Expat Experiences in Spain

When considering a move to a new city, there is nothing more useful than hearing real-life stories and experiences from other expats who are living there. We’d love to hear about your expat experiences. Please contact us if you live or have lived in Spain and would like to share your story.

Moving to Spain from Italy – Read interviews with Italian expats living in Spain

Doris is a lifelong expat who has lived in more than 15 countries since her early 20s. She has two degrees in translation and interpreting and spent 15 years working in localisation and talent management. Today, she helps bold families, couples, and individuals to holistically prepare for their relocation abroad to jump-start their journey into becoming digital nomads. Read more about her expat experience living in Spain.

Moving to Spain from the USA – Read interviews with American expats living in Spain

Chase is a business guru, adventurist, and coffee enthusiast from California. He’s on a mission to discover the ideal balance between work, life, success, and happiness. After early career success as a business director, he decided to hop on a plane to Spain! He is currently exploring Barcelona, studying Spanish, and doing some part-time consulting work. Read more about his expat experience living in Barcelona.
Cat is a Chicago expat who found herself in Southern Spain and has lived and worked in Seville since 2007. Two kids, five jobs, and a mortgage later, Seville has become her home. Read about her experience of expat life in Seville.
As his job allows him to work from anywhere in the world, Dan, an American expat, was able to make the move to Barcelona in 2011, where he enjoys the beautiful architecture and fantastic weather in the city and spends his days off exploring the greater Catalonia. Dan shares info on where to go and what to do in the city on his blog, Barcelona Navigator. Read about his experience living in Barcelona.
Sara is an American expat living in Altea, a picturesque town on the Costa Blanca. After leaving New York City in 2009, she and her Spanish husband have been enjoying the quiet life, temperate weather, and natural beauty along the Spanish Coast. Read more about her expat experience in Spain.
Patty is an American expat who moved to Spain 10 years ago. While she misses her family and friends back in America, she now considers Barcelona home. She believes that the key to truly enjoying expat life in Barcelona is keeping an open mind and embracing the Spanish culture. Read more about her experience of expat life in Barcelona.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Zach is an American expat living in Spain. He moved to Valencia three years ago with his wife, who is Spanish, to settle closer to her family. Zach has some wonderful insights to share about his expat life in Spain. Read more about his expat experience in Valencia.
Juan followed his family and returned to his roots on the Iberian Peninsula a little over two years ago. He’s currently enrolled at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela and perfectly positioned as a young person to shed some light on the Spanish side of life. Read more about his expat experience in Spain.
Erik is, quite frankly, living the dream. He telecommutes to the USA, his country of origin, while living large in splendid Spain with his wife and young child. Read about his expat experiences as a Spanish local in the town of Colindres.

Moving to Spain from Germany – Read interviews with German expats living in Spain

Meet Vicki: once a tourism manager, now a dedicated travel writer. When she’s not exploring the vibrant corners of Spain or jet-setting around the globe, Vicki’s likely soaking up a captivating book by the beach, cooking something or trying to navigate the complexities of Catalan grammar. Read about her expat experience living in Barcelona.

Moving to Spain from France – Read interviews with French expats living in Spain

Looking to get away from the hectic corporate life in France, Chris and his family moved to sunny Málaga to enjoy the relaxed work-life balance in Spain and take advantage of the excellent yet low-cost quality of life in the city. As this is his third expat experience, Chris has adapted to the ups and downs of expat life and has experienced little culture shock in Málaga. Read about his expat experience living in Spain.

Moving to Spain from Canada – Read interviews with Canadian expats living in Spain

Mimi is a Canadian expat who has been living in Spain for the last five years. She describes herself as a normal girl who fell in love with travelling a few years ago and has been visiting new destinations non-stop ever since. She’s also an avid writer and has made it her goal to help others broaden their horizons on an average budget, just like she does. Read about her life as an expat.

Moving to Spain from the UK – Read interviews with British expats living in Spain

Stuart has travelled to many countries around the world. He moved to live in Spain in 2017, which was initially an on-and-off experience until it became more permanent towards the end of 2020. Now he lives in Santander on the north coast, working mainly as an English teacher alongside freelance writing gigs. Find out more about Stuart’s experience in Spain in his expat interview.
Chris is a British expat living just outside of Barcelona. He’s a father of three and an avid golfer, and he enjoys trying new things when the opportunity arises. Chris is a financial adviser for expats in Spain and works to help expats maintain a successful financial life in the country. Read about his expat experience in Spain and what he enjoys most about the country.
Molly has lived in Spain since 1998 – first in Barcelona, and now in Granada, where she is welcomed as a local. In this interview, Molly shares her experiences of living in Andalusia and what she feels expats need to consider before moving here. Her website and social media channels focus on travel, food and culture. Read about her experience living in Granada.
Kate is an English author who spent several years living and teaching English in Madrid. She quickly fell in love with the city and now considers it a home away from home. Read more about her expat experience in Madrid.
Lottie is a British expat living in the southern Spanish town of Alcalá la Real with her husband, Pete. Having lived as expats in Jakarta, Indonesia, Lottie and Peter are now enjoying the quieter life of the Spanish countryside. Read more about Lottie’s expat life in Spain.
Jacqui relocated from Britain to Spain with her family when she was eight years old. Having lived there most of her life, she shares her insight about growing up as an expat child. Read more about her expat experiences in Mallorca.
Billie is a British expat living with her boyfriend in Valencia, Spain. Over the past five years, she has worked as an English teacher in various countries across the world. She has lived in Turkey, China, and Thailand, but says it’s Valencia that has begun to feel like home. Read more about her expat experiences in Valencia.
Maria moved from England to Spain almost 30 years ago and now lives on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, which is very popular among holidaymakers and expats alike. Maria runs a real estate business and says the best way to meet people in your new home is to go to their favourite hangouts, whether these are cafés frequented by locals or popular expat clubs. Read more about her expat experiences in Mallorca.
Robin and his wife moved from the UK to the Spanish coastal town of Moraira. Once a fishing village, it’s now an upmarket tourist town where the Wheelers are running a successful pub. Robin says they found the move easy and straightforward, and reckons the best way to meet people in Spain is to head down to your local bar. Read more about his expat experiences in Spain.
Lisa is a British expat who has been living in Spain for the past 20 years. She lives just outside Mijas Pueblo, in the Málaga province, with her husband and two children, who were both born in Spain. Lisa now considers Spain to be her home country and runs several websites about life in Spain, providing valuable information for those moving there. Read more about her expat life in Spain.
Anna is a British expat who has lived on the island of Mallorca with her husband and son for the past 11 years. She is the author of several humorous books based on her own experiences of living in Mallorca, the most recent of which is A Bull on the Beach, published in July 2012. Read more about her expat experience in Mallorca.
Rachel is an English teacher living and working in Zaragoza, Spain. She is a bit of a serial expat, having lived in London, the USA, Japan, and South Korea. Rachel manages to include freelance writing among her wide range of interests and activities and has shared her take on expat life in Spain right here.
Emma is originally from London and now lives and thrives in Barcelona. She is a writer and adviser on expat issues and has a particular passion for kids and parents in Barcelona. She produces a well-known family guide to the city. Read about her expat experiences in Barcelona.
Justin is living the dream. He beat the system, brought his family down to the Spanish coast, and is learning a little about what life is supposed to be like. He built up the site Eyes on Spain and now offers Expat Arrivals a glimpse into expat life through rose-coloured glasses.
John has lived and worked in Spain for the past 12 years. He moved here after travelling widely, before discovering the many charms of the Spanish lifestyle, weather and people. His expat experience of life in Spain is positive and enlightening – see what he has to say in his interview about expat life in Spain.

Moving to Spain from the Netherlands – Read interviews with Dutch expats living in Spain

Linda is a 28-year-old Dutch expat who moved to Spain almost seven years ago. In the meantime, she’s moved twice and got married to the Spaniard for whom she moved to the country in the first place. Although this country will never stop surprising her (both positively and negatively), she’s loving the food, beautiful places, and people there. Read about her expat experience in Barcelona.
Dany and Thijs fell in love with Valencia and moved there just five weeks after their first visit. Their small bed and breakfast in the heart of the city’s historical centre was voted one of the top three B&Bs in Spain by TripAdvisor. Many ‘would-be’ expats enjoy their inside knowledge of the city as well as their hospitality. Read more about their expat experience in Valencia.

Moving to Spain from South Africa – Read interviews with South African expats living in Spain

Gabriella is a creative entrepreneur, involved in all things from content creation and photography to social media management and self-love advocacy. She moved from South Africa to Huesca, a city in the Spanish region of Aragon, where she works as an au pair and fell in love with the people, the food, and the culture. Read about her experience living in Huesca.

Moving to Spain from Russia – Read interviews with Russian expats living in Spain

Anna is a Russian expat who moved to Spain’s southeastern city of Alicante for an internship. She enjoyed the small-town feel of Alicante and the friendliness of the locals, who would invite her to eat tapas and enjoy a good party. However, Anna found that it was essential to learn Spanish in order to communicate and adapt faster to living in Spain. Read more about her expat experience in Spain.