The Move to Cantabria Podcast

Welcome to the The Move to Cantabria Podcast where celebrates life in Cantabria. 

I’m Grace, I moved here with my family five years ago and in a way this podcast is something I would have benefited from greatly as a newcomer. 

It is an honour for me to curate these conversations with wonderful guests, and to help you understand Cantabrian culture — making it easier to integrate into your new community.

In each episode, we’ll explore what makes this region so special — from local traditions and lifestyle, to practical topics like housing, schools, healthcare, and community life. While also giving you the tools, support, and confidence to move here and make a home with ease.

So whether you’re planning your move or already here, I hope this podcast helps you feel more connected, confident, and inspired about living here. 

Subscribe to The Move to Cantabria Podcast, let’s celebrate life in this beautiful part of Northern Spain together.

Cantabria’s Celtic Soul — with Pablo from Cahornega

In this episode of The Move to Cantabria Podcast, Grace speaks with Pablo — surfer, musician, and member of the Cantabrian folk group Cahornega — about Cantabria’s Celtic roots and the deep connection between music, nature, and identity.

Through stories of land, ocean, and tradition, this conversation explores what makes Cantabria feel closer to Ireland or Brittany than southern Spain — and why culture here is something lived, not performed.

  • Cantabria’s Celtic heritage and cultural identity

  • Music as a living expression of place

  • The role of nature in daily life

  • Keeping tradition alive for future generations

Take a deeper dive in our article on this podcast here.

Raising Healthy Children in Cantabria: A Paediatrician’s Perspective on Public Healthcare

Guest: Blanca Hernández Macho, Médico Pediatra

What is public healthcare in Cantabria really like for families?

If you’re moving to Spain with children, healthcare is often one of the biggest concerns. In this episode of The Move to Cantabria Podcast – Celebrating Life in Cantabria, we speak with a public-sector paediatrician Blanca who relocated from Madrid and is now raising her own two children in Northern Spain.

We explore how public healthcare in Cantabria works for children, including:

• How local health centres (centros de salud) operate
• Why children are assigned a paediatrician rather than a GP
• How to book appointments (online, by phone, or in person)
• What happens when specialist care is needed
• The role of Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla in Santander
• The realities, strengths, and limitations of the public system
• Whether families combine public and private healthcare

This conversation offers both professional insight and lived experience — from someone who works within the system and trusts it enough to raise her own family here.

Take a deeper dive in our podcast on this article here.

How Spanish Taxes Work — And Why Location Matters

Guest: Carlos Lorzeno, American & Legal Spain

When people dream about moving to Northern Spain, they picture the coastline, the slower pace of life, and a strong sense of community. What they don’t always realise… is that where you choose to live in Spain can significantly shape your tax situation.

In this episode of The Move to Cantabria Podcast, I’m joined by Spanish tax specialist Carlos Lorenzo, founder of American & Legal Spain, to break down how the Spanish tax system really works — and why location matters more than most people expect.

We explore what it means to become a Spanish tax resident, the key taxes expats need to understand, and how different regions — including Cantabria, Madrid and Andalucía — apply different approaches when it comes to wealth tax, inheritance tax, and more.

We also unpack common misconceptions, the role of the Beckham Law, and the biggest mistakes people make when they relocate without proper planning.

This is a practical, honest conversation designed to help you make informed decisions — so you can focus on building a life here, not navigating unexpected surprises later.

If you’re considering a move to Cantabria, or anywhere in Spain, this episode will give you a clearer understanding of the financial side of relocation — and why it deserves your attention from the very beginning.

🎙️ In this episode, we cover:

  • What makes you a Spanish tax resident

  • The main taxes expats need to understand

  • Why Spain is not one single tax system

  • How regions like Cantabria, Madrid and Andalucía differ

  • Wealth tax explained simply

  • The Beckham Law and who it applies to

  • The most common tax mistakes expats make

🎧 A final thought:


Spain isn’t one tax system — it’s 17 different approaches under one flag. And where you land shapes more than your lifestyle… it shapes your financial life too.

Take a deeper dive in our article on this episode here.

Spanish Taxes in Cantabria

Understanding the Education System in Cantabria, Spain

Guest: Julie McNamara, Mother, teacher and expat 20+ years

Understanding the education system in Spain can feel overwhelming — especially if you’re relocating from abroad.

In this episode of the Move to Cantabria podcast, we sit down with Julie — a teacher, mum of three, and expat of 20+ years — to break it all down in a clear, honest and practical way.

We cover everything you need to know to get started:
✔️ Infantil, Primaria & Secondary explained
✔️ Public vs Concertado vs Private schools
✔️ How the curriculum and assessments work
✔️ What happens after age 16
✔️ Religion in schools — and your options as a family

Part 1 of a two-part series designed to help families feel more confident navigating education in Cantabria.

Part 2, we’ll dive into daily school life, routines, integration and what it really feels like for children and parents.

If you’re planning a move to Northern Spain, this is essential listening.

🔔 Subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss the next episode.

Need Help Choosing a School?

We support families through the entire process — from understanding options to finding the right school and settling in.

Because this isn’t just about education — it’s about building your life here. Find out more here.

What makes food in Cantabria so special?

In this episode of the Move to Cantabria Podcast, we sit down with Santander-born restaurateur Carlos Zamora to explore the values, traditions and people behind Cantabrian food culture.

Carlos has spent almost two decades shaping Santander's restaurant scene, beginning with the creation of Deluz in his grandparents' home in Sardinero and later developing a collection of restaurants and cafés built around sustainability, social impact and local sourcing.

We discuss what visitors and new residents can expect from restaurant culture in Cantabria, why relationships with local farmers and producers matter, and how food reflects the region's identity and way of life.

Whether you're planning a visit, considering a move, or simply curious about Northern Spain, this conversation offers a fascinating introduction to one of Cantabria's greatest treasures: its food.

In this episode:

• Carlos Zamora's journey as a restaurateur

• The story behind Deluz and his restaurant group

• Farm-to-table in Cantabria before it became fashionable

• Supporting local farmers and producers

• What makes Santander's restaurant scene unique

• Dining customs and food culture in Northern Spain

• Why food is such an important part of life in Cantabria

Learn more about life in Northern Spain at Move to Cantabria.

The History of Seafood in Cantabria & the Origin of Rabas with Carlos Zamora

Before tourism, before Michelin stars, there was the sea.

In this episode of the Move to Cantabria Podcast, Santander-born restaurateur Carlos Zamora explores the deep connection between Cantabria and the Cantabrian Sea, and how centuries of fishing shaped the region's identity, traditions and cuisine.

From the ports of Santander, Santoña, Castro Urdiales and Laredo to the famous anchovies of Santoña, we discover how generations of fishermen, preservation methods and coastal communities created a food culture that remains central to life in Northern Spain today.

And of course, we dive into one of Cantabria's most iconic foods: rabas. More than simply fried squid, rabas are part of the rhythm of life in Santander. Why are they traditionally eaten at aperitivo time? What makes the perfect raba? And how did they become synonymous with Sunday mornings and terrace culture?

In this episode:

  • The history of fishing in Cantabria

  • How coastal towns were shaped by the sea

  • The story behind Santoña anchovies

  • Differences between coastal and mountain communities

  • The origin and traditions surrounding rabas

  • Why Sundays in Santander are incomplete without a plate of rabas

A conversation about food, history and why the sea remains at the heart of Cantabrian life.

Cantabrian Food, Part 3: Valleys, Traditions, and the Local Table, with Carlos Zamora

Food is one of the first things newcomers notice when they relocate to a new region, and one of the last things they truly understand.

In this episode, we sit down with Carlos Zamora for the first in a series of conversations exploring the food culture of Cantabria. We talk about why the region's cuisine varies so dramatically from valley to valley, shaped by geography, altitude, and history.

Carlos explains how mountain communities historically relied on beans, cheese, and pork, while coastal families built their meals around fresh fish, and how areas like Liébana developed their own traditions through closer historical ties to Castilla than to the rest of Cantabria.

We also cover:

  • Why cocido montañés reflects the practical, energy-dense diet of mountain farming families

  • The surprising history behind sobao, and how the recipe has changed since the 1930s

  • Why homegrown vegetable gardens matter more in Cantabria than ornamental ones

  • How to navigate a local fish market like Mercado de la Esperanza, and why buying what's in season is the best strategy

  • Why learning to shop for meat and fish in Spanish is a milestone in feeling at home

  • This conversation is a reminder that understanding a region's food isn't just about eating well.

It's about understanding the land, the history, and the people behind it.

Coffee Culture in Cantabria: It's Not Really About the Coffee, with Carlos Zamora


Coffee in Cantabria is never just a drink — it's a ritual that punctuates the entire day. In this episode, Carla sits down with Carlos to unpack the deep social role coffee plays in daily Cantabrian life, from the first cup at home to the after-dinner coffee that closes the day.

They cover:

  • Why coffee happens multiple times a day, each with its own social meaning

  • The mid-morning coffee break with toast and tomato, and the after-lunch ritual before the afternoon workday begins

  • How bar regulars form real community — same people, same time, same conversations about weather, wind, and local news

  • The regional coffee vocabulary unique to Santander, including the elusive mediano

  • Why takeaway coffee culture is only just arriving in Cantabria

  • The history of Café Angélica, a historic herb and spice shop turned specialty coffee roaster, and how its 1947 name and logo were preserved

  • Small-batch roasting, sourcing beans from eight countries, and the difference between Arabica and Robusta

  • Why most Spanish decaf is chemical-processed, and how Angélica does it differently

  • Santander's growing reputation in the specialty coffee scene

Whether you're newly arrived in Cantabria or just curious about the culture behind the cup, this episode is a window into one of the region's most enduring daily traditions.

Two Arrivals: Mardi's Journey from Zaragoza to Cantabria

Integration Stories is a series from the Move to Cantabria Podcast featuring honest conversations with people who've built a life here, in their own words.

Every journey looks different — this is one of them. Mardi Lucich moved to Spain twice — once in her twenties as a newly transplanted expat, and again a decade later as a mother relocating her family to Cantabria.

In this episode, she talks with Grace about what it's like to lose your professional identity when you can't speak the language, how learning Spanish became a way of reconnecting with her Puerto Rican roots, and the small daily rituals — a local shop, a school, a familiar face — that quietly signal you've integrated.

The conversation also traces Mardi's reinvention into founder of The 3rd P, a consultancy she built to help women navigate perimenopause, particularly those facing it while also adjusting to a new country and healthcare system.

Take a deeper dive in our article on this episode here.