Hello. My name is Alicja and I am originally from Poland but I lived in the UK for 18 years. I got married there and had my two daughters there. In July 2025 our family relocated to La Eliana just outside Valencia. In this blog I would like to tell the story about our journey, starting from dreams, through discussions, to actions that make it all possible. This is our personal experience so it will be very subjective. I do not intend to colour the truth but I will also not hold back in expressing my own feelings because I want you to understand what we went through. I hope that this will be an enjoyable read but also informative for those who might be considering a similar move.
When I think back to the time when we actually started seriously talking about moving out of the UK, I think the October 2023 half term trip to Nice was the moment. We went there to celebrate my husband turning 40 that year. The trip was amazing. The weather was still beautiful, even though it was the end of October. We were lucky to find an apartment in the old town overlooking the sea. We had chocolate croissants for breakfast and fresh fruit from the market just outside our apartment. The most important thing was that we spent all day out, enjoying the sun, the beach and the food. Sitting in the park, watching our daughters play, we started talking about what it would be like to have a life like that – sun, outdoor activities, lovely food and relaxed atmosphere not once or twice a year but all year round. The next question was – where?
As we were still in Nice, of course it was the first city we thought about. However, in reality we do not have any links to this place. None of us speak or know French (apart from my husband who had a bit of French at school a long time ago). We do not know anyone who lives there permanently. We just didn’t feel like France was somewhere for us. We have briefly discussed options like Australia or Asia but we didn’t want to go somewhere so far away. My husband has his parents and brother in the UK. Most of my family is in Poland but some also in the UK. We wanted to choose a country where we can still organize to see the family on a regular basis.
I must say that Valencia was always in the back of our minds every time we had started the conversation about relocating. We went to Valencia for the first time in June 2018 for a city break when our older daughter was only 2 years old. I won’t be lying if I say that we have fallen in love with this city then. What is not to love about Valencia? The location is great as it is situated between Barcelona in the north and Alicante to the south, with access to the sea. It is a perfect starting point if you want to explore inland Spain, go to the mountains or take a ferry to Ibiza, Majorca or Menorca. Valencia has such a friendly, family vibe. It isn’t as touristy as Barcelona or Madrid, although during The Fallas the tourists are hard to ignore. Valencia offers everything you can wish for from the big city, but on the other hand it doesn’t overwhelm you. It is easy to navigate around, many places you can reach by walking, especially through the lovely Turia Gardens. It is safe, it has a lot of entertainment and I think it is a great place to raise children. During our city break we had lunch out but breakfast and supper we got from the local Carrefour. I must admit that this shop came up in many of our conversations when we were back in the UK as the choice of food available (especially cheese, jamon and olives) was overwhelming. Everyone who has ever been to the UK will surely agree with me that the food offered in supermarkets is not very enticing. We spent our days walking around the city centre, we went to the Bioparc, we visited the City of Arts and Science and the Aquarium. I know that many of you will say: This is the holiday, this is not how normal life looks like. I agree. However we saw the families going out for picnics in Turia Gardens after they collected their children from school. We saw the birthday parties in the park, children playing, doing sports just being outside with families. And it was a normal life for them. The children seemed happy, full of energy, parents socialising together. It all looked authentic and spontaneous and this is what we wanted for our family.
I had been to Barcelona before and to Madrid but it was always Valencia that I was mostly drawn to. Maybe it was meant to be. We didn’t speak Spanish. We thought we didn’t have any connections in this place (which proved to be wrong). Somehow it felt like the choice had already been made and it felt right. We knew we wanted to go back to Valencia before we started planning anything seriously. We wanted to feel this city again and see if it was the same as we had remembered it from our trip in 2018. But first we had discovered that we know someone who lives here and who relocated from the UK, funny enough, in 2018. My next post will be about that. And about the first steps we took on our journey to living in Spain.
For people who decided on moving to Spain but are not sure which region to choose, if living in the city suits them better than enjoying the countryside, would they prefer mountains to the coastline? I would recommend coming to Spain on holidays and exploring a bit. The regions vary and so do the local laws. The options below give just an overview:
- If you are thinking about living in the big city, you should consider: Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia, Zaragoza, Seville or Malaga. The advantages of living in a big city include access to all the necessary amenities, finding the job, local Expat groups but the cost of living will be higher.
- Living on the coast. Spain has a massive coastline so you would have to consider if you prefer the region on the Atlantic Ocean or on the Mediterranean. If beach life is what interests you most then choosing this option would be your best bet.
- Country living. This option would be for people who opt for a quieter life, away from tourists, people who want to enjoy beautiful mountain views, lakes, waterfalls or looking for a farm. Inland properties offer value for money but the unemployment rate will be higher and some locations might be remote.
- The islands. You can choose from the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic. The islands can get very busy with tourists which can offer good job opportunities for people who want to run their business focused on tourists’ needs but otherwise living there might quickly become boring and finding a job might be really hard.