Hi! I’m Hester, 31 years old. I’m from the Netherlands and have been living in Valencia for five years now. I currently work for WeWow through Yobbers. I love Valencia because of the people here, the weather, and the delicious food. I’m really someone who enjoys life and I notice that I can do that best here in Spain.

From Four Weeks to Five Years

I left the Netherlands five years ago because I wanted something new in my life. I quit my job, gave up my apartment, and went to Valencia to learn Spanish. That was my only plan when I came here: an intensive language course for four weeks. I found accommodation fairly quickly and met many people in the beginning. I lived with two Spanish girls, which helped me dive deep into the culture and made me feel at home quickly. Then I thought: “Why wouldn’t I stay?”.

Regrets?

Do I regret moving to Spain? No, absolutely not! It has truly enriched my life. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this opportunity. I feel that I’ve really grown both in my career and personally. I’ve met so many wonderful like-minded people; you make friends easily when you just go with the flow and open your heart to new people. I know some people hesitate about emigrating abroad because of the lower salaries compared to the Netherlands. But I can really say that the cost of living here is lower, like when I go out to eat and order a delicious meal. So it’s not really fair to compare them with each other, because in my opinion it’s still a good deal.

For anyone who’s hesitating about going abroad, just go. Just go! If it’s not what you imagined, you can always go back home. You lose nothing by trying. Living and working abroad has given me a second family: there are so many new people I care about here. I’m so happy about that! It was totally worth it, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss this.

For anyone moving to another country: immerse yourself in the culture immediately, be with the people. Make sure you live with people from that country, in my case with Spaniards. It will help you enormously to learn the language quickly, but also to understand the culture and learn about the traditions in the country. It’s difficult in the beginning, especially when you don’t speak the language yet, but that’s exactly why it helps you learn a language faster and embrace the culture.

An International Career

I’ve learned many skills from working abroad, like learning to work with different cultures and all the different people we have here in Valencia; they come from all over the world. When collaborating, you sometimes have to adjust your tone a bit or think better about how you approach people. I’ve also learned things from living abroad. Especially in Spain, I immediately think of the amount of patience you need here! Oh and, I love the work-life balance here; there’s a whole life after your workday, at five o’clock in the evening. You go out, meet friends; the quality of life feels higher here.

I was looking for a job in Valencia because I believe your career is also very important. My motto is “work hard, play hard”. I want a good job, but also to enjoy life. When I came across Yobbers and saw that they offered many different positions in different companies and countries, I got excited. Yobbers has connected me with multiple companies I’ve worked for, so I would definitely recommend it to others. I’ve learned to work with people from all over the world, which has also helped me a lot in my international career.

To be honest, I also really enjoyed my life in the Netherlands. But I enjoy it more here and I wouldn’t want to go back right now. It’s much sunnier here, which gives me much more joy. I enjoy every moment: waking up on Sunday morning, the sun is already shining, it always feels like spring. After living here for five years, I can proudly say that I’ve bought my own apartment here. I never thought that would happen, I had imagined I would stay for a year, but not this long. It’s been a wonderful experience and I can’t wait for all the other memories I’ll make!

Want to know more about Yobbers’ services? Check out www.yobbers.nl