We're a Scottish couple living in Spain... here are the REAL reasons people move back to the UK
Barry and Karen Livingstone moved to the sunny shores of Torrevieja in 2020 'after years of dreaming about it'.
Following in the footsteps of thousands of Brits, the pair have adapted well to the more laid back Iberian lifestyle and insist it is the 'best move we have ever made'.
But now, taking to their popular YouTube channel Scottish Couple In Spain, the Scots have delved into their experience of people heading the opposite way to them and shed light on the main issues that drive them back.
Walking their beloved springer spaniel across the Santa Pola promenade, just half an hour drive up the coast from their new home, Barry and Karen started off by insisting there were a variety of reasons Brits realise paradise is not for them.
A key factor, though, is money. Often those who head there are dealt the brutal truth that the Spanish dream is not financially sustainable.
Karen pointed out that homesickness also plays a part, with many missing their friends and family while out there.
Barry admitted that family often piled on some added 'pressure' when it comes to decision-making, especially if a spouse dies.
But now, taking to their popular YouTube channel Scottish Couple In Spain, the Scots have delved into their experience of people heading the opposite way to them
This has hit particularly close to home for the Scottish couple, who have gone to four funerals since their move five years ago.
'I think some people can find it quite isolating if they've lost a partner,' Karen added. 'That's quite a common one, particularly as there is an older generation of Brits who have been out here for a number of years. It's starting to affect a lot more people now.
A large portion of expats in Spain have been there for more than two decades, Barry observed, and many are left unsure whether they want to die and be buried away from home.
He claimed that while some of the people heading back to the UK were of working age, most were pensioners.
And of the members of their slightly younger age group who moved out with them during Covid, Barry calculated that around half had already gone home.
The move also sometimes falls through when health issues emerge and Brits feel uncomfortable with the quality of Spanish hospitals, particularly with the added inconvenience of a language barrier.
She said: 'We know many people who have gone home for health reasons because they need more healthcare in their later years and they would rather be back in the UK where things are familiar and everything is easy to understand.'
Would they ever rethink things and return home?
The weather, which has improved their mental health, as well as the cost of living and a less materialistic population were mentioned as the main positives of living in the country
'Safe to say "no", definitely not in the plans,' Karen said. 'I think we have planned pretty well for the future. We have got good plans in place for retirement, we're quite comfortable with the public health system here - I think it's fantastic.'
She added that, in summary, there was nothing at all pushing them back to the UK.
Besides, their family and friends prefer it that way, now able to stay with them in sunny Spain during holidays, they joked.
The weather, which has improved their mental health, as well as the cost of living and a less materialistic population were mentioned as the main positives of living in the country.
As if to prove the point, they then showed a panoramic view of Santa Pola's sandy swathes of beaches, sun-kissed even in November when they filmed the video.
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There were elaborate tapas in Silver Note, a sultry supper club with a fantastic jazz duo and a spectacular, 11-course tasting menu at Chef's Kitchen, in the cookery school, SALT Lab, which becomes a restaurant at night (from £90pp). But we kept returning to the SALT Kitchen, especially once I'd discovered the Moroccan platter and shlata chizo, a spectacular Moroccan carrot, cumin and chickpea salad. • 11 of the best western Mediterranean cruises Despite the fact that the world was in financial and political turmoil as we sailed, everybody on board seemed to knock along happily — the multigenerational groups, the retired couples, the Gen X and millennials — although we did, amusingly, conform neatly to our national stereotypes. The Italian family groups, loud and chaotic. David and I, with our nightly gin and tonic habit. The Americans, who would head for dinner at 6.30 on the dot, even when the ship was bathed in the golden glow of magic hour and Mariia was playing sax in the Dusk Bar. As for my Spanish immersion — I'm well aware that a cruise will only ever scratch the surface of a place. But I'd tried new dishes and visited new places. Would we go to Cadiz and Cartagena from our house in Andalusia and would I have discovered the Moroccan salad and visited the exquisite Mallorcan vineyard? Probably not. Now to sort that Spanish conversation class. This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Sue Bryant was a guest of Silversea, which has 11 nights' all-inclusive from £5,050pp, sailing from Lisbon to Barcelona, departing on April 5, 2026 ( Fly to Lisbon
