Moving to Spain as a remote worker
Some results from the research I've done so far (long, insightful and data-packed article)
As you guys know, I’m currently a full-time fully-remote (small) business owner.
I opened my company in Switzerland, and I’m myself resident there too
Right now, this works fine for me:
I don’t have kids
My gf has a remote job
I’m OK spending half the year or more in Switzerland (for now)
There’s things I like there:
1. The autumn
2. The cows
3. The summers
BTW: I’ve recently opened up my IG profile
Mostly because, when it comes to life in Europe, often a picture is worth a thousand words.
You can check it out and follow me there for vibes and stories from (my) life in Europe.
Few weeks back -> Started on X (@nic_amadio)
Coming weeks/months (before EoY) -> Gonna get back on YT too (@NicolaAmadio)
It’s all part of a broader effort to give more layers to my brand, content and “movement”.
The issue with Switzerland
Right now - no kids, remote job, remote gf - it’s fine.
I spend a bit more living here part of the year, and I save some in taxes.
For part of the year, I’m able to enjoy being here.
But, if:
My costs would be higher because I had kids (kindergarten alone is $4-5k/mo)
I had to spend here 10+ months because kids go to school
Then the picture would change.
With my gf we’re currently not planning to have kids soon, but if we stay together we’re going to eventually.
Moreover, this more “nomadic” lifestyle is fun for now, but it will get tiring eventually.
There’s things we’re sacrificing, like:
Doubling down on building a solid community
Not able to have a pet
Spend time in flats that are not “ours”
etc
So I’ve been exploring where to go.
There’s many countries that are interesting on paper, and I will expand this topic in a future article.
Today, I’ll just talk a bit about Spain.
Spain performs well
As a lifestyle destination.
Madrid is one of Europe’s top big cities (link to post)
Madrid - post 2
Some other considerations about cities in Spain and Barcelona (wouldn’t move to BCN today tho - too much street crime)
Southern Europe is generally a “good vibe” (link to post)
The case for Spain (the pros)
1. Great healthcare
2. Great infra
Rail system
Highways
Great airports
3. Good/great schools
Both local and international.
4. Good levels of happiness
As long as you have money (which you do if you work remotely).
A few downside of Spain:
1. Big one: taxes
They are high and not easy to reduce.
But, at least you seem to get something in exchange for it (LCOL and high QoL).
Also, you can always try to optimise them a bit, if you’re a high earner and/or own a business (but you should still account a 30%+ tax rate, that’s unavoidable unless you do some shady stuff).
2. Pension system sustainability
But this pertains most countries in Europe anyway, and in the end it’s probably going to end up less tragically than one thinks.
You’ll probably still get at least some pension, at some point.
Just don’t rely on it too much (your social security contributions won’t be a high ROI investment but also not be burnt completely - take the loss).
3. Crime
Which seems to be worse in some cities than others:
Spanish economy has done well in past few years
Checkout this Reuters article for an overview on the topic.
Or this and this video from TLDR EU.
Or this Bloomberg video. And this one from DW News.
In short, the reasons seem to be:
Big green energy producer
Good immigration from LATAM
Low costs of production thanks to low energy import and low cost of labour
Nearshoring/offshoring/investment from foreign companies
All in all: one of Europe’s best “socialist” experiments so far.
Might expand further this topic in the future.
Opinions from expats living in Spain
Let me add some insights from people who relocated there and told me about it on LinkedIn.
1. the Andalucia hater
I did my Erasmus in Seville almost 10 years ago.
Was the most chill place I’ve ever lived in xD
Here’s a pic of a classic terrace beer with sun and inflatable pool (activity you can do pretty much 9 months per year there):
But, to be fair, I have no idea how it’d be to raise kids there, or even to live there today.
Haven’t visited in 10 years.
2. The Costa del Sol lover
He shared some interesting insights I think, especially considering he comes from Warsaw.
(which is one of the cities which IMO is as good as it gets in 2025):
He likes healthcare in Spain more than in Poland.
This is my experience as well from trying it in the 3 countries CH PL ESP:
It seems to me that he’s living on a villa in Marbella/some small town in Costa del Sol.
Clear downsides I see about Marbella/Costa del Sol:
Crime will rise 100% (especially in Marbella)
Not much to do: cultural, entertainment activities, restaurants etc
Burning money on taxes like that is painful
Also, it’s a small town life.
Warsaw/Poland, while being worse in other ways:
Long winters that you can’t escape for long if you have kids that go to school
Proximity to Russia/Belarus/Ukraine (probably not a big risk, but still needs to be monitored and it’s a bit annoying)
Catching up on healthcare
Needs to prove that its economy can keep growing like it’s done so far
Will likely stay safer, have better performing pension system, lower taxes, and more large cities that are liveable and have plenty to do.
Wrapping up
I have done a lot of research on these topics and I need to find a way to reorganise everything and put it out in a cohesive, useful way.
The best thing to do if you’re interested in this research is to follow me on X and LinkedIn, as I share stuff there more often and comment on other people’s posts about these topics too.
But totally fine if you’re going to wait for the write-ups/articles - which will eventually come :)
So, am I moving to Spain?
Don’t know yet.
Probably for at least one or even 2 more years, I’ll stay in Switzerland.
Maybe I’ll even end up staying in Switzerland long-term.
Maybe Portugal or Dubai.
Don’t know: still R&D phase :D
Will share as I learn/discover!
Tag along 😎
PS: what do you think of Spain?
Always curious to expand my understanding and learn from other people’s ideas and direct experiences.
Let me know!
What’s next
Last week I was in Paris - “France for Software Engineers” deep-dive coming soon!
Carrying out some researches on Portugal and Greece for remote workers - stay tuned.
Been making some major changes on EuroTopTech.com - update email coming soon.
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