For first-time movers from the UK and US

Know what your move will actually cost,
what it looks like on the ground, and what it needs from you. Before you commit.

A plan for moving to Costa del Sol. Which area, what it costs, what paperwork goes in what order, and the mistakes that have caught out people who didn't know. Written by someone who made the move.

Get the guide for €7

PDF + EPUB. Instant download.

From Duncan

A 90-second explanation

Before you buy, hear me explain what's actually in the guide, and whether it's the right thing for where you are right now.

Watch the intro
0:00

It's a Tuesday evening and you still don't know where to start.

You've been in the Spain research rabbit hole for two hours. Tab 1: a Facebook group thread where someone says Málaga is overpriced. Tab 2: a YouTube video where someone else says it's the best place in Spain. Tab 3: a blog about NIE appointments last updated in 2019. Tab 4: a subreddit where someone spent three paragraphs explaining why you should actually move to Valencia instead.

You close the laptop slightly more confused than when you opened it.

The problem isn't a shortage of information. There's too much of it, most of it conflicting, out of date, or written for someone in a completely different situation.

You don't know which area to actually commit to. You don't know what it costs to live there (not the fantasy version). You don't know what paperwork to do first, or what order any of it goes in. And because you don't know any of that, you can't really make a decision, so you keep researching, and the move stays on the "someday" list.

And while the tabs stay open, the year rolls past. The people who started researching when you did are already there, posting photos from their new town. You're still on the laptop, still watching one more video, still one more thread away from making up your mind, no closer to actually going.

That's what this guide fixes.

This is for you if...

  • You're in the UK or US and planning your first move to Spain
  • You feel like you're drowning in conflicting advice and can't make a decision
  • You want to know what to do first, not just a list of everything you could do
  • You want an honest picture of what the move costs and what the process looks like
  • You have income sorted and are in the planning phase, not job-hunting

Not for you if...

  • You need legal or tax advice. This isn't that.
  • You already have your move fully planned
  • You're looking for free

What it feels like on the other side

You can talk about specific towns on the Costa del Sol by name, with real reasons for and against each one, not "I saw somewhere nice on Instagram." You've ruled out the places that would make you miserable before you fall for them.

You have a real number for what the first year actually costs. A grown-up, spreadsheet-tested number, including the categories almost every first-mover forgets. You can say it out loud to your partner, your accountant, or your own head, without wincing.

You walk into each appointment with your documents in the right order and some idea of what's meant to happen next. No 9am scolding from a funcionario because you printed the wrong form. No discovering six months too late that you did something out of sequence.

You've sidestepped the mistakes that quietly cost other movers thousands: the bad rental contracts, the wrong gestor, the paperwork ordered the wrong way round. Because you read about them before making them, instead of after.

The move stops being a "someday" thing and becomes a calendar with actual dates on it. You feel like a person who is moving to Spain, not a person who has been thinking about moving to Spain for three years.

Settled in Andalusia — planning at a sunny cafe

What you'll know by the end

Ten short, practical modules, each written so you finish with a decision made, a number in hand, or a task crossed off.

01

Is Spain right for you?

So you can make the call with honest expectations, not the version you've built from Instagram reels.

02

Choosing your area

A framework for evaluating Costa del Sol towns against your actual life, so you can stop comparing places you've never lived and think clearly about where you'd be happy.

03

What it actually costs

A realistic breakdown including the categories most people forget, so you budget off a real number, not a "cheap living in Spain" blog post.

04

Paperwork and setup

NIE, TIE, padrón, driving licence, digital certificate. In the right order, with the context that makes each one make sense.

05

First 30 days

What to do first so you don't spend the first month feeling like you're constantly behind.

06

Finding and renting

How the Spanish rental market actually works, so you don't end up locked into a bad contract or paying fees you didn't need to.

07

Staying connected

Spanish SIMs, internet, banking: what works for remote workers, and what to set up before you arrive rather than after.

08

Remote work and income

What to have in place before you move, how Spanish banking affects remote workers, and what to sort out before you land rather than the first week after.

09

Moving with pets and family

Post-Brexit pet travel, ferry options, pet-friendly rentals, and what nobody tells you about keeping animals in Spain until you've already committed to four of them.

10

Common mistakes

The ones that are genuinely expensive, genuinely common, and genuinely avoidable with a bit of advance knowledge.

Get the guide for €7
Carboneras, Almería — early morning
Duncan

Who wrote this

I'm Duncan. I moved from the UK to Andalusia with my wife a few years ago. Since then: post-Brexit driving licence limbo while living rurally with no car, multiple rejected TIE applications with only generic reasons given, a gestor who gave us actively wrong tax advice, and an internet provider who cut off our service with zero notice and no explanation.

I'm not a relocation consultant or a legal expert. I'm someone who did it, made a decent number of mistakes, and took notes. The guide is what I wish I'd had before we moved.

If you have questions after reading it, email me at [email protected]. I actually reply.

Questions

I'm still in the early stages of thinking about it. Is this worth buying now?

That's actually who this is most useful for. The earlier you have a clear framework for thinking about the move, the fewer dead ends you go down. If you're at "I'm seriously considering it but I have no idea where to start," this is exactly right.

Is it just for Costa del Sol?

The area content focuses on Andalusia and the Costa del Sol. That's where my experience is, and I'd rather give you honest specifics than generic advice that could be about anywhere. The practical content (paperwork, budgeting, mistakes, remote work setup) applies anywhere in Spain.

Will it cover tax and legal questions?

No. It's a practical planning guide, not a legal document. For tax you need an accountant (and I'll tell you what to look for in one, because the wrong one will cost you more than they save you). For residency questions that get complicated, you'll want a lawyer.

Why €7 instead of free?

Free is the problem. There's already more free Spain-move advice online than anyone can read, and most of it is why you're confused in the first place. The guide is worth paying for specifically because it replaces hours of conflicting free content with a clear path. If it doesn't do that, ask for a refund.

What if I don't find it useful?

Email me within 7 days and I'll refund you. No form, no process. Just reply to the confirmation email. I'd rather refund you than have someone who didn't find it useful.

Move to Spain Guide

Stop researching. Start your move.

Ten short modules, written as a plan, not a textbook. By the end you'll have a real budget, a shortlist of towns, your paperwork in the right order, and a calendar with actual dates on it.

Move to Spain Guide — The Practical 80/20 Plan for Moving to Costa del Sol
€7
  • A real, ordered plan for your first 12 months, not everything you could theoretically do
  • A framework for ruling out the wrong towns before you fall for them
  • A budget with the categories most first-movers forget, so month three doesn't surprise you
  • NIE, TIE, padrón and driving licence in the right order, with context that makes each one make sense
  • The mistakes that cost other movers thousands, and how to avoid them
Buy now for €7

Why €7? Because once your move is actually happening, most readers add the Vetted Services Directory at checkout: the expat-recommended gestors, vets, removals, internet providers and agents collected from people already living in Spain. The €7 guide is priced so you'd be silly not to try it first.

7-day refund. If it's not useful, reply to the email and I'll refund you. No questions.