Planning to move to Galicia on a Non-Lucrative Visa — what are our chances of building a long-term life in Spain?
Hi everyone! I’d really appreciate some advice and personal experiences from people who are already living in Spain, especially in Galicia.
I’m a 30-year-old woman currently living in China. I work as a Chinese language and writing teacher, with several years of experience in teaching children and educational/curriculum development. I have also worked on children’s books and educational content. My boyfriend is a climbing coach.
We are seriously considering moving to Spain through the Non-Lucrative Visa. We have enough savings to support ourselves for around five years without working, and our plan would be to spend those years learning Spanish and becoming part of the local community.
We understand that we cannot work while on the Non-Lucrative Visa, and we are not planning to work during that period. What worries us is what happens afterwards.
After five years, assuming that we have reached a good level of Spanish (hopefully B2), would it be realistic for two non-EU citizens in their 30s to find ordinary jobs and remain in Spain long-term?
I know my own professional background is not particularly easy to transfer to the Spanish job market. Teaching Chinese and working in children's education/curriculum development are quite niche, and I don't expect to simply find an equivalent job in Spain.
But I wonder whether it might be realistic to find something more ordinary after becoming fluent in Spanish — for example, working in a bookstore, library, education-related business, climbing gym, tourism, etc. We don't necessarily need highly paid or prestigious careers. Our main goal would be to support ourselves modestly and build a permanent life in Spain.
I keep seeing people say that the Spanish job market is very difficult, especially for young people and non-EU foreigners, so I'm wondering how realistic this plan actually is. Are there people here who came to Spain with savings, learned Spanish, and eventually managed to transition into employment?
There is another issue that is extremely important to us: we have two cats. They are our family and would be moving with us.
I've heard that renting with pets in Spain can be extremely difficult, especially for young foreigners without a Spanish employment contract. Is this really as bad as people say?
We are still at the information-gathering stage, so I would genuinely appreciate both positive and negative experiences. I’d much rather hear the uncomfortable truth now than discover it five years later.
Many many many thanks!