Category: Expat Tips and Resources

AKA The Great Expat New Year Resolution Delusion Every January 1st, without fail, the British expats of Spain wake up filled with hope, optimism, and a dangerous amount of confidence. “This is the year,” they say, clutching a coffee like it’s a legally binding contract.“This is the year I learn…

(Or: Choose Your Winter Struggle) Winter in Spain does something strange to British expats. It turns us into part-time heating engineers with very strong opinions. At some point — usually around your third cold evening indoors wearing a hat — you find yourself drawn into The Great Stove Debate. Pellet…

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…