Right from the moment you consider moving abroad you might start feeling a bit overwhelmed by those infinite questions that pop into your head. Today’s post is dedicated to that balance everyone is forced to strike before making the final decision: What are the pros and cons? Here are some of them when it comes to an American moving to Spain. We hope you find this list a useful resource to help you clarify your doubts ;-)
Pros of living in Spain
Moving to Spain from USA: Cost of living
In general, cost of living in Spain is lower than in the United States: according to Numbeo, cost of living in the United States is 25,05% higher than in Spain. Let’s see how it compares between cities:
Spain
Big cities:
- Cost of living index in Barcelona: 64,63%
- Cost of living index in Madrid: 63,78%
Cities in the South:
- Cost of living index in Sevilla: 55,94
- Cost of living index in Almería: 55,88%
Cities in the North
- Cost of living index in San Sebastian: 69,09%
- Cost of living index in Santiago de Compostela: 52,41%
United States
Big cities
- Cost of living index in New York: 100%
- Cost of living index in San Francisco: 92,79%
Other cities:
- Cost of living index in Nashville: 73,16
- Cost of living index in Austin: 63,97%
Cost of living in Spain depends mostly on the city and the region you decide to settle down in: living in big towns such as Madrid or Barcelona is usually more expensive than in little villages. As a side-note, there are beautiful little villages in the North and South of Spain that offer a high quality of life at a relatively cheap price.
Weather in Spain
Oh those Spanish sunny days! Weather is probably one of the powerful attractions for most of the expats running away from rainy and cloudy days. Mild temperatures throughout the year, including beautiful sunny days even in Winter, is also a big “pro” to take in consideration when it comes to strike a balance.
Exploring Europe is both easy and cheap
Whether you are spending a couple of months (even years) in Spain for work reasons, or just taking pleasure of an undefined sabbatical period, don’t miss the chance to get the most of the many cheap flights that will allow you to explore beautiful European cities such as Paris or London.
A pet friendly country
Are you an American moving to Spain along with your puppy? Then you will be glad to know that Spain is, in general terms, a pet friendly city. Check out the post we wrote in which we answered the question Is Barcelona a dog-friendly city?
Public healthcare system is excellent
This is a huge pro, indeed. Spain has both private and public healthcare systems. The second one, which is free for all contributors to the Spanish Social Security system and their families, is actually one of the best public healthcare systems in the world.
Many resources to beat spontaneous homesickness
If you settle down in cities like Madrid or Barcelona you won’t have any problem finding expat communities with whom to share hobbies or just hang out. In terms of food, you will be able to calm down that homesick feeling through American food you will easily find in specific supermarkets (overall in medium-big cities). Even online supermarkets. Valuable and accessible resources that will make moving to Spain as an American less though, specially when it comes to deal with that (sometimes) inevitable homesick feeling.
Related post: American supermarkets in Barcelona, where to buy your favourite American food
Cons of living in Spain
Professional expectations: high unemployment rate
Considering professional opportunities is key. You might have managed to get a promotion and spend a couple of years in Barcelona working remotely (you might be even on a mission to explore the Spanish market to expand business). Or maybe you have no plan and are decided to trust your own luck: you just want to make that move to enroll on an adventure abroad for a period of time. Specially in the second scenario, you should analyze which are your expectations related to your professional career if you are considering also getting a job in Spain.
Even though we have pointed out great “pros” to take the leap, take into account this important “con”: unemployment rate in Spain is high. Succeeding will depend mostly on your professional profile and the difference it can make for a company. Since the United States doesn’t get the benefits from countries in the European Union, the process might be harder though (hello, bureaucracy).
Language barrier: Spanish
Before heading to Spain, we highly recommend you to take some Spanish classes. This will help you have a language base really useful during the first months in this new country. Even though this language barrier might be a “con” in a first stage, it can turn into a great advantage in the near future: being fluent in Spanish.
Moving to Spain as an American also means this: “Hello, bureaucracy”
We warn you in advance: have a little patience. In general terms, it is not that efficient as it is in the United States, from our experience. Moving to Spain from USA will probably mean testing your patience in terms of bureaucracy. Breath in, breath out.
Different schedule and notion of time (but you will get used to it)
This might be a bit shocking at first: having dinner at 10pm? What on Earth? Or having lunch at 3pm? Also, why do Spaniards start partying at 1am? You may ask yourself this kind of questions at first. We remember how bars in Missoula were about to close at that hour. But give this schedule a chance, you will get used to it ;-)