A couple have claimed their experience of appearing on A Place in the Sun “screwed everything up” after they unexpectedly bought a house in Spain. Expats Neil and his wife Sarah say their appearance on the Channel 4 show in November 2023 ultimately derailed their long-held dream of travelling the world, prompting them to sell the property and change course entirely. Speaking on their YouTube channel, 2GoRoam Travels, Neil said: “We didn’t plan to buy a house in Spain. Sarah and I sold everything we owned five years ago to retire early and travel the world full-time.”
For half a decade, the couple embraced a nomadic lifestyle, moving between continents and countries. “In those first five years, we went to multiple countries on all kinds of continents across this wonderful globe of ours,” Neil said. “We had a fantastic time.” Their appearance on A Place in the Sun came almost by chance after Neil spotted the show’s production team carrying out screen tests at an event. “I said to Sarah, ‘Hey, do you want to go on A Place in the Sun?’” he recalled. Her response was immediate: “‘No, because we don’t want to buy a house.’”
Neil persuaded her it would simply be an interesting experience. “I said, ‘We don’t want to buy a house, but it’d be quite cool to do some TV stuff and see how TV’s made.’”
Before filming, Neil was adamant they would not buy. “I said to Sarah, ‘Do not under any circumstances look too interested in any of the properties.’” He admits he deliberately appeared detached during the early viewings.
That changed when the couple flew over to Spain and saw the third property in the village of Rojales. “When you see that opening moment on TV, I am having kittens,” Neil said. “I’m thinking, ‘If this is on budget, how can you say you don’t like it? It’s perfect.’”
Against their expectations, the couple made an offer and bought the house. But the reality of property ownership soon conflicted with the lifestyle they loved. “Buying a house in Spain kind of ruined our dreams,” Neil said. “It ruined everything for us, because Sarah and I love travel.”
As a UK passport holder, Neil was also restricted by Schengen travel limits, while the couple still owned a motorhome intended for long trips across Europe alongside journeys to Asia and the Americas.
On the day they paid the reservation fee, the issue became clear. “We ordered a bottle of cava and I said to Sarah, ‘We’ve got a problem.’ We owned a house we could only spend six months in and a motorhome we bought to travel Europe.”
After choosing to prioritise time in Spain, they sold the motorhome and Neil successfully applied for an Irish passport through his grandmother, allowing longer stays in Europe. However, the deeper conflict remained.
Months later, while watching travel videos, the reality hit home. “Sarah said, ‘I wish we were in Vietnam,’” Neil recalled. “You can’t do all three.”
Maintaining a house, a motorhome and travelling globally no longer made sense. “It’s not financially savvy,” Neil said. “When we travel further afield, they’re just sitting there gathering dust.”
The couple ultimately sold the house. “We’ve sold our house in Spain,” Neil confirmed.
Now, they are returning to full-time travel, with plans to spend five months in Asia, including Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, with China also under consideration.
Despite everything, Neil says he is grateful for the experience. “We are so thankful for A Place in the Sun, because actually we’ve realised it saved us from ourselves.”
Looking ahead, the decision is firm. “We’ve reset the clock,” he said. “We’re travelling the world for the next 10 years. We won’t buy another property for at least a decade.”
His final reflection is simple: “You can have a lot of things in life, but you can’t have everything.”
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