7 Biggest Mistakes When Moving To Spain + 3 Other Biggest Mistakes People Make When Moving With Kids
While I thought I would share the top 7 biggest mistakes when moving to Spain; it ended up being a bit longer and more in-depth than I initially imagined.
Before we made our move overseas we were deciding on different parts of Spain. While we did consider Madrid and Barcelona for a while; it mainly came down to Valencia, Granada, and Malaga. While we absolutely love our decision to live in Valencia; we made our fair share of mistakes when making the move here.
Maybe it’s because we have 4 young kids or maybe my husband and I simply aren’t as good at planning things as we thought; either way below are the main mistakes we have made as well as a few others we see many expats make when moving to Spain.
We Made A Few Mistakes When Moving To Spain : #1 Was Arriving In Spain Without Learning The Language As Expats
To be honest, I feel like we make a new mistake every week. We have never lived in a foreign country before, so we are CONSTANTLY learning daily.
From the Spanish bureaucracy, how to live in Spain as a local, to simply managing to get things done before siesta!
I am incredibly proud of myself and my family for taking the plunge to live abroad in Spain; and hopefully we are able to share a few life experiences in this post to help others avoid making the same mistakes we did during your move abroad.
Learning The Language More Effectively Before Arriving
If we were able to take the time to learn Spanish more effectively before moving abroad, it would have made our life SO much easier.
We made the decision to move to Spain 6 months before we made the leap over! We didn’t have much time to prepare or to speak the language.
We did what we could and tried our best before our move. Once we arrived, our entire family enrolled in Spanish school to help us in our language learning journey.
If you want to see other ways we have tried to learn the language I go more in-depth in this blog post here!


Since we have such a large family we needed a lot of help in many different circumstances. From doctor visits, to Padrón appointments, school meetings, transportation, and simply just answering phone calls!
It can take months or even years to be able to communicate with the locals here. The advice that has been given to me by the Spaniards is to go at your own pace and don’t rush / cram everything in at once to avoid burnout.
**DISCLAIMER**We have met so many wonderful people in my children’s school that has really helped our family through this transition. While the majority speak English, they are always encouraging us to speak Spanish and help us along the way! This has really helped speed up our process in learning the language.
Properly Packing Our Items In Boxes Shipping Them Through The Airlines
Let’s just say that we thought we taped up all of our items properly until we went and picked them up at baggage claim in Valencia! We were mortified at the condition our boxes were in. Luckily they were just clothing, but items were FALLING OUT!
It was so embarrassing as we were trying to stack up all our boxes on top of each other as things are falling all over the floor. If you want to move to Spain or any other country, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure your belongings are secure and overly taped up!

We made the mistake of not putting our items into something more durable so for that, we learned the hard way. It was such a mess trying to get them from the baggage claim to our door!
I wish we had to picture of this so we could share it as it was simply something you should’ve seen!
Stay In A Hotel First Couple Days If You Rented An Unfurnished Home

After a long trip to Spain, we arrived to our flat with all of our items(pretty much just clothing) in a completely unfurnished place. We didn’t have appliances, internet, or beds to sleep on!
It would’ve been smarter to rent an Airbnb or a hotel the first couple of nights until we sorted things out in our flat.
Looking back now, we realized we went with the cheaper and more cost effective way, rather than everyone being comfortable and making life easier! With 4 kids and our belongings in tow, it could’ve gone a lot smoother.
If you are thinking of moving to Spain, whether you are renting or buying a house, keep this TIP in mind!
**DISCLAIMER** We purchased mattresses off of Amazon so we did get those in the first 2 days we arrived. BUT we ordered the wrong sizes because they are obviously using the metric system here is Europe. We THOUGHT we ordered a queen size mattress for us, but it was a TWIN! So my husband and I squeezed on a twin mattress on the floor for the first week. That was OBVIOUSLY fun!
Hire A Translator To Help With Government Services OR Other Things You Need - Common Mistakes That Expats Make ESP For The Visa Or NIE
One of the first things you do once you arrive is you have to get an appointment at the Town Hall for your residency (Padrón). Before going, I had all the necessary documents in the correct order and separated into folders for each person.
I believed it was going to be a breeze because I wasn’t missing anything and I felt overly prepared. Once we got there the lady asked if we spoke Spanish in which I replied, “A little bit.”

Her demeanor immediate changed and lets just say the rest of the appointment was not pleasant. She threw the stack of papers down just muttering for what felt like an hour.
She took all my papers out and scrambled them all together and said it wasn’t right. Now keep in mind we have 6 people in our family so that is A LOT of papers!

I was basically in tears and told myself I will never again go to a government appointment without a translator. It is not worth your mental wellbeing to try and do it on your own.
A lot of people from here would be happy to earn a couple extra bucks to help translate for you!
After that first appointment, we brought our babysitters with us for any appointment we felt necessary. I cannot tell you how much more at ease I felt having them tag along!
**TIP**When you arrive in Spain, you will need to apply to a local bank account for all the utilities and your housing. It was very helpful to have someone that could translate for us!
Don't Over Pack - Your New Life In Spain Will Be Simpler
We fit our entire life into 15 boxes and headed to Valencia, Spain. Our kids brought 2 boxes of toys (for the 4 of them) and the rest was clothing and some important electronic items.
It was incredibly hard to minimize everything we own into 15 boxes. It took months to go through our home in the United States and sell or donate our belongings.
It was a very long and tedious process. One of my favorite things about moving abroad is we were able to minimize our lifestyle. I believe over the years in the USA we accumulated too much crap!

I think we could’ve brought over less boxes with us. We have donated a lot of items since we have moved because we found they are not exactly a necessity anymore!
**TIP**If you want a more detailed list you can read more on this essential packing list blog!
Rent Moving Van If Buying Furniture From IKEA Or Other Furniture Shops - Big Mistake We Made

This is totally something we need to mention as we spent way too much money on taxis getting our furniture! Not until after our last furniture run did we see a moving van you can rent for 20 euros!!
Our first thought was YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! We would hire large taxis to do multiple runs to and from IKEA. Yeah I know. This sounds absolutely ridiculous but we had no idea on how this process works.
Back in the US you have U-Haul, Penske, Home Depot day rentals, etc. We didn’t know what to call it here and a lot of them are not automatic.
This is definitely one of the bigger mistakes to avoid when moving to Valencia! If you plan to move here, please don’t make this same mistake and RENT THAT VAN!!
**DISCLAIMER**You can also have places deliver furniture as well. We didn’t want to wait the 3 weeks as we had nothing in our flat. We went this route because we wanted everything in the first week we arrived.
**TIP**We found amazing pieces of furniture from JYSK (there is a JYSK store next to IKEA). We grabbed a few items in the store and we had our tables and entertainment center delivered to our home.
Relocating To Spain Has A Cheaper Cost Of Living BUT The Price Of Clothing Caught Us Off Guard
Don’t make the same mistake we made by getting rid of a lot of clothing thinking you can just buy more when you arrive!
They do not have a TJMaxx or Marshalls here (which is one of our favorites) so we found buying good quality clothes was difficult at a reasonable price.
Also, if you are on the CURVIER side, I especially found it challenging to find things that would fit the bottom half as the European sizes are MUCH smaller than American sizes!!
Spain does have some cheap options like Primark, but I have found that the children’s clothes rip pretty easily. We tend to buy their PJs and play clothes from Primark.
When we visited London in the fall, we went to TKMaxx (European version of TJ) and got some winter clothes and shoes from here.
We waited until we went back to the USA for Christmas and bought everyone basically a whole wardrobe to bring back along with new suitcases.

3 Other Mistakes A New Expat Make When Moving To A New Country

We have seen this a lot on the Facebook groups that people are selling their properties in the USA and immediately buying a property in Spain.
There are big advantage to buying a home right away (like obtaining that golden visa with 500k), but a lot of times people are not happy with the area they choose.
My advice is to rent first and get an overall feel of the area you think you want to be in! Walk around the city and talk to the local Spanish people and some expats.
This will give you a better perspective on what location you would like to be in. Selling a property here is going to be WAY more challenging, than not renewing or breaking your lease.
2. Not Joining Expat Groups Or Mingling With Other Foreigners In The Beginning
This is something you will NEED in the beginning of your journey, This is one of the biggest mistakes other expats make when leaving their home country! Moving overseas is challenging and the culture shock will kick in after that initial honeymoon phase is over!
While we jumped right in and tried to learn Spanish very quickly, it was refreshing to have a group of people you can relate to right away.
You do so much translating and thinking throughout the week, it is nice to have someone to be able to take off that thinking cap for a moment and just effortlessly chat!
By no way am I saying to just come here and only mingle with expats! It is great to have BOTH expat and local friends because this will make your transition SO much easier!

3. Not Taking Advantage Of The CHEAP, CLEAN, And EFFICIENT Public Transportation

For me personally, when I think about public transportation I get VERY nervous. It is something that never crossed my mind while living in the United States, especially since having children.
On our initial visit to Valencia to set up all the necessary requirements to obtain residency, we took the metro from the airport. I was completely shocked to see how clean, efficient, and easy it was to manage.
The bus is something that took me a few months after moving here to try. After I learned how to operate the system (via the APP), I take it multiple times a week!
**PRO TIP**A good way to save money is to purchase one of the monthly cards that will allow you on the public transit. Depending on which one you want to use, you can choose a card accordingly! You can look on the EMT Valencia website to give you a better understanding of what you are looking for.
FAQS We Have Been Getting Since We Have Made Our Move
How Difficult Is It For An American To Move To Spain??
It is not difficult for an American to move to Spain, just time consuming. Prepping to come is a very tedious process. We came here on a NLV (Non-Lucrative Visa).
The amount of paperwork per person was A LOT! Each person had a large stack of papers and it was very repetitive.
At the end of the day, as long as you have the proper documents and you comply with all the rules and regulations, you will be able to start your new life in the beautiful and sunny Spain!
Where Do Most American Expats Live In Spain??
Most Americans live in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Sevilla, and Valencia. These are some of the top 5 most popular cities in Spain for Americans. Valencia has been going up the ranks as one of the most desirable cities to live in the world!
Can I Just Move To Spain From US?
No, you cannot just move to Spain from the US on a whim. You have to apply for a VISA to be able to legally live in Spain for more than 90 days. Depending on your situation, you need to apply for the correct visa. A lot of expats I have met come here on the NLV. The most recent visa that has been approved is the Digital Nomad Visa.