A mum who swapped her life in the UK for the sunnier climes of Spain has revealed the four aspects of her life that have greatly benefitted from her move.
Expat Ale took to TikTok where she began: “No one talks about this part… but it changes everything.” Here, she was referring to the fact you can “trial” a life in Spain before fully committing to emigrating.
“If you’ve ever thought about living in Spain with your kids or dog, you don’t have to ‘move forever’ to try it,” Ale explained.
She went on to add that in Spain, her children are enjoying life “without screens”, whilst her dog is “calmer”.
Ale, who now resides in the Alicante region, said her family are also “outside every day”, while life is “slower, but better” and weekdays “feel good”. She elaborated in a separate clip: “The best part of leaving the corporate 9 to 5 isn’t just ‘Spain.’ It’s the slow morning.
“In our old life, we were in the car by 8am, stressed and rushing. Now, I run my consulting business on a flexible schedule that allows me to laugh while three different beings are trying to brush their teeth at the same time. This is the definition of wealth I was chasing.”
Ale went on to admit: “We didn’t move forever. We just chose to live here for a while as a family (with a husky). And if you’ve ever thought about doing the same… it’s more possible than you think.”
The first step of the process is to obtain an NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero), which is a mandatory, unique tax identification number issued to foreigners who want to engage in economic, professional and/or social activities in Spain.
According to Ale, possessing an NIE means you can rent a home, open a bank account and get insurrance. The NIE can be requested directly in Spain or at the Consular Office in the applicant’s country of residence – and can may be made in person or via a duly-accredited representative.
Backing up Ale’s advice, Pack & Go, who specialise in international removals, a six month trial is a “very wise thing to do”. They explain the several benefits of acting with caution online, which are:
- Offering the chance to change your mind whilst there are still roots in the UK
- Keeping your UK home before making a large financial investment in a Spanish home
- Being able to take advantage of flights and cheaper removal company costs as and when they are available, rather than being confined to planning everything on one date
- Being able to focus on settling in on first arrival, rather than having to find somewhere for all your belongings straight away
- Allowing some leeway with property hunting
- Being able to part ways temporarily whilst one of you settles in to the new place and the other settles things in the UK
- Having the ability to clean/ sell the property in the UK in your own time and renovate a property in Spain
- The flexibility to relocate within Spain if the area you have moved to doesn’t suit you
Pack & Go add: “With a well planned six-month trial you have the best possible chance of moving to Spain successfully. Take your time, plan in detail and don’t be afraid to ask yourself difficult questions. The result could be a change that vastly improves your quality of life.”