Spain, Spain, Spain. As we all know, it is a beautiful country. Think of the beautiful Spanish houses or the delicious Spanish cheeses. Because we have lived in Spain before, we can tell you that there are many advantages to living in Spain.

Of course, one place has more advantages than the other, but you simply start to love Spain. That is perhaps also why many people go to live in Spain. If you have been on holiday in Spain more often, you can probably confirm this yourself and it is not for nothing that you have ended up on this website, because that is of course also probably because you will soon be going to Spain is moving.

Already familiar with Spanish beauty?

As you may have read, we have often been on holiday in Spain with our parents since we were children. These were of course family holidays, but when we were old enough to go on holiday ourselves, for example with friends, the choice quickly fell on Spain. This allowed us to taste life in different parts of Spain.

A city where we have both been on holiday more often and are really crazy about in Spain, is Madrid. This was also the reason why when Anna was allowed to go abroad for her studies, we went to live in Madrid. It may be a big and busy city, but once you have been allowed to visit Madrid, you will never forget the city. It is a place like nowhere else. Eventually we had to go back home, but the intention was to live there one day. However, a number of things have to be arranged before we can take the step, but we have been very busy with this over the past year and we want to be settled in Madrid next year.

Emigrating to Spain during Corona

Unfortunately, Corona has intervened, but this certainly does not stop us and this should not stop anyone from moving to Spain. Read more about emigrating to Spain during corona.

Make a choice

Anyway, let's just focus on emigrating to Spain so that you get a good idea of it. The intention is of course not to persuade you, but to give you as honest an idea as possible. We understand that such a big step makes people doubt at first, but while considering it, it is best to first inform yourself well, because we are of course talking about emigration here. As discussed earlier, there are many advantages to living in Spain, but of course, living in Spain also has its disadvantages. Don't worry, we will discuss those here too! After all, good preparation is half the battle!

Benefits of living in Spain

Of course, we'll start with the benefits first and luckily there are a lot of them, so read on:

The climate

Foreigners often think after spending several summer holidays in Spain that the sun always shines in Spain. Especially for the many Dutch people who have reached retirement age and choose Spain as a country to spend the winter. Unfortunately, we have to tell you that the weather is not always great and the sun does not always shine.

In fact, the climate in Spain varies greatly from region to region. For example, one area is known for its mild winters and another area is known for its scorching summers, while in the same region it can get extremely cold in the winter.

It is therefore wise to first find out what the climate is like in the regions of Spain. That way you know exactly what to expect during all seasons and you avoid unnecessary disappointments. Perhaps you can also visit the region a few times during different seasons to really experience it all before you make a decision. Or try out a place somewhere on the other side of Spain before you move.

One thing that is almost certain compared to the Netherlands is that the summers in Spain are warmer and the winters milder.

Hours of sunshine

Spain also has more hours of sunshine on average and long summers. So in Spain the sun shines a lot! Of course it also depends on which part of Spain you are going to live in. If you are going to live in the north, where it is often cloudy, for example in a city like Bilbao, then the average hours of sunshine are 1600 hours per year, which is almost the same as the Netherlands, because in the Netherlands the average is about 1500 hours of sunshine per year. If you are going to live in the south of Spain, for example in Tarifa, the southernmost point of Spain, then there are an average of 3000 hours of sunshine per year. That is why the Costa Blanca in the south-east of Spain is so popular among the Dutch.

Location

To summarize: the climate of Spain is determined by its location. This is due to the fact that the south of Spain is only about 14 kilometers away from Africa. The west is on the ocean and the north and east are on the sea. Furthermore, the interior of Spain has many mountains. Due to the mixture of these aspects, the country has one of the most varied climates in Europe.

Quality of life

As you may have read in the article about health insurance in Spain, Spaniards are the healthiest people in the world with a life expectancy of 83.5 years. It is even predicted that this will increase to 85.8 years by 2040. This would mean that Japan will be overtaken by Spain with the highest average life expectancy.

What you could also read in the aforementioned article is that Spain scores very high on the list of health care worldwide. Spain is in 7th place!

As a resident of Spain you are obliged to insure yourself and with the Seguridad Social Spain ensures that every resident of Spain (provided you have an income or pay premiums) has access to health care. Compared to the Netherlands the costs are very low. The premium is namely 4.7% of your income and it is then automatically deducted from your salary. How well is this arranged!?

Cost of living

If you look at the cost of living in Southern European countries and compare it to Northern European countries, you can see that the costs in Southern Europe are much lower. According to research by world prices Spain, living in Spain is 21% cheaper than in the Netherlands. Furthermore, food is also 21% cheaper and for example eating out or having a drink is even 31% cheaper!

Transport

Living in Spain for people with a car is very easy, because everything is just reachable by car. You have the ''autovías'' which are indicated with the letter A and you have the toll roads ''autopistas'' which are indicated with the letters AP. So don't forget to take your wallet on the AP roads.

Spanish environmental sticker

In some Spanish cities it is also mandatory to provide your car with an environmental sticker when you enter certain zones. These zones are there to improve air quality and to ensure that there are not too many cars driving in the cities. How do you know if you are driving in such a zone? This is always indicated by the special area de prioridad residencial signs. If you drive without a environmental sticker If you enter these zones you may receive a hefty fine, so keep a close eye on this.

Public transport network

Living in Spain is also very easy for people without a car. Spain has a super good, extensive and very clear public transport network. The public transport fares are also considerably lower than what we are used to in the Netherlands. There is also a large underground metro network in the larger cities of Spain. In the larger stations there are often counters where you can go for more information about, for example, tickets or offers with ride cards.

Train

Do you want to live in Spain, but also want to make wonderful domestic trips? Or are you going to work in a city further away? Then you can also use the train. This is also called the RENFE mentioned. RENFE not only has regular trains, but also high-speed trains that take you from one side of the country to the other. These trains also run internationally and so you can easily travel to France and Portugal.

Bus

You can also take the bus anywhere in Spain. For longer distances it is of course not very comfortable, but it is certainly low budget! It is also handy if you have to go to the more remote villages. There are several bus companies and some of them also drive international routes. Furthermore, Spain also has beautiful islands. Think of the Canary Islands or the Balearic Islands. The best way to visit these is by plane.

Rent a scooter or bicycle

It is also possible to rent a scooter or bicycle almost everywhere during outings.

The Mediterranean Diet

Spanish life includes lots of delicious food and wine! It is also assumed that life expectancy in Spain is so high because of the Mediterranean diet that they have. In Spain, everything is often freshly made and seasonal and local ingredients are often used. As a Dutch person, you also have to get used to the lunch and dinner times of the Spanish, because these are completely different from what we are used to.

The Spanish breakfast

In Spain, for example, just like in the Netherlands, people not only eat a hot meal in the evening, but also in the afternoon. The day for Spaniards actually starts with the desayuno or; breakfast. Breakfast for Spaniards is often a cup of coffee with a piece of cake. This is often eaten quickly in the bars on the way to work. But a few hours later, so at the end of the morning, they have a second breakfast! This is called the almuerzo. Then they often eat a Spanish tortilla or a sandwich. As a Spaniard, you actually have the luxury of having breakfast twice.

The Spanish lunch

Because the second part of breakfast is so late in the morning, lunch (la comida) is also eaten later in the afternoon. Lunch in Spain is often between 14:00 and 16:00 and then, as discussed earlier, a hot meal is eaten. Spaniards often eat a good starter during their lunch, which usually consists of a salad or soup, followed by a typical Spanish main course with fish or meat. Not everyone has a dessert, but Spaniards generally do like a good dessert, which is often fruit or a pudding.

After this follows the well-known siesta and before they go to work people eat another snack, also called a merienda. A merienda can actually be seen as an English afternoon tea. People then have a coffee with a pastry or maybe even tapas if they still have some time.

The Spanish Dinner

Dinner (cena) doesn't start until 22:00! How strange will they look at you if you do this in the Netherlands? However, dinner is not as extensive as lunch. It often lasts until around midnight and people often eat tapas with family or friends. You should also know that Spaniards often go out for dinner, because they are real bon vivants. And because Spaniards don't eat dinner until so late, it doesn't get really busy in restaurants until around 22:00. Some restaurants often don't open earlier either.

Spanish population

Spaniards are known for their friendliness and hospitality. If you compare it with Dutch hospitality, you will immediately notice the difference. Not that Dutch hospitality is not good, but in Spain it is all a bit more. They are also real sociable people who like to chat, so prepare yourself. Their English language level is low, so it can be useful for you to learn a few words of Spanish. This is different from Dutch children who learn English early at school. Spaniards also quickly find it fun if you know a few words of Spanish and always try to help you a bit during the conversation. So do you already know a lot of words in "Español"? Then try to practice with the locals, because they often find this very fun.

And oh yes, it is certainly not prejudice when people say that Spaniards are always late. The ''mañana, mañana'' attitude is definitely in their blood and they let everything in their life happen ''tranquilo''.

Work & private

A well-known saying in Spain is ''work to live and don't live to work''. This saying tells you exactly how good their work-life balance is. Despite the fact that Spaniards work long hours, they also have a lot of free time. Think of the siestas they have in the afternoon. Furthermore, in the evening after work, they always enjoy drinks and food with friends and family and they often go out for dinner.

Community and family ties are very important to the Spanish, which makes them keep work and private life well separated and have enough time for both. This is of course different from here in Western Europe.

Social life

As discussed earlier under the heading ''Mediterranean diet'', Spaniards are real bon vivants. You can see this in their way of life and their way of doing things. Almost every evening they can be found until late at night with family, friends or in bars and restaurants to still eat, talk and drink a lot together.

Spain has a strong community culture which promotes social life enormously. Family and friends always make time for each other!

Spanish nature

Spain not only has a varied climate, but also the natural areas are diverse. In the north of the country you often have desert-like mountains and areas, in the south in Andalusia you have many olive trees and in Alicante, for example, you have a lot of palm trees. All these aspects also provide for the varied climate.

The coasts are also known for their beautiful beaches. There are also parks and botanical gardens almost everywhere in Spain. Many large cities offer free access to the gardens, so that one can always relax there.

If you live in Spain and you want to travel you can easily do so domestically. There is something for everyone. For example, don't forget the Spanish islands if you want to lie on a beautiful island.

Disadvantages of living in Spain

Now that we have discussed the advantages, we should of course also talk about the disadvantages of living in Spain. This way you can weigh the pros and cons against each other and make a good decision. Because living in Spain is of course a different story than a holiday in the country. After all, you are moving, officially emigrating, you are going to live in a country other than the Netherlands. That is quite something. Therefore, pay close attention to the following disadvantages.

Homesickness

Homesickness. The longing for home. That melancholic feeling when you think of your old surroundings, friends and family. Some people suffer more from it than others. Personally, we didn't suffer from it very much. Yes, sometimes we do miss our family and friends, but ''home'' in our opinion is where you are at that moment and what you make of it yourself. You also have to make an effort to get to know new people.

Do you think you are someone who can't easily get over this? Then you might think about the fact that Spain is only a few hours flight away and that your friends and family can always easily visit. Do you still want to go back to the Netherlands for a few days? Then that is just as easy!

Language barrier

It is very difficult when you decide to live in Spain and you do not speak the language. It is especially true that you have to arrange so much in the beginning that it is useful if you have some knowledge of the language. In this case, Spanish is a popular language and is widely spoken worldwide. Before you leave, take a look at an online course so that you can learn the basics of the language in advance. With the basics you can already get a long way in Spain, because people often like it when you speak it a little and want to help you as best as possible.

The level of English in Spain is also not very high. Are you going to live in a city like Madrid or Barcelona? Then you can probably get by with English, but don't expect too much English outside the big cities. In the big cities it is often basic English. Do you not yet know which city or region you want to move to? Maybe you can take this into account when you have to decide in which city you want to live.

Different Spanish language variants

It is also good to know that there are many different variants of the Spanish language both inside and outside Spain. In Mexico they sometimes speak Spanish differently than in Spain and in Spain itself they will sound very different in the south than in the north of the country. With this we want to say that even if you speak the language fluently there will always be a small language barrier. Apparently Spanish-speaking people also suffer from this, so don't worry too much about it.

Bureaucracy

The quiet life in Spain is also reflected in the mentality of the civil servants. This in combination with bureaucracy is not something we Dutch are used to. Yes, we think so, because the Netherlands is of course not perfect either, but as soon as you find yourself in the mill of Spain you soon long for the Netherlands and its rules. From the moment you settle in Spain there is everything you have to arrange and you also need all the necessary documents. Unfortunately, things go slowly in Spain. Very slowly. A small simple thing that can be arranged quickly here can take days or sometimes even weeks in Spain. You also quickly suffer from the pillar-to-the-wall effect.

Spaniards themselves often arrange their things with cronyism and acquaintances, but as new residents of a country we of course do not know the necessary people (yet). Unfortunately, peanut butter. And oh yes, do not get frustrated and do not get angry, because you can not do anything about it. Prepare yourself mentally for this change and try to get used to it as soon as possible. We must say that once you live there you will automatically get used to it. How quickly that happens is of course up to you.

Services

We have to be honest again. Spanish service is not only slower than in the Netherlands, but customer friendliness is also often unknown here. In the shops, employees are often chatting, there are very long lines at the checkout and if you need help? Then you can often expect an uninterested look.

As stated before: Spaniards work to live and do not live to work. They show up, do their work and the rest does not matter to them. During such an experience in the store, do not pay too much attention to it, because it is certainly not personal. It is just getting used to it and here we are again dealing with cultural differences.

Unemployment & salary

Spain already had some problems in this area after the economic crisis in 2008, but now the Spanish economy in 2020 also shrank by 11%. Spanish youngsters themselves cannot find a job and therefore often emigrate abroad themselves. Of course, it is also average income in Spain a lot lower. For comparison: in the Netherlands the average monthly income is €1680 and in Spain €1108.33.

So, do you have a good job with a good salary in the Netherlands and do you want to emigrate to Spain? Then you would do well to find out about these things in your professional field before you move!

Work schedule

Spaniards have a slightly different work schedule than us Dutch people. Usually their workday starts around 09:00 until 13:30 to then enjoy their siesta (their break) until around 16:30 to work again until around 20:00. In the larger international cities of Spain they do less of the siesta, because companies are increasingly adapting to the European standards. But for the time being it is still there. Everything is closed, so you can't arrange much yourself. For example, banks are only open until 14:00 and the shops also close around 14:00 and then open again around 17:00 until around 20:30. So there is a completely different work/life schedule.

Best books about emigrating to Spain

Many people are thinking about making their dreams come true in Spain. These books give you super good insight into everything that comes around the corner when emigrating to Spain.

Enjoy reading!

A little tip

It is also best to first contact Spanish real estate agents if you want to live comfortably in Spain. It is wise to look carefully for a reliable real estate agent. In larger cities such as Barcelona, there will be many rooms for rent, but fewer homes of good quality. It is precisely for this that you need good real estate agents so that you do not just rent a home of poor quality.

Renting in Spain is the best option instead of buying a house right away. We speak from experience and think that this is the best option. Of course, you know more about your personal situation and you think differently about this. Then keep a close eye on the housing market in Spain.

Finally

As you have read, there are also advantages and disadvantages in Spain. So you have to think carefully if you want to live in Spain. Of course, this list is also very personal and our advantages can be your disadvantages or the other way around. Try to look carefully at your own personal situation, needs and expectations before you emigrate to Spain. Of course, you can't just leave. Have you thought carefully and prepared yourself well? Then you can live in Spain and enjoy it!

We wish you every success!