Advice when moving abroad!

Darrell, myself and Jamie arrived in Spain, in the early part of February 2016.  Our journey. moving abroad, was not a conventional one, as many of my readers are aware. We had planned the move, for eight months prior to our arrival, though dreams of moving to foreign shores, were firmly planted in our psyche a few years before that. It is true to say, we had both had enough of life in Britain, many years ago.  The trouble is, when you have built a career, network of friends and a home, it can become, very difficult, to move on, more importantly, move forwards. In all honesty, we had never had the bottle to just get up, pack up and get on that plane. We had built our existence, around the gay scene in Southampton, had many friends and were comfortable.  We had in reality become complacent;  Our dreams had died and we were stuck in a rut. When you have everything taken from you, by circumstances, you can, finally wake up and throw caution the the wind, taking that chance you always wanted to explore.

Most importantly, for us, once we had decided our destiny and future was in Spain, we were able to see past the clutter, that our life had become.  We were living in a large detached house in Southampton.  There were so many things, items, collections and memories, that could not possibly come with us.  With the decision made, you literally have to jump in head first and deal with selling and removing everything that kept you from moving on in the past. Eighty percent of what we owned, was sold, in auction houses, car boot sales and to friends.  Being ruthless was the only way we could dispose of everything, quickly, within eight months.  In a situation, that demanded solutions, there was no time for sentimentality.  Of course I personally would have loved more time to arrange our move to Spain, but if I had, would I have moved at all, in the first place? Probably not.  We had as much time as we allowed and worked tirelessly, to make our plan of action work.

A decision was made, to move to The Costas; we had very limited knowledge, about the area, let alone the Country.  We had of course done some research; no where near enough and had a very simple criteria.  We wanted to be in the Valencia region, or at least near it, and there had to be access to employment.  Initially we thought of going to Benidorm.  Not because we like the City, but because of work. At 45 years of age, we both have a good twenty years of working life, left in us, so it was important to get a job, to pay the bills. Eventually we decided to move to an area between Torrevieja and Benidorm. The final decision to move to Gran Alacant, was literally made by putting a pin in a map. We had no idea about the area, or the people who live here, but were aware of its proximity, to large urban areas like Alicante.  The likelihood of obtaining employment, living here was that much greater.  Of course as we both know now, wherever you live in Spain, there are real, dramatic problems with the jobs market.  We experienced many difficulties securing a future in Spain and still do, especially during this interim period when Darrell is in Australia.

As an Englishman, living as an expat, in Spain, it was important to be living somewhere, where there are English speaking people.  Our dream, like many others, making the move to Europe, was to get a villa in the middle of nowhere, large, pool and lots of ground.  The reality is very different; in the end we chose to live on an urbanization, not because it is cheaper, because, it isn't;  It costs far more to rent a house here, than it would cost to rent a detached property in the country, but an urbanization has the community, expats like us need to forge a new life in the sun.

I have discovered that the most important aspect of moving abroad, is the people you live and work with. Spain can be a very lonely place, even here, let alone in the middle of nowhere, so communication, with like minded individuals is key to success.  I would advise anyone emigrating abroad to this country, to look at the Urbs; which I agree had bad press in The UK, but could not be further, from what we were taught. This place is like a village; everyone looks out for one another, offering help as and when they can. The squares and strips in Gran Alacant are filled with expats from many countries, as well as the Spanish, offering that feeling of belonging, that I at least, haven't felt for many years, coming from a large City in The UK.  

Initially, when moving, rent a property in Spain.  I know many people who have brought here, unseen, just by looking on the internet.  Myself and Darrell did the same thing when we bought a house in France;  It was a mistake!  Take time out, investigate the area; rent for a few months, explore the region, then after a year or so, you should know where you want to be.  It may even take longer, depending on the person.  I am happy living where I am, although for me, not being in such close proximity to neighbours would be a bonus.  A little more privacy would be perfect now and something to look at in the future.

​Once you have made that decision to move, make sure you investigate the laws thoroughly; things are very different.  The processes involved in getting a job, buying a car, obtaining residency, registering on the padron/electoral roll or getting medical treatment is a logistical nightmare.  Every step of the way, you are paying money to obtain much needed and essentially required paperwork.  The Spanish love their bureaucracy, it keeps people in jobs and there is an official process for everything.  For me it has been the biggest headache since I moved to GA.  This is the one area, I wish I had investigated and looked into far more.

If I had to make the choice again, I would certainly still have moved to Spain.  My health has improved a hundredfold, I no longer have arthritis; I don't suffer with manic depression in the same way I did in The UK.  I have learned to monitor myself and together with environmental factors, have achieved a relatively successful treatment, for a condition, that I now know, does not need medication.  The long winter nights in Southampton are a distant memory, I am happy and settled, learning new and interesting things each day.  I can speak a little Spanish, not essential, when you live here I grant you, but am proud to be learning a new language and living in a Country I love.  The biggest word of advice I can give anyone, considering the move to Spain, is do it, do it now, before Europe remove the rights of the British to live, settle and work here; what's stopping you?

---

---