine, but these bbs are going to make it *so* much simpler. Promising review: "I bought this product because the needle in my Keurig 2.0 keeps clogging, causing inconsistent brew and taste. These cleaning cups fixed both of my issues, and I especially liked that it was really quick and easy to use. I put the cleaning pod in and ran one cycle, then took the pod out and ran a rinse cycle to clean out any leftover grinds. FAST, EASY, and GREAT results… VERY HAPPY!!" —Corey WestGet a six-pack from Amazon for $9.95. A bottle of stove top cleaner and handy tools so you can finally say goodbye to those stubborn burnt-on stains that have been there for months. Promising review: "I had baked-on stains from at least the past two years of almost daily use. Never could get the stovetop to look clean with other attempts. First pass with this and I'm super impressed!" —RachelGet it from Amazon for $12.98. Wet & Forget shower cleaner to give your shower some much-needed TLC without having to break a sweat. Douse your shower in this miracle solution and sit back and watch the dirt melt away. Medicated, waterproof bandages that will help to lift pesky warts from your skin in a simple and pain-free way. Reviewers saw some amazing results after just one use! Gross, but satisfying for sure. An old faithful carpet cleaner because if you live with kids or pets, you know the importance of having a great carpet cleaner. This will get rid of all of the stains, from pet messes to red wine. A grout pen so you can finally brighten between your tiles. It's such a simple thing, but restoring your grout to its original white color will instantly make your home look cleaner. Use this anywhere from your bathroom to your kitchen. A bottle of Nizoral Anti-Dandruff Shampoo for easing any signs of a dry and flaky scalp. This INCREDIBLE shampoo gets to the ~root~ of the problem and some reviewers were virtually flake-free after just two washes. A bottle of Bio-Oil that's a cult classic beauty product for a reason. It helps to fade scars and blemishes and evens up skin tones. Don't believe me? Check out the 37,000+ 5-star ratings. The Pink Stuff all-purpose paste and spray for cleaning just about anything and everything. It's so good, it may just become the only cleaning product that you use going forward. A dermatologist-tested EcoTools makeup brush cleaner because this is your reminder to CLEAN YOUR MAKEUP BRUSHES! Fizzing toilet tablets that will take the hard work away from ridding your toilet of grime and rings. In fact, it's basically a bath bomb for your toilet. Ain't that fun?
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nuvo, a network for B2B trade, has nabbed $34M from Sequoia and Spark Capital
Nuvo, a company that has built a social-like platform to facilitate easier purchasing of physical goods between businesses, has raised a $34 million Series A from Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital, it tells TechCrunch exclusively. The San Francisco-based startup previously raised $11 million in an undisclosed seed round led by Founders Fund and Index Ventures in early 2022. Other institutional backers include Foundation Capital, Human Capital, and Susa Ventures. Angel investors Gokul Rajaram, Instacart founder Max Mullen, Rippling COO Matt MacInnis, Samsara founders Sanjit Biswas and John Bicket and Flexport founder Ryan Petersen, among others, also have written checks into Nuvo. Sid Malladi, CEO and co-founder, started Nuvo in 2021 with CTO Rameez Remsudeen to give businesses a way to create profiles they can share with trade partners. Think of it as a LinkedIn for B2B trade. The purchase of physical goods, such as lumber and electronic parts, by businesses, along with the credit agreements that support these purchases, is an $11 trillion industry in the United States. But it's an industry that remains plagued by old-fashioned methods of communication such as faxes, phone calls, and emails, Remsudeen says. And with tariffs looming, the need for such a platform has likely never been greater. "Any volatility, for tariffs or other reasons, causes shifts in trade partnerships across all businesses that need to respond to changes in price, risk, or other parameters,' Malladi, a former product manager at Yelp, told TechCrunch. 'None of this can happen smoothly when relying on pen-and-paper processes.' Nuvo wants to help businesses more quickly connect with trade partners, as well as gain faster access to information such as creditworthiness, banking data, and partner history. By helping businesses connect and verify each other, Nuvo claims it can also lead to fewer instances of fraud, loss, delays, and less administrative overhead. So, how does it work? Sellers invite buyers to join the platform. Those buyers in turn can connect with additional sellers. Users create a business identity profile, and the platform verifies their information in real time. Users can also get customer references, credit reports, FICO scores, and license verifications in the Nuvo customer dashboard. In addition, customers gain the potential to connect with new suppliers, secure better credit terms, and streamline their own purchasing processes, notes Sequoia partner Bryan Schreier. 'The potential for network effects reminds us of other great companies Sequoia has been fortunate to partner with, including payments giants PayPal and Stripe,' he told TechCrunch. 'As new customers join Nuvo, they bring their buyers and sellers with them, and in the process, create a data platform that keeps getting better. By bringing B2B commerce online, Nuvo is enabling businesses to grow with confidence and security.' Other companies exist that attempt to do similar things, including HighRadius, noted Malladi. 'The key difference is that Nuvo isn't a single-player SaaS tool. It's a network,' Remsudeen said. 'It's like comparing your contacts app to Facebook when it comes to managing your social relationships.' By the end of the second quarter, Nuvo, which currently has 42 employees, will have about 50,000 businesses in its trade network, including Great Dane, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, and Fender. The company currently charges annual subscription fees. Nuvo's core markets are alcohol & beverage, building materials, chemicals, distribution, food service and manufacturing. It's looking to expand into new verticals as well as ad features like payments and AI. It's also seeking to expand internationally and is eyeing markets such as Mexico, Latin America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Sign in to access your portfolio
CNN
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
They came to the US as kids for a better life. Now they're leaving for Europe as seniors
In May 2024, after 32 years living in Southern California, Karina Nuvo hit a wall. Coming out of a pandemic-induced lull in the singing gigs that made her happy and left her feeling fulfilled, the two-time Grammy-nominated artist found herself under an incredible amount of stress. She'd taken on jobs as a real estate agent and property manager at a Pasadena apartment building where she'd had a string of rough moments, including encountering a tenant dead in his apartment. Nuvo was also busy taking care of her octogenarian father. 'I couldn't focus on singing, I couldn't focus on real estate, I had to put my dad in an assisted living facility. My health just took a toll, it was killing me,' says Nuvo, 55. By May 2024, with the political climate in the US on tenterhooks again as Donald Trump's presidential campaign swung into full tilt, Nuvo says it all 'just felt like too much.' 'I made a decision that I was leaving, that I was going to Europe. The job stress was what pushed my situation, but also politically I just couldn't fathom what was coming,' she says. She told her parents about her plans to leave. It was then that Nuvo's father, Jose Novo (Karina uses a modified spelling of this surname professionally), reminded her that they'd always had a way out, a path to try living a different kind of life in Spain, since they were able to apply for citizenship in that country. Novo was born in Camagüey, Cuba, and came to the United States for a better life at the age of 21. But his father (Karina's grandfather) was born in Spain, which entitled both him and his children to pursue citizenship through the ley de nietos (the 'grandchildren's law'). Also called the Law of Democratic Memory, the ley de nietos, set to expire October 21, 2025, grants descendants of Spaniards persecuted during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent Francisco Franco dictatorship a path to Spanish citizenship. Nuvo told her father, then 87, she would go to Spain and submit her application for Spanish citizenship there. 'His response was, 'Please, I don't want to die here in this place,'' she says. So she asked him if he wanted to move there with her. 'He didn't even hesitate, he was like, 'Yep,'' Nuvo says. So, she set to work selling most of their worldly possessions on Facebook Marketplace, packed a few suitcases and put her plan into motion. The only time Nuvo and her father had attempted to travel to Spain together was on a cruise that left from Fort Lauderdale in 2022. He got Covid long before they made it to Spain. They had to disembark from the ship in the Azores, where she checked her dad into a hospital. 'It was the only time I tried to take him to Spain, and I failed miserably,' Nuvo says. So before leaving California, Nuvo told her father, a bladder cancer survivor, that they had to be on the same page. If something similar happened once they moved to Spain — if he got sick and wasn't well enough to live in their new shared home — he might have to go back into assisted living there. Jose agreed. Nuvo set to work looking for a place for the two of them to live, tapping the real estate website Idealista for potential rentals and talking to brokers to figure out the best location in Spain for a move. Originally, she says, she was set on Málaga, along the Andalusia coast, but was dissuaded by the housing prices. A broker suggested Nuvo consider the nearby Costa del Sol town of Fuengirola, about 20 miles south, which has similarly flat terrain that would be easy for her father to navigate, as well as a lower cost of living. Nuvo was still in California when she found a nearly 1,200-square-foot apartment in the town with two bedrooms that looked perfect. It was a few blocks from the beach and had a view of the sparkling Mediterranean from the balcony. 'I went, 'oh my god, it's dad's dream, by the ocean,'' says Nuvo. The monthly rent was 1,050 euros (around $1,150), a fraction of what they'd both been paying in California to live. After a stop in Miami on the way to Europe, they landed in Spain in September 2024 with six pieces of luggage and her dad's walker and wheelchair in tow. 'I have a photo of dad in front of the apartment right after we got to Fuengirola with a huge smile. For me, though, because of the emotional trek it was to get there, I went into a full panic attack at what I'd done,' Nuvo recalls. She called her son, 20, who's in college back in California, and cried, expressing her doubts. But he assured her it was all going to be OK. Just a week after Nuvo and her father arrived in Spain, her mother and stepfather, Gloria and Cesar Tarafa, came to visit for 15 days. 'We're a modern family, everyone gets along,' Nuvo says. Nuvo's mother and stepfather were born in Cuba, like her father, but had spent most of their lives in Miami, and later, California. They had been living for years in a fixed-income adult community in Monrovia near Pasadena. It didn't take long before Gloria and Cesar, then 87 and 73, decided they would make the move to Fuengirola, too. They both also have the right to apply for Spanish citizenship since they have parents or grandparents who were born in Spain. The couple, who are retired, returned to the US from their Spanish vacation in October 2024, sold nearly everything they owned and were back in Fuengirola a month later. They moved into the apartment Nuvo shared with her father and set about applying for Spanish citizenship. Cesar says the political climate in the US and cost of living in the Los Angeles area both contributed to their decision to leave. Cesar first went to Spain shortly before his 15th birthday (the age when military service was mandatory for Cuban youth back then), when his parents sent him away from the island to stay with family friends near Madrid. (He later left for the US). He and Gloria, who met in Miami as members of the Cuban diaspora there, had also vacationed in Spain on several occasions and enjoyed it. And with Spanish as their mother tongue, imagining a move there was easy, he says. 'We decided we have to make sure we enjoy our lives for however many years we have left,' he says, adding that he knew the quality of life in Spain — and, in particular, Andalusia — was good. 'The culture is also very akin to our culture in Cuba. Cubans have a lot of similarities with the Andalusian way of speaking and expressing ourselves, moving our hands and exaggerating. So we knew if we were going to make the change, it would be to this part of Spain,' he says. Cesar says the couple's lifestyle has changed for the better because they can 'do more with less' in Spain. 'You don't even have to spend a lot of money. You can just go out and see people walking and see the nightlife. This city is alive. People go to dinner at 9 or 10 o'clock at night,' he says. Back home in Monrovia, the couple would usually be in for the night at 6 p.m. he says, watching TV. 'Here at 6 o'clock you're having a merienda (snack) and then you go to dinner at 9. And the funny thing is people don't rush you at restaurants. You can have a cup of coffee and sit down at a table for two hours. It's just a whole different mentality,' he says. Cesar admits it's taken some getting used to Spanish bureaucracy and things moving a little bit slower compared to the US, 'but the overwhelming quality of life here is just undeniable. We're just trying to be like a sponge and suck everything in.' Cesar compared his recent departure from the US for Spain as eliciting similar feelings as when he first left Cuba long ago, since both times he left everything behind. 'I knew when I left Cuba that I was not going to be back ever, and I have the same feeling now,' he says. Gloria says the people, style and way of living really speak to her in Spain. She left Cuba as a young woman, when she was recruited to work as a flight attendant for PanAm in Miami. She and Cesar lived in Florida for many years before moving to California. Their American life was so different, especially during the years after the pandemic, she says. 'Our life there was OK. Half of my life is there, and I miss family members. But I have to try to enjoy what is left of me. I'm 88, I'm not young,' Gloria says. 'Here, we go downstairs and have coffee, we sit there and talk. In Monrovia there was no social life for us. I might go to my son's house or a friend's once in a while, but that was it,' she says. 'The quality of life here is life. The food, the people and the weather in this part of Spain, I just love it.' By January of 2025, Nuvo's father, Jose, was having health complications, she says. It was becoming far too difficult for her to care for him at home. So together they made the difficult decision to move him into an assisted living facility in February in nearby Marbella, about 20 miles west of Fuengirola. Nuvo says she felt very guilty and wondered if bringing him to Spain had been a mistake. 'But then he'll just tell me he loves it. He spent months enjoying Fuengirola. And now he says he's sitting out looking at the ocean in Spain, eating his favorite foods like tortilla española and croquetas and speaking Spanish with everyone,' she says. The facility costs 2,300 euros (about $2,500) a month, far less than his assisted living facility in California, and it includes physical therapy, access to a psychologist and all living expenses and meals as well as daily activities. Nuvo talks to her father every day on the phone and visits him twice a week in his private room with a balcony overlooking a lush garden, which she says feels more like a palace than an assisted living facility. The main reason she moved from California to Spain, Nuvo says, was for a better quality of life and 'saving our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.' It's a goal she feels she's so far achieved with her family. She and her mother and stepfather recently moved into a larger three-bedroom rental apartment in Fuengirola with sea views from a sprawling balcony right in the center of town. The location allows Cesar and Gloria to get out and walk to everything with no car needed and continue enjoying their new Spanish lifestyle. The rent is 1,400 euros, or about $1,500. Nuvo says her living expenses in Spain compared to Los Angeles have been nearly halved. Once she gets her work permit as a citizen, Nuvo says she plans to get back to what she loves doing for work — pursuing singing gigs around Europe and helping people who are also considering a move find real estate opportunities in Spain. She loves California, she says, but it was time to go. And she has no regrets. 'Things still take my breath away here, just the kindness of everybody. They have a cherishment and appreciation for their lives. And the elderly are treated like royalty.' she says. 'Even with everything that's happened, even with my son still living in California, I can't explain it. I feel like I'm supposed to be here.' As for her father, Jose says his whole life has been an adventure, and he chalks this experience up as another one. 'I left Cuba when I was 20 years old. So, from there on I went to Costa Rica, working for my company. Then I went to the Dominican Republic to work for another company. So, it's been one adventure after another adventure,' he says. He has no complaints about the assisted living facility in California where he was living before he left. 'People there were very nice to me. And I had people that I care very much for. People here are very good, too,' he says, adding that the cost is a big differentiating point and he finds the Spanish facility 'more sophisticated.' As for any regrets about crossing the ocean to finish out his remaining years, Jose says he has none. 'Why would I? I'm in the country of my family because my father was born in Asturias, and my grandparents on my mother's side were born in Galicia. I have Spanish blood running through my veins,' he says. To anyone who's considering a similar move, no matter at what stage of life, his advice is simple. 'Follow your heart — and don't be afraid.' Terry Ward is a Florida-based travel writer and freelance journalist in Tampa who hopes to one day relocate with her family to Europe, too.
CNN
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
They came to the US as kids for a better life. Now they're leaving for Europe as seniors
In May 2024, after 32 years living in Southern California, Karina Nuvo hit a wall. Coming out of a pandemic-induced lull in the singing gigs that made her happy and left her feeling fulfilled, the two-time Grammy-nominated artist found herself under an incredible amount of stress. She'd taken on jobs as a real estate agent and property manager at a Pasadena apartment building where she'd had a string of rough moments, including encountering a tenant dead in his apartment. Nuvo was also busy taking care of her octogenarian father. 'I couldn't focus on singing, I couldn't focus on real estate, I had to put my dad in an assisted living facility. My health just took a toll, it was killing me,' says Nuvo, 55. By May 2024, with the political climate in the US on tenterhooks again as Donald Trump's presidential campaign swung into full tilt, Nuvo says it all 'just felt like too much.' 'I made a decision that I was leaving, that I was going to Europe. The job stress was what pushed my situation, but also politically I just couldn't fathom what was coming,' she says. She told her parents about her plans to leave. It was then that Nuvo's father, Jose Novo (Karina uses a modified spelling of this surname professionally), reminded her that they'd always had a way out, a path to try living a different kind of life in Spain, since they were able to apply for citizenship in that country. Novo was born in Camagüey, Cuba, and came to the United States for a better life at the age of 21. But his father (Karina's grandfather) was born in Spain, which entitled both him and his children to pursue citizenship through the ley de nietos (the 'grandchildren's law'). Also called the Law of Democratic Memory, the ley de nietos, set to expire October 21, 2025, grants descendants of Spaniards persecuted during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent Francisco Franco dictatorship a path to Spanish citizenship. Nuvo told her father, then 87, she would go to Spain and submit her application for Spanish citizenship there. 'His response was, 'Please, I don't want to die here in this place,'' she says. So she asked him if he wanted to move there with her. 'He didn't even hesitate, he was like, 'Yep,'' Nuvo says. So, she set to work selling most of their worldly possessions on Facebook Marketplace, packed a few suitcases and put her plan into motion. The only time Nuvo and her father had attempted to travel to Spain together was on a cruise that left from Fort Lauderdale in 2022. He got Covid long before they made it to Spain. They had to disembark from the ship in the Azores, where she checked her dad into a hospital. 'It was the only time I tried to take him to Spain, and I failed miserably,' Nuvo says. So before leaving California, Nuvo told her father, a bladder cancer survivor, that they had to be on the same page. If something similar happened once they moved to Spain — if he got sick and wasn't well enough to live in their new shared home — he might have to go back into assisted living there. Jose agreed. Nuvo set to work looking for a place for the two of them to live, tapping the real estate website Idealista for potential rentals and talking to brokers to figure out the best location in Spain for a move. Originally, she says, she was set on Málaga, along the Andalusia coast, but was dissuaded by the housing prices. A broker suggested Nuvo consider the nearby Costa del Sol town of Fuengirola, about 20 miles south, which has similarly flat terrain that would be easy for her father to navigate, as well as a lower cost of living. Nuvo was still in California when she found a nearly 1,200-square-foot apartment in the town with two bedrooms that looked perfect. It was a few blocks from the beach and had a view of the sparkling Mediterranean from the balcony. 'I went, 'oh my god, it's dad's dream, by the ocean,'' says Nuvo. The monthly rent was 1,050 euros (around $1,150), a fraction of what they'd both been paying in California to live. After a stop in Miami on the way to Europe, they landed in Spain in September 2024 with six pieces of luggage and her dad's walker and wheelchair in tow. 'I have a photo of dad in front of the apartment right after we got to Fuengirola with a huge smile. For me, though, because of the emotional trek it was to get there, I went into a full panic attack at what I'd done,' Nuvo recalls. She called her son, 20, who's in college back in California, and cried, expressing her doubts. But he assured her it was all going to be OK. Just a week after Nuvo and her father arrived in Spain, her mother and stepfather, Gloria and Cesar Tarafa, came to visit for 15 days. 'We're a modern family, everyone gets along,' Nuvo says. Nuvo's mother and stepfather were born in Cuba, like her father, but had spent most of their lives in Miami, and later, California. They had been living for years in a fixed-income adult community in Monrovia near Pasadena. It didn't take long before Gloria and Cesar, then 87 and 73, decided they would make the move to Fuengirola, too. They both also have the right to apply for Spanish citizenship since they have parents or grandparents who were born in Spain. The couple, who are retired, returned to the US from their Spanish vacation in October 2024, sold nearly everything they owned and were back in Fuengirola a month later. They moved into the apartment Nuvo shared with her father and set about applying for Spanish citizenship. Cesar says the political climate in the US and cost of living in the Los Angeles area both contributed to their decision to leave. Cesar first went to Spain shortly before his 15th birthday (the age when military service was mandatory for Cuban youth back then), when his parents sent him away from the island to stay with family friends near Madrid. (He later left for the US). He and Gloria, who met in Miami as members of the Cuban diaspora there, had also vacationed in Spain on several occasions and enjoyed it. And with Spanish as their mother tongue, imagining a move there was easy, he says. 'We decided we have to make sure we enjoy our lives for however many years we have left,' he says, adding that he knew the quality of life in Spain — and, in particular, Andalusia — was good. 'The culture is also very akin to our culture in Cuba. Cubans have a lot of similarities with the Andalusian way of speaking and expressing ourselves, moving our hands and exaggerating. So we knew if we were going to make the change, it would be to this part of Spain,' he says. Cesar says the couple's lifestyle has changed for the better because they can 'do more with less' in Spain. 'You don't even have to spend a lot of money. You can just go out and see people walking and see the nightlife. This city is alive. People go to dinner at 9 or 10 o'clock at night,' he says. Back home in Monrovia, the couple would usually be in for the night at 6 p.m. he says, watching TV. 'Here at 6 o'clock you're having a merienda (snack) and then you go to dinner at 9. And the funny thing is people don't rush you at restaurants. You can have a cup of coffee and sit down at a table for two hours. It's just a whole different mentality,' he says. Cesar admits it's taken some getting used to Spanish bureaucracy and things moving a little bit slower compared to the US, 'but the overwhelming quality of life here is just undeniable. We're just trying to be like a sponge and suck everything in.' Cesar compared his recent departure from the US for Spain as eliciting similar feelings as when he first left Cuba long ago, since both times he left everything behind. 'I knew when I left Cuba that I was not going to be back ever, and I have the same feeling now,' he says. Gloria says the people, style and way of living really speak to her in Spain. She left Cuba as a young woman, when she was recruited to work as a flight attendant for PanAm in Miami. She and Cesar lived in Florida for many years before moving to California. Their American life was so different, especially during the years after the pandemic, she says. 'Our life there was OK. Half of my life is there, and I miss family members. But I have to try to enjoy what is left of me. I'm 88, I'm not young,' Gloria says. 'Here, we go downstairs and have coffee, we sit there and talk. In Monrovia there was no social life for us. I might go to my son's house or a friend's once in a while, but that was it,' she says. 'The quality of life here is life. The food, the people and the weather in this part of Spain, I just love it.' By January of 2025, Nuvo's father, Jose, was having health complications, she says. It was becoming far too difficult for her to care for him at home. So together they made the difficult decision to move him into an assisted living facility in February in nearby Marbella, about 20 miles west of Fuengirola. Nuvo says she felt very guilty and wondered if bringing him to Spain had been a mistake. 'But then he'll just tell me he loves it. He spent months enjoying Fuengirola. And now he says he's sitting out looking at the ocean in Spain, eating his favorite foods like tortilla española and croquetas and speaking Spanish with everyone,' she says. The facility costs 2,300 euros (about $2,500) a month, far less than his assisted living facility in California, and it includes physical therapy, access to a psychologist and all living expenses and meals as well as daily activities. Nuvo talks to her father every day on the phone and visits him twice a week in his private room with a balcony overlooking a lush garden, which she says feels more like a palace than an assisted living facility. The main reason she moved from California to Spain, Nuvo says, was for a better quality of life and 'saving our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.' It's a goal she feels she's so far achieved with her family. She and her mother and stepfather recently moved into a larger three-bedroom rental apartment in Fuengirola with sea views from a sprawling balcony right in the center of town. The location allows Cesar and Gloria to get out and walk to everything with no car needed and continue enjoying their new Spanish lifestyle. The rent is 1,400 euros, or about $1,500. Nuvo says her living expenses in Spain compared to Los Angeles have been nearly halved. Once she gets her work permit as a citizen, Nuvo says she plans to get back to what she loves doing for work — pursuing singing gigs around Europe and helping people who are also considering a move find real estate opportunities in Spain. She loves California, she says, but it was time to go. And she has no regrets. 'Things still take my breath away here, just the kindness of everybody. They have a cherishment and appreciation for their lives. And the elderly are treated like royalty.' she says. 'Even with everything that's happened, even with my son still living in California, I can't explain it. I feel like I'm supposed to be here.' As for her father, Jose says his whole life has been an adventure, and he chalks this experience up as another one. 'I left Cuba when I was 20 years old. So, from there on I went to Costa Rica, working for my company. Then I went to the Dominican Republic to work for another company. So, it's been one adventure after another adventure,' he says. He has no complaints about the assisted living facility in California where he was living before he left. 'People there were very nice to me. And I had people that I care very much for. People here are very good, too,' he says, adding that the cost is a big differentiating point and he finds the Spanish facility 'more sophisticated.' As for any regrets about crossing the ocean to finish out his remaining years, Jose says he has none. 'Why would I? I'm in the country of my family because my father was born in Asturias, and my grandparents on my mother's side were born in Galicia. I have Spanish blood running through my veins,' he says. To anyone who's considering a similar move, no matter at what stage of life, his advice is simple. 'Follow your heart — and don't be afraid.' Terry Ward is a Florida-based travel writer and freelance journalist in Tampa who hopes to one day relocate with her family to Europe, too.
