Expat Experiences 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 in our interview with her.

Chris is a British expat living just outside of Barcelona. He's a father of three, an avid Golfer, and he enjoys trying new things in life 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. 

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 for in the first place. Though 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. 

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 in her interview.  

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. 

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.

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.

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 Trip Advisor. Many 'would-be' expats enjoy their inside knowledge of the city as well as their hospitality. Read more about their expat experience in Valencia.

Kate Boyle 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 Nevin is a British expat living in the southern Spanish town of Alcala 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 Evans 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 Jago 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.

Robin Wheeler 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 and 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.

Sara Wilson 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.

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.

Originally from Austin, Texas, Zach Frohlich 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.

Lisa Sadleir is a British expat who has been living in Spain for the past 20 years. She lives just outside Mijas Pueblo, in the Malaga 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.

Patty Sanchez 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.

Anna Nicholas 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 on Mallorca.

Rachel Harris 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 Grenham is originally from London and now lives and thrives in Barcelona. She is a writer and advisor 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 of Barcelona.

Juan Liria 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.

Justin Aldrige 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 Kramer 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.

Erik Rasmussen 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.