‘We moved to Spain; ‘I was brainwashed into believing life was better in London’

Some people use digital nomad visa instead. According to official figures, a total of 7,368 non-EU citizens were granted visas in the first 10 months of visa issuance.

It’s a misconception that Brexit has killed the dream of living in Spain. According to the report, the number of Britons officially registered in Spain rose from 276,089 in 2017 (the year after the referendum) to 284,037 in 2023. padron registry.

Likewise, according to the latest figures published by the Spanish notary association, the largest group of foreign buyers in Spain in the first half of 2024 remains British, followed by Germans and Italians.

This is unlikely to change. According to a recent report from Currency Direct, the country most Brits want to move to is Spain. The top reasons for leaving among survey respondents were better quality of life, cost of living, and weather conditions; but recent catastrophic flooding may cause buyers to think twice about certain areas.

Telegraph Money spoke to four families who were fed up with England and headed to Spain in search of a new life.

‘‘People here seem happier here’

Faced with the need to move to an EU financial center after Brexit, Bo Bene and her stockbroker husband James decided to move to Madrid, where they bought a new house. Although he was a British citizen, he had a Hungarian passport, which made the move easier.

“We loved living in Wapping, east London, and didn’t want to live in Paris or Frankfurt, so Spain seemed very simple,” says Bene, 33, a former model and actor.

“Sunshine, quality of life, cheaper school fees – apart from not being on the beach, Madrid is perfect,” he says.