Spain: It’s not paradise, it’s just different

This week we stumbled on a comment from some idiot on some blog somewhere relating their experiences of how deep Spain is in the mire, illustrated by the revelation that “at least two families I know of have left Spain”. After we’d stopped laughing at his ridiculous comment I got to thinking about how many people we’d seen return ‘home’ over the years. A lot more than two that’s for sure!

The common assumption amongst gossiping expats is that those returning to the UK are doing a financial ‘runner’. Whilst in some cases this is true, there are other possible reasons: health, family, death, job offers, and many more. There also appears to be a trend for some who’ve been here for, say, somewhere between five and ten years to return to the UK feeling that it’s just time to head back for no particular reason.

I have a theory that for these people the ‘novelty’, for want of a better description, has just worn off. When we left Lanzarote, where we’d been since 2006, ‘it’s just time’ was the best way to describe our reasons for leaving. Sure, there were other reasons, but as an explanation it fitted so well. Unlike many others, we’d made the decision to move to the mainland rather than the UK.

Whenever we encounter people wanting to move to Spain, we always advise them to leave the rose tinted glasses behind, not to leave their brain on the plane, and trust nobody. Life can be harsh for the newbie expat whilst learning the ropes and dodging the sharks. There’s a certain breed waiting for their arrival knowing that the newcomers have access to their life savings having liquidated in order to facilitate their new life. They lurk, just waiting to part the newbies from their cash whilst establishing themselves as their new expat best friends.

After dodging the sharks, the first few years can be incredible (we were lucky), or not. As a rule of thumb those who made a mistake in moving to Spain (or I guess anywhere else in the world) are gone within a year or two. If it works out, after the honeymoon period is over, everything becomes ‘normal’. The paperwork, the silly laws, the neo-fascist government, and the multitude of other minor aggravations that come with living in Spain. After six years in Lanzarote, Playa Blanca started to feel like it could just as easily be Hayling Island or any other south coast seaside town (albeit far prettier and much more sunny). Where we live now is very much an ordinary working (non-touristy) town. Its equivalents, where I spent my formative years in the UK, might well be the likes of Ormskirk or Belper.

Good thing or bad thing? I don’t know. I guess that Spain feeling so ‘ordinary’ to me these days suggests it is home now.

(Click here to read our ‘goodbye Lanzarote post)

Alan Gandy

Alan, along with Elle, is the owner of Spain Buddy. He was born in the North of England (Lancashire) and travelled extensively before eventually settling in Almería. Alan has 3 sons from the first of his 18 marriages, (Sam, Joe & Ben) who are all now adults. You can read more articles by Alan on his personal blog at AlanGandy.com and see more of his photography on his photography website as well as on Instagram.