From the Midlands to the Mountains: Our Story on Midlands 103 ‘s Taking Care of Business Show
This week, we had the incredible opportunity to sit down with Ronan Berry on Taking Care of Business, the flagship Midlands 103 show that highlights innovative businesses and entrepreneurs. You can now listen to the full interview on Spotify:
🎧 Move To Cantabria on Taking Care of Business
🛫 Why We Launched Move To Cantabria
In January 2025, after independently navigating bureaucracy, language barriers, schooling, and home-searching in Northern Spain, we—Grace Kiernan and Ríona Kelly—co-founded Move To Cantabria.
On-air, we shared how we both ended up in beautiful Cantabria, despite growing up just 30km apart in the Irish Midlands:
Grace (Durrow, Offaly) arrived in 2020 after more than a decade in Australia. She created a vibrant local English-speaking mums’ community and now brings that welcoming warmth to families moving here.
Ríona (Mullingar, Westmeath) moved to Spain in 2014, spent 6 years teaching English as a foreign language then later expanding into yoga teaching and motherhood. She brings her language skills, academic background, and lived experience to your relocation journey.
“I tell people the North of Spain is like a different country. It’s green, has dramatic coastlines, and is filled with Celtic music — it feels a lot like home,” Grace explained on the show.
🌿 What Makes Cantabria Special
During the 20-minute conversation, we highlighted why Cantabria is more than a destination—it’s a lifestyle:
Undiscovered beauty – Rolling green hills, feast-worthy fresh food, dramatic coasts and mountains.
Quality of life – A pace that supports work-life balance, schooling, and wellbeing.
Affordability & community – Less crowded, more affordable than Spain’s bigger cities, and with public services that work.
Celtic connection – That cultural spark makes Irish families feel welcomed, not out of place.
“It’s not just about finding a house — it’s about finding your place,” we told Ronan. It’s a philosophy at the heart of everything we do at Move To Cantabria.
🧳 How We Support Families Moving to Spain
We break down relocation into three essential services:
Residency – NIE applications, healthcare cards, local registrations
Property – Help with renting, buying, or even building your dream home
Education & community – Advice on schools and creating support networks in Spain
On air, Ríona shared how the paperwork and local systems can be a minefield without someone who understands both sides. Grace added that while moving abroad is exciting, it can also feel isolating—especially outside major expat hubs.
🤝 Bringing the Céad Míle Fáilte to Spain
Our mission is simple: to make moving to Cantabria not just possible, but deeply fulfilling. We’ve lived through it ourselves—so we know exactly where the road gets tricky, and we’re here to guide families with empathy, expertise, and a touch of Irish humour.
🔍 Looking to move to Spain?
Listen to our interview here
Explore more about who we are and how we work at movetocantabria.com
Want to chat? Drop us a message—we’d love to help you begin your journey
Tune in, listen back, and say hello. We can’t wait to help you discover your own place in Cantabria.
