If you’re looking to move in Spain as an Aupair, don’t miss the next interview about “living in Aragon”.
A Sweden living in Aragon
My name is Hanna, I’m 20 years old, I’m from Sweden (Umeå) and I’m currently living in Aragon, in the north of Spain, working as au pair.
Why did you choose Aragon to living in?
I chose to live in the northern part of the country mostly because it was where I found the host family which I’m living with, but also because I love the mountains more than I love the beach hahaha. I chose to move to Spain because of it’s warm weather, friendly culture and relaxed people. And also because I wanted to learn a language and I chose Spanish because they say that is one of the easiest languages to learn for an English/Swedish speaker. Right now I have only been living here in Spain for 2 weeks!!!
Living in Aragon Spain: procedures and culture
As Sweden and Spain are in the European Union I don’t need a visa for my stay, so I literally just booked my flight and started my new adventure! (though due to Coronavirus I had to take a PCR-test and fill out a health form). For more info about travel in time of Covid-19, you can read this post “traveling to Spain requirements” .
Spanish people vs Swedish
The first thing I noticed is how people greet each other. Sometimes with a kiss, sometimes two, and sometimes none. I don’t know what to do! Like last night when my host family and I were visiting the grand parents, I didn’t know how to greet them!
Another thing is the meals, here they all eat so late! In Sweden I have breakfast at 7, lunch at 12 and dinner at 18. Here it’s lunch at 14/15, and dinner at 21/22!! Lastly, no one knows English here, so I have really been struggling getting by. But the good thing is that I have improved my Spanish soooo much!
Working in Spain as an aupair
- Can you tells us how you became an Au pair and how it works? I became an au pair by using a website called Aupairworld.com and that’s the best advice I can give if you want to become an au pair to start at that website. They have loooooads of great info about how it all works for pretty much every country that you can be an au pair in.
- Can you live in Spain without knowing any Spanish? Is English enough? About not knowing any Spanish and live in Spain I guess it all depends on where you’re living. I’m living in a really small town so almost no one knows any English. I can get by because I know some basics, but I have an au pair friend who doesn’t know any Spanish so when we go out, she can’t talk to anyone, she need me to translate.
- Where to look for a job as an Au pair in Spain? If you want to look for a job as an au pair in Spain, again, I highly recommend you to visit aupairworld.com.
- Any relevant difference with other countries where you lived before? I have been an au pair for a year in the US (New York) and a big difference is the type of people who gets an au pair. In the US the families I got to know who had an au pair were all really wealthy. Here in Spain it feels like pretty much any family can get an au pair.
Cost of living in Spain as an aupair
About money, you definitely need to have some savings with you because the flight ticket isn’t cheap and you don’t earn so much so I’d say it’s good to have some money in your bank before you go. When it comes to average expenses per month I can’t really answer that because it all depends on where you live (i.e. Madrid is more expensive than a small town) and what you like doing with your money.
Recommendations and more
- What do you miss the most about your country? MY BOYFRIEND!
- Would you recommend the experience of living a season abroad? And the experience about been an Au pair? I would highly recommend anyone to go and live abroad. You learn so much about yourself and you grow in a way that you can’t do if you don’t push yourself outside of your comfort zone and your country boarders. And the experience of being an au pair is priceless since you learn stuff about life that you can’t learn in school or anywhere else but in another family with other values, habits and daily routines.
- And for those that would like to move there, do you have any particular advice? For those who would like to move to Aragon or to a small town in northern Spain, my only advice is to LEARN SPANISH! Without it you won’t survive hahah.
Next project: back home
My next project is to go back home to Sweden and teach all you guys on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube about Sweden and why Sweden is a country not only worth visiting but to live in! So if you’re interested in getting tips about Sweden and see the Swedish lifestyle, you can follow me in Instagram: Hanna La Sueca
In short, if you’re looking to move in a country with good weather and you love mountains, Aragon or the northern Spain is your place.
To more experiences about living in Spain as an expat I recommend you this article “living in Barcelona as an expat”.
And if you want to explore the city I recommend you a “Free Walking Tour”.
Interview conducted in June 2021 with @hannalasueca
