About Spain Expat

Spain Expat started as a bit of a hobby by an expatriate and his spanish wife while living in Seville in November of 2000. At that time the goal was to “help newcomers to Spain get oriented and to try to form a network of support among the expats.”

Since that fateful November, the ownership has changed hands (as of November 2004), but the goal remains the same.

Spain Expat now offers more information than ever before, and more almost every day. Spain Expat works with bloggers and writers living in Spain allowing them to share their experiences, knowledge and expertise with our thousands of daily visitors.  Expat Information articles and How To articles are written specifically for the English-speaking immigrant experience, including how to decide where to live, how to find apartments and real estate, connecting to the Internet, learning Spanish, currency exchange and banking, health care & medical insurance, getting mobile phone service. starting a bisoemss., working & jobs in Spain, finding cheap flights, and one of our specialties: legal issues like visas and residency for expats. 

A note on style: this site is written and maintained by expats from Canada, the US and the UK, so you'll see various stylistic differences in the way numbers and commas are used. Keep an open mind. 

There’s more in store for Spain Expat and the expatriates who join us. So sign up now.

~The Expatriator

Definition of Spain Expat

Spain (spān)

• A country of southwest Europe comprising most of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic and Canary Islands. Inhabited since the Stone Age, the region was colonized by Phoenicians and Greeks and later ruled by Carthage and Rome (after 201 B.C.). Barbarians first invaded Spain in A.D. 409 but were supplanted by Moors from North Africa (711-719), who organized a kingdom known for its learning and splendor. The Moors were gradually displaced by small Christian states and were ousted from their last stronghold, Granada, in 1492. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile then became rulers of a united Spain, which became a world power through exploration and conquest. After the empire was lost in the 18th and 19th centuries, Spain experienced social and economic unrest that culminated in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the rise of Francisco Franco. After Franco’s death in 1975 the monarchy was restored under King Juan Carlos, who oversaw the creation of a parliamentary democracy. Madrid is the capital and the largest city. Population: 46,754,778.

ex·pat  (ěkʼspāt)

n. Chiefly British

• An expatriate.

expatriate (ěk-spāʼtrē-āt’ )

v. tr.

1. To send into exile. See Synonyms at banish.
2. To remove (oneself) from residence in one’s native land.

v. intr.

1. To give up residence in one’s homeland.
2. To renounce allegiance to one’s homeland.

n. (-ǐ,-āt’ )

1. One who has taken up residence in a foreign country.
2. One who has renounced one’s native land.

adj. (-t, -t)

• Residing in a foreign country; expatriated

From Dictionary.com