Want to retire abroad? Here’s what you need to know

Chris Smith, 63, and his wife Jane Klaassen, 62, knew they wanted to retire somewhere hot. But while it was easy enough to agree on a move to Alicante in Spain (“We love the lifestyle, the weather and the people”), the financial side of becoming an expat was not as simple.

Smith, a financial adviser, retired in September and they sold their house in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, three months later, buying a four-bedroom villa a ten-minute bike ride from the sea in the town of Xabia (or Javea). Klaassen, who retired from the police in 2019, has joined a local book club and a group where Spanish residents and English expats teach each other their respective languages over coffee. Smith spends his days by the pool