The main problem people face is they like a house, buy it, move in. After a while they find it very isolating, they don’t speak Spanish, they end up socializing with other expats that in England they wouldn’t socialize with and they miss friends, family and everything English. Then they try to sell the house they paid way too much money for to return to the UK or move to the coast, where they can get England in the sun. I can’t image how that must feel, to be trapped in a place you no longer want to live.

For us and many like us, we came with our eyes wide open. We did the research, my husband had a job offer, so financial we would be fine and we pretty much knew what we would have to do. However best laid plans and all that, the job fell through, but not until after we had moved here with our two young daughters. We had already began to integrate with the Spanish community and were working hard at the language, both are key to successfully Living in Spain. We didn’t want to go back to the UK, but needed work, an income. Jobs here are in short supply and for expats that’s Spanish isn’t good they are nonexistent.

Fate was to hand us an opportunity. Spanish friends of ours had a bar they were handing back to the town hall and suggested we tender for it. Well, we had never considered running a bar here but it would give us work and improve our Spanish. So we asked the town hall and after almost six months the tenders came out and we were given a choice of two bars, our friends and the swimming pool bar. The swimming pool bar was a better rent, had outside space and a pool, so would be better for the girls. We won the tender, mainly because no one else wanted it. Now we had work !

A lot of expats fall at the work hurdle, they become builders for other expats, when in the UK they were something totally different. That worked well for a lot of them in years gone by, but now with prices rising, expats going back to the UK and cash just not being around, this spells disaster for many.

We had the bar for almost four years, it was the longest anyone had managed to keep it open in its thirty year history, I am very proud of that. Our Spanish improved and now although not perfect is at a reasonable level. We are now totally integrated into the community and known by almost all.

We closed the bar, not because we didn’t have customers, we did, but because our customer base went from spending €50 twice a week to €10 once a week. Here people are losing their jobs or taking pay cuts, they just don’t have the money they used to. We looked at it and we were working all the hours god sent and making no money and in danger of losing money. The final straw came when the bar was broken in to. Our cue to leave.

We love our adopted home town and have no plans to leave. Our daughters are doing well in school and speak both languages fluently. We have friends, good friends both English and Spanish here. We only socialize with people we like and have things in common with, not just anyone and we are happy.

Since closing the bar money has been tight, but now we have found a way to make a good income, working from home, when we want too and that is through blogging. It is just great, we write about what ever takes our fancy and are free to do what we want to. Unlike the bar where we were tied even if we had no customers we had to be there.

For us this is a way to have total financial freedom, we aren’t there yet, but have only been blogging for less than a month and like any business it take a little time. But we are on the road, click the link below to see if the road could be for you also.

For us living in Spain although hard work has been an amazing experience and we wouldn’t change it for the world.

If you are looking to move to Spain, I suggest you really do your homework. Look at lots of different places, find out about the weather and the people. Think about the fact you will be leaving family and friends behind and even though the say they will come out, know that life gets in the way sometime, so they may not be able to keep that promise, how would you feel then ? Can you get back to the UK when you want to or need to ?

If you need to earn money know that in Spain right now traditional jobs are like hens teeth, nonexistent, so find an alternative.

Living in Spain is amazing, but don’t expect it all be a walk in the park. Like most things in life you get out of it what you put in, so be prepared to work at it. Learn the language, it goes a long way, you don’t have to be fluent, but you do need to try. Get involved it the community, find a way, most village and towns have community groups and activities going on, join. Yes at first it will be hard but I promise you it will make all the difference. Bear in mind that lots of expats have been before you and left, so the locals are weary you might do the same. Prove to them you are staying, by getting totally involved.

Good luck and enjoy the ride it is a scary amazing adventure, but well worth it, if you put the effort in.