Category: Expat Tips and Resources

It always starts the same way. A viewing trip in May. Blue skies. Birds singing. The estate agent smiling like they’ve personally arranged the weather. You fall in love with a “quaint” finca just outside a lovely Spanish village. Thick walls. Rustic charm. Original features. Character. Lots of character. Nobody…

Every December, Spain collectively loses its mind over El Gordo — the “Fat One.” Not a person. Not a pig. A lottery. And not just any lottery — the lottery. The one that turns otherwise sensible adults into wide-eyed gamblers clutching paper tickets like Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket. From about…

Every year. Every single year. Welcome to The Great British Spanish Christmas Panic Shop, where Expats stock up like crazy. You’d think the supermarkets were closing for a fortnight and the country was bracing for a mild apocalypse. It’s the 22nd of December, Spain is shutting down for one whole…

New Year’s Eve in Spain isn’t about fireworks, or champagne, or pretending next year will be “the year you really get fit.” No. It’s about grapes. Twelve of them. And eating them like your life depends on it. At midnight, the entire country stands poised in front of the TV,…

Right, welcome back to Benidorm, the spiritual home of the neon vest, the €2 pint, and medical marvels that would baffle science. Narrator: Today on Bargain Loving Brits, we’re observing a very special migration pattern. It begins at Gatwick Airport. You see them in the departure lounge, bless them: Sheila…

THE GREAT WINTER FUEL PAYMENT PARODY (A DaveInSpain-style sketch featuring one cold Brit expat , one sarcastic mate on holiday, and one plate of tapas.) Scene: Two British guys in a freezing Spanish village bar in December. One ( an expat resident ) is shivering in a big quilted coat….

You know what I mean when you hear those words ” we’ll make a cheeky offer”…. A Place in the Sun – Budgeting for Beginners (…or not) Narrator : Welcome back, folks! Today we’re house-hunting with Duncan and Sharon from Stoke, who have a whopping budget of £70,000, with an…

Welcome to Europe’s Largest Christmas Day Beach Party – La Zenia! There are two types of people on Christmas morning. Those in Northern Europe who wake up, open the curtains, and see frost, fog, and a general sense of “why is it so dark?” And then there are the people…

Fu*king Fly Tippers You can live in Spain for years and still never quite understand it. You’ll be driving down some quiet country road, admiring the palm trees, enjoying the sunshine, feeling quite smug that you escaped the drizzle — and then you see it. A white van. Rear doors…

You can spot them a mile off — the legendary EasyJet Tradesmen. They’re the blokes who left the UK as Darren Who Once Put Up a Billy Bookcase, and landed in Alicante three hours later as Darren, Fully Qualified Master Builder, Plumber, Electrician, Roofer, Landscaper, Dog Whisperer, and Occasional DJ….