I think it’s fair to say Spain does so many things better than the UK. But then, the UK does so many things better than Spain. Anything official? There’s gonna be a thousand papers to fill out in a long process and it’s so long winded that it drives you insane. Fixing things? I’m sure we can wind some tape around it or make a temporary fix that actually is a permanent fix. Jobs? There won’t be many of those unless you work in bars and restaurants.

But, then there’s so many other things that Spain does better than the UK. These are a few that stand out most to me.

Prices:

I often hear that Spain isn’t a wealthy country. That an average yearly wage of 35.000€ is atrocious compared to an average yearly wage of €45.000+ elsewhere. But, let’s compare that against house rental prices. A house with a pool can be picked up for €700 a month on the lower scale. Apartments can be picked up from 300€ a month. Bills are a lot lower too!

Daily shopping is around the same for us as we tend to pick up a lot of branded foods, but my daily coffee is much cheaper in Spain than in the UK. A cappuccino with toast is only 2,95€ whereas just for a Starbucks coffee I was paying £5.

What is a struggle though is finding a deposit for a mortgage. Most banks will only offer 60-70% so you can be looking at 50k just for the deposit! Looks like we’ll be on the rental ladder forever!

Weather:

Let’s face it, we all knew this! When I wake up in the winter it makes me feel much more refreshed and happy to see a bright blue sky with a glimmer of sun as opposed to the grey skies and drizzle that I used to see when I opened my curtains in England. Although the summer can get crazy hot, especially without air con and the winter chill when the sea brings in the cold air and we get lots of rain in February, I still think the weather is much more pleasant!

Annual leave:

Okay, this one doesn’t really apply to me as when I worked in England I had all of the school holidays off and I was paid for it. Whereas now, I get unpaid holidays at Christmas, Easter and a month in summer. Which is still great for time off, but not great for the purse strings. However, Spain have an entitlement of 41 days annual leave, whereas the UK is 28 days. More time for the beach and local adventures!

Healthcare

Without ruffling any feathers, the healthcare has been excellent here. Recently I found a lump on my leg so I headed to my local centro de salud (healthcare centre) and within 20 minutes I’d been seen by the paediatrician (because I’m under 25 so still classed as a child) and had picked up some anti-inflammatory tablets. This was on a Saturday afternoon. Compared to when I saw the A&E in England on a Monday experiencing waits of up to 6 hours. I’ve noticed we get seen much quicker and have never struggled to make a same day appointment at our doctors.

There are lots of pros to living in Spain compared to the UK but there are cons too. We are always being asked if we like living in Spain and is it good to live here and in short the answer is yes. But, just like anywhere else it has its problems but to us the pros strongly outweigh the cons. We both have lovely jobs which are hard to come about.

If you are thinking about moving to Spain, carefully consider your decision well in advance. It shouldn’t be something done on the whim.

What do you love about Spain?

Hasta luego,