Man Moves to Spain for Sun, Pays in Airport Commute Hours Instead of Pounds

KEY POINTS

•Ethan Spibey fell in love with Barcelona during a 2013 university year abroad and kept returning annually.
•By 2024, he left his communications director role in London to start a consulting business from Barcelona.
•He commutes twice a month to London for meetings, citing immigration ease due to his German spouse visa.

Ethan Spibey, 33, tournaments with his sanity by commuting twice monthly from scenic Barcelona to grey-walled London offices. First smitten with Barcelona’s sun, tapas, and merciful living costs in 2013 during uni, Ethan invested years in out-of-office pub visits before quitting his Westminster director job in 2024. Launching Born Advisory—because naming your company after your fave Barcelona neighbourhood screams professional—Ethan now flies £60 roundtrip tickets (chump change compared to a £130 London railcard) just to prove he's still employed. Visa took 6+ months (because bureaucracy loves comedy), and hotel stays tip the business expense scale at a mere £100. It’s a gamble on joy paid in dial-ups to bosses and ironic jetlag.