Moving to spain

[virgo22]

does anyone else just think there must be more to life than what we have in the UK? We have a mortgage and love our home, but constantly sick of chasing our tails, hardly spending much time together as a family due to always working and needing to pay the bills probably be unhappy anyway.
my children are aged 3 and 7 months and I think I would love to create a better life for them by having a better lifestyle. Me and my partner would love to sell the house, move and start a fresh and start living our life. Life is so short and I feel like why not, when life is for living.

has anyone done this? I hate this rat race that we find ourselves in here.

What do you mean precisely when you say “lifestyle”? All your day to day chores will look the same, your work will be the same amount of challenge/boredom (as applicable), your day to day interaction with officialdom will be more difficult (language), your kids will need to learn a new language at school and you’ll find it more difficult to interact with other parents and staff (language).

"Are we allowed to move to Spain?" kind of needs to be your first question though. Because if the answer is no, all the other questions are redundant.

Post Brexit it's not so easy.

Why do you feel the lifestyle would be better in Spain? Unless you can afford not to work, presumably you’d still have the rat race aspects of work, childcare etc to deal with? Yes, the weather might be better, but even that isn’t guaranteed.

You can't just move to Spain. You need work visas.

I love that my kids can travel freely on (dirt) cheap, reliable public transport at all hours of the day and night in safety. I love that we can afford to live in the centre of the city in a bright spacious home that would cost probably 7 times as much in central London. The kids go to a British school, though I guess as yours are so young you won’t need to worry about the language thing as much as they will pick it up easily.

I love that it’s not cold and miserable. I detest the heat at the height of summer though, it really is something else! I don’t know if it’s better. It’s certainly better for us. It really is an individual choice.

I did it my grass does not always feel greener tbh 😂 it's pretty much same shit different view ! And it's way too hot in the summer

I was going to ask the same, what do you mean by lifestyle? Unless you have loads of money you still need to go to work, clean the house, do the laundry, tend the garden. I remember when I visited my brother in Australia and their lifestyle was no different to mine, his wife was still ironing a pile of clothes in front of the tv on a Sunday afternoon.

@Crikeyalmighty thank you - no this is very early stages so we don’t even know if this could be an option yet. Trying to gather lots of info!

I've lived longterm in five different countries, including many years in different parts of England. Have you ever spent substantial time living and working outside of the UK? Have you spent any time in Spain other than on a holiday? Do you speak Spanish? Do you know whether your skills and/or qualifications are in demand in Spain? What is it that makes you think your life would be better in Spain?

@virgo22 I think that's the most important thing really - post Brexit it's nowhere near as simple - there are various ways but you have to be able to study those conditions- it's no different to if you were coming from say Canada - I hate to sound negative but so many make so many mental plans without looking at the basics first -

I'm going to France when my current commitments end. I'm fortunate though in that I have dual nationality and a place to go to. England doesn't feel the same anymore and I feel more at home over there.

You need to start with information about visas because unless you have the right to live and work in Spain, you're going to need them. Without the correct eligibility, the longest time you can spend in Spain in 3 months out of 6.

Do you meet the criteria?

@TidalRiver i haven’t no - but longer term we’ve always wanted to move out of the UK to experience it so I guess we have to start somewhere. Obviously a lot of factors come into play. But we don’t enjoy living here in all honestly. It’s more for the lifestyle, going to the beach, etc. it would be nice to create opportunities for our children and to experience new cultures.
any advice would be appreciated :) as mentioned this is something we’re loosely considering

I'm Spanish and I've lived in the UK for 30 years. If I was retired, I'd consider moving back to Spain. Until then, no way. Shitty working conditions, declining healthcare, declining education. No stability.

Sorry but I'd rather be cold and have a job. You can't eat the good weather

@Ladyswhatlunch we would have a decent amount of equity to set us up for a while.
I mean things such as cost of living and not constantly having to do the 9-5, looking for more flexible jobs abroad

@MissScarletInTheBallroom that’s why I’ve asked for advice from people who have done it already, I usually find it helpful on here :)

You need to ask for help for anyone who has done it post January 2021 - before that is irrelevant as it's totally different conditions before then

I live in Spain - happy to answer questions if it will help.

@virgo22

You've not answered the most fundamental questions that people have asked.

Do you or your partner have EU citizenship? OR

Do you or your partner have a qualification or skills that are in demand in Spain (or elsewhere in the EU) such that a visa might be possible and do you or your partner have the required language skills in adition to the academic/practical qualifications in order for you to be eligible for a visa?

Unless you can answer yes to either the Citizenship or the skills questions, your chances of relocating anywhere - Europe or Australia/Canada/NZ/USA/South Africa - are greatly reduced.

My BF lives in Spain- a very expensive part just outside Marbella. She met her dh there (he's not Spanish) and they have 2dc. Her dh works all hours in hospitality and she's a teacher. It's very expensive there, activities like gymnastics, food and drinks. The cost of property is more expensive than where I live. It's lovely when it's warm - but also much too hot the past few years, then cold in winter with no central heating. They couldn't use the pool for a lot of the summer due to a water ban.

There's not a lot to do really and she's often bored. The parks are not as good as here and there's not the same things like shows and activities. Flights have gone up massively the past few years so they don't get home as much. She would move home but her dh wouldn't want to.

I'd think about what you want from moving. Presumably you'd need to work, if not immediately then soon. There's still school runs, shopping, chores etc etc so a lot will be same shit different place.

Yeah, 100%. Feel free to tag/message me if I can help with applying, I’ve done it a couple of times now!

If you want beaches and nice weather move to Bournemouth- a lot less hassle than trying to move abroad now.

Fuck Brexit and every narrow minded eejit who voted for it and fucked things up for everyone else. I'm still furious

Sorry I was working before so will elaborate a bit now.
So ! I think the U.K. deffo has its faults but I wouldn't say spain is any better tbh.

There are huge problems with housing obviously this depends on what area you would be planning on moving to but it is almost impossible anywhere that is touristy to find a reasonably priced rental and buying prices are sky high. I would have much better accommodation choices in the U.K. because I am from the north.

Driving since brexit you may need to look into if you would need to do a driving test in order to drive here because the rules seem to change constantly. I have recently bought a very average car for 20 thousand euros cars are so expensive here.

Anything to do with anything basically is hard work especially if you aren't fluent in Spanish. You end up having to pay people to do basic tasks for you and it's constant.

Taxes are in my opinion a lot worse than they are in the U.K. and the government can just embargo your bank account if you owe so much as a parking fine.

Healthcare is no better than the U.K. and I have found when anyone is admitted to hospital here it is the family who are expected to care for the patient for example wash them and feed them if necessary. As a foreigner you aren't always treated well or welcomed so probably need to get health insurance which costs hundreds a month.

Getting anything delivered is an absolute nightmare and the choice of things available is not as varied. Supermarkets for example don't have special offers and very rarely change their stock so it's all just a bit boring and no convenience. Customer service is really lacking and you are lucky to get a hola.

Moving here since brexit is not easy your finances are looked into because basically the main thing the government in Spain are interested in is extracting as much money from people as possible and this goes for Spanish citizens too. Being self employed is a nightmare you have to pay 300 and off euros a month just to be registered that's before you make a cent and that's not tax that's just to be registered it doesn't matter if you are a cleaner or a dentist you all pay the same it's such a stupid system,

Living anywhere that is considered a tourist destination is a nightmare in the summer. Nowhere to park, constant noise, everywhere is just full and the infrastructure can not cope. It's often over 40 degrees too. There is a severely water shortage in a lot of areas because no money has been put into to drainage.

I could go on and on.
I know this all sounds very negative I don't have an awful life here but I do think my standard of living and opportunities were far higher in the U.K. and honestly even though I'm contributing and doing my best I don't feel massively welcome by the locals and that's fair enough I suppose because the U.K. don't welcome immigrants either and that's what you would be don't fool yourself it's only the British who like to call us expats

Oh and cost of living my electric bills are €200 a month and I live in a small apartment for a ridiculous rent. Like I said cars are stupidly expensive. Food is expensive and when I'm visited the U.K. I food food far cheaper because of deals and availability of different discount stores etc. 9-5 I wish 😂 I often work til 8/9pm. And as someone else mentioned there is absolutely fuck all to do apart from go to the beach which wears thin after a bit tbh

Kids in Spain tend to stay up way later than kids in the UK, so if you're looking for more family time then that's an easy thing to change?