# Best expat communities in Northern Spain



## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

*Think we need to balance the North - South expat divide in Spain*

So same question as previous poster - but . . . . . . . . 

hi for any expat who has decided to sell up and move to northern spain. Nowhere specific at present,but would like to live in a community with a few bars, shops and near the sea, good transport links as i dont drive.also i live alone an would like to make friends and live in an english feel enviroment.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Williams2 said:


> *Think we need to balance the North - South expat divide in Spain*
> 
> So same question as previous poster - but . . . . . . . .
> 
> hi for any expat who has decided to sell up and move to northern spain. Nowhere specific at present,but would like to live in a community with a few bars, shops and near the sea, good transport links as i dont drive.also i live alone an would like to make friends and live in an english feel enviroment.


well.................. since Jávea's about half-way down on the sticky-out bit on the right................. is that north or south?



Home - Xàbia Tourism Portal - Town Council of Xàbia


I don't drive - & never need to unless I want to leave town - but why would I want to do that??

so to quote myself....around 55% of the population isn't native Spanish - but we have something like 80 different nationalities living here 

it's true that the British are second in % to Spanish - but there are still nearly twice as many Spanish as Brits - so although it's very International, it's still essentially Spanish - but with plenty of Brits if that's what you need


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

And central Spain?? 
There are a few people living in Madrid on the forum at the moment, which is good.
I've noticed that most people coming to Madrid 


 already have a job to go to
 don't ask a lot about expat communities
 I'd say that there are a fair few English speakers here, but not a real "expat area"


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> And central Spain??
> There are a few people living in Madrid on the forum at the moment, which is good.
> I've noticed that most people coming to Madrid
> 
> ...


That's right - there must be loads of Expat communities dotted across the 
length and breadth of Spain, so let's hope they speak up and shift the
balance of Expat conversation away from the Southerners - as this is
getting as bad as the UK - nothing goes on North of Watford !!!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Williams2 said:


> *Think we need to balance the North - South expat divide in Spain*
> 
> So same question as previous poster - but . . . . . . . .
> 
> hi for any expat who has decided to sell up and move to northern spain. Nowhere specific at present,but would like to live in a community with a few bars, shops and near the sea, good transport links as i dont drive.also i live alone an would like to make friends and live in an english feel enviroment.


What does an "English feel" environment mean? Are you looking for something that's like England in its physical existance or are you looking for a place where many people speak English and there are activities like you'd have back in England (like Alicante and the Costas sseem to be)? 

I've lived up here for five years now and I've never seen anything even vaguely like what I saw down Alicante/Málaga way. The closest you'll find is in the big cities with lots of ERASMUS students.


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Williams2 said:


> That's right - there must be loads of Expat communities dotted across the
> length and breadth of Spain, so let's hope they speak up and shift the
> balance of Expat conversation away from the Southerners - as this is
> getting as bad as the UK - nothing goes on North of Watford !!!


I disagree. I have found that there aren't as many of us up here. Those of us who are here are pretty well hidden away, enjoying life. We used to have a Gallego on here, but I think he's gone away. There was another Asturiano but I think he's gone too. It's a shame, really. 

What ever happened to the Australian girl from the Bilbao area?? (PW???)


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Williams2 said:


> That's right - there must be loads of Expat communities dotted across the
> length and breadth of Spain, so let's hope they speak up and shift the
> balance of Expat conversation away from the Southerners - as this is
> getting as bad as the UK - nothing goes on North of Watford !!!


Well, as I said, I don't think there are real expat areas in Madrid. There may be places in the city or even around about where there are more foreigners, but not areas where there are large numbers of Brits living like in the south. There are areas with a high Chinese or Magrebí population...
There is more info on the forum and are more posts about the south simply because its a reflection of where most English speakers live in Spain - by far!

Maybe you'd be interested in this thread about Maella in Aragon which for some reason seems to have become popular with foreigners..
.http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/115546-maella-aragon.html


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> What ever happened to the Australian girl from the Bilbao area?? (PW???)


Don't know!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

We are two of the four English here on El Hierro, does that make us an Ex Pat community ?


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

The vast majority of Brits move here for one thing only . The weather , actually the sun,nothing else. The centre & North of Spain is basically a similar winter climate to the Uk.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

gus-lopez said:


> The centre & North of Spain is basically a similar winter climate to the Uk.


...or worse! I have never been as cold in the UK as I have been in Pamplona!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

gus-lopez said:


> The vast majority of Brits move here for one thing only . The weather , actually the sun,nothing else. The centre & North of Spain is basically a similar winter climate to the Uk.


I'm happier than a clam at high tide up here. Can't stand it down south!ainkiller:


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Lolito said:


> ...or worse! I have never been as cold in the UK as I have been in Pamplona!


The average temp this week in my home town will be around -10º 







It's waaarm in Spain!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Madrid does have expat groups in the form of clubs (sports, drama, hashers, discussion groups, etc) but there aren't any areas/ghettos with lots of expats living side by side. Most expats in Madrid only hang around for a year or two anyway, and those who stay longer tend to drift away from that scene - gradually you get more permanent Spanish friends taking up your free time as the expats you did know move on.

Also I'd always considered the north of Spain to be the areas bordering Atlantic coast for some reason. Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque regions. Never really thought of Aragon and Catalonia as "northern" Spain even though geographically they are.


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

gus-lopez said:


> The vast majority of Brits move here for one thing only . The weather , actually the sun,nothing else. The centre & North of Spain is basically a similar winter climate to the Uk.


Yes but there are some Crazy Brit's ( myself included ) who prefer the Spanish
way of life but with the cool British temperatures, that comes with living in
Northern Spain, particularly Asturias.
So in answer to the old cliche, Some like it Hot !!!! - I DON'T and I'm sure I'm
not alone in preferring to live on the cool side of Spain.

So 30C to 50C plus in Southern Spain with all the sticky humidity that comes with
it - Yuk - I'd be living in the air conditioned apartment all day. NO THANK YOU !!
Couldn't stand that for 6 months a year !!!!!
So give me the nice temperate air of Northern Spain any day !!!!


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> What does an "English feel" environment mean? Are you looking for something that's like England in its physical existance or are you looking for a place where many people speak English and there are activities like you'd have back in England (like Alicante and the Costas sseem to be)?
> 
> I've lived up here for five years now and I've never seen anything even vaguely like what I saw down Alicante/Málaga way. The closest you'll find is in the big cities with lots of ERASMUS students.


I agree English feel could mean anything, including the scenery. Of course Asturias
is a Green and Pleasent land ( much like England ) the coast bordering the Bay of
Biscay along much of Asturias resembles The Cornish Riviera. In fact their
are a number of little seaside towns that have a St Ives look about the place.

So much so that Asturias hosted the Spanish version of Doc Martin called 
Doctor Mateo, at the picturesque seaside village of San Martín del Sella.










Doctor Mateo on Spanish Antena 3






Well I digress and beginning to sound like the Asturian Tourist Board. Anyway watch
out for the sign saying Bienvenidos a San Martin del Sella. Municipio hermanado con
Portwenn, Reino Unido at 06:25 into the above video. Yes that's Doc Martin's home town !!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Williams2 said:


> I agree English feel could mean anything, including the scenery. Of course Asturias
> is a Green and Pleasent land ( much like England ) the coast bordering the Bay of
> Biscay along much of Asturias resembles The Cornish Riviera. In fact their
> are a number of little seaside towns that have a St Ives look about the place.
> ...



Don't you mean Lastres, Asturias?? 
It really is a pretty town and I miss Doctor Mateo. It was one of the few shows I actually watched!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

elenetxu said:


> Don't you mean Lastres, Asturias??
> It really is a pretty town and I miss Doctor Mateo. It was one of the few shows I actually watched!


Real name Lastres/ tv name San Martin


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> Don't you mean Lastres, Asturias??
> It really is a pretty town and I miss Doctor Mateo. It was one of the few shows I actually watched!


Of course but Hey - shush, keep it quite !!!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Williams2 said:


> Yes but there are some Crazy Brit's ( myself included ) who prefer the Spanish
> way of life but with the cool British temperatures, that comes with living in
> Northern Spain, particularly Asturias.
> So in answer to the old cliche, Some like it Hot !!!! - I DON'T and I'm sure I'm
> ...


Yes my brother was like that. He complained about the summer temps in Germany where he lived & in winter , where it regularly reached -20ºc, he'd never have the thermostat above +16º !!
The 15 months that he spent testing in Arizona nearly sent him mad. :lol:


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

[QUOTESo 30C to 50C plus in Southern Spain with all the sticky humidity that comes with
it - Yuk - I'd be living in the air conditioned apartment all day. NO THANK YOU !!
Couldn't stand that for 6 months a year !!!!!:[/QUOTE]

I think you must have been listening to the wrong people! Yes there are temperatures of up to 50. But for six months! Two maybe at the most and then it' s back to the normal pattern of sun/cloud showers etc. and of course nobody talks of all the months of grey and cold!


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

gus-lopez said:


> The vast majority of Brits move here for one thing only . The weather , actually the sun,nothing else. The centre & North of Spain is basically a similar winter climate to the Uk.


No I think quite a few head north but the expats who go there are not looking for expat communities, so they don't start their expat communities either.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

The maximum temperatura ever registered in Spain was 47.3 in Murcia back in 1994. 

It is highly unlikely you will have over 45 anytime in the summer. 

Of course, people will say they have seen 60 on those 'clocks' in the middle of the roads in cities. Fair enough, my thermometre in the garden usually marks 70 degrees in summer (from Chinese Bazaar, lol!). 

Lets get real, Spain is hot in the summer, mainly 30 to 40 most days. 

And for those that think the south is hotter than the north, in summer, Pamplona town can get temps over 40 very easily, something that rarely happens in Malaga.... or Valencia, as they are coastal towns.

So I find the summers in Pamplona worse than the summers here in Valencia.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chopera said:


> No I think quite a few head north but the expats who go there are not looking for expat communities, so they don't start their expat communities either.


Well, depends on what you call quite a few, but the numbers speak for themselves

Número de ciudadanos de la Unión Europea residentes en España por Comunidades Autónomas

In the first three lines you have Andalucia and Asturias. Number from the UK registered as living in Andalucia =21.450. Number from the UK registered as living in Asturias =199. Now I find it a little difficult to believe that there are only 199 of us in Asturias, but I think we can safely say there are way more living in the south.

I was surprised to see that according to this data there are more French and Portuguese than Brits in Madrid!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lolito said:


> The maximum temperatura ever registered in Spain was 47.3 in Murcia back in 1994.
> 
> It is highly unlikely you will have over 45 anytime in the summer.
> 
> ...


 I agree about Pamplona, and it's true that in Madrid it will rarely go above 45º, but on the coast sometimes it's unbearable because of the humidity, and the night temperature affects how you feel too. We're lucky because the temp tends to drop at night due to the height that we're at (880mts)


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

The number there that surprised me was Galicia! 
Actually, I'm surprised there aren't more in my home autonomous community! 
I'd like to know when this data was from.


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

Lolito said:


> The maximum temperatura ever registered in Spain was 47.3 in Murcia back in 1994.
> 
> It is highly unlikely you will have over 45 anytime in the summer.
> 
> ...


Well I'm never a one for statistics - so lets say it - feels like temps up to 50 C in southern Spain
during periods of 'heat wave summers'

And yes it does get hot in Spain but thankfully ( as many Asturian's remind me )
we only have two seasons in Asturias, Winter and Summer.
Summer being roughly end of June to 1st week in September. The rest is Winter
which encompasses many of the rainy days. 

:laugh: :laugh:


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

elenetxu said:


> Don't you mean Lastres, Asturias??
> It really is a pretty town and I miss Doctor Mateo. It was one of the few shows I actually watched!


I agree from what I've seen of Doctor Mateo, it was a great series while
it was running from 2009 until 2011.
Pity its run its course and finished !!!
Definitely one for the Beeb or ITV to buy for showing on British TV with
English subtitles. It would go down well on BBC3 or BBC4 which have a
reputation for buying up interesting foreign TV detective series, comedies, etc
for evening viewing.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Well, depends on what you call quite a few, but the numbers speak for themselves
> 
> Número de ciudadanos de la Unión Europea residentes en España por Comunidades Autónomas
> 
> ...


Obviously most head south, but in my experience (which doesn't match those stats) I have known quite a few head north. I think some people use Madrid as a stopping off point on their journey into Spain - they spend a few years in Madrid to get familiar with the language and culture, and then head somewhere more adventurous.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chopera said:


> I think some people use Madrid as a stopping off point on their journey into Spain - they spend a few years in Madrid to get familiar with the language and culture, and then head somewhere more adventurous.





> and then head somewhere more adventurous


Again, depends on what you mean. Adventurous can be Spain if that's what you want.

I think a lot of people come to Spain, maybe Madrid, hopefully learn something of the language and then go to South America. 

I did it the other way round for some reason - spent 2 years in Colombia in which time I visited Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil and then Spain


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chopera said:


> Obviously most head south, but in my experience (which doesn't match those stats) I have known quite a few head north. I think some people use Madrid as a stopping off point on their journey into Spain - they spend a few years in Madrid to get familiar with the language and culture, and then head somewhere more adventurous.


Exactly, quite a few, not tens of thousands and not all *living* together in the same area so that they outnumber the native population. I don't know one single place in the north of Spain like that, nor in the central area. Do you?


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Again, depends on what you mean. Adventerous can be Spain if that's what you want.
> 
> I think a lot of people come to Spain, maybe Madrid, hopefully learn something of the language and then go to South America.
> 
> I did it the other way round for some reason - spent 2 years in Colombia in which time I visited Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Brazil and then Spain


In a way I did something similar - I spent a few months in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico as part of a round the world trip in 1991/2, and 10 years later I ended up in Spain (having spent time in quite a few other countries in the mean time).

By adventurous I basically meant heading to parts of Spain where you have no choice but to interact with the locals, and in the local language. I've known people head off to isolated old farm houses in the Picos de Europa for example. I think that is more adventurous than living in Madrid, where you can always dig out another expat if you are really desperate.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chopera said:


> I think that is more adventurous than living in Madrid, where you can always dig out another expat if you are really desperate.


Maybe, but I also think you're thinking of Madrid city and not Madrid comunidad which are two very different places


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Maybe, but I also think you're thinking of Madrid city and not Madrid comunidad which are two very different places


Yes I was


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Exactly, quite a few, not tens of thousands and not all *living* together in the same area so that they outnumber the native population. I don't know one single place in the north of Spain like that, nor in the central area. Do you?


I feel like people in this neck of the woods belong to the witness protection program. I am guilty of staring at people who don't look local and thinking "Hey, wonder if he/she speaks the same language as I do..." 

I've never run into a place up north where "expats" outnumber the locals.


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## Baklavaa (Apr 30, 2015)

Hola William,
Did you stay in Northern Spain and did you find many expats?


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Hepa said:


> We are two of the four English here on El Hierro, does that make us an Ex Pat community ?


No such thing as an Ex Pat community, it should be Immigrant community


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

elenetxu said:


> The number there that surprised me was Galicia!
> Actually, I'm surprised there aren't more in my home autonomous community!
> I'd like to know when this data was from.



We are not North but neither are we south. Here in the central west of Spain, I was also surprised. Only 69 of us Although this data is from 1999...........Happy to live where we live. ITs horrid here, don't come


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## 2016expat (Apr 24, 2016)

I live in Vila-Real, small city but has everything you need in walking distance, including train/buses. Sea is not walking distance. Happy to connect with you!!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> The vast majority of Brits move here for one thing only . The weather , actually the sun,nothing else. The centre & North of Spain is basically a similar winter climate to the Uk.


No, the climate of Madrid has nothing to do with the climate of the the UK or this town in the sierra has nothing to do with Weston super Mare. 
Weston does not get day after day of 30º+ for over a month and does not get nights of 28º ever. People in Weston might be wearing shorts in September out of habit, but I'm wearing them here because it's hot.In the winter we rarely get a whole day raining or days upon days of rain, but we do get snow. WSM can have months of rain every day and rarely has snow.
The centre and north of Spain have different climates to the UK and also it depends if you're talking about Madrid city, Madrid Comunidad, Galicia, Asturias coast, Asturias mountains, Bilbao, Navarra, Burgos, Valladolid, Leon and so many more things


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