For families moving to Spain, from a family who made the move
Four leases, three rounds of school applications, the non-lucrative visa and a Spanish driving test. Every answer comes from what happened to us.
New here? Start here
Our route so far
Every guide is written by Ashley Burgos, from our own move: in Spain since 2021, with two kids in Spanish schools. We share what it cost, what went wrong and what we would do again, so your family can plan with real numbers.
Read our storyWhy we left, and how we prepared the money side before going.
Leaving the USATwo and a half years in Guadalajara, and deciding where to go next.
Why we chose SpainVisas, rentals, schools, a driving test and everyday life.
Living in SpainShort answers from our own experience. Each one leads to the guide with the full story.
Jornada partida is a long, all-day schedule, usually from around 9am to 4pm, and at some schools until 5:30pm. Jornada continua is a short, continuous day, usually 9am to 2pm. Both schedules give you the option of lunch at school or at home. We decide early which one we prefer, but we try not to get stuck on it.
Read: How To Effectively Choose a School In Spain the 1st TimeWe pay 1,537.50 euros a month for a five-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment of more than 180 square meters in the city center. We started at 1,500 euros, and after two years in the same apartment the rent rose about 3 percent. Rent is our biggest cost, but also the easiest to control, since we could move somewhere cheaper.
Read: Our Real Cost Of Living in Zaragoza Spain for a Family of Four 2025 vs 2026For our 2021 application, we submitted three months of checking and savings statements, a state criminal background check for both adults, a medical statement and blood tests for each person, apostilled birth and marriage certificates, proof we owned the websites that earned our income, proof of rentals above the average rent, and my husband's statement that he supported each of us.
Read: From the NLV in Spain (Non-Lucrative Visa) to Citizenship via the IberoAmerican PathwayOn our first three leases, we paid a fianza (security deposit) of one month's rent. Only once, in Murcia in 2021, did we also pay an extra one-month guarantee, after the agent asked for two months at signing. We agreed on the condition that it came back in cash the day we returned the keys, and it did.
Read: Our Real-Life Rental Process for our Four Leases in Spain: What Happens When You Rent in Spain?Each stage of the move, with the guides we would read first.
What back to school cost our family in Spain for 2026, with one child starting first grade and the other starting secondary (1º ESO) at a new school.
By Ashley Burgos ·
Living in Zaragoza
Things to Do in Zaragoza
Things to Do in Zaragoza
Living in Spain
Our family trips, written up day by day. We travel light, with one book bag each.
Spring 2023
Tangier and Casablanca
July 2023
Paris, Brussels, Bruges, The Hague, Amsterdam and Haarlem
September 2023
London and Plymouth
May and June 2024
Bologna, Rome and Venice
Summer 2024
Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest
Summers from Zaragoza
Tarragona and Cinco Villas
Everything here is free to read. If a guide saved you time or money, you can buy us a coffee. Planning your own move? Book a call as a future client, or listen to the blog on Spotify.
