We Came to Asturias, and We Stayed
The story behind our move, and why we believe this place can hold you too.
Hello, and welcome.
We don’t know about you, but we didn’t arrive in Asturias for a fresh start. We arrived with anticipation, and a quiet sense of knowing that our hearts would find a home here.
Between the three of us, Celeste, Amy, and Jorge, we have lived in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Canada, France, Sweden, and the UK. We know what it means to pack up a life and begin again somewhere new. We know the particular mix of excitement and disorientation that comes with it. The way a new place can feel both full of possibility and strangely silent at the same time.
We came to Asturias in 2022, drawn by the green hills, the wild coastline, the unhurried pace of life, and something harder to name: a sense that this was a place where it was still possible to live well. Slowly. With meaning.
But our first two years here were not what we had imagined.
We came to Asturias with Celeste’s mother who was seriously ill. In a way, this place was chosen for her too .We wanted the green hills, the clean air, the slower pace of life to be the landscape of her final chapter. And they were. She spent her last months here, held by this land and by the good people around her.
When she passed, we began, slowly, to grieve. And to re-build.
What held us during that time was not a programme or a service or a perfectly designed integration plan. It was people. Neighbours who knocked on the door. Friends who sat with us without needing to fix anything. A community, some expat, some local, that simply showed up. In Asturias, that kind of warmth is abundant. It is visibly woven into the fabric of this beautiful place.
We’ve never felt alone here. Even in the hardest months, we always felt held. We want that for you too.
And that is why we created this newsletter to share with you.
Because we have watched what community does for a person in transition. We have felt it ourselves. And we have seen it again and again through our work with Bloom, which we have been growing and re-shaping, in different countries, for more than ten years.
Also, when Jorge began teaching Spanish to those who were coming from abroad, something else became clear very quickly. The language was just the beginning. What people were really navigating was something deeper: a quiet transformation of identity. A question that goes something like, who am I here, away from everything that used to define me? Followed by who do I want to be?
That question is an invitation. And it is possibly one of the most interesting and generative experiences a human being can have, if they have the right support around them.
Bloom exists for that.
Before we go, we’d love to know a little about you.
What brought you to Asturias, or what’s drawing you here?
Send us a message and tell us! We read every message, and your answer will help us write letters that are genuinely useful to you.
With warmth,
Amy, Jorge and Celeste
Made with care in Asturias
P.S. If you are preparing to move to Asturias, or have recently arrived and want some support, practical, emotional, or both, we offer a free discovery call. A short conversation with your needs in mind. You can book one here:
