Moving to Spain: Mistakes you can make… The big one.
by Ben Curtis
Talking about moving to Spain and making mistakes in the same sentence is a bit of a contradiction in terms. In fact, if you have been dreaming of moving to Spain for a long time, then the only real mistake you can make is not doing so. What’s the worst thing that can happen after all? You take a huge cut in wages or risk a big career regression? You miss all your friends? None of these or similar perceived disasters are as terrible as staying where you are and always wondering “What if” you had actually made the move to Spain instead of staying at home and never giving yourself a chance to just do it. Remember, if it all goes wrong, you can go home and feel good about having had the guts to have tried it in the first place.
Anyway, let’s skip a step and imagine that you have done yourself an enormous favour and fulfilled your desire to move to Spain. What, in my 9 years experience in Spain, do I consider to be my single greatest mistake?
Up until a few years ago I was often under the impression that I might not get as far as I might in Spain as I am not Spanish. I thought that I would forever be doing jobs that were intrinsically linked with being English, i.e. English teaching and translation. Don’t get me wrong, these are both 100% worthy, legitimate professions to be extremely proud of, it’s just that it wasn’t what I had in mind, it wasn’t what I was aiming for when I first arrived in Spain. I got it into my head that I was foreign, and therefore I would have to do “being-English” related jobs that didn’t match up with my aspirations.
This attitude was a mistake, obviously. Firstly, if you move to Spain remember that you have every right to be here – we live in an internationalised world these days and if you want to live and work in Spain then don’t feel funny about it. I have friends in Spain who run businesses, and others who found great jobs here in multinational consulting and advertising companies – it’s entirely possible that they won’t move up the promotions ladder as quickly as their Spanish counterparts, but the two people I am thinking of (English and Italian) are both managers of small teams and in their early thirties. Not bad considering the global importance of the companies they work for.
So what are the antidotes to this feeling that you aren’t Spanish and therefore might not get as far career-wise as you could back home?
1. Learn Spanish Fast. If you want to compete on equal terms with your new compatriots, show them that you have made a hell of an effort to learn their language.
2. Believe in yourself! If you had the guts to get this far then you can certainly take your new life all the way through to your ideal finish line. You may not be Spanish, but you are a brave SOB and you’re as good as any of them!
3. If a career path in a Spanish company looks tough, think about the the privileged position that your foreignness puts you in - all the niches you can cover! - and think about starting a business in one of these areas.
4. Sorry to repeat myself, but Learn Spanish! Get 5 intercambios, be the most motivated language learner in your class (yes, go to classes twice a week as soon as you arrive and until you are reasonably fluent), and absorb everything you read and hear like a sponge.
Do fears like this stop you moving to Spain? Did you move here and experience the same?
Posted: May 19th, 2007 under Living in Spain.
Comments: 32
Comments
Comment from Brandon
Time: May 19, 2007, 6:03 am
I have been planning (and am now taking great steps toward) moving to Spain for a while now. I have had some misgivings in the past, but ultimately I am of the mindset Ben describes above: nothing’s as terrible as wondering “What if?” This advice is very helpful, though, and anticipates some feelings I hadn’t thought of. For instance, it never occurred to me that I had as much right to be there as anyone. lol I think I’ve felt like I was crashing someone else’s party!
Comment from Theresa
Time: May 19, 2007, 11:33 am
When I moved to Spain I was scared to death, and I even had the advantage of being married to a Spaniard and knowing Spanish. Knowing Spanish is one of the most important things to do. Classes are good, but being with Spaniards is essential, reading comic books, “El Jueves”, etc. can help with slang - it helps to see it written down. Follow the gossipy talk shows, they may seem stupid, but you can learn a lot about what’s going on that you just won’t hear on the news. The main problem with work is not having your degree validated, I’ve been here 14 years and still haven’t managed it. They say what I studied in the U.S. is totally different from over here. Some people actually opt to do their studies over again in Spain.
Comment from ValenciaSon
Time: May 19, 2007, 2:12 pm
So Theresa, what did you study in the US?
Comment from Theresa
Time: May 19, 2007, 7:14 pm
I studied psychology, which, even if I were to get my degree validated over here, is pretty worthless. It seems lots of people here studied that and now there are just too many psychologists. On top of that I specialized in speech perception, which is more experimental than practical. Had I been able to look into the future, I would have studied computer science, there’s lots of work available for programmers.
Comment from Steve
Time: May 19, 2007, 7:46 pm
What most of us need is someone big and strong to come to our homes and physically kick us up the a** to make the move. Dreaming is what we all do best but being scared of regret is what we all do most!
Comment from Madrid Teacher
Time: May 20, 2007, 12:16 am
Moving to Spain is a brave thing to do, so you really need the support of friends and family. Trying to develop a career here is hard and wages and conditions are very very different. I found that if you come with the expectations that it will be like home then it probably will not work out totally successfully. Athough I have found that many people have come here to escape the career pressures at home and to try and gain a more laid back easier lifestyle. Its always worth trying, I intended to stay for two years at the most and am now on my sixth year. Being able to speak spanish makes things ten times easier
Comment from nuria
Time: May 21, 2007, 12:54 pm
Just do it I say. I´m a spanish citizen but lived in the United States for over 25 years and two years ago my American husband & I along with our two young children decided to move back to Spain. All our friends and family thought we were nuts but we think it was the best move we ever made. Our children love the spanish lifestyle and although my husband is still having some problems with the language, for now this is our home and we are enjoying every second of this adventure. I encourage anyone who is thinking about making the move to do it.. afterall, you really have nothing to lose and a lot to win once you are here.
Comment from David
Time: May 21, 2007, 4:28 pm
Thanks for the great advice. One thing I would be very interested in hearing about (maybe it could be another post or something) would be how to get a work permit/residency etc in Spain? What are the requirements and how hard is it to get residency status and legal permission to work.
Comment from Ben
Time: May 21, 2007, 7:52 pm
Hi David, it would be great if you could ask the same question in the ‘moving to Spain’ section in the forum saying if you are from the US, Europe or elsewhere, I’m sure you’ll get loads of advice!
Madrid teacher, you are right, it is very hard, there is no doubt, and you do need all the support you can get. The point is to belive that anything is possible, even though you are in Spain.
Comment from Martin
Time: May 22, 2007, 4:01 pm
Hi, firstly, great pod cast. I really enjoy Notes from Spain and have been listening for a long time now. Although I have listened for a long time I have never made a comment or posted on the forum… till now 
This post has made me to decide to say something because it’s so close to my heart. I would LOVE to move to Spain. I really, really, love Spain with a passion and to be honest don’t like it here in the UK much at all.
Maybe for some people what you say is true and you have nothing to lose and only fear itself to fear. For myself, this isn’t true.
What’s the worst that could happen? I become homeless with no job. If I left my job and went to Spain I would come back with no home to live in and no job. I wouldn’t be able to sign on for unemployment benefit because I left my job I made myself unemployed and so not eligible. So I would be without home or income.
I wish, I wish, I wish I could move to Spain. Sometimes it’s not as easy as all that and there are higher stakes to play for 
If anybody has the answers then… please let me know because my dream would be to lilve in Spain…
Comment from Gabriella Opaz
Time: May 22, 2007, 9:38 pm
Honestly Dave, all it takes is you making a decision. Just do it. We can justify our way out of anything, but unless you make up your mind to do something, I honestly don’t believe it will every get done. My husband and I moved to Spain with nothing, and I do mean nothing, other than a plane ticket and a room we found last minute. We didn’t know a lick of Spanish, didn’t have jobs and knew zero about this country other than some of the wines it produced (maybe I should give credit where credit is due and tell you that my husband knew this and I only knew that I should drink whatever he brought home :-). Now we have an evolving business, enough Spanish under our belts to be dangerous, and have created a sense of respect and love for the country that we may not have gained unless we actually worked it from the ground up. Trust yourself and everything you can create with your imagination. Again, the only thing keeping us back from our dreams is our own fear.
Comment from Ben
Time: May 23, 2007, 1:05 am
Is it peoples experience that the language is the biggest hurdle to overcome? From all I have learned about Spanish culture, there are differences for sure, but the stumbling block seems to come when people have to put in the long hours of practise, especially if you are not living in Spain. This makes it more difficult to learn even the basics, let alone finer points.
Comment from Michelle
Time: May 23, 2007, 2:43 am
I too have been dreaming about moving to Europe after visiting Italy for the first time two years ago. I just got back from Spain about a month ago and I fell in love with the landscapes, people, culture, and more than anything the fact that people live their lives with passion. Spaniards seem to enjoy every minute of their lives and are very social people. They work to live, unlike the US where we live to work. I do not know what I am waiting for. It should not be hard for me since Spanish is my main language (I was born in Puerto Rico) and I have a good education (I am a Water Resources-Civil Engineer)…But I am just afraid of change…
Comment from Carl
Time: May 23, 2007, 3:52 am
I envy members of the EU. It is easier getting started in Spain. Americans have a little tougher time of it. Usually they start businesses (Catavino I commend you) or work in the fringes / teaching English. I tried and failed to find work in my chosen profession in Madrid, gave up and decided I had to work in the US and dream / play in Madrid. Maybe I should have tried harder.
Comment from Ben
Time: May 23, 2007, 10:01 am
Martin - If you are that keen then you have to try it. Even your worst case scenarios are reperable in the long run, don’t you think? A bit of planning and enough motivation to make sure you throw yourself at any and all opportunities makes any dreams acheivable in my opinion. Yes things can go wrong, but unless you try….
Comment from Daniel
Time: May 24, 2007, 4:48 am
I was born in Sevilla, lived there until I was 5. My step father was an American and we moved to the US. I have lived in the US all my life, yet all my life I have felt I do not belong here. My mother is moving back to Spain next year. I long to move back myself although I have an American wife and child now and I’m afraid she does not share the same feelings. 
The reason I am explaining this is because I feel that if you have nothing to stop you then you must go or you will regret it for the rest of your life.
Daniel
“Si al grito de “¡Viva España!”
otro ¡Viva! no responde
si es hombre, no es español…
y si es español no es hombre”
Comment from Carl
Time: May 24, 2007, 4:52 am
Wow Martin,
You should move. My problem was that I also actually liked it in LA, as well as Madrid, so it was easier to stay in LA most of the time.
Comment from leftbanker
Time: May 24, 2007, 9:41 am
As daunting as finally moving to Spain seemed before I finally did it, not moving to Spain seemed 100 times more intolerable. The internet has made this a lot easier. It’s a snap to find a place to live which is the most crucial element about taking the leap—that and money.
I spoke Spanish fairly well before I got here so I was able to hit the ground running. After being here six months I feel that my Spanish will never be as good as I’d like it to be. I think that I work harder at it than any illegal alien in Spain. Reading a lot is very important for vocabulary building. Read everything you can get your hands on. Reading literature in Spanish is the biggest reward for me. I am currently about 50 pages into Mario Varga Llosa’s (not a Spaniard, but still!) Travesuras de la Niña Mala. Learning Spanish takes a lot of hard work and there are times when I feel that it requires a larger brain than the one I was issued. I think that I’ll start to feel good about my Spanish when I can fully understand the football broadcasts. I realize this is a lofty goal but I’m committed.
Comment from rod
Time: May 25, 2007, 10:15 am
No-one should move to Spain without finding out exactly what they are letting themselves in for. But once you have made that decision to move - as I have - what you need is as much positive encouragement like this as possible - so keep up the great work, Ben!
Comment from helen
Time: June 18, 2007, 11:06 am
hi im a single parent im thinking of selling everything in my house and moving to spain i have done a care job for 15yrs but now so many foreign people have entered our country my boss has cut my hrs from 36 a week to 18 im struggling to pay my rent to council i have thought about moving to spain for a long time will i be ok to come with only enough money to pay for accomodation and food i have nothing else no credit cards no house to sell no capital im a hard worker and hope to find a job helen
Comment from H H
Time: July 1, 2007, 1:37 pm
I’m approaching my third year here in Spain, and while I’m very glad that I made the move in the first place because this experience has taught me a lot, the more time I spend here the more I realize that it is not the utopia I once thought it was. Socially it’s been the hardest for me. Being an American I’ve encountered much more antiamericanism than I ever cared to encounter. I’m also critical of my government and society, but there’s a certain amount of respect that people should show towards other people just because they’re a human being. It’s come to the point where I dont look forward to introducing myself to people anymore because of the rude comments people usually make. More than anything I want to return to a place where I’m accepted as a person and not constantly judged for being an immigrant, a learner of Spanish, an American. I want to go home.
Comment from S McCormick
Time: July 30, 2007, 11:42 am
I am wondering if there is work for UK qualified accountants or would my husband need to retake some exams?
Look forward to hearing from anyone with any info.
thanks
Sabrina
Comment from milamapolas
Time: April 15, 2008, 4:49 pm
I am Spanish but moved to London when I was 19. I am 39 now and my partner and I are thinking of moving to Spain just because of the much better quality of life that we see in Spain. However, my heart is torn. I love London and I I feel at home here, I always feel Spain is great for holidays, but not sure if I could get used to the (too relaxed for me!) pace of productivity… I keep on thinking of the things I would miss culturally, the variety of food (I love Corean and Thai food) … and my addiction to oatcakes !
Can anyone comment if you miss any of these?
One more thing: You can’t imagine how great it feels to read people are willing to learn the language of the country…I know so many British who live in Spain and have just the most basic Spanish… I cannot understand those little ghettos…
thanks
Comment from JP
Time: April 17, 2008, 8:33 pm
I am a New Yorker that has been living here for 7 years..I left after 9-11, fell in love and decided to stay. for those Americans that wish to live here…Forget it!!! This is a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY…the people here are unprofessional,racist and ignorant. The pay is below standard..Min wage is 700Euros a month …but housing cost the same or more than NYC. The political system is embarrassing. A large percent of the country lives below the poverty rate. Yet the banks,telephone co.,water ect..are making millions..Spainiards care about few things except FOOTBALL, Drinking, and three day holidays for some Saint.
work permits, resident permits, drivers licence..endless paperwork, and lines…the spanish drive awfull..they run red lights…and dont respect any laws…the biggest mistake i made in my life was to move here..Now I am Stuck..please evryone reconsider and look at cities like Berlin,hamburg,london,dublin.they are much more cultured and going in the right direction..Spain will soon be like Italy..a disaster.
Comment from bertino
Time: April 22, 2008, 11:49 am
well,JP , I see that youre one of these illegal americans in Spain ,as to spain being a third world country , well, many things are cheaper in the us now , so it means that the usa is not expensive for a spaniard
Here Social Security is universal and open even to illegals like you, in the USA , it is not.
If you have prejudices against the people of Spain, that is your look out . Therefore , just do us the favor of returning to your now not so rich USA ,before someone or other send you back to the states by first class or priority mail
Comment from bertino
Time: April 22, 2008, 11:59 am
Part of the antiamericanism in Spain is the blame of some guys like JP. embued with every kind of prejudice who doesnt know that many areas of their country were tamed by spaniards . We know that this is hurtul to you , but its just reality. and what is more there will come the day when the spanish language becomes official in some southern us states, and that day will be upon you in a not so far future, but take it easy , you moron
Comment from JP
Time: May 4, 2008, 1:49 am
First..I am NOT living illegaly. in spain.I am a professional working as a freelance in the audio-visual buisness…I pay my monthly Freelancers fee..my IVA´s. ..but cannot collect el paro or recieve a pension when I retire. yet I pay 200Euros a month. I Live with a Catalan woman that is also a professional and my Radical view is shared by many spaniards…I think most people are nice in spain but again they want to live the life of pueblo but want the best of a modern city…MY mother is spanish..so I do have a certain right to speak my mind.Bartino you have no idea I soppose you are not one of those young spainards that spent 5 years in college ..to earn 1000 euros a month..it has nothing to do with prejudice but with common sense…By the way spanish is spoken all over the US but it will never be official..I think you never even set foot in the states? I was hoping someone more intelligent would remark on my message but i guess not..It seems you dont read the papers or know anything about the current political climate…I am looking for people that share my view..not ignorant people that live in another planet…FACT.. SPAIN IS BETWEEN TURKY AND ITALY in most important issues that regard the well being of the country…One foot in the current world and on foot in the third world..you apparently seem like you live in a small village…
Comment from luis
Time: May 11, 2008, 12:16 pm
I f Spain were a third world country , it wouldn be in the european union and wouldnt meet its requirements
2 Spain,s per capita income is higher than Italy , then Italy must be another third world country
3 in Spain , there over 4 million inmigrants . and inmigrants never go from a third world country to another
4 Spain the the major investor in South america, a third worl country would never be a major investor, it would receive investments from abroad
conclusion . the problem is that to you JP only countries withenglish related languages are condidered ok , of France well it depends
and sothern europe of courde not . tell that to the marines¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡
Comment from bill
Time: May 12, 2008, 11:16 am
Ignore him Luis - if he genuinely wants an unprejudiced and intelligent debate, he wouldn’t be posting prejudiced and provocative comments.
Comment from JP
Time: May 13, 2008, 11:00 am
My intention was tell in my own words and way what i felt living here..If someone takes it as a insult ..its thier problem…Just like its mine when I a disliked or insulted becuase I am From the United States of America…Not one person that read the thread ..left a real response to the issues I mention ..Prejudice seems to be a easy word to throw around..yet no one thought about responding to the problems in the spanish system…1).Romania Is in the european Union..please look in wilkipedia or speak to the Millions of romanians that live in “third world country situations” in Spain. 2) so its normal that a person with a univesity degree earns so little that they have to leave their country to find a better living? 4)What do the “marines” have anything to do with what I have said???..I will no longer write in this thread..or Blog ..I believe i have stumbled onto a dead end..without provacative ¨Intelligent¨ debate how can there be change..
Comment from hellin
Time: May 15, 2008, 12:31 pm
If someone or oher think , just before arriving in Spain , that they will see a sort of southern Italy and Mexico all rolled into one , they may have another thought coming, for that purpose, they ,d better borrow from Rod Taylor or Guy Pearce their respective time machines so as to travel back in time to 1958, its just a piece of advice , but then do not get annoyed if you dont see what you WISHED to see
Comment from hellin
Time: May 26, 2008, 3:33 pm
as to professionals leaving Spain for a better leaving, most spaniards living abroad are not university graduates , so thats false , what happens is that you like to play with the steorotypes of the past because your pride does not allow you to admit of certain things.
4,5 million foreigner live 1 million spainiards live abroad , this doesnt mean anything to you¿
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