Why Some People Move Abroad—And Never Really Leave Home

A photo from a plaza in Valencia helps us understand the difference between living somewhere and merely being there.

An image from the plaza over the weekend and my thoughts posted the same day on Substack Notes.

The more I think about it, the better I can articulate why the scene I captured bothers me and why—actually—it says more about “them” that it does me.

This isn’t an anti-British tourism rant—though there’s plenty of room for another.

Spaniards have been complaining about British tourism for decades. I’m not breaking any new ground.

And do I even have to qualify it?

We’re not talking about all Brits. Just the ones who act like entitled overgrown children when they visit another country. And—who knows—maybe at home as well?

They seem to operate under the assumption that a place exists primarily for their consumption rather than their participation. They treat Spain like a frat house with cheap beer, sunshine, and an endless tolerance for their bull shit.

That image—and this whole thing—goes a long way to explaining why some people build a life abroad while others never really leave home, even if they physically make a move.

To tourists like this, Spain is little more than a service provider. It’s like visiting the car wash. Pull in, get hosed down, and go back home.

But Spain is a place with its own norms, rhythms, and expectations.

For tourists of this ilk, however, the language barrier is less an obstacle and more an annoyance. The culture is little more than an obligatory sideshow between irritating bellows of “la cuenta” or “cerveza”—two words that many Brits who have moved to Spain proudly proclaim represent the only Spanish they know.

The risk is that the more they visit, the more they like it and decide to move here. Same can probably be said of other sunny places where “expats” settle—from Mexico to Costa Rica. And we can cross out risk—what was once an eventuality has become a reality.

Because—as the YouTube video at the end of this article shows—Spain has more than a few enclaves where the British have effectively taken over.

Ultimately, British tourism to Spain and the eventual migration by some Brits is merely a lens into the broad dynamic.

Some people physically move abroad without ever mentally emigrating.