If you have ever had that thought that sometimes remains unspoken about what it would be like to live abroad, maybe this article will help you. This article applies mostly to Spain but the principles can be applied to other countries.

For a Brit, or any northern European, living in Spain is quite often a dream scenario. From very young I knew that my long term destination was here. However why? Most people fall in love with the idea of moving to live in another country on a holiday, I am no different. My first experience was on the Costa Brava North of Barcelona. The easiness of the lifestyle, the lack of urgency and the general happiness of everyone surprised me. A day out in Barcelona more or less sealed the deal. Prior to the visit I had often thought about living here, this just made it certain.

From that point the question was how to achieve the dream, a plan of sorts. My suggestions, learn the language, read about the background and visit, lots, to get a good idea of where you want to be in Spain whether that be mainland or islands.

Once you have made the decision then you need to decide what it is that you will do here. Life in Spain is hard if you are unqualified and don’t speak the language as why should anyone employ you before a local or another foreigner with language skills.

There are a multitude of things you need to know about local customs and practices and life can be very different, most people are constantly caught out for the first few weeks by shop opening and closing times, by the lateness of the eating hours in restaurants by the lack of their favourite products. However all of these are just settling problems.

So what is life really like here;

1) Expect that your family life will have to fit around your long hours. Some people do.
2) Expect to take time to adjust whilst you learn the language and get yourself into the community. Unless you are in an expat area by the coast it is most likely that not many people will speak English
3) Expect to laugh a lot. Life is easier here but bureaucracy is like a maze. Don’t take things too seriously because in the future you will definitely look back on it and laugh
4) Come to my blog regularly and read it as you will find loads of details of what happens when you live in Spain, the good, the bad and the downright ugly, usually involving utility companies this part.

Once you have done that and have your preparation off to a tee then you can find out what  it is like to live here and you will be ready. Only at that point should you start looking for houses for sale in Spain. If you come unprepared then expect to return home after a couple of years with tail firmly between legs. Failing to prepare inevitably leads to failure. Following this advice will help you out in succeeding better.