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.

There are so many replies on here, thank you to you all! It’s helpful to hear thoughts and opinions and advice from people who have done it. Lots and lots of research to be done and figure out what we want from life/our future:) thank you again

I suppose it’s obscure if you haven’t heard of Plato.
A platonic idea or ideal is a mental image of something in its most perfect form (which can never be fulfilled by reality), which seems to fit exactly with what the poster is saying.

OP what work do you think will offer you more flexibility and allow you to go to the beach more? In a country where you do not have connections and I think do not speak the language? Sounds like you need a holiday. The daily grind will travel with you no matter what the weather is.

Thanks for the education! Of course I have heard of Plato, but don’t have in-depth knowledge, like most on here, I bet!

Go to Australia!

@virgo22 if you want flexible and more time to yourselves- that works far better if you go with a flexible job you can do anywhere working for yourself - it's pretty hard to go somewhere if you need a job and start wanting lots of flexibility etc right from the off - unless you look for part time and have huge financial reserves.

Me too. I live in Toledo, but I've been in Spain for 12 years (so pre Brexit)

You are living my dream!!!
What a gorgeous city Madrid is, could not think of anywhere better.
Enjoy!

I’m half Spanish currently living in England.
i miss the weather, the food and my family in Spain.

i do NOT miss the bureaucracy, the job market, and the fact its currently too hot for about five months of the year .

seriously, climate change is bad and will get worse in Spain! Drought, flooding as seen recently.
it is genuinely unpleasant in summer without aircon in many places, and then I say summer I mean between May and October. Utility bills can be much higher than here !

Yes..as I was quoting someone else, and that's the word they used. Hence my joke.

I don't know about moving there but we had a holiday to Malaga this year and were shocked at how much better it was there .
So much cheaper for groceries, eating out . The streets were spotless , no litter or graffiti that we saw . Much more general respect , no shouting , fights , anti social behaviour . And there were police regularly patrolling by car in the town and car / bike combo on the beach . Made for a very nice experience and really highlighted how awful Britain is now .

@hattie43 that sounds lovely, yes i agree. The crime here daily is just awful I feel completely over living here tbh.
lots of research to be done though - we get one life eh!

we did it. No regrets. My life is so much better!

Of course it has its challenges, and I’ve been here long enough to have a strong support network here, but I am much happier than when living in SE England (which I love visiting for holidays).

@EspanaPorfavor that's amazing news! When did you make the move? Any advice you can give on looking into the process/deciding how you took the plunge?

Reading through a lot of these negative comments regarding heat, bureaucracy, unemployment etc etc don’t apply to much of the North. Do your research to pick your area because the various communities of Spain are vastly different to each other. The Basque Country vs Granada are world’s apart.

Regarding salaries, they are lower but higher in proportion to cost of living. Very much a cafe society, wine and pintxo after work etc. Health services very good and various schooling options with the “concertada” (semi public) system. It’s an awful country to be self employed.

I moved to Spain. Have zero regrets but day-to-day problems are still the same

Brexit has made it almost impossible for young families to move now unless you are very rich and can afford not to work

Not Spain but I lived in Cyprus for 10 years. If you don't speak the language fluently then your options are really working in a holiday resort which is somewhat seasonal. Even if you find a year round job it's likely you'd be working far longer hours through the summer and not enjoying any of the lifestyle that you imagine and weather not really warm enough to do so in winter when it's quieter. 9-5 Monday to Friday is a breeze in comparison! I moved back in time for my eldest starting school and although I miss certain aspects I'd say it's altogether a better balance here with more opportunities, especially given DC's interests (although perhaps Spain has far more than Cyprus). Also look at the schooling system I struggled with not speaking the language fluently and that was just at nursery level - they already got homework and lines to learn for plays that I couldn't much help with. Formal school is started later as is often mentioned here as a benefit, but nursery is far more formal and once it does start it's very intense. Little to know fun or creative side. Of dc don't pass the year they stay back and re sit rather then move up with their peers. Dc are both dyslexic and this wouldn't have suited them at all! Lots more to think about than just the sun in the sky!

Sorry, I replied without seeing your question!

I moved about 12 years ago for a little adventure because I was bored of my dead end job in a Coventry call center, but never went home! It was easy because it was pre Brexit, and because the idea was to go for a year, I didn’t put much thought into it at all!

Then when DC were born, it made sense to stay here where paternity leave is 4 months and nursery is free. We moved back to England for 6 months (to beautiful Cambridge and had the most idyllic time there) but the work life balance (lack of) we experienced there sealed the deal and we bought our flat in Spain shortly after. My DHs English boss there didn’t get the whole “but it’s sunny so obviously we’ll leave work at 3pm today” thing!!

If I could choose anywhere, I’d probably go near Madrid. All other regions (including mine!) have a third language which makes things very hard for incomers, or is too hot!

Do you think other countries will be welcoming you as migrants with the same attitude the UK's?

Platonic??
That's a non-sexual relationship!

I lived in Spain for years. Yes there is a better life balance generally but overall it’s the same shit in a different place

Way to integrate. Send your kids to a British school.
This is what many ex-pats do, yet hate it when immgrants do the same here
British people remain very much 'do as I say, not as I do' in their collective attitude

Your point is valid - live to work, boring tedious repetitive lifestyle etc. Spain isn’t the answer. But there will be an answer- move somewhere cheaper and be mortgage free, start a family business, move elsewhere in world where cost of living is much less…

Forgot to add that this was all pre brexit. My plans of retirement back there are now pretty much scuppered!

You just can't compare a holiday destination with regular neighbourhoods. There is crime, litter and no police in sight outside of the tourist hotspots as you would expect to find in the UK.