I am having my annual bugger it, sell it all and move to Spain few months...If you know people who came back, do you know why.....

[EllenWaiteourkid]

God sake even the worstest hottest looking caravans on the worst site on Bargain loving Brits in the sun are starting to look attractive..... 😂

Seriously, I am too chicken to do it ( I think) but if you know someone who threw it all up went to Spain and then came home after a years or even decades, can I ask why they came back....

TIA

Do you have the right to move and live there?

That saying home is where the heart is

I’ve lived in a few countries at times I’ve felt homesick (it’s awful feeling) and other times been very happy but the pull the cone home is very strong

my dad is in his 80’s as are most my aunts/uncles they are missing home more and more but it’s not easy to just sell up and move and of course family (they are mostly very comfortable)

Is it possible post Brexit? I thought there was a 90 day maximum (genuine question rather than goady as I'd love to move abroad).

Yes I agree with this. Expat friendships are of a particular type- easy come, easy go. Fine if it doesn’t bother you but it made me feel a bit rootless.

Of course if you have good Spanish you can make Spanish friends.

How does it work with the post-Brexit 90 day per year visit limit, although I imagine that will be ironed out in the coming years due to European counties losing business of Brits who used to be there for longer?

A relative did - she came into a lot of money very unexpectedly and sold up and moved to Spain. She stayed there a good 10-15 years then the money ran out and her partner got cancer so they came home to live with her daughter. She says she would do it all again but happy to be back now x

You can move to Spain if you have over £500k to invest.

You can also move on a non lucrative visa which is you need to have around 28k for the first year and double for the second. bUT you cannot work on that visa. (So basically it suits retired people )

You can get a work visa but only if they can't fill that job from someone from the EU first

It's very difficult now but not impossible

Spanish state health care is far superior to the NHS. And it's free so no idea what they mean ?

The missing friends I understand but we fly back regularly so honestly don't miss anyone

The drinking culture o definitely understand. Many areas of domain you order a breakfast and it comes with a bottle of wine

From me it's a big 'do it', BUT:

If you want to stay more than 90 days the visa requirements are now v stringent: golden visa, so buying a property over 500k, or non lucrative visa, which requires you to have money in the bank. Neither allows you to work.

Moved there just before Brexit, best decision ever. It isn't a cheap country but we never expected it to be so. Culturally it's great (our location anyway - city, non costa del sol). The bureaucracy and tax regime are a bit shocking but systems work, in general. Happy to stay forever if they'll have me, and excited about applying for citizenship as soon as I'm eligible.

If you're feeling brave try some of the Expats in Spain Facebook groups. They are not for the faint hearted and there are some very jaded ppl on there. I find the most vocal ppl on those are retirees who expect to live like they're on holiday.

Yes it is perfectly possible. You can stay 90 consecutive days then you must leave, you can stay up to 183 days in a year but only 90 consecutive days at any one time.

Alternatively, you take up residence and obtain a residence permit which allows you to come and go as you please. However, to obtain that permit you need to prove you have an income that will support you and any dependents and will need to pay for Private Health Cover or pay into the Spanish Public Health system, plus your housing circumstances will be taken into account and tax status. Whether you are intending to work or are just retiring there is also taken into account.

I’m feeling very much like this atm, so tempting isn’t it! I used to live in Northern Spain in my youth and kept up my Spanish skills. Also have a EU dh and dc so perfectly possible.

To answer your question, I know two main groups, though mostly in France and a few in Spain.

First lot were the retirees, they did come back for various reasons but Brexit made things more difficult plus they missed UK.

The second group went out with young families to work, mostly as builders and gardeners or moved a business to Europe to stay in SM. They are staying, kids in local schools, love the lifestyle, dislike Brexit and never want to return.

It's 90 days in 180. It won't ever be ironed out. It's immigration law and applies to all non EU countries. They couldn't legally make an exception for the UK.

I have lived in spain for 10 years and have seen a lot of people come and go. Among the retirees there are those that struggle to settle in to the new life due to difficulty learning the language, missing home comforts and being too far away from friends and family.
Then there are retirees who return to the UK for health reasons. Either just to be closer to their support network as they slowly lose their independance or because they find it too daunting to navigate the spanish health system with various serious ailments and they prefer to be in the UK where they are better able to communicate with healthcare professionals and can easily understand the information leaflets in boxes of medicstion.

Among the younger ones a big pull back to the UK seems to be better working conditions and career opportunities. Another problem that crops up in younger circles is that a lot of people are coming only temporarily and leave after a year or 2 which males it difficult for those wanting to stay permenantly to form a solid friendship group and feel grounded so a lot of people end up going back to the UK where they have a stable friendship group.

I knew an ordinary working class family who moved there in the 1990s but who returned after just over a year. They weren't remotely snobby but said the part of Spain they moved to (it was coastal, but I'm not sure where) was full of the worst types of British people and consequently not the break from the worst social aspects of Britain that they were trying to find. They'd opened a cafe, and one son worked as a builder, so they needed to be somewhere a bit touristy in order to make money.

My cousin came back. She didn’t make friends, didn’t settle and missed her family.

My mum and dad sold all and moved to Spain with me (in a motor home with 2 massive dogs) when I was 12. We spent a year travelling France and Spain before settling and building a house in the sun. I came back at the age of 15 alone to do my GCSE's in the UK system but they stayed abroad. They came back when I was 17 for about 18 months due to some family issues that were ongoing and needed to be resolved. As soon as they were done, they sold up and moved to France. They spent 7 years there and have now moved back to southern Spain where they've been ever since. They love it and won't come back to the UK to live.

Missing home, you haven't grown up knowing the system and you need to make sure you research and check every l ittle thing, everything a bit more difficult in a second language or not learning the language at all, I lived in China for a number of years and those that didn't learn the language had a much tougher time, you never intergrate, everything is more difficult, only have friends in the immigrant bubble.

although I imagine that will be ironed out in the coming years due to European counties losing business of Brits who used to be there for longer?

Interesting point of view, thinking that these things will be 'ironed out' to keep the business of people from non-EU countries, rather than considered a really significant benefit of EU membership which is no longer available to people from the UK.

We moved to rural southern Spain when DS was 10 and came back when he was 18. Moving there allowed us to retire really early. It was a great experience and we still miss it. We came back for various family reasons and additionally DS had made up his mind he wanted to go to Uni in the UK as most Spanish youngsters go to their local university and live at home or lodge with people which he didn't want We all learnt the language to varying degrees, which was essential in our area, me being the worst and DS fluent. He is now Head of Languages at a school in London.
The bureaucracy is awful, something I don't miss.
Until Brexit and Covid we were still spending around half our time there, despite no longer owning a property, 3 months in the Spring and 3 in the autumn, although this is still possible the 90 day rule makes it more fiddly and doesn't allow as as much freedom in our timings.
Due to the current shit show we are seriously considering returning full time!