The Visa Glitch

I ran into a website this week that gave out some more detailed info on getting a visa to live in Spain longer than 90 days. I knew it would be a long and difficult process, but apparently there are some costs that I didn't know about. It cost their family of four almost $6000 to get the visa! Some of the unknowns are international health insurance (about $2,000 for our stay with a deductible of $10,000) and lots of fees for papers and translation services. I am feeling overwhelmed by the cost. Plus you have to have all of your ducks in a row before you go (rental agreement, airline tickets, etc) and you still don't know if they will give you the visa or not. It is making me feel stressed. My gut feeling is telling me to wait until February to go and then stay in Spain for 2 months, then move on to the other Schengen countries I want to visit (Italy, France) and then end in England and come home around mid May. Unfortunately we have already made some pretty solid plans with my mom and Wayne for December in England. My mom is out of town, but hopefully I can speak with her more about it today when she gets back.