5 Mistakes We Made Emigrating to Galicia

Emigrating is a massive operation. You are not just building a new life in Spain, you are also carefully closing down your old one in the Netherlands. From selling your house to cancelling every last subscription, there is an overwhelming amount to arrange in a short space of time.

We made a step-by-step plan before we left, and most of it went smoothly. Looking back, though, there are five things we would do very differently. We are sharing them here in case you are planning your own move.

Don’t plan your move for winter. We moved in January, and we would never do that again. We had underestimated how cold Spanish houses can get in winter. Some mornings the temperature inside was just 3 degrees. We had some firewood in, but nowhere near enough to get us through those first weeks. Trying to heat the house with the air conditioning units on top of the wood pushed our electricity and firewood costs up considerably. If we could do it again, we would move in spring instead, so there is time to properly winterproof the house before the cold sets in.

Pay attention to the “potencia”, or power limit. In the Netherlands you can run more or less every appliance at once without a second thought. In Spain it works differently: you agree a maximum power capacity with your energy provider, and if you go over it, the electricity simply cuts out. We did not know this and started with a low contract. The result was that as soon as the washing machine and an air conditioning unit ran at the same time, the power tripped. It is sorted out now, but it would have been much easier if we had looked into this before signing anything.

Apps alone are not enough for the language. We thought we were reasonably prepared after a year of Spanish lessons and plenty of practice on apps like Duolingo. Real life turned out to be a different story. When people speak slowly and clearly, we understand them fine. But here in Galicia, people talk fast and mix in a lot of local Galician words. However busy the emigration process keeps you, try to make time for private lessons. That helps far more with daily life than any app.

Sort out your car import straight away. Do not wait too long to switch your car over to a Spanish licence plate. Once you no longer live in the Netherlands but are still driving on Dutch plates, you end up paying extra Dutch road tax, which feels deeply unfair once you are not even using Dutch roads anymore, but the rules are strict regardless. We had bad luck with one importer who did not follow through, but eventually found one who did, and we are now driving on Spanish plates. A full year of road tax here turned out to be cheaper than a single month in the Netherlands.

Find people with real experience as soon as you can. Our best tip is to talk to people who already know their way around Galicia. Do not rely blindly on everything you read online. Spain’s regions all work slightly differently, and what applies in one place will not necessarily apply in another. Local contacts can tell you exactly where to arrange the right insurance, or which small restaurant is actually worth going to. Their experience saves you a huge amount of searching and a fair number of mistakes.

Despite these early growing pains, we have not regretted our move to Galicia for a single moment. It is a beautiful place to live. But sorting out these practical matters in advance makes your own start a lot more comfortable.

Good to know: the points above are based on our personal experience emigrating to Galicia. Every situation is different, and regulations can vary by region, municipality or year. We share these tips to help you on your way, but we are not official advisors. For anything important, such as taxes, contracts or importing your car, we always recommend checking the current rules with the relevant authorities or hiring a local gestor.