Spanish Practices – Living in Spain: Real Life, Real Spain

Spain is facing a new reality of extreme weather — from sudden flooding to the growing threat of summer drought.

In this episode of Spanish Practices, I look at the recent storms affecting Spain, including Storm Leonardo and the approaching Storm Marta, and asks what these events tell us about climate change, infrastructure, an...

What happens when you don't just move countries — but move brains?

In this episode of Spanish Practices, I explore how moving to Spain quietly rewires your brain, especially if you arrive tired, overstimulated, and worn down by modern life.

From walk...

What did the Romans ever do for Almuñécar?

Apart from inventing takeaway food, apartment living, public baths, complaining about politicians… and making the entire town smell like fermented fish.

In this episode of Spanish Practices, we travel back to Ro...

Spain welcomed a record 97 million tourists — and now the country is bursting at the seams.

In this episode, we look at failing infrastructure, overcrowded cities, and why Spain might need a breather in 2026.

Plus: lesser-known regions to visit and better ways to experience Spain beyond beaches, booze, and burnout.

Three Places, mentioned to visit:

Extremadura 

https://www.turismoextremadura.c...

A detailed investigation into the Adamuz train crash in Spain, examining what happened, what investigators believe caused the derailment, and the warnings about track defects raised before the tragedy.

I explore the human stories behind the disaster, including the loss of 41 lives and the death of a 27-year-old train driver, and how families and communiti...

This week, we had two power cuts. That led to Bruce our rescue dog getting diarrhea! A biblical lightning strike, a bodged Endesa repair, and one warm fridge too far — welcome to Spanish electrics.

In this wry expat tale, two power cuts lead to a flooded studio, philosophical acceptance, and an unfortunate canine outcome.

Living in Spain teaches resilienc...

A wry, true-to-life look at Spanish plumbing quirks every expat eventually encounters — mysterious drain smells, missing U-bends, and bathrooms with opinions.

From central traps and sewer "breathing" to rain-induced gurgling chaos, this episode explores why Spanish drains work differently.

Packed with humour, cultural insight, and lived expat experience of life in Spain and Andalusia.
Spanish ...

In this episode of Living in Spain, I talk about the choking hazard that is a Spanish Tradition at New Year, drawing on real experiences of expat life in Andalusia after moving from the UK to Spain. 

We cover:

• How a Spanish New Year is celebrated, and why twelve grapes play an important part.

In this episode at least two reasons among many why we left our leafy Essex town and beautiful four bedroomed bay-fronted Edwardian House and ran off to sunny Spain.

So to the ghosts two arrive from my past. One is a, to be, famous children's author to whom I was spectacularly rude, after which I threw away the first edition of her book about a boy who didn't know he was a wizard. 

The other i...

From Mosiquitos to spiders and snakes, there is something lurking or flying around here in Spain that has you on their lunch menu.

How to cope with those tiny assassins and avoid being bitten or worse is what this episode is all about.

This is our real life, in real Spain. Ten years of adventures since swapping our glorious Victorian House in leafy Essex for a tiny flat in a wild Andalusian village. I was ...

What kind and how many people are living under the wire, classed as "irregular" without paperwork living here in Spain.

How does Spain treat the nomads, the minorities and the people who come here without any money or housing?

This is our real life, in real Spain. Ten years of adventures since swapping our glorious Victorian House in leafy Essex for a tiny flat in a wild Andalusian village. I was once a Ra...