An expat mum has shared five ways her family life has greatly improved since relocating to Spain, and how you can sample such a move on a six-month trial basis

A mum who swapped her life in the UK for the sunnier climes of Spain has shared the five key areas of her life that have been transformed since making the move. Expat, Ale took to TikTok, where she started: “No one talks about this part… but it changes everything.”

She was highlighting the fact that you can effectively “trial” life in Spain before making a permanent commitment to emigration. “If you’ve ever thought about living in Spain with your kids or dog, you don’t have to ‘move forever’ to try it,” Ale explained. She continued by noting that in Spain, her children are thriving “without screens”, while her dog has become “calmer”.

Ale, who is now based in the Alicante area, said her family are also spending time “outside every day”, while life has become “slower, but better” and weekdays “feel good”.

She expanded further in another video: “The best part of leaving the corporate 9 to 5 isn’t just ‘Spain.’ It’s the slow morning. In our old life, we were in the car by 8am, stressed and rushing.

“Now, I run my consulting business on a flexible schedule that allows me to laugh while three different beings are trying to brush their teeth at the same time. This is the definition of wealth I was chasing.”

Ale subsequently admitted: “We didn’t move forever. We just chose to live here for a while as a family (with a husky). And if you’ve ever thought about doing the same… it’s more possible than you think.”

The first step in the process is securing an NIE (Número de Identificación de Extranjero), a mandatory, unique tax identification number issued to foreign nationals wishing to carry out economic, professional and/or social activities in Spain.

According to Ale, holding an NIE enables you to rent a property, open a bank account and obtain insurance.

It can be applied for directly in Spain or through the Consular Office in the applicant’s country of residence – and can be done either in person or via a duly-accredited representative.

Supporting Ale’s guidance, Pack & Go, who specialise in international removals, describe a six-month trial as a “very wise thing to do”. They outline the various advantages of proceeding with caution online, which are:

• Offering the chance to change your mind whilst there are still roots in the UK
• Keeping your UK home before making a large financial investment in a Spanish home
• Being able to take advantage of flights and cheaper removal company costs as and when they are available, rather than being confined to planning everything on one date
• Being able to focus on settling in on first arrival, rather than having to find somewhere for all your belongings straight away
• Allowing some leeway with property hunting
• Being able to part ways temporarily whilst one of you settles in to the new place and the other settles things in the UK
• Having the ability to clean/ sell the property in the UK in your own time and renovate a property in Spain
• The flexibility to relocate within Spain if the area you have moved to doesn’t suit you

Pack & Go add: “With a well planned six-month trial you have the best possible chance of moving to Spain successfully.

“Take your time, plan in detail and don’t be afraid to ask yourself difficult questions.

“The result could be a change that vastly improves your quality of life.”