7 things you should know before moving to Spain
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00:00 Intro
Weather
We will start this video talking about the weather in Spain. If you don’t live in Spain or especially if you have never been to the country, you can imagine Spain as this sunny place where the weather is always perfect for a stroll in the evening or for going to the beach.
This is actually true, but it only applies to very specific areas of Spain. Despite its relatively small size, if we compare Spain to countries like the US or Canada, Spain actually has a pretty diverse climate.
01:37 Taxes in Spain
Now we are going to talk about what is probably the worst aspect about living in Spain, at least in my opinion what is the worst aspect about it. We are going to talk about taxes.
Spain, just like most Western European countries, is what one can call an ultra high income tax country. If you live in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, and you think your income tax bill is high, in Spain, it can be even higher.
Citizens from Latin America
Citizens of former Spanish colonies, and some other countries like Brazil, Andorra, Portugal and the Philippines have some advantages when living in Spain. Even within these group of countries that are some differences, but overall they are privileged.
The main privilege is that citizens of these countries can apply for Spanish citizenship after living just 2 years in Spain, while citizens of other countries, including EU members, will usually need to live 10 years in Spain to be eligible to apply for citizenship.
03:44 Real Estate in Spain
Now I am going to talk about Real Estate, and then about Cost of Living, since these 2 topics are strongly related.
So firstly regarding real estate, I would consider Spain as one of the countries with the highest price differences per square meter or feet, when comparing prime locations and locations with low demand.
While the price per square meter in central madrid hovers around 5000 euros, it is not extremely difficult to find properties in Spain with prices per square meter below 1000 euros. In cities like Jerez de la Frontera or Cordoba in the South, or even in the North in places like Oviedo, you can easily get a nice looking apartment in a decent area for 1000 euros per sq meter, and at times even below that.
04:51 Cost of Living in Spain
Following real estate we obviously have to talk about the cost of living.
The cost of living is another aspect you should consider when moving to Spain. Not only to Spain as a matter of fact, but to any country. This is actually one of main positive points about living in Spain, especially when compared to, once again, Western Europe.
Of course, there are cities and areas in Spain which are notable for their high cost of living. If you want to live in Central Madrid or next to a beach in Barcelona, every aspect of your very existence will involve relentlessly high costs. But that doesn’t really apply to most of the country.
Spanish Language
The Spanish language is another aspect one should definitely consider before moving to Spain. This aspect is broadly a positive one, as Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn among the European ones, extremely useful and with almost unlimited free resources to assist your learning curve.
You can start with your learning curve even before traveling to the country. You don’t really have to invest a penny on this, because, as I said, the number of free resources is definitely above the speed you can consume them.
Learning Spanish can also be the grounds for getting a residence permit in Spain, which is the next topic we are going to talk about.
Residence Permit
Now let’s talk about getting a residence permit in Spain. This is another positive aspect about Spain, as it is easier to get a residence permit in the country than in most other Western European countries.
There are really a lot of categories to get a residence permit in Spain. Apart from the most common routes like having an EU family member, being a student or finding a job, you have other pretty interesting options.
Quality of Life
Finally, the last point I am going to address about living in Spain is its high quality of life. The quality of life in Spain is one of the highest in the world. Even in Europe, when compared to other countries with a high quality of living, Spain has many advantages. For example, it is safer than France or Belgium, warmer than the Netherlands or Sweden, and cheaper than Denmark or Switzerland.
So basically moving to Spain will give you some excellent aspects in your quality of life that you will not get in most countries in the world: safety, good weather during most of the year, and an overall stable political and social scenario.
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