Exit strategy: will you ever leave Spain once you’ve lived there?

Life’s a beach, and then you fly… how long will you live in Spain for?

It’s a question that – while rarely pressing – tends to linger at the back of most expats’ minds during their time living overseas: when is all of this going to come to an end?

The uncertainty can be creeping, persistent, or it can catch you briefly and unawares while you’re out enjoying yourself, tumbling back down into the ether as quickly as it arose.

But it will happen…

Whether you are a recently-arrived 21-year-old with a job and a future panned out far beyond the horizon, a family enjoying the trappings of abundant sunshine, a high standard of living and a varied social circle, or a retiree sunning themselves beside their pool with a good book and nary a care in the world: the spectre of returning to the UK at some point will rear its (not necessarily ugly) head.

If you currently live in Spain, then you will probably recognise this phenomena. No matter how settled one feels – be it in Spain, the USA, Australia, Italy, France, you name it – ‘home’ will always represent a last refuge of “if all else fails”, or “when I’m old and frail”, or “when I’m ready to settle down” or any combination of the above.

Having an adopted home and a home to return to is often the best of both worlds.

This is a good thing. It is a lucky individual indeed who can make a successful life for themselves in another country and still have the option of returning to their country of birth if that option starts to look like the more attractive one.

There are no hard and fast statistics on the percentage of Brits who eventually return to the UK after living overseas. Indeed, a great deal of Brits – once hit with the expat bug – may choose to move on to another foreign country, rather than return home, when the itch strikes to leave their first adopted country.

But for those Brits that have returned home after living abroad, there is some data out there that addresses the reasons why people returned. A poll conducted last year by relocation specialists Global Visas surveyed 1,246 such former expats, asking what their reasons were for returning to the UK.

Around one third of those polled said that they had returned to the UK earlier than planned, with the majority of those in this bracket citing financial concerns as the biggest push factor.  Some 47 per cent said homesickness was the biggest draw, with visa expiration (39 per cent) proving a reason to return for those living in non-EU countries. Around a quarter (27 per cent) cited lack of social interaction as the reason why they returned.

Most current expats believe they will stay forever, but the reality is often different.

However, the HSBC annual Expat Explorer Survey found that three quarters of the 3,000 current expats polled said that they would never return to the UK out of choice, with 77 per cent stating that a permanent return to Britain would only be considered if living overseas became untenable.

So what can we learn from these studies? Well, it appears that most people who enjoy living abroad expect that they will remain an expat for the rest of their days, and for those that do return home, it is often earlier than expected and due to unforeseen difficulties.

To guard against this, it would appear that the usual rules apply – financial security is imperative, a wide and varied social circle is more important than ever, and the ability to immerse oneself in the culture of their adopted homeland will massively offset the homesickness that strikes us all at some point.

So whether you’re a current expat or are currently considering moving to Spain, bear this all in mind, for it could make the world of difference to where you will be living in five, ten and 20 years’ time…