Life in Spain

Move safely to Spain - the ultimate guide to Spain, life in Spain, moving to Spain and buying or selling your Spanish property.

About Me

Nick Snelling

Nicholas Snelling is married with two children and lives permanently in Spain within the Valencian mountains above Gandia. In the UK he studied law before running a construction company based in central London. In Spain, he has worked within the real estate industry as well as undertaking investigative journalism and writing three books. A keen sportsman, he spends most weekends climbing.

Why Spain?

I moved to Spain with my family over six years ago, having known the country since the days of Franco. My mother is a poet and has lived here for the past forty years and so I have always looked upon Spain as my second country. When, by chance, I was asked to work here I jumped at the opportunity and came to live in Spain permanently.

In fact, moving to Spain has turned out to be an inspired choice, not just for me but also for my family as well. Indeed, as every year passes, we seem to enjoy life here more. In a way, this has been a surprise, possibly because Spain is such a deceptive country. On the surface, to the casual visitor, Spain can appear to be little more than a banality of fine beaches and great bars - with a dose of Flamenco and guaranteed sun mixed in. However, this is a false impression.

Spain is a very complicated place with a culture and way of life that is radically different to the UK. Indeed, the dynamics of the country are fascinating with each region offering a quite different way of life. Spain is nothing if not interesting and has sufficient depth, activities and vibrancy to keep anyone eternally surprised - and, more often than not, absolutely enchanted.

Of course, Spain is a country of contradictions. Its explosion out of a long dictatorship has initiated huge social and economic changes. On the one hand it is as sophisticated as anywhere in Northern Europe whilst, on the other hand, it has a lifestyle that often seems unchanged for generations. It is a country that can quickly seem impossibly confusing.

When Jose Ivars of Currencies Direct mentioned that I should write a book about moving to Spain, it was to help explain these complications that were primarily in his mind as much as mine. After all, what are you to believe about the country?

Is Spain a paradise - or somewhere where you are guaranteed to lose your property to 'Land Grab'. Does it have good healthcare and a quality education system - or are these vital facilities defective? Is corruption impossibly endemic - or can you invest in property safely? Can Spain really deliver a better quality of life than the UK - or is the perception of a country filled with gentle, old-fashioned nuclear communities a myth? Importantly, is Spain somewhere to which you can move for the long term - secure in the knowledge that you have chosen a country that will deliver your dreams?

The answers to these questions from both Jose (a native Spaniard) and I would be much the same.

Spain can provide everything that you could wish for or be unforgiving and badly damage you both financially and emotionally. Be careless and naive and you will face significant problems - just as you would in any country in the world. There is certainly no denying that serious pitfalls exist. However, most of them can be easily avoided through adequate preparation and knowledge.

My aim, of course, is to help you come to Spain or buy within Spain - and enjoy the experience for the long term as much as we have done. To do this, I have written 'Move Safely' with the emphasis being always on 'safely'. Without doubt, given the stakes involved when you come to another country, the 'safely' bit is far more important than anything else. So, it is this aspect that I have concentrated upon in my book and that I shall emphasise, time and again, within my Blog.

My Blog

  • Spanish property, the paradox of the local and foreign buyer market
    Sun, 20 May 2012 07:38
    A few days ago, the Bank of Spain confirmed what a number of estate agents and Spanish property portals have been saying for some time – that Spanish property sales to foreigners were increasing dramatically.  In fact, the Bank of Spain claims that the amount of money invested in Spanish property by foreign buyers during [...] ... read more
  • The Spanish banking crisis and the Indignados
    Fri, 18 May 2012 07:00
    So, it appears that there may be a ‘run’ on Bankia, Spain’s fourth largest bank – which has just been part nationalized by the Spanish state.  This ‘run’ is being denied, predictably, by the government and the bank itself.  Indeed, it may well be that people are not withdrawing their money as fast as they [...] ... read more
  • Spain’s banking sector on the brink
    Tue, 15 May 2012 17:03
    The pound has hit 1.25 against the euro this past week, its highest rate since Oct 2008, as Spain struggles to get to grips with its banking sector and Greece contemplates a euro exit. So what next for the continent in crisis, and the exchange rate? Here is my latest update of the British pound [...] ... read more
  • Horse riding in Spain, the Spanish school
    Mon, 14 May 2012 09:12
    Spain is, of course, famous for its horses and its riding.  In fact, one of the emblems of Spain is a proud male rider astride a huge, white Andalusian horse, its short, powerful neck arched and its forelegs thrown ‘artificially’ high as it moves forward.  The rider is usually seen wearing a black waistcoat, a [...] ... read more
  • Spanish property market, the truth is finally coming out!
    Fri, 11 May 2012 08:16
    So, over the past couple of weeks the true state of the Spanish property market is becoming apparent and confirms what I have been saying for a long time.  In short, average property prices across Spain have fallen by around 40% since the height of the boom in 2007 – not the 20% that the [...] ... read more