Expat weighs in on where you should live in Spain and why 'it really is very personal'

Alastair Johnson, an expat now living in Sitges, spoke to GB News about the move and what he loves about his new life. He relocated with his wife, Alison, and their son for what he thought would be a "one-year sabbatical", but eight years on, the family is still in love with Spain.

He revealed that the relaxed attitude to the time "bugged him" at first, but he soon acknowledged that the Spanish "have got it right".

Alastair recently spoke to GB News about the varied experiences that Spain has to offer to expats. It is truly a destination with something for everyone, regardless of what they want from their expat experience.

Some want to live in an area heavily populated by other expats, with many of their home comforts at their disposal.

However, others want a more authentic Spanish experience where English isn't the primary language spoken and the location isn't expat-heavy.

Alastair said: "I've got a friend who's lived here for almost 10 years who speaks no Spanish, and he's as happy as can be. He lives in Sitges where there's a big expat community.

"All the services you can access are in English, and there's a rugby pub that shows all the all the Irish rugby, Premiership football, it's that sort of environment.

"I know other people who live in really small villages where there is no English spoken. They've learned Spanish, they speak fluent Spanish and that's the experience they want. They don't want to be in a society where they're surrounded by expats.

"For us, we've got a bit of a mix here. We've got local friends, we've got expat friends.

"I like being able to access Barcelona. We watched Hozier the other night - we can go and do that. We're going to go see the Pixies, and I like having access to those sorts of bands.

"But we can equally see the Spanish festivals and Spanish cultural events that you can access too.

"You can pick and choose how touristy, how expat, how English-focused you want it to be and find something that suits you. And it really is at a very personal level.

"There are places down in Benidorm where it feels like you're in the UK, but with sunshine - and that's awesome for some people, that's a really nice, safe environment.

"One of the people we work with moved to Alicante to start with as a kind of an entry point. She wanted to go somewhere where there was a big community and where there were English services while she learned Spanish. Then she got herself up to speed and has now moved on to a much smaller town outside Alicante, which is much more authentic."

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For those looking to enjoy a more authentic Spain on a budget, Cádiz and Galicia might be good bets.

Alastair said: "We were just in Cádiz a couple of weeks ago, and that's starting to become much more of a destination for expats. It's still very authentic. It's an ancient city, sort of on a little island, but it's Atlantic coast, so it is cooler.

"Another one is Galicia, that northern tip up above Portugal. It's cooler and greener, and there are a lot fewer expats and tourists up that way.

"Property in Galicia is a fraction of what it costs where we are, down the Catalonian coast. And places like Cádiz are still very reasonable.

"People who are looking for a more authentic, less expat-heavy experience are starting to look at places like those."

The expat in Spain also shared the best months to visit - "it's quieter but the water is still warm".

Alastair and his wife Alison set up a business to help people looking to move to Spain from the UK. Moving to Spain offers expert advice, resources, insider knowledge and a handpicked network of service providers.