It's not all sun, sea, and sangria. Here's what the rich expats won't tell you about moving to Spain.

The Instagram version of expat life in Spain looks incredible.

Coastal sunsets, afternoon siestas, fresh markets overflowing with produce, that perfect work-life balance everyone talks about.

What you don't see are the closed signs on every business between 2pm and 5pm when you desperately need to get something done. Or the bureaucratic nightmare of getting a residence permit. Or the isolation that comes from being surrounded by a language you don't fully understand.

I'm not saying Spain isn't great. But the polished expat accounts conveniently leave out the parts that don't photograph well.

Here's what actually happens when you move to Spain, beyond the curated highlights.

1) The bureaucracy will test your sanity

Opening a bank account shouldn't take three appointments and a stack of documents you didn't know existed. Getting internet installed shouldn't require waiting six weeks for a technician who may or may not show up.

But in Spain, these things take time. A lot of time.

The Spanish administrative system operates on a different timeline than what most Americans or Northern Europeans are used to. Things that take an afternoon in other countries can take months here.

You'll need patience you didn't know you had. You'll learn to accept that some things just move slowly, not because anyone is being difficult, but because that's how the system works.

Rich expats can hire people to handle this for them. The rest of us stand in line at government offices trying to decipher forms in a language we're still learning.

2) Speaking English everywhere won't work outside tourist zones

In Barcelona or Madrid's city centers, you can get by with English. In smaller towns or even just a few neighborhoods away from tourist areas, you absolutely cannot.

Your doctor won't speak English. The person at the utility company won't speak English. Your neighbors won't speak English.

You need to actually learn Spanish, not just pick up restaurant vocabulary and assume everyone will accommodate you.

I've watched expats struggle for years because they assumed they could just speak louder and slower in English and eventually be understood. That's not how language works, and it's definitely not how building a life in another country works.

The expats who thrive are the ones who immediately sign up for intensive Spanish classes and commit to using the language even when it's uncomfortable and slow.

3) The cost of living isn't as cheap as you think

Yes, rent is cheaper than San Francisco or New York. Eating out is more affordable than most major US cities.

But Spain isn't the budget paradise that travel blogs make it sound like.

Groceries aren't dramatically cheaper, especially if you're buying imported products. Utilities can be expensive, particularly if you're running air conditioning in the summer. Transportation costs add up. Healthcare, while excellent, isn't free for everyone, depending on your visa status.

The expats posting about their incredibly cheap Spanish lifestyle are usually comparing it to the most expensive cities in the world, or they're living in rural areas far from major employment centers, or they have remote income in stronger currencies.

For locals earning Spanish wages, the cost of living is a real concern. Acting like everything is incredibly cheap is a form of privilege that ignores economic reality for most people actually living here.

4) You're probably going to be lonely at first

Making friends as an adult is hard everywhere. Making friends in a foreign country where you don't speak the language fluently is exponentially harder.

Your Spanish colleagues might be friendly at work but not include you in after-work plans because they assume you won't understand the conversation. Other expats might already have established friend groups that aren't actively looking to expand.

You'll have stretches where your social life consists of video calls with friends back home and awkward small talk with your neighbors.

This gets better over time, especially once your Spanish improves. But that initial period of isolation is real, and the Instagram accounts showing constant social gatherings are either not showing the lonely months that came first or they're only socializing within expat bubbles.

5) Spanish work culture is actually different

The siesta isn't just a long lunch break. It's a complete restructuring of the day that affects everything from when you can shop to when you can schedule meetings.

Businesses close in the middle of the day. Dinner happens at 10pm. Social events start late and run later. Professional communication is more formal than casual American work culture but also more relationship-based than pure transactional exchanges.

If you're working remotely for a US company while living in Spain, you're dealing with time zone challenges that mean early morning or late night calls. If you're working for a Spanish company, you're adapting to a completely different pace and style of professional interaction.

Neither is better or worse, they're just different. But assuming Spanish work culture is "more relaxed" is a simplification that misses a lot of nuance.

6) Healthcare quality varies dramatically by region and coverage

Spain's healthcare system is genuinely excellent compared to the US. But it's not uniformly perfect everywhere.

Wait times for specialists can be long. Rural areas have fewer options. Private insurance makes a big difference in access and speed of care. Language barriers with doctors can be challenging for complex health issues.

The wealthy expats showing off their cheap, amazing Spanish healthcare usually have private insurance and are living in major cities with top-tier facilities. That's not everyone's experience.

For basic care, the public system is great. For anything more complex, you'll want to understand your options and potentially budget for private insurance, which most expat Instagram accounts conveniently don't mention.

7) The visa situation is more complicated than blog posts suggest

Digital nomad visas, non-lucrative residence visas, work visas, each has specific requirements and limitations that affect what you can and cannot do in Spain.

You can't just decide to move to Spain and figure it out when you get there. The visa process requires planning, documentation, and often financial proof that many people don't have.

The bloggers writing about "how easy it is to move to Spain" are usually in specific situations that don't apply to everyone. They might have EU citizenship through ancestry, or remote income that meets financial requirements, or company sponsorship.

For most people, the visa situation is the biggest barrier to moving to Spain, not just a bureaucratic formality to check off a list.

8) You'll always be an outsider to some degree

Even if you learn perfect Spanish, even if you live there for decades, you're still an immigrant. You're still foreign.

Some people are welcoming. Some are indifferent. Some resent the influx of foreign residents driving up housing costs and changing neighborhood character.

This isn't unique to Spain, it's true anywhere you move as an outsider. But the expat accounts that show only warm welcomes and seamless integration are painting an incomplete picture.

You can build a beautiful life in Spain. You can feel at home there. But you'll also have moments where you're reminded that you're not from there, and that distinction matters in ways both subtle and significant.

9) Climate isn't perfect everywhere year-round

Spain isn't one climate. The north is rainy. The interior gets brutally hot in summer and cold in winter. Coastal areas are more temperate but also more expensive and crowded with tourists.

The "endless sunshine" narrative applies to specific regions, not the entire country.

If you move to Spain expecting year-round perfect weather, you might be disappointed by Madrid's winter or San Sebastian's rain or Seville's oppressive summer heat.

The expats posting beach photos in December are either in very specific southern coastal areas or they're showing highlights from throughout the year and making it seem like constant summer.

10) Your reasons for moving matter more than the destination

Here's the thing about moving to Spain or anywhere else: if you're running away from problems, you're bringing those problems with you.

Spain won't fix your career dissatisfaction, your relationship issues, or your general unhappiness with life. It might provide a temporary distraction, but eventually you're still you, just in a different location with additional complications.

The expats who thrive aren't the ones who moved to escape something. They're the ones who moved toward something specific that Spain offered and were willing to accept everything that came with it.

If you're considering moving to Spain, ask yourself what you're actually looking for and whether relocating internationally is the answer or just an expensive way to avoid dealing with what needs to change regardless of where you live.

Final thoughts

Spain is an incredible country with a lot to offer. The lifestyle, the culture, the food, the pace of life—there are legitimate reasons why people want to move there.

But the gap between the curated expat social media narrative and actual lived experience is huge.

Moving to another country is hard. It's expensive. It's lonely. It's bureaucratically frustrating. It requires learning a new language, adapting to different cultural norms, and accepting that some things will never be as easy as they were at home.

The people who make it work are the ones who go in with realistic expectations and genuine commitment to building a life there, not just collecting Instagram content.

If you're considering the move, do it with your eyes open to both the highlights and the challenges. The sun and sea and sangria are real, but so is everything else that comes with uprooting your entire life.