‘I want to escape miserable UK
âThereâs plenty of beautiful countries around the world, so if Spain donât want us, weâll go to live in one of them, such as Thailand,â says mum Amanda Surringer
A mother who is desperate to escape the UK and dreamed of living permanently in Spain is now seeking alternatives following measures brought in by the countryâs Prime Minister Pedro SĂĄnchez.
Amanda Surringer, 42, a mum of three who lives in Wales, had a taste of her dream life in Spain after living there for a couple of years with her older two children.
She had planned to live there for good as soon as financially possible, but has abandoned her plan following proposals by Sånchez to deter Brits from buying properties in the country.
SĂĄnchez has announced plans to impose a tax of up to 100 per cent on properties bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, saying the âunprecedentedâ measure was necessary to meet the countryâs housing emergency.
The Spanish prime minister then went one step further by saying he was barring Britons and other non-EU citizens who were not residents in Spain from buying properties, as the country struggled to deal with a housing crisis.
This is part of a series of measures designed to deal with Spainâs housing crisis. The Spanish central bank recently estimated that there will be a deficit of about 500,000 houses by the end of 2025.
âWe will propose to ban these non-EU foreigners who are not residents, and their relatives, from buying houses in our country since they only do so to speculate,â SĂĄnchez said.
In response, Ms Surringer, told The i Paper in light of these proposals by the Spanish government, she â100 per cent wonât be going back to live in Spain now.â
âI want to escape the UK as soon as I financially can, but now Spain doesnât want us, I am looking elsewhere,â she said.
âIt is a shame because I love Spain and it was my home for a couple of years, but I wouldnât be going back there now to live. Not now that they are talking about imposing a 100 per cent tax on Brits or banning them from buying properties altogether.
âI think it is a bit silly of the Spanish government to do this. I understand it from the Spanish perspective because so many people have bought properties out there and this puts pressure on local residents as their houses and properties are more expensive.
âBut from my point of view, I would never go to live in Spain if it meant paying those kinds of taxes so I will now be looking elsewhere when it comes to living abroad.â
Ms Surringer went to live in Spain for two years in 2016 when her two older children were aged around 12 and 10. She loved the way of life and lifestyle, but returned to the UK at the end of 2018 after meeting her partner, whom she now has a four-year-old son with.

She says she has âhad enoughâ of the gloomy life in the UK and is desperate to âget out of this place.â
âEverything here is just miserable and itâs getting worse,â she explained. âThe UK Government is just making things harder and getting more money out of people and the way they treat old people is terrible.
âBills are going up and food prices are so high, especially if you want to eat healthily, which I am into. Everything just costs a fortune. It is rubbish.
âIt feels like there is never a break in the clouds and the moment you get a bit of blue sky, it suddenly fully clouds over and everything is back to grey and white again. Both the weather and the way of life here is bleak. You work to literally pay your bills and that is it.
âIf you look at all the tax we pay, it is horrendous. We are taxed on what we earn, taxed on what we want to buy, taxed on what we want to sell and then taxed when we die. Itâs awful.â
While Ms Surringer found the cost of living cheaper and the quality of food a lot better during her stint living in Spain, the new measures she is now looking further afield to live.
âI definitely wonât pay over the odds to live in Spain, much as I love it and the culture. There are lots of beautiful countries all around the world that would be happy to have us and our money without us having to pay extortionate amounts in property tax.
âI would probably be looking for somewhere like Asia now, even though it is a lot further away from family.
âI love Thailand for what you can get for your money out there and the lifestyle, culture and way of life. Itâs a beautiful place and Iâd love to live somewhere like there, even though the distance makes things a bit more difficult.
âBut wherever I end up, I will be looking for a place that does want Brits and is not going to sting us for wanting to live out there.â