Expat partner Julio Perillán has been juggling a job on a film set in Spain with family life in the USA. Fighting off the jetlag, he kindly jumped on a call to share his very personal story with us.
A transatlantic mission
When I call Julio, he’s just jumped off a train, somewhere north of Madrid. “I’m heading to the set of Pedro Aldomovar’s latest movie,” says Julio, an actor and voice coach, who was born to Spanish parents in the US. “Over the years, my bilinguality and Americanness has enabled me to work as a coach, helping European actors to finetune their Hollywood accents! Right now, as this is Pedro’s first English language production, I’m mainly translating his direction to the actors (including Tilda Swinton, John Turturro and Julianne Moore). It’s been an amazing professional experience – the only downside is my family is in Pennsylvania!”
Challenging costs
“To be honest, moving from Spain to the US has been a stressful relocation. Luis, my 14-year-old son, has cerebral palsy autism and is non-verbal. Finding (and financing) the care he needs has been extremely challenging. We were under considerable duress at times but we’ve managed to find some solutions and the situation has improved,” says Julio. “In the US, the district will cover some costs of special needs education, which is extremely expensive. The key to receiving this federal support was to find a house in the same area where there was a school that could meet Luis’ special needs. It was a challenge as the cost of rent (in the area where we now live) is also very high. Hence, here I am in Europe!”
Up in the air
“I’m very lucky that Pedro and his team have been extremely supportive, paying for flights home and allowing me to have time off here and there,” says Julio. “I should add that there have also been many positives to our relocation. The rest of my family is in the States, which has been wonderful for everyone, especially for my mother. We also found a carer for Luis, someone he knows from Spain, and someone who can ensure he’s comfortable at home. Meanwhile, my 11-year-old daughter Lola is super happy in a fantastic middle school and my wife is relishing a demanding but rewarding management role with her employer. As it happens, the film production will soon relocate to New York, which will make life much easier for me – less jet lag for starters!”
Photo: Julio and his family
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