A British couple who decamped to the Spanish coast say they would never move back to the high mortgages and gloomy weather of the UK where “you live to work”.
Kate Kurdziej, 37, business consultant who was living in Yorkshire, was three months pregnant with her first child when she decided to quit her “toxic” job.
After the traumatic birth of her son, Oliver, she and her husband, Dan, knew they had to make a drastic change and began to seriously consider moving abroad.
“His birth put things into perspective,” she says. “I had started my own business and it was growing. My husband’s work said he could work remotely.”
The couple had spent a lot of time in France, and even married there. So in April 2021, as the pandemic restrictions lifted, they sold their home – completely furnished – and their car, bought a French car, trailer, and roof box, obtained post Brexit visas and drew up entrepreneur business plans for France.
“We got the Eurotunnel over to France on 1 October 2021,” Ms Kurdziej says. For over a year, the family lived in a village an hour and a half from Bordeaux.
“We felt quite isolated,” she says. “The summer was beautiful, but it just wasn’t enough.”
In April 2023, the family decided on a whim to move to Spain. By August, they had packed up and moved to Javea, in Valencia on the east coast.
They found a two-bedroom whitewashed villa for €135,000 (£111,770). “You walk into the lounge area and we have a massive window that overlooks a famous mountain,” Ms Kurdziej says. “We have a balcony that comes off the dining room. There’s a communal pool. It’s beautiful. It’s not a massive, million-euro villa, but the view is worth a million euros.”
Since they arrived in Javea, living only 10 minutes from the Mediterranean Sea, they have not looked back.
“In France and the UK, there were a lot of dark, overcast days outside of the summertime,” she says. “In Spain, it’s rare to have a grey day. Even when it’s cold, the blue sky and sunshine is out. It just does something in my soul.
“I’m always looking at the sea, walking by the sea, breathing in the sea air – it’s so important for me to be next to the sea,” she says, adding that she goes to the beach at least several times a week.
Thanks to the warm weather, the family spends loads of their time outdoors. “If my husband and I have a date, we’ll go for a coastal walk and stop for a coffee that only costs €1.50 (£1.25),” Ms Kurdziej says. “We go swimming every day in the summer.”
Their social lives are primarily based outside too. “There’s lot of sports like paddle tennis,” she says. “And lots of exercise classes on the beach. If you go to the beach, there are so many friendly people there with families. You end up swapping numbers and suddenly you’ve got a new friend.”
The area which they have settled has a diverse group of people, with over 52 nationalities represented in her son’s English-speaking school.
The way of life in Javea is “laid back,” with two-hour lunch breaks and siestas common, especially in the summer.
“In the UK, you live to work,” she says. “In Europe, it’s the other way around. People think about how they can work the least to enjoy life the most.”
She runs her business, Olivier Consultancy, while Mr Kurdziej works as the office manager for a local estate agency in Spain.
Furthermore, they say, everything is much cheaper than in the UK.
“Water is €15 (£12.40) a month, electricity is €100 (£83) a month, and we don’t have gas,” she says. “Food has gone up, but it is still cheaper than in the UK. I spend €500 (£414) a month on food – the mid-range types of food. The three of us can go out for dinner with drinks for €40 (£33) – nothing too budget or too fancy.”
Although they miss their family back in the UK, they rarely visit. “Most of our family wants to come visit us – they are desperate to come here for a holiday,” Ms Kurdziej says.
Having spent her life travelling consistently Ms Kurdziej plans to stay put in Spain.
“There’s nothing back for us in England,” she says. “We’ve carved out our life here. For us, this is permanent.”
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