You Moved to Spain. So Why Are You Trying to Make It Britain?

You've moved to Spain for a different life. But if you're still avoiding the language, complaining about the heat and expecting everything to work like Britain, have you really embraced living here?

Something frustrated me as a child growing up in Spain, and it still frustrates me today: people moving here, spending years here, then complaining that everything is different from back home.

Well, yes. You moved to a different country.

I’m British myself, so I’m talking about our own community here. Plenty of British people learn Spanish, make local friends and build a life. But we all know people who have lived here for twenty or thirty years and still need somebody else to make an appointment for them.

After that long, the language cannot always be the problem. Sometimes the problem is that they never saw a reason to learn.

Learning the Language Is Part of Living Here

Nobody expects perfect Spanish. Getting a sentence wrong is part of learning. But making an effort matters. People notice when you try, even when you sound ridiculous.

I’ve often watched Dutch people, among others, get on with learning another language while some of us British find reasons to avoid it. That isn’t a rule about nationalities. It’s an attitude I’ve seen too often.

We stick to what feels comfortable. English-speaking friends, English-speaking businesses, English television. Before long, we’ve created a little version of Britain with better weather.

Then we wonder why we don’t feel part of Spain.

Putting your children into a Spanish school is a start, but your own effort shouldn’t stop at the school gates. They’re adapting every day. They’re learning the language, making friends and finding their feet. Surely we can meet them halfway.

Bringing Britain With You — Including the Car

There’s another habit I’ve never understood: moving here permanently and bringing a right-hand-drive British car without thinking through what comes next.

Yes, it gets you here. You can fill it with your belongings and drive down. I understand the convenience of that journey.

But once you’re living here, the inconvenience starts.

Pull up at a toll booth on your own and the machine is on the other side. You’re stretching across the passenger seat, trying to pay while the queue behind you grows. Car park barriers become another exercise in leaning, reaching and wishing you’d thought about this earlier.

Overtaking and judging your position can take more care when you’re sitting on the opposite side from most other drivers. Depending on the vehicle, the headlights may need adjustment or replacement for driving here.

Then comes the question of registering it in Spain. The cost and work involved depend on the car and your circumstances, but it can become an expensive exercise. And when you eventually sell it, you may discover that finding a buyer for a right-hand-drive car is harder than you expected.

Personally, I’d leave the British car at home. If you need it to bring your things over, I’d seriously consider taking it back afterwards and buying something suitable here.

An old saying comes to mind: neither use nor ornament. That’s how it can feel when your familiar car becomes another complication.

Spain Isn't a Permanent Holiday

The weather catches people out too.

Spain on holiday is one thing. Spain when you’re working, paying bills and trying to get things done in August is another.

The heat you loved beside a swimming pool feels different when you’ve got appointments, shopping and a school run. You still have responsibilities. You’re just doing them while sweating through your shirt.

People arrive for the sunshine, then seem offended when summer gets hot.

Paperwork, NIEs and Learning the System

And then there’s the paperwork.

Anyone who has spent enough time visiting offices here knows the value of a folder. Your original passport, a photocopy, another certificate, a copy of that certificate, and probably something you didn’t realise you needed until you reached the desk.

There may be a photocopier behind the person you’re speaking to. That doesn’t mean they’ll make your copy.

It frustrates me as much as anyone. But frustration doesn’t produce the missing document. Eventually, you learn to bring everything.

I remember the residency document I had in 1996: a card laminated on both sides. Later came the big green certificate, then the smaller green version that seemed ready to disintegrate after a fortnight in your wallet.

We often called all of it our “NIE”, although the NIE is the number, rather than the name of each document.

I once asked a woman at the office why we couldn’t have proper cards anymore. As I remember it, she said people didn’t look after them and kept needing replacements.

That was her explanation across a desk, not an official account of why the system changed. But I never forgot it.

After Brexit, many British residents went through another round of appointments to get their biometric TIE cards. Another adjustment to living here.

You have to take these things seriously. Keeping your documents organised is part of taking responsibility for your life in Spain.

Leaving Spain — and Coming Back Again

Something else gets under my skin: people declaring Spain impossible, returning to Britain because things feel easier or support is more familiar, then coming back years later as though those conversations never happened.

People leave for valid reasons. Families need help. Money runs out. Relationships break down. Nobody should feel trapped here.

But those who stayed remember. We were still working through the same difficulties while somebody else was telling everyone they’d had enough.

Coming back is fine. A little perspective helps.

Give Spain a Chance to Be Spain

Someone once described this area to me as “northern Africa rather than southern Spain”. Geographically, it’s Spain, of course. But the heat and landscape explain the remark: this is a long way from Britain.

Spain has faults. I’ve lived here long enough to have a list.

But give it time. Learn enough Spanish to handle daily life. Get your paperwork organised. Think before bringing everything from Britain, including your expectations.

Living here isn’t all sunshine and sangria. There are difficult, ordinary days too.