Category: Living in Spain

In response to the previous post, and to a call on Gaping Void for manifestos:

The Ex-pat manifesto: to be signed by all those people who have decided to go and live somewhere else by their own volition.

1. I live here because I want to. Just because I could be paid better for the same job back home does not give me the right to complain about it. In fact, just because anything at all is different here, I do not have the right to be rude about those whose country it really is (“the locals”).

2. Having infinite patience means it goes on forever, or, no matter how long those #*&¿#@ Spaniards (insert other expletive/nationality as appropriate) take to process a form or fix the plumbing, I’m the only one that cares if I loose my patience.

3. Even if I am conned, robbed, humiliated, lonely or homesick, it is worth remembering afterwards that I decided to step out of my comfort zone in the first place.

4. It really doesn’t matter if I hang out with the locals or with other ex-pats, as long as I am happy…

5. But those who continually complain about their new surroundings are to be avoided. It’s contagious.

6. Wow, everything is… new… it’s not the same as where I came from! What a chance to stimulate my senses! I will take photographs, maybe write a blog or keep a diary, produce podcasts, videos – I’m enjoying the fact that my new point of view is necessarily different, I’m revelling in these new opportunities to feel creative!

UPDATE: 7. When living somewhere you don’t originally come from, don’t resign yourself to the differences, just smile and get accustomed to them.

Please feel free to sign, or add to the ex-pat manifesto in the comments:

One of the last comments on my post “How to start a new life in Spain before it’s too late” particularly caught my eye:

“What a ridiculous and naive take on moving to a new country??!!
In the first instance Spain is in fact one of the worst countries for relocating due to the relentless red tape and beaurocracy that is involved in purchasing property. It is also notorious for many a dodgy deal happening with unscrupulous sellers (apparently the ex-pat Brit is often the culprit) selling properties with all manner of debts attached to them which automatically become your problem. Furthermore, you’ll never actually own the land that your home sits on and therefore can be moved on at any point in the future should the Spanish government decide they want to build a through road right across your land (as with friend’s of my parents).
Work is hard to come by and badly paid. As for teaching, I myself am a qualified English Language Instructor and Spain is one of the lowest paid countries to secure well payed employment (in comparison to living) and it’s not uncommon for people to be paid the same rate whilst working in a bar (again crap pay).
I have been fortunate enough to have travelled extensively and to have lived in many different countries and I have no hesitation is saying that Spain is top of my list for worst places to live (unless of course you’re happy to live in an ex-pat ‘Eldorado’ community). Whilst I do have many Spanish friends, my own personal experience of the Spanish themselves was that they are an unfriendly, unhelpful hostile bunch who do little or nothing to make the tranistion less painful. I had even arrived with a job, enrolled for refresher language classes and communicated soley in Spanish.
Yes, people do move there in there droves but many come back to British shores with only the shirts on their back due to rushed, hurried decision making and lack of a comprehensive plan.
I almost sold up before my last trip there having had many an enjoyable holiday and I’m so glad that I held on to my investment across here instead. As far as Spain is concerned the days of an easy buck in the sun are well and truly over!!”

Evidently I strongly disagree with most of this statement – the government only ‘grabs’ people’s land in Valencia, for example – and I replied to the comment in full over at the original post. But this certainly got me thinking. I am aware that I am always more than encouraging to anyone that wishes to move to Spain, because frankly it has worked out very well for me, and many of my ex-pat friends here, but that can make this website a little one-sided. So I would really like to hear from anyone else that has had similar experiences to the commenter in question, or just simply didn’t find Spain that great. Leave a comment below or email me if you want to tell your story.

It is by no means easy just to turn up in Spain and start a new life with no connections, and your old social network far away at home. Scared the hell out of me when I first got here.

But there are a lot of ways to find your feet, and a social life in Spain, pretty quickly. All you have to do is plan well before you arrive, or get on the case as soon as you get here. Here are some top tips gleaned from my own experiences, and those of others. So, in no particular order:

1. Enroll on a course in Spain before you leave
I walked straight into a TEFL course at International House, Madrid, when I first arrived in Spain. I instantly met 11 other people in the same boat as me. What a relief! It was an even bigger relief when the school hired me afterwards, and I had a whole staffroom of people to go out with at night! Which leads me to…

2. Get a job in a language academy
You will meet lots of savvy ex-pats who have been here for years and can give you excellent advice on those first difficult weeks in Spain (and show you where the beer is coldest 😉 ) Don’t be afraid of mixing with English speakers (some people only want to meet Spaniards), they can be a very useful asset in those early days!

3. Get a job anywhere, better still, have your company send you here!
It’s not all about English teaching. You can work in anything you want with the right amount of effort and patience. If you can get a transfer to Spain with the company you already work with, even better – there will be an office full of Spanish people waiting to bring your language skills up to par.

4. Get an intercambio
No, get three intercambios (see our Spain Glossary entry). Use Loquo.com’s language exchange section for your city. Place an ad of your own. This is the very best thing you can do to make contact with the Spanish. Do not underestimate the power of the intercambio!

5. Use the Irish Pubs
If you feel like you need to speak to someone in your own language, don’t worry about checking out the Irish Pub scene when you first get to Spain. There will be a host of ex-pats propping up the bar, who can give you great advice about finding flats, work etc.

6. Flat sharing
Find a shared flat with one or more locals. Look at noticeboards in bookshops, colleges, universities etc, ex-pat paper classifieds, loquo.com… with any luck some of your new flatmates’ social life will rub off on you!

7. Choose a busy city
All of the above will be a lot easier in a big city such as Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia.

8. Join a Spanish class
…in a language academy. Your Spanish will improve, and Spanish classes in Spain tend to be full of people from all over the world that have just moved to Spain for the long term.

9. If in real doubt, use a relocation service
Some of them are very personal and friendly, and will help you to find a flat, and to orientate you in your new surroundings. I met the owner of one, “Easy Landing“, on a plane to the UK – seems highly recommendable!

10. Find a Spanish bar to call your own
Been in a real, typical Spanish bar and felt quite at home? Make it your local. Pop in regularly for a coffee, caña, or menu del dia. The barmen/waiters will soon come to recognise you and make you feel more at home.

…falls mainly in Madrid! It hasn’t stopped raining for 12 hours. The weather reminded me of an article I wrote for a competition a few years ago, when I lived in Lavapies, which still holds very true today. Here it is, for anyone with two minutes to spare:

If only it rained a bit more in Madrid. For a start, I wouldn’t get into trouble for leaving the tap running whilst I brush my teeth. I try to explain to my Madrileña wife that it’s just a bad habit picked up in my English youth. When later she came to England she understood: with so much rain, we rarely face a water shortage.

It doesn’t rain too often in Madrid, yet how the city could do with it! If only it rained a little more, the streets wouldn’t be so apt to smell of dog shit. In a city of gardenless dog-fanatics, this tends to be a problem. The council employs men, on scooters with giant rear-mounted hoovers, to suck up the offending articles from the pavements. One day I expect a hoover bag to explode, causing a minor environmental incident.

Based on my own experiences, and reports from our forum, it’s never too late to move to Spain forever. In 9 basic steps, this is how it works:

1. Make up your mind to start a new life in Spain.

This is the really hard part, believe me! I mean we all know we want to move somewhere hotter, friendlier, and a good deal less dangerous, but everyone back home insists on telling us we are mad or just plain irresponsible. Ignore them, shut out the rising feelings of guilt, and:

2. Fix a date for departure.

Make it sooner rather than later to avoid procrastinating your way out of the decision. If you are from outside the EU you will need a return ticket to make sure the Spanish let you in. If you are from inside the EU, get a one-way ticket to ensure you don’t do something stupid, like return after less than at least 12 months.

3. Sell everything that won’t fit into a couple of suitcases…

…or your old bedroom at the parents’ house (Ebay is your friend!)

4. Have one last drink with the mates and get on that plane.

Don’t get morose. Soon you’ll be drinking colder beer in a warmer climate. Warning: Do not get so drunk that you change your mind or miss your plane! Life is about to get really exciting…

5. Work in whatever field you can upon arrival.

And if you can’t do anything else, then be an English teacher. Not qualified? No problem. If you can read this, then you can certainly teach English in Madrid or Barcelona. It’s the law of supply and demand. 😉 Same goes for bar jobs in Spain’s Irish pubs.

6. Get an intercambio language exchange.

Which is a lot like a blind date with an excuse, really helps you to learn Spanish and make friends, and will often lead you to:

7. Marry or move in with him/her.

Warning: do not go out with, marry, or move in with a non-Spaniard. Sooner or later they will screw everything up by trying to take you back to where they came from (risk revising this rule only if they come from somewhere even nicer than Spain).

8. Get the job you always wanted.

Your Spanish is good enough by now, and, more importantly, you have all the enchufes (nepotistic contacts) you need via your new Spanish husband/wife/partner.

9. Sit back, relax, and remember that…

… You did it! ¡Olé! You triumphed where others feared to tread! And it wasn’t really that difficlut, was it?

Still need a bit more inspiration? Why not…

• Read Errant in Iberia, for the in-depth version of how I made the move…
• Learn Spanish with our Spanish podcasts…
• Chat about the nitty-gritty of this exciting move in our forum.

This post was inspired by a writing project at probolgger.net

The BBC’s Today Programme has an interesting interview with an ex-pat theartre group based on the Costa del Sol. Listen to the programme (Real Player required), and let us know what you think.

Are these people the scurge of the Costa del Sol? Is it OK to move to Spain and make little or no effort to learn the language?

Join the debate in the Notes from Spain Forum!

“One in five Britons will spend some part of their holidays this year in Spain. Many of them – especially those in their forties, fifties or sixties – will be trying to decide whether to move there permanently. There are now so many Britons in Spain – more than a million, according to some estimates – that some towns have almost become English-speaking.” From The Observer.

Will the last one out of the UK please turn off the lights!?

1. You will live longer. Spaniards have the highest longevity rate in Europe, and some studies suggest that this is simply because they have so much fun. The willingness to have a good time, all of the time, is reason enough to move to Spain alone, but if you live longer as a result? Fantastic! Of course the famed Mediterranean diet helps too.

2. Learning the lingo. With a bit of effort you will quickly become fluent in Spanish, and eventually as close as damn it to bilingual. Bilingual people are also said to stay saner longer in old age, something to do with using more of your brain, so, combine that with point 1 and once again, like the Spanish, you’re laughing!

3. Broadening horizons. Living abroad for a while cannot help but broaden your perspective on life. As you compare Spain’s vibrant culture to your own, enjoy new sensations, hear new music, see new film, you will learn a little bit more about the world than you knew before. Plus, overcoming intitial cultural and linguistic barriers strengthens hitherto wasted degrees of independence and confidence.

4. Not forgetting… the climate, the tapas, the fiestas, the outdoor lifestyle, the diversity of the landscapes, the wine, the sea, trains that run on time, no fighting on Friday nights when the bars shut, great domestic football/soccer, world class art, Flamenco, Andalucia, Cordero Asado…. etc…

5. It can only go wrong. Inertia is what stops many a potential ex-pat from making the break to Spain, that and fear of the unknown. But really, how bad can it be? What can possibly go wrong? You can turn round and head back to your old life whenever you want. But you probably won’t, beleive me 😉 I came for a month, and have nearly racked up 8 years…

Did I miss anything? Comment below >

You really know you’re getting into the Spanish culture when you buy your first ‘Padel’ racket, especially when, like me, sport is not usually high on a list of favorite pastimes. Does padel have a life outside Spain? Not in England anyway, as far as I can remember. It’s a kind of half-sized version of tennis, with smaller, polystyrene filled rackets, and you can (try to) play off the walls at the back (a recipe for flailing around like a complete idiot for the first 20 games or so.)

But it’s great fun! Now I know what these Spaniards have been going on about for so long, plus, I’m one step further down the path to Spanishification! So thanks to a fellow local blogger (who isn’t Spanish but knows a lot about Spanish wine) for getting me onto the padel court.

Whatever next? Perhaps I’ll inadvertently develop a taste for squid in it’s own ink, or callos…