Moving to Spain had always been a dream for Andre Philippe Comeau.

He had saved up to visit during a leap year after high school and loved it.

When he returned to Canada and entered the workforce after graduating from McGill University, his life wasn't what he imagined it would be.

Although Montreal is known to be one of the more affordable cities to live in in Canada, Comeau still found himself priced out of neighbourhoods, forcing him to move every couple of years. Even after graduating with a degree in business and marketing, he found the jobs he landed didn't pay as well as he expected them to.

Comeau was stressed about making ends meet and felt he couldn't do much more with his life in Canada.

"It was a bit like working just to survive," the 32-year-old explained over a Zoom call while on vacation in Serbia. "I lost a lot of quality of life. It was exhausting, and I wanted to have more in my life."

So, in 2019, he packed his bags and got a Youth Mobility visa to work and travel in Spain for one year—he hasn't looked back since.

"My life improved in every single way," he said.

Making the move

The Youth Mobility Program allows Canadians between the ages of 18 and 35 to work in Spain for one year. They can participate in the program twice, as long as there's a three-month break between the first and second time.

Comeau says it was a reasonably straightforward process. Before he sent the visa application, he had to get a police check, pay for visa fees, and have all of his documents translated into Spanish.

He fell under category E (working holiday), which meant he didn't need a formal job offer to obtain the visa.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic hit right before his first visa was about to expire. Comeau says he tried to re-apply for the secondary visa, but everything was closed due to the pandemic, so he had to return to Canada.

He enjoyed his less than one year there so much that he applied to the Youth Mobility Program a second time when he returned to Canada in 2020, lived in Spain for another year and was able to apply for residency.

He's lived in Barcelona for almost five years now and will apply for citizenship in a couple of months.

Work culture in Spain

Comeau says he was open to working restaurant jobs or positions outside his line of work while on his first visa.

"I knew wages were lower here, but I've been to Spain, and the cost of living is much more affordable than Canada, even though Barcelona is more expensive than other regions," he explained.

However, he landed a job with a higher wage than he expected in his first year there.

After going to dinner with other expats, he networked and got an interview for a position at Airbus specifically for English and French speakers.

The company sponsored Comeau so he could participate in the Youth Mobility Program for a second time, and he's worked there ever since.

"Working is a lot less stressful here."

He says the work culture in Spain encourages its employees to take vacations instead of shaming them.

In Montreal, Comeau was working in a busy inventory job that gave him 10 to 14 vacation days a year.

"In comparison, here in Spain, I get an email almost every month saying I have too many vacation days," he laughed.

He says he gets a month of vacation every year, so he usually goes on week-long trips to a new country every two months—hence why he was Zooming in from Serbia on the call.

And there are plenty more work perks employees get in Spain.

Comeau says workers can take an hour to two-hour lunch, which he likes because it allows them to "refresh themselves and go back to work full of energy in the afternoon."

Want to eat out during your two-hour lunch? Your company will most likely have that covered, too.

Comeau says that most Spanish workplaces provide their employees with a card they can use to pay to dine out.

"For example, in my case, I have €150 (C$227) I can spend in restaurants. I use that a lot, especially when working at the office or sometimes even going out with friends," he explained. "So, just that alone gives me many outings."

A lower cost of living

According to Comeau, life is, overall, more affordable in Spain than in Canada.

When it comes to groceries, not only are the prices cheaper, but he says the quality is a lot better.

The expat says he spends around €180 to €200 (around C$270 to $300) on monthly groceries, with food costing about a third of the price in Canada.

"I was more limited in the food I could eat in Canada, but here, I eat a lot more vegetables," he explained.

For example, Comeau says he can buy a bundle of asparagus for one euro at local markets and about two to three euros at the major grocery chains.

He adds that he can purchase 500 grams of beef for around three to four euros and 500 grams of lamb for around nine euros.

"I had many stomach issues when I lived in Canada, and I don't have any of that since I moved here," he said.

And if you want to eat out, similarly to countries like Australia, tipping isn't mandatory or expected in Spain. So, you won't have to increase your dinner bill by 15 per cent to 20 per cent like in Canada.

When it comes to housing, Comeau says it's a bit harder to find affordable places in the city centre, where there are many Airbnbs for tourists and expats.

However, if you look for places just outside that, you can save on housing.

"Right now, I have roommates, but I have a huge room, bigger than the apartment I had in Montreal even, and I'm paying much less," explained Comeau.

He says he pays €400 (around C$600) monthly, utilities included, for a room in an apartment that overlooks the city and isn't too far from the Sagrada Familia.

Comeau adds that the cheaper transit system also helps. He pays €40 for a monthly pass that gives him unlimited travel, which he notes is also subsidized by his work.

As someone who loves to travel, Comeau says it's also cheaper for him to take trips from Spain.

He recently travelled to Jordan for the first time, and from Barcelona, it only cost him €160 (around C$241) for a round trip.

"If I wanted to make a trip like that in Canada, there was no way I could have afforded it," he said.

The downsides of living in Spain

Just like any country, Spain isn't perfect.

Comeau says one of the downsides he's experienced is the bureaucracy.

"All the paperwork, everything takes a long time here," he explained. "There's an expression called 'mañana' because it always takes longer; we'll do it tomorrow."

He says this can be frustrating, especially when you're moving and have to translate all of your documents from English to Spanish.

He adds that departments always seem to lose his documents, so he's learned to submit two copies to prevent that.

Of course, Comeau misses his family and friends back home. He says he hasn't seen his grandparents, cousins, and uncles since 2020, so he plans to visit them this Christmas.

"I felt happier"

Still, the pros of living in Spain seem to trump the cons for Comeau.

"I struggled a lot with depression when I was in Canada and also didn't like the long winters, which also made it a bit worse," he explained. "I felt like when I moved here, I felt a bit younger, I felt happier, and I got completely rid of my depression."

The expat says it helps that he doesn't have to stress about living costs or being burnt out from work like he did in Canada.

"Almost every two months, I'm trying new things or visiting new places…so it's great. Feels like normal life."