- Zach Lincoln shared why his family left the US for Spain with their daughters
- An active shooter alert at preschool deeply affected their sense of safety
- A broken ankle led to nearly $20,000 in medical bills despite good insurance
An American father has gone viral after sharing why he and his wife decided to leave the United States and start a new life in Spain with their two young daughters. In an Instagram post, Zach Lincoln described two experiences that convinced the family they could no longer envision raising their children in the US - an active shooter alert at their daughters' preschool and a costly medical emergency that left them facing nearly $20,000 in expenses despite having health insurance.
According to Lincoln, the first turning point came while he and his wife were shopping at IKEA when they received an alarming message from their children's school. An active shooter had reportedly been spotted on the preschool grounds, and the children had been placed in lockdown. For several agonising moments, the couple did not know whether their daughters were safe.
Although the children were unharmed, Lincoln said the incident left a lasting impact on the family. "But we weren't the same after that," Lincoln added.
The second major blow came when his wife suffered a broken ankle. Despite having what he described as good health insurance, the injury resulted in medical bills totalling nearly $20,000 over two years. The combination of safety concerns and rising living costs pushed the couple to reconsider their lives in the US.
Realising they wanted something different for their daughters, the family made the difficult decision to move abroad. "We looked at each other and said we can't keep doing this. So we made a plan," Lincoln said.
They sold the home where they had raised their children, parted with most of their belongings and said goodbye to friends and familiar surroundings. "Sold the house we brought our babies home to. Got rid of almost everything we owned. Took the girls to their last birthday parties with their friends and left," Lincoln added.
Watch the video here:
After spending time travelling across Europe, they eventually settled in Spain under the Digital Nomad Visa programme, which allows remote workers from outside the European Union to live and work in the country. Eight months after relocating, Lincoln says the family feels a sense of security and stability that had become increasingly difficult to find back home.
He noted that daily life now includes walking through the city, relying on public transport and not constantly worrying about school shootings or unexpected medical bills. He also shared that when one of his daughters later required a hospital stay involving tests and IV treatment, the family faced little to no out-of-pocket costs.
Despite his criticism of certain aspects of life in the US, Lincoln stressed that the move was not about rejecting his home country. Instead, he said it was about finding an environment where his family could feel safer and less burdened by the financial risks associated with healthcare and everyday life.
"We're still Americans," he wrote. "We love our country. But we needed something different for our girls."
