Expat Experience and Life in Spain

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Many people come to Spain on holiday and assume that living here will be more of the same, ie. sand, sea, sun, and sangria – all day at the beach and all night partying the night away.

Of course, this can lead to a nasty shock once they actually decide to pack their bags and move here. Living in Spain is completely different to being on holiday here, and the most common reason that expats return home is not finding satisfactory work.

Levels of professionalism and levels of pay are usually substantially lower than you are used to.

Additionally, bureaucracy and paperwork and the spanish costumer service can drive you mad! And if you are struggling with the language barrier, you are not making it any easier for yourself.

It is true that many expats (whether British, German, Scandinavian etc..) can live in Spain, especially on the Costas, and not speak one word of Spanish. They muddle through by basically sticking to their own making their social life with other expats and never venturing outside their own communities.

There is no problem with that if that’s what you want, but if you want to experience a bit of Spanish culture, you need to speak some of the lingo. Many people come to Spain with the idea of setting up a bar, or a restaurant, or some kind of door to door job that is essentially cash in hand. For example, a personal fitness trainer, a language teacher, or a party organiser.

This all sounds great, but don’t imagine you are the only one who has had that idea! Research the market first, and find out how much competition you will have. Spend some time living in the area you are thinking of moving to (take a long holiday) and see whether your idea is going to be feasible. You wouldn’t start up a business in your home country without first going to a business advisor, so why would you try it in Spain? Remember, you are going to have to work hard to make it happen (unless you are a millionaire of course!). On the plus side, you will find warm people in the Spanish, great food, and of course fantastic weather. Is it worth it? Of course it is! But you need to keep your head screwed on. The sunshine alone will not improve your bank balance. Here then, are a few real life expat experiences of living life in Spain…