Spain has always been a hugely popular destination with British expats, owing to its slow pace of life and idyllic climate.
However, moving to a foreign country can present unique challenges to even the most seasoned travellers. A resident named Stuart recently took to his YouTube channel to warn potential expats of the challenges they could face.
“In general, my experiences here have been positive, but [....] there are some negative aspects as well,” explained Stuart, who moved to Spain several years ago.
The expat listed the language barrier, job opportunities and friendliness as three potential deterrents for foreigners.
Foreigners may struggle to integrate with local communities in cities according to Stuart
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Those who don’t speak Spanish may struggle to navigate everyday life, making it difficult to integrate with local communities too.
“It is fundamental to learn the language to live in this country if you want to integrate and want to feel part of Spanish Society,” the content creator explained.
Spanish nationals can also be unforgiving towards expats who make minimal effort to learn their language, but Stuart claims that even those who get by can encounter issues.
“No matter how well you speak the language you’re always going to find people who want to have anything to do with you because you’re not a local, you’re not what they’re used to,” he explained.
“For some reason, because you don’t speak the language like them, I think there’s a lack of trust. But as I said, that’s just my opinion.”
Despite the laid-back reputation of Spanish nationals, foreigners may also notice that cultural norms differ slightly in cities.
“The second thing I’m going to talk about, and maybe it’s a reason why you shouldn’t come to this country, is that a lot of people here are just not all that friendly,” explained Stuart.
“Maybe it’s going something to do with the place that I’m living here in Madrid.
“That could be one of the issues of course, when you live in a big city, people have big city values and they don’t really care about other people.”
With one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe, Spain can prove a challenging place to find work, according to Stuart.
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Stuart lives in the Capital of Spain, Madrid
GETTY“Obviously if you are retired and planning to come to Spain this is not going to affect you, but for the people that are looking to work in this country, work in this country - the job market - absolutely sucks,” he explained.
“High unemployment, the jobs are crap, and unfortunately, the government doesn’t have many good ideas when it comes to job creation.”
Even individuals with strong entrepreneurial ideals will struggle to get their foot in the door, according to Stuart.
“Good luck with that,” he said. “This is a place that doesn’t look after the entrepreneur.”