r/MovedToSpain

Hey guys

We made r/MadridCommunity because sometimes you just wanna ask a random question about Madrid without wondering if your post is gonna get removed.

Living here, moving here, visiting, looking for recommendation, confused about something… whatever

Come join ussss

Is there anyone living in Spain. A close person of mine is in Spain in Tourist visa. She wants to get admitted into a vocational course. She needs to convert her tourist visa into student visa. There is law in Spain in favour of that. Therefore, an immigration lawyer is needed. Please, can anyone let me know about an immigration lawyer who can handle this?

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone can help me understand what my options are.
I’m a Canadian student planning to study in spain in sep 2026. I have my student visa appointment at the Spanish Consulate in Toronto this Thursday, August 20, but my RCMP background check apostille is being delayed by Global Affairs Canada and will not arrive in time for my appointment.

I’ve been trying everything possible to get it expedited, but I haven’t received a useful update and it looks like I simply won’t have the apostilled document by Thursday.
I’m now trying to figure out what I should do.
-Should I still attend my visa appointment without the apostille and explain the situation?
-Is there any possibility of entering Spain as a Canadian and applying for the student authorization/visa from within Spain?
-Has anyone been in a similar situation with a delayed apostille or missing document?
-Is there anything else I should be doing right now?

My program starts in September, so I’m extremely worried about missing the opportunity to start. I would really appreciate any advice from someone who has dealt with the Spanish student visa process, especially from Canada

I've been thinking about this for several weeks now. I'm a 22-year-old guy from southern Brazil and I'm quite extroverted. I don't speak Spanish yet, but since Portuguese is my native language, I can understand quite a bit of it. I also speak English at around a C1 level.

I work online and make over $5,000 USD a month before tax, and I'm planning to move to Spain on my own.

I'm looking for a city where I can have a good quality of life, play sports, work out, eat good food, meet new people, and live without needing a car. I'd ideally like somewhere extremely walkable with a good public transport.

I'd be comfortable spending around €1,000–€1,300 a month on rent.

Weather is also a major factor for me, as bad weather tends to make me feel lazy and a bit down.

What city should I choose?

I've already seen many posts about Valencia, Malaga, Alicante, Madrid and I am still don't know what should i choose. (I am open to new options!!!)

Hi guys,
My family is currently considering a major move to Gibraltar due to a new job opportunity for my husband. I’d really appreciate some advice, especially from parents or expats living there.
Here is our situation: we all hold Swedish citizenship, and we currently live and work in Sweden. We have two kids (ages 7 and 3).
While we are excited about the opportunity, my main concerns revolve around our children's education and long-term transition:

1. School System & Language: Coming from the Nordic/Swedish education system, how different is the schooling in Gibraltar? Is the curriculum taught entirely in English, and is it easy for a 7-year-old coming from abroad to adapt?
2. Returning to Sweden/Europe later: We might move back to Sweden in a few years. Would spending a few school years in Gibraltar cause any major gaps or issues if they transition back into the Nordic education system later on?
3. Overall Quality of Life for Families: How is life in Gibraltar for young kids in terms of outdoor activities, community, and healthcare?
   Is it worth making the move for a few years, or would it be too disruptive for the kids at these ages?
   Thanks in advance for any insights or experiences you can share!

Hi everyone, an Indian (F) remote professional here, planning to relocate to Spain on the Digital Nomad Visa. Don’t know anyone in the country yet, so figuring out the best city to land in and get settled for the 1st year or two.

I work remotely, therefore open to any city. But besides the obvious rent factor, I’m trying to find a place that balances these other things:

• Heard that TIE, NIE & Padrón appointment backlogs can be a nightmare in certain areas, so looking for places where the admin side is relatively manageable.
• Don’t plan on buying a car right away, so it’s important that I can get around easily using public transport. Airport connectivity would be better.
• Coming there on my own, so a place where I can build a good social life from scratch, have sports/gym facilities nearby, things to do, etc.
• Yet to learn Spanish, so looking for something of a soft landing. Planning to enroll in a school once I arrive there and pick up some basics by the time I land there.

Which cities would you recommend looking into? Would appreciate any tips or firsthand experiences.

Also, for those who already live there, is it better to start in a coliving space or to flatshare? Thinking of the ease of living, initial paperwork and settling in.

I recently moved back to Spain after living in Scotland for around 14 years, and I’m now building a small relocation service in Malaga.

I’m not trying to sell anything through this post.
I’d genuinely like to understand where people struggled and what kind of support would actually have made a difference.

If you’ve relocated to Spain, I’d be interested to know:

1.What was the most difficult or stressful part?
2.What information was surprisingly hard to find?
3.Did you pay anyone to help you? Was it worth it?
4.What would you happily have paid someone to handle?
5.What would make you trust—or avoid—a relocation company?

I’m particularly interested in experiences involving long-term rentals, NIE applications, schools, healthcare, banking and settling in after arrival.

Honest and critical answers are very welcome. I’d rather learn what people genuinely need than build services based on assumptions.

Les parece que uno con el sueldo mínimo puede costearse vivir en un estudio solo? Yo busco y busco estudios y no se bajan de los 900€ entonces luego, que dinero te queda luego de la comida? Como compras tus cosas o piensas en viajar aunque sea un poquito? En que lugar de españa esta mejor el coste de vida?

En dos años tendre una Fp en transporte y logistica y yo digo pues igual voy a empezar ganando el minimo, a que puedo aspirar en el futuro?

My wife and I are planning a move from Portugal to Málaga. Our kids will be 7 and 11 by the time we land. I'll head over first, early 2027, to get settled and scout things properly. My wife and kids follow around September 2027, timed with the school year - by then kids will need to be registered in school.

Two aspects I would love your help.

Neighborhoods. We're aiming for concertada schooling (Spanish-medium, public/subsidized) rather than international school. International is the fallback if concertada doesn't work out and not the plan. Teatinos keeps coming up when I search, but from what I've read it's still pretty defined by the university crowd, and I'm not sure how much of a family scene there actually is day to day versus just newer housing stock. Are there other areas at a similar price point that lean more toward young families and working professionals than students? We're renting to start, maybe buy after lived there a couple of years and know it's the right fit, looking at roughly 1400-1800€/month for a 3-bedroom. Having nearby transports so that we can easily go to city center and beach would be a plus.

People. I'm a remote software engineer, my wife works in market research, and we're both interested in the entrepreneurial/tech side of things like meetups, coworking, that kind of thing. Just as much, we'd like to meet other families with kids so kids can hang out and play, and so we have people to grab dinner or a drink with. If either of those describes you, or both, I'd love to hear from you. Happy to stay in touch before we land and compare notes once we're actually there.

Thanks in advance.

Hola,

​Soy una estudiante de 25 años de Turquía. Le escribo porque estoy teniendo bastantes dificultades para encontrar alojamiento para mis próximas prácticas de investigación en la Universidad de Vigo y me encuentro en una situación muy complicada.

​Busco un lugar para alojarme desde el 16 de agosto hasta el 4 de octubre. Sin embargo, al tratarse de una estancia corta, nadie quiere alquilar su casa o habitación.

​Mi vuelo es mañana y no tengo ningún lugar donde quedarme; estoy en una situación muy difícil. Estoy dispuesta a pagar más del precio normal.

​Muchas gracias de antemano.

​Sude

My job is being transferred to Spain, so I will be moving there around October time this year. I will be working remotely, and am planning to move to somewhere fairly rural in Asturias. I've just found out that my salary will be €43906 a year (before tax), plus €50 a month (after tax) towards home working.

I was wondering how much rent I can realistically afford on that salary after taxes? It's just me and my two dogs, so I don't need a huge place or anything.

I'm relocating to Spain in early September on the DNV, moving from the US (Indian-origin, lived there 5-6 years) after being 100% remote for my role.
Since I can technically live anywhere in Spain, I want to choose based on lifestyle, and I don't know anyone there yet.

My Spanish is very basic (picked up a little living in Texas), and I'm an extrovert who's used to an active social calendar, so I'm nervous about the language gap slowing down how quickly I can build a circle.

I am completely new to Spain. one of my biggest priorities is making friends, meeting people, dating, and generally building a social life. I am in my mid 20s and would like to live somewhere where there are plenty of activities, events, sports, social meetups, adventures and other ways to meet people.

For people who have lived in any City, especially those of you who've moved without knowing anyone, how'd you manage & which city would you recommend?

I'm open to Accommodation options(coliving) as well if that had worked for you, please share your suggestions.

My utmost priorities:
Safety.
Socially Active communities.
Cost effective.
Learning Spanish language and picking up the culture :)

I'd really appreciate each one of you sharing your thoughts/suggestions/experiences.

If you had a young family in Southern Spain with British parents, would you relocate now because of climate change, if you, the parent, were really struggling in the summers? Or would you stay for the benefit of Spanish culture for kids and later teens?

Hi everyone! In the future I want to move and study in Spain, most likely in Valencia. I'm a foreign, so I would like to know is this city is good for moving? Is it safe? Is it difficult to find a job here? And also what about prices for apartments, food and living there in general? Thank you!

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could tell me how concerned i should be or if there is anything i can do. I have recently submitted my visa application via bls Manchester UK, once i got home and checked over my documents again i realised some issues.

To start with i should say the names are all the same, however they don't all match my passport. There are two documents with issues: firstly being my acceptance letter from the university I plan to study at, they have hyphenated what shows on my passport as like a second part of my first name to my second name. so the format on my passport is

first name: x y, second name z.

but the acceptance letter says:

first name: x, second name y-z.

Additionally my GHIC has moved y to be in my first name so it reads

first name: x, second name: y z

I get this is a tiny thing but I've never been through this process before and I'm not sure how its going to be seen or if it will make my visa get rejected. If anyone has any experience or thoughts on if this could go wrong/ what i could do could you please lmk

Hi! Me and my husband are considering to move to Spain and buy a house, and while researching I came across Roda (San Javier).

I was really drawn to how tidy the streets seem, how close it is to the sea, and the fact that it looks more residential than touristy.

I’m wondering if anyone here actually lives there and can give some realistic opinions? Does it become a ghost town during winter? Are there still restaurants, shops and things to do, or does everything basically shut down? Any tips/info, including the downsides, would be really appreciated!

About us.. We’re a family of 4, mum, dad, baby and doggo 🐶 and we’re looking to buy a house with a yard and raise our children somewhere safe, close to the beach, palm trees, and with things to do.
We currently live in the heart of a big city, so we also love having variety and get bored quite easily 😅
We’d be expats ourselves (from another European country), so I’m also wondering if there’s a decent expat community in Roda and whether it’s easy to get by with English while we learn Spanish.

And if you’re from somewhere else in Spain and think we should look at another area instead, please recommend it! We’re very open to suggestions.
Thanks in advance!

Actualmente mi nivel de español es A2. Estoy estudiándolo activamente y quiero mejorar sobre todo mi expresión oral, intentando sumergirme lo máximo posible en el idioma. Ya entiendo bastante bien el español, pero todavía me cuesta hablar con fluidez. También me gustaría aprender valenciano.
Hablo neerlandés e inglés con fluidez y me gustaría conocer gente con la que pueda crear una conexión de verdad. Me encantan las conversaciones profundas: filosofía, psicología, la vida, las relaciones, por qué las personas somos como somos… o empezar hablando de una cosa completamente aleatoria y terminar tres horas después hablando de algo totalmente diferente. 😂 Me encanta perderme en una conversación y simplemente dejar que fluya.
Y creo que eso también describe bastante bien mi forma de ser. Normalmente no soy una persona que tenga todo perfectamente planeado; me gusta dejar que las cosas fluyan y ver qué pasa.
De hecho, mi mudanza a Valencia tampoco estaba planeada exactamente así. Originalmente iba a mudarme con mi novio, pero me dejó aproximadamente un mes antes de que tuviera que irme. Para entonces ya había dejado mi trabajo, cancelado mi apartamento y tenía prácticamente toda mi vida organizada para mudarme. De repente tuve que decidir: ¿me voy igualmente o vuelvo a empezar desde cero aquí?
Y decidí irme.
No porque todo esté perfectamente resuelto, sino porque me di cuenta de que ya no era feliz en Bélgica y que, quizás, precisamente necesitaba empezar una nueva etapa y descubrir una nueva versión de mí misma.
La parte más intensa de la ruptura ya ha pasado y estoy bien, pero empezar sola en un país nuevo obviamente da un poco de miedo. Una de las cosas que más me gustaría es construir mi propia vida allí y conocer gente nueva, no solamente españoles, sino personas con las que pueda crear amistades de verdad.
Un poco sobre mí: soy enfermera y actualmente trabajo en Bélgica. De momento voy a trabajar para una empresa neerlandófona, lo que me permite mudarme aunque todavía no hable español con suficiente fluidez. Pero mi objetivo es mejorar mi español lo antes posible para poder volver a trabajar como enfermera en un hospital español.
Así que me gustaría conocer gente más o menos de mi edad (aunque la edad no es realmente importante) que tenga ganas de conocer gente nueva, aprender idiomas, tener conversaciones profundas, hacer planes espontáneos y descubrir Valencia juntos.
Si eres de Valencia o vives allí y te apetece conocer a alguien nuevo, ¡no dudes en escribirme! :)

My landlord insists I pay him in cash so I need to figure out a way to draw cash with the least amount of charges. Please help.