Moving to Spain has always been a dream of mine. I (36m) live in Belgium and I always hate the cold dark winter. Spain for me represents happiness and sun. I want to learn the language and see if the people/country suit me more. I don’t have a bachelor or any particular skills (except being a native English speaker) and I have absolutely no clue where in Spain I would like to live. I also don’t speak Spanish. Are there any success stories here of people who moved somewhere in Spain that are thriving and oh so happy they moved? Are there any towns or cities you would recommend that I could live in? Do you think I can find a job and make it work? Or am I just a ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ dreamer? Is Spain a great holiday destination but not a great place to live/work? I feel lost. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hubby and I moved here 4 years ago from the U.K. We managed on savings initially before hubby got his pension. We bought an apartment outright, and we live with what we need, so no extravagant spending. We started learning Spanish before we came, and can hold a reasonable conversation but we are not yet fluent. I take lessons. There’s lots of summer work available but again, mostly to Spanish speakers. We planned this for over 2 years, and moved earlier than expected due to Brexit, but we don’t regret it. Just ensure you research areas to live depending on what you want. We chose a small Spanish town on the south east coast, as we didn’t want a place which was mainly occupied by English speakers. I get frustrated at my lack of understanding of Spanish, but I know that’ll come with more time. Good luck, whatever you decide.
Don’t get me wrong i do not want to tell you to completely forget this idea but: This is a clear grass is greener on the other side. Honestly your main problem is work even if you are european coming here with no job or any skills is probably a death sentence even worse if you don’t even have basic Spanish. So if you do indeed think this is the place for you after doing some research mainly house pricing and job opportunities which may probably make you reconsider faster than an English gentleman falling through a balcony in Mallorca. If this idea is the long term i think it’s doable and i recommend you: Focus a lot on learning Spanish because a lot of people say I’m learning and can’t even hold a normal convo. If by any chance you like computers and tech and your can score a remote job even better and you can also look for valuable skills that Spain is interested. About the cities to live in almost everyone will recommend their own city or a big city with more job opportunities like Barcelona or Madrid (which are expensive af) so i do recommend a bit more to the south. Finally good luck and keep studying. 🙂
I know native English speakers who have moved to Spain but they have not found it easy. You need a long term commitment to navigate the red tape, learn the language and establish yourself. However, expats who obtain a job elsewhere and then work remotely in Spain (not necessarily for the whole year) end up doing really well as the salary often goes further.
Native english with zero spanish is not really a valuable skill in Spain.Don’t come here if you don’t know spanish at least, you will not find a job and you will be living miserably.