Expat life in Spain has been amazing, but it wouldn’t have been that way if I wasn’t prepared or didn’t have many resources to go to for help. Realistically there are so many things you need to know before jumping into it. There’s the obvious things like Visa paperwork, finding a place, and dealing with the language. Then there’s also the random stuff you may not think of, like your Amazon Prime membership, clothing and what medicines and beauty products to bring. I’ve only been abroad for six months, but I’m going to do my best to share my knowledge on how to prepare for expat life in Spain!

*I’m going to preface this by saying I am in no way an immigration, relocation, expatriation, or tax expert. This is all based on my experience and that of others in similar situations that I’ve encountered. I will do my best to link appropriate US gov and Spanish gov websites for you to have the official, up-to-date knowledge.*

It seems like I’ve a bit of an upper hand in my move to Spain, at least compared to many of the other American’s I’ve met. I speak the language, have family in Spain, and my parents helped a ton in the transition. That said, most of the information I found about expat life in Spain was from a British or Irish point of view. So this is more catered to people coming over from the US!

Visa Paperwork

Before coming to Spain, you’ll have to sort out your visa paperwork, unless you happen to have EU citizenship. If that’s the case, congrats! Just show up! If not, you’ll need to get to work. As of right now, people with US passports have a 90-day tourist visa to EU countries. So if that’s your situation and you’re not planning on being here more than 90 days, no stress! Come on over and enjoy. If you’re going to be here past that point, you’ll need a separate visa, which must be handled from the US before coming. For more information on the different visas and requirements, go to the Embassy of Spain in Washington page. I will say that I’m here on a student visa and my paperwork took four weeks, so be sure to do that in a timely fashion!

Setting Up a Bank Account

One of the first things you’ll want to do – and one of the more tedious – is set up a bank account. The deal with bank accounts is that the requirements vary depending on the bank and the branch. You should only need a passport, but depending on your income situation, they may ask for other information. I set up a bank account with BBVA, because I noticed there was a branch close to my school (my main job) and because it’s a brand I know. They required a passport and work contract and it took about 20 minutes to set up with the lady at the branch. Remember to pay attention to bank hours, they’re very different from the states. When I went in September, the branch was only open from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. on weekdays.

Getting a Phone Line

When it comes to having a phone while abroad, you’ve got lots of options. You can keep your home number and change your plan to include international calling, you can change your line to a MagicJack line, or you can cut off your home line and get a completely new one when you’re abroad. There are also plenty of options once you’re in your new country.

In Spain, most people either get a prepaid line using the cell phone they already have or sign up for a contract with a cell phone provider here. It really depends on how much you’re willing to commit to; I wasn’t sure I’d stay longer than a year, so I stuck with a prepaid plan. Even though I’m staying longer it isn’t worth it for me to sign up for a contract, so I’m sticking with my prepaid plan. I have one through Vodafone, because it was the most affordable and so far the customer service has been great. Other people I know go through Orange or Lycamobile, but I can’t speak to those.

Finding a Place to Live

Assuming your travel plans don’t include a place to stay, you’re likely looking to rent an apartment or a room in a shared apartment. My first recommendation is make sure you have a basic knowledge of Spanish or have the help of someone who does. Unless you book through Airbnb, most landlords will want to do business in Spanish.

There are several ways to find housing in Spain. The top website and app seems to be Idealista. It’s like a cross between Craigslist and Zillow, and it’s actually where I found my place! It’s very user friendly: you simply look at listings and see the information to reach out to the owner/landlord/realtor. There is also a great app called Badi, which is almost like a dating app in it’s setup, but it’s for people looking for roommates. I met with several people through Badi, but didn’t find the right fit. My next recommendation would be Facebook. It feels weird to say because in the states I never really used Facebook, but Facebook groups are everything when moving to a new place. There are expat groups, student groups, and more importantly, apartment/shared housing rental groups as well. I also met with a girl from FB, but she forgot to mention she had a cat, and I’m allergic!

Getting a Public Transport Card

More than likely, you’ll be using public transport to get around your new home abroad. At least in Madrid, you have two options. You can get a personal card or a multi card. The personal transit card allows for way more options and is refillable on a monthly and even yearly basis. The zone A (center of Madrid) monthly abono is just under 55€, which is 100% worth it assuming you’re using public transport daily. You can sign up to get yours online, purchase it at a tobacco shop or go to one of the main metro stations to get it in person. I got mine online and it was mailed to me pretty quickly!

Taxes

First things first, make sure you have everything stored electronically before coming. You will have to file taxes in the US, so be prepared. Also make sure your previous job has all your updated contact information just in case they need to reach you. Depending on how you’re making your income abroad, you may have to file special tax forms and even file taxes in your new country. This varies case-by-case, but in my situation, I’m on a student visa making under the limit required to file any extra forms, so I filed through TurboTax like I normally would!

Medicines & Allergies

Something I’ve come to really notice is how differently we handle sickness and colds in the US to the way things are handled in Spain. If I have a headache, I might take 2 ibuprofen back home. I told my roommates that and they thought I was nuts. Well, our ibuprofen is generally 200mg, the one they have is 600mg. So yeah, woah. I come from an Advil family rather than a Tylenol family, so I take ibuprofen. In Spain, they take Paracetamol, which is the generic Tylenol. It may not seem like a big difference, but my body reacts way better to ibuprofen than Tylenol. Thankfully I brought my Costco bottle of ibuprofen along for the trip!

Another issue is allergies. I didn’t have allergies in the fall and honestly wasn’t quite prepared for the spring allergies to come, so I didn’t worry about my allergy medicine. Well, in my apartment we don’t have a/c (most people don’t) so my bedroom windows are open 24/7. Oh yes. All the pollen just floats right on in, which I hadn’t accounted for. I personally tried the generic version of Allegra here but it didn’t work, so I’m actually going to stock up when I go back home.

Making Friends

I’d say one of the more difficult things about expat life is making new friends. It’s hard to make new friends as an adult anyway, so the added pressure of being in a foreign place doesn’t help. It also depends what you’re doing. There is the possibility of becoming friends with your roommates, work colleagues or people from the gym. If none of those pan out, you really have to be open to saying yes, joining clubs or groups and just getting out of your comfort zone. Also, remember this is the 21st century, this may require unconventional techniques like using Twitter and Instagram!

Amazon Prime

If you have Amazon Prime and plan on keeping it and using it in Europe, reach out to Amazon and have them change your country of residency. Otherwise when you log in to Amazon it recognizes you’re in Spain but still shows you American Amazon (www.amazon.com). Once you change the options, you get the EU shipping and Prime Video options.

Fashion

Let’s be real: fashion was nowhere near my list of importance when I was moving abroad. Sure, I made sure I brought weather appropriate clothes, but that was it. The beauty about living specifically in Madrid is that pretty much anything goes. Unless you’re a doctor or lawyer, it seems like there are no rules in terms of workwear. As far as outside of that, it’s a creative world out here, bring whatever you want!

My one main note is about tights. Most young Americans are probably not used to wearing tights, but in Spain once the weather cools down, wearing a skirt or dress with bare legs is very odd. People will stare at you. People will ask you questions and constantly warn you about the hypothetical cold you’re going to get by being so exposed. Obviously this is a personal choice, but I found that buying nude tights is easier than dealing with all the criticism. Plus, they do actually protect a bit from the cold. It sounds silly, but it’s not something we’re used to!

Dryers

Most apartments in Madrid don’t have dryers, so we hang dry our clothes either inside the apartment or outside. Not a big deal unless you live with roommates and don’t plan things out. I’m not mostly making this point for awareness, but for example when I moved here, I brought just enough clothes to wear I would have to wash once a week, assuming I was going to be able to also drive something in a drying machine. When you consider the fact that hang drying your clothes takes longer, you have to bring extra clothes. So when I moved here I had to buy extra underwear and extra socks because those were the main things I ran out of. Random, but useful!

Beauty Products

This may seem silly, but I for one am very brand loyal, especially when it comes to specific beauty products. My skincare regimen, for example, is almost entirely made of Mario Badescu products. Guess where they don’t ship to? Spain. It wasn’t until the beginning of 2019 that Douglas (kind of like the European Ulta) started carrying a very limited selection of MB products. I’m an overly cautious person so I brought a hefty supply of products with me when I first came over, but I would’ve been out of luck otherwise because I didn’t research. While some other *affordable* beauty brands do sell products here (L’Oreal, Maybelline, Garnier, NYX), they don’t have the entire line. Several makeup brands also have limited color ranges, which can also be frustrating.

Overall the process of moving to another country can be extremely challenging, especially when moving to a country where you don’t speak the language. My number one tip? Research. Try to be as prepared as possible. Here’s hoping this helped your prepare for expat life in Spain! Let me know if you have any questions!

*If you’re looking to read more about expat life in Spain, check out that section of my blog, here.*