I swapped the UK for Spain – wine is just £3, the food is much healthier and it feels like a holiday every day

The Sun

3 days ago

A WOMAN ditched the UK for Spain - where a glass of wine is Euro 3.50 and there are free concerts every night - and says it feels like a "permanent holiday".
Jade Gartshore, 25, had a successful career but says it didn't give her "enough" fulfilment and she struggled with the "dark" days.
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After travelling with her husband Edward Partis, 25, an electrical engineer, she fell in love with the Spanish city of Murcia.
Jade ditched her job to move out last November and say they can't seem themselves "moving back to the UK".
Jade said: "I used to sit in the office and used to look out and think, this can't be life, you know, every day going to work in the dark and coming back in the dark.
"I was always doing very well in my job, but it just didn't give me enough.
"It's like a permanent holiday, I wake up feeling a lot happier and often have those pinch me moments where I still can't believe I live here.
"We have a free concert every night. It's different in each town.
"So you'll have jazz, you'll have disco, techno, and they'll just be on the seafront, and it's all put on by the council.
"That's where some of your money goes, which is a nice feeling.
"You can get a glass of wine for Euro 3.50, which is crazy, but your day-to-day shopping can be pretty much the same as the UK."
Jade and Edward, who are from Leicester, went travelling for six months in 2023 and spent five weeks of it in Murcia - where Jade's parents retired to.
The couple carried on travelling in Asia - but couldn't stop thinking about Spain.
I quit my job and did a complete 180 moving to Spain - beer is just $3 a pint and my life is so much better
Jade said: "The whole six months we were just working out ways how to get back to Spain, and we just completely fell head over heels for it.
"The conversation just kept coming back to Murcia that we kind of loved it and both felt exactly the same way, which was really lucky.
"To be honest, growing up in the UK, I always felt like it wasn't my home.
"When I was 16, I was going to California on holiday by myself to see friends, and when I was 19, we tried to live in Australia, but it just wasn't for us.
Everything you need to know about visiting Spain
Brits must have at least three months left on their passport from the day they plan to leave the country.
Tourists do not need a visa if visiting for up to 90 days in an 180-day period.
Make sure your passport is stamped on entry and exit.
Travellers may be asked to show hotel booking confirmations and that they have enough money for their stay at the border.
Spain is one hour ahead of the UK.
The country uses the euro with around €10 working out to £8.55.
Flights to Spain from the UK take between 2-4 hours depending on the destination.
"So I just feel like my whole life, I've just known that the UK is not for me.
"It can be scary, but definitely making the jump in your twenties is a perfect time."
Jade was on the path to being promoted as a manager in her estate agent job, but decided to "make the jump" and live a new life elsewhere.
She said: "I was completely petrified, I had this great job, and my collegial manager wanted me to become a manager. I just left it all behind because it didn't feel right.
"The people here, especially in Murcia, are just so kind.
"I've always wanted to lived by the sea, but Murcia also has the mountains where you can go on hikes.
"It's very outdoor living, which is right up my street."
Despite incredible free events hosted by the council, Jade wanted to break the misconception that it is a lot cheaper to live abroad than it is in the UK.
She said: "I think people have the perception that it is quite cheap here, especially when you come on holiday, but it's mainly the alcohol that's a big difference."
Jade, who is currently looking for work, explained how rent and bills are also pretty similar as "it fluctuates as to where you live".
"Some places near us are more expensive than what you'd rent in the UK, and you get less for your money, but then some areas you get more for your money depending on location," she said.
Murcia is located in south-eastern part of the country and is the seventh largest city in Spain. It is known as "the fruit basket of Spain" due to its fruits, vegetables, and flower production.
Jade said: "The fruit and vegetables are so much bigger and they just have so much more flavour.
"Our diet hasn't changed drastically because I feel like it's difficult to just quickly change. So we'd still have our basic meals that we'd have in the UK, but you just feel better."
She can also go and visit the local farmers and do tours to see the produce for as cheap as Euro 12.
Jade's parents moved to the city two years ago for retirement, and the couple are currently staying with them until their big move to their new apartment - just 15 minutes from the beach.
The couple have noticed one specific cultural difference in Spain compared to the UK.
Jade said: "One thing I've noticed is that people don't just want to do stuff on the weekend, they'll happily make plans every day, even if it's just a walk".
At the beginning of her move, she was "quite concerned" about how lonely living abroad could be but has found that she now has "more friends here than in the UK."
Jade is "100%" more sociable now, she said: "I think I've had two events every day. The other day we went to the beach with friends and then drove to another area to watch the sunset.
"And with my other friend we went to see a concert, so it's just utilising the free things and not being weather dependent."
The couple have done this through indulging in the culture and are even trying to learn Spanish too, which her new friends are helping with.
Jade said: "I go to an hour lesson in the village once a week and then just picking up comments from my social media and putting it into practice."
Jade shares her life in Murcia on social media and has created a community of people who also hope to one day move abroad.
Her audience is around 60% Spanish, which helped her "learn the area and the culture a lot quicker".
"I try to use my account to show people that if I can do it, they can do it.
"Even if it's just going to travel, take the risk, do what you want to do."
Data found by CompareMyMove has found that there has been a 32.6% increase in people leaving the UK in the first half of 2025 than there were in the first half of 2024.
It also found that Spain is the most popular place for Brits to move this year.
Jade plans to live in Murcia permanently now and said she "can't see herself moving back to the UK again".
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