Everyone tells you what the new life costs. No one tells you how long the old one keeps running.
We’d prepared well. Spreadsheets with new costs in Galicia, a budget for the move, a buffer for unexpected expenses. What we hadn’t factored in: the old life that just kept ticking along. For months. Two of everything. That’s more expensive than you’d think.
The house: the heaviest double cost
We already owned our house in Galicia before we left. On paper, that seemed smart: no uncertainty about where you’re going, no need for temporary rental housing. In practice, it meant we paid Spanish costs for eight months on a house we weren’t living in yet.
Think of the IBI — Spain’s property tax, comparable to the Dutch OZB. It keeps running whether you’re there or not. The same goes for home contents and building insurance, municipal levies, and in our case, the utilities we kept running at a minimum to prevent frost damage.
Eight months. That adds up.
What we learned from this
Try to plan the transfer of your Dutch home and your departure date as close together as possible. Every month of overlap is a month of double fixed costs. Easier said than done but being aware of it already helps when building the right buffer.
Your Dutch phone number: indispensable and expensive
This one we didn’t see coming. We thought: pop in a Spanish SIM card, done. It doesn’t work that simply.
Our Dutch number turned out to be linked to more than we realized. DigiD sends verification codes to that number. So does the Dutch bank account. Two-factor verification for all kinds of services. Even the tax authorities. Cancel that number, and you instantly lose access to a whole range of essential things.
So we still pay for a Dutch subscription. Not the expensive plan anymore we’ve trimmed it down as much as possible — but it runs. Every month. Probably for quite a while yet.
You think you’re leaving your old life behind. Your phone number disagrees.
The good news: you can limit this significantly. A prepaid SIM with a Dutch number sometimes costs less than five euros a month if you barely call. As long as the number stays active, the linked services stay reachable.
The car: three months of double insurance
Bringing a car to Spain sounds simple. It isn’t. We’ve written about this separately, but the short version: re-registering a Dutch car onto a Spanish license plate takes time, paperwork, and patience.
During that in-between period — three months in our case you simply pay extra road tax in the Netherlands while no longer using Dutch roads. I still find that absurd. We did have to switch the insurance to a Spanish one within 6 months, otherwise we’d no longer have been insured.
Budget roughly an extra €80 per month during that transition period, depending on what your Dutch insurance costs. Not a disaster amount, but not nothing either once you add it to everything else.
Other insurance policies that keep running
Insurance is sneaky. The amounts look small — a few tenners a month — but they all keep running until you actively cancel them. And canceling takes time: notice periods and paperwork.
In our case, a few policies ran longer than necessary: a term life insurance policy linked to the Dutch mortgage that didn’t stop automatically, and a building insurance policy that kept going a bit longer.
No huge amounts individually. But the combination of all those small ongoing costs added up nicely in the first few months.
Practical advice
Three months before departure, make a list of all your running insurance policies and subscriptions. Note down when you can cancel each one and what the notice period is. That list can easily save you hundreds of euros.
Our costs at a glance
We’re not fans of vague stories without numbers. So here, as honestly as we can, our own double costs:
| Item | Duration | Extra per month |
|---|---|---|
| House in Galicia (empty) — IBI, insurance, utilities | 8 months | Varies widely |
| Dutch phone number — DigiD, banking, verification | Still ongoing | ± €15 |
| Car insurance NL and ES during re-registration | 3 months | ± €80 |
| Ongoing Dutch insurance — life, building, other | Varies | Varies |
Conclusion: Plan for a buffer
We deliberately don’t give a total amount, because that’s different for everyone. What we can say: budget for at least three to six months of overlap on most items, and keep a separate buffer for that on top of your moving costs.
You budget for the move itself. The aftermath, you forget. That’s the difference.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have double costs when emigrating?
This varies by situation, but budget for at least three to six months for most fixed costs. A Dutch phone number you sometimes keep for years, because important services like DigiD and banking are linked to it.
Do you need to keep a Dutch phone number after emigrating?
For many people, yes — at least in the early period. DigiD, Dutch bank accounts, and two-factor verification are often linked to a Dutch number. A cheap prepaid plan is usually the most practical solution sometimes less than five euros a month.
What are the biggest hidden costs when emigrating to Spain?
The biggest surprises are usually: double housing costs if your house already incurs expenses before you live in it, keeping a Dutch phone number, re-registering the car onto a Spanish license plate, and insurance policies that don’t automatically stop when you leave.
Can you cancel Dutch insurance policies when emigrating?
Yes, but watch the notice periods. Some policies have a notice period of one to three months. Start early preferably three months before your departure date with an overview of everything you want to cancel.
More honest stories about emigrating to Galicia?
Everyone tells you what the new life costs. No one tells you how long the old one keeps running.
We’d prepared well. Spreadsheets with new costs in Galicia, a budget for the move, a buffer for unexpected expenses. What we hadn’t factored in: the old life that just kept ticking along. For months. Two of everything. That’s more expensive than you’d think.
The house: the heaviest double cost
We already owned our house in Galicia before we left. On paper, that seemed smart: no uncertainty about where you’re going, no need for temporary rental housing. In practice, it meant we paid Spanish costs for eight months on a house we weren’t living in yet.
Think of the IBI — Spain’s property tax, comparable to the Dutch OZB. It keeps running whether you’re there or not. The same goes for home contents and building insurance, municipal levies, and in our case, the utilities we kept running at a minimum to prevent frost damage.
Eight months. That adds up.
What we learned from this
Try to plan the transfer of your Dutch home and your departure date as close together as possible. Every month of overlap is a month of double fixed costs. Easier said than done — but being aware of it already helps when building the right buffer.
Your Dutch phone number: indispensable and expensive
This one we didn’t see coming. We thought: pop in a Spanish SIM card, done. It doesn’t work that simply.
Our Dutch number turned out to be linked to more than we realized. DigiD sends verification codes to that number. So does the Dutch bank account. Two-factor verification for all kinds of services. Even the tax authorities. Cancel that number, and you instantly lose access to a whole range of essential things.
So we still pay for a Dutch subscription. Not the expensive plan anymore we’ve trimmed it down as much as possible — but it runs. Every month. Probably for quite a while yet.
You think you’re leaving your old life behind. Your phone number disagrees.
The good news: you can limit this significantly. A prepaid SIM with a Dutch number sometimes costs less than five euros a month if you barely call. As long as the number stays active, the linked services stay reachable.
The car: three months of double insurance
Bringing a car to Spain sounds simple. It isn’t. We’ve written about this separately, but the short version: re-registering a Dutch car onto a Spanish license plate takes time, paperwork, and patience.
During that in-between period — three months in our case — you simply pay extra road tax in the Netherlands while no longer using Dutch roads. I still find that absurd. We did have to switch the insurance to a Spanish one within 6 months, otherwise we’d no longer have been insured.
Budget roughly an extra €80 per month during that transition period, depending on what your Dutch insurance costs. Not a disaster amount, but not nothing either once you add it to everything else.
Other insurance policies that keep running
Insurance is sneaky. The amounts look small a few tenners a month but they all keep running until you actively cancel them. And canceling takes time: notice periods and paperwork.
In our case, a few policies ran longer than necessary: a term life insurance policy linked to the Dutch mortgage that didn’t stop automatically, and a building insurance policy that kept going a bit longer.
No huge amounts individually. But the combination of all those small ongoing costs added up nicely in the first few months.
Practical advice
Three months before departure, make a list of all your running insurance policies and subscriptions. Note down when you can cancel each one and what the notice period is. That list can easily save you hundreds of euros.
Our costs at a glance
We’re not fans of vague stories without numbers. So here, as honestly as we can, our own double costs:
| Item | Duration | Extra per month |
|---|---|---|
| House in Galicia (empty) — IBI, insurance, utilities | 8 months | Varies widely |
| Dutch phone number — DigiD, banking, verification | Still ongoing | ± €15 |
| Car insurance NL and ES during re-registration | 3 months | ± €80 |
| Ongoing Dutch insurance — life, building, other | Varies | Varies |
Conclusion: Plan for a buffer
We deliberately don’t give a total amount, because that’s different for everyone. What we can say: budget for at least three to six months of overlap on most items, and keep a separate buffer for that on top of your moving costs.
You budget for the move itself. The aftermath, you forget. That’s the difference.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have double costs when emigrating?
This varies by situation, but budget for at least three to six months for most fixed costs. A Dutch phone number you sometimes keep for years, because important services like DigiD and banking are linked to it.
Do you need to keep a Dutch phone number after emigrating?
For many people, yes — at least in the early period. DigiD, Dutch bank accounts, and two-factor verification are often linked to a Dutch number. A cheap prepaid plan is usually the most practical solution — sometimes less than five euros a month.
What are the biggest hidden costs when emigrating to Spain?
The biggest surprises are usually: double housing costs if your house already incurs expenses before you live in it, keeping a Dutch phone number, re-registering the car onto a Spanish license plate, and insurance policies that don’t automatically stop when you leave.
Can you cancel Dutch insurance policies when emigrating?
Yes, but watch the notice periods. Some policies have a notice period of one to three months. Start early — preferably three months before your departure date — with an overview of everything you want to cancel.
