Moving abroad is a huge undertaking. You’re not just building a new life in Spain, but also tying up loose ends in the Netherlands. From selling your house to cancelling all those subscriptions: there’s an awful lot to deal with.

We’d drawn up a step-by-step plan beforehand and, fortunately, most things went smoothly. Still, looking back, there are five things we’d now handle very differently. Make the most of this advice if you’re planning a move too!

1. Don’t plan your move for winter

We moved in January, but we’d never do that again. We’d underestimated just how cold Spanish houses can be in winter. Sometimes it was only 3 degrees inside in the morning! We did have some wood, but nowhere near enough for those first few weeks. Because we were also trying to heat the house with the air conditioning, the costs for electricity and wood really added up. Tip: It’s better to move in the spring, so you have time to get your house ready for winter.

2. Be aware of the ‘power limit’ (Potencia)

In the Netherlands, you can switch on appliances almost without limit, but in Spain it works differently. You agree a maximum power limit with your energy supplier. We didn’t know that and started with a low-power contract. The result? As soon as the washing machine and an air conditioner were switched on, the power cut out. It’s sorted now, but it would have been a lot easier if we’d looked into this beforehand.

3. The language: Apps aren’t enough

We thought we were well prepared

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