I’m Howard Murphy — British Expat on the Costa Blanca
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I didn’t plan to spend nearly 40 years in Spain.
Like most big life decisions, it started with something smaller — a move that felt temporary, an adventure with a loose end date that never quite arrived. The Costa del Sol in the [late 1980s / early 1990s] was [add a sentence about what drew you here — the work, a person, the sun, a feeling]. I arrived thinking I’d stay for [a year / a few years]. I’m still here.
What happened in between is, I suppose, what this website is about.
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## Who I Am
My name is [Your Name]. I’m British — born and raised in [town/region if you want to share] — and I’ve been living on the Costa del Sol for almost four decades. I came here as [your age at the time / in your late 20s / early 30s] and built my entire adult life in Spain. [Add a sentence about your personal situation — partner, close friends, the shape of your life here.]
Back in the UK I worked in business and management — [add a sentence about your specific field or industry if you’re comfortable, e.g. “running my own company / working in corporate management / leading teams in X sector”]. That career gave me a solid understanding of how businesses work, how money moves, and how to make decisions under uncertainty. Skills, as it turns out, that are just as useful navigating expat life as they ever were in a boardroom.
I moved to Spain without children — which, I’ll be honest, made the decision easier in some ways and more introspective in others. There was nobody else’s life to uproot, no school terms to work around. Just a clear-eyed choice about what I wanted the second half of my life to look like. That freedom, and the responsibility that comes with it, shaped everything that followed.
When I think about what nearly 40 years in Spain has given me — the language, the friendships, the deep familiarity with how this country actually works beneath the surface — I realise it’s also given me something I didn’t expect: a perspective that very few people have.
I know what it looks like when a move abroad goes right. I know what it looks like when it goes wrong. I’ve watched friends arrive full of optimism and struggle. I’ve watched others arrive nervous and quietly flourish. And after four decades of paying attention, I have a reasonably clear sense of what makes the difference.
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## Why I Built This Site
I built expatover55.com because the conversation I kept having didn’t have a home.
People would find out I’d been living in Spain for nearly 40 years and they’d want to talk. Not just about the weather or the food — though we always get to those eventually — but about the real questions. The ones that keep you up at night when you’re seriously considering a move abroad after 55.
*Will my pension be enough? What about healthcare — what happens if something goes wrong? How do I actually get a visa? Will I be lonely? Is it too late?*
These are not small questions. And the answers I found online were usually either too shallow to be useful, or written by someone who had spent a fortnight in Marbella and called themselves an expert.
I am not that person.
I am someone who has lived through Spain’s entry into the EU, two recessions, a global pandemic, Brexit — and the quieter, more personal upheavals that come with building a life far from where you started. I have navigated the Spanish healthcare system, the tax system, the bureaucracy. I have made expensive mistakes and learnt from them. I have found the things that genuinely make life better abroad — and the things that are overhyped.
That’s what I wanted to share. Honestly. Without the gloss.
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## What I Cover on This Site
**Country guides** written from real experience — Spain in depth, Portugal from regular visits and a community of friends who live there, and other popular expat destinations researched with the same rigorous honesty.
**Money and finance** — how to make your pension go further, how to avoid losing hundreds of pounds a year to unnecessary bank fees, how to transfer money internationally without getting quietly robbed in the process.
**Healthcare** — the question I’m asked more than any other, and the one where getting it wrong is not an option. I cover international health insurance honestly, including the parts that other sites skip.
**Creating income** — because a pension alone, in 2026, is a fragile thing to build a retirement on. I write about practical ways to build a second income stream as an expat over 55 — from freelancing skills you already have, to an income opportunity I’m currently exploring myself and documenting honestly on this site.
**The real stuff** — the emotional side of moving abroad, building a social life from scratch, staying connected with [family / children / grandchildren] back home, the adjustment curve that nobody warns you about. These things matter as much as the visa rules and the tax rates.
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## What I Believe
I believe that moving abroad after 55 is one of the most rewarding decisions a person can make — but only if they go in with clear eyes.
The sunshine is real. The lower cost of living is real. The warmth of the culture, the quality of the food, the extraordinary feeling of waking up somewhere beautiful that you chose — all of it is real.
So is the bureaucracy. So is the loneliness that can creep in during the first winter. So is the anxiety about healthcare, about being far from family, about whether your money will last. None of that disappears by pretending it isn’t there.
What I try to do on this site is give you the full picture. The practical information you need to make good decisions. The honest perspective of someone who has actually lived it. And — occasionally — a gentle push to take the leap, from someone who has never regretted taking theirs.
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## A Note on How This Site Works
expatover55.com is free to read, and I intend to keep it that way.
To keep the site running, some articles contain affiliate links — meaning if you sign up for a service I recommend (like Wise for international transfers, or a health insurance provider), I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
I want to be transparent about this because I think you deserve to know. I only recommend products and services I genuinely believe in and would recommend to a close friend. My editorial independence is not for sale — if I think something isn’t good enough for this community, I won’t recommend it regardless of whether there’s a commission attached.
I’m also in the early stages of building a network marketing income alongside this site — something I’m documenting honestly in real time, with no airbrushing of the early awkward stages. You can follow that journey [here — link to network marketing intro article].
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## Let’s Talk
If you have a question I haven’t answered — about Spain, about moving abroad, about any of the topics on this site — I’d genuinely like to hear from you.
After nearly 40 years of expat life, there isn’t much I haven’t encountered. And if I don’t know the answer, I’ll tell you that too.
Or join the conversation below — I read every comment and reply to as many as I can.
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Howard Murphy
*Costa Blanca, Spain*
*[Optional: add a warm closing line in your own voice — something that feels like you]*
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**Start exploring:**
– 🇵🇹 Moving abroad to Portugal. possibly the best destination for people coming from outside Europe
– 💼 [7 Skills Over-55s Can Sell Online to Earn From Anywhere — Starting With Fiverr]
– 💳 [How to Transfer Your Pension Abroad Without Losing Money to Fees]
– 📖 [The Ultimate Guide to Moving Abroad After 55]
– 🇪🇸 [Living in Spain After 55: An Honest Guide From Someone Who Has Been Here Nearly 40 Years]
[Best International Health Insurance for Over 55s: An Honest Comparison]
[How I Save Over $500 a Year Using Wise as an Expat Over 55]
Could Network Marketing Be the Second Income You’ve Been Looking For?