Relocation to Spain Experience
- Thread starter Martynt74
- Start date
Man of Honour
Good luck! A move like this takes big cojones. Fair play.
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Soldato
Sounds like everything is going well, good luck with it!
I've done something similar myself, albeit in Mexico, so let me know if you need any help. It's worth remembering that Starlink internet is really very good nowadays, so you can potentially get a good deal on a place that's a bit out in the middle of nowhere because it has poor / non existent internet, and just pay for Starlink which will be all you'll ever need. That's what we did with our place, and within a couple of years the municipality installed fibre optic internet anyway.
I'd definitely try to find a place with a pool - the maintenance really isn't bad at all provided you have a good base to start off with. The horror stories generally come from people who've bought a place with a pool that's already in a state of disrepair, and in that case it can certainly get expensive very quickly.
I've done something similar myself, albeit in Mexico, so let me know if you need any help. It's worth remembering that Starlink internet is really very good nowadays, so you can potentially get a good deal on a place that's a bit out in the middle of nowhere because it has poor / non existent internet, and just pay for Starlink which will be all you'll ever need. That's what we did with our place, and within a couple of years the municipality installed fibre optic internet anyway.
I'd definitely try to find a place with a pool - the maintenance really isn't bad at all provided you have a good base to start off with. The horror stories generally come from people who've bought a place with a pool that's already in a state of disrepair, and in that case it can certainly get expensive very quickly.
Interesting read, my parents lived in Jávea and Denia for almost a decade until recently so I naturally spent a lot of time over there visiting and working remotely and intend to move to Spain one day aswell
My dad is Spanish so working on the passport at the moment since I never did it as a youth (or felt the need until Brexit)
My dad is Spanish so working on the passport at the moment since I never did it as a youth (or felt the need until Brexit)
Soldato
- Joined
- 16 Aug 2009
- Posts
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Including O Bama, clearly irish heritage shining through lol
Yeah it can be a minefield and you need a very good lawyer together with a professional translator to deal with the legal stuff do NOT just assume everything will be ok at least thats my fathers experience. Be particularly careful with things like tax and inheritence you can get clobbered if you don't keep up with legal niceties which can be obscure
I've got better at taking photos, especially as i'm doing more DIY so it's nice to make a record. This thread will be great for looking back on too.
Food wise, i can't say there's anything i'll miss. Decent beer is the main one. I've found one brewery in Altea (Althaia) which is on the way to my parents, but you're talking ~$6/can. Being able to buy a really decent IPA in Tesco for £3-£4 is something i'll really miss. I've tried home brewing and had a terrible success rate. Might consider one of those "smart" brewers that take the effort out of it. Expensive outlay at £2k but could be worth it in the long run.
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Yeah, i've followed your story in motors and with the whole house build process and enjoyed it. Part of the reason to start this thread. Starlink is ~€80/mth which is reasonable. However my wife wants to be within 2-3km of a town centre so a lot of places already have very decent fibre.
Pool is an essential, or at least cheap enough to add a pool.
Awesome, well any help i can give let me know. I saw a brilliant house in Jesus Pobre, it's a smaller plot that i'd have liked, but i love the town and it's right under the Montgo so some brilliant running. Just not sure what sun exposure would be like or if it's shaded a lot.
Yeah, inheritance is a ***** (female dog). My parents are Spanish resident, so it'd be nice to think that with me also being spanish resident the tax would be lessened. In theory i could have their Spanish assets and my Sister their UK assets and minimise taxes, however i have a real belief in "it is what it is". If either me/my sister or our kids pay a lot of taxes due to my parents/our life decisions then so be it.
I've had to have a conversation a few times with my sister to temper her expectations, as i think she has some belief that our parents die and she's on easy street. (They're reasonably well off, with maybe assets around £1m now, but once taxes take their bit, and they continue spending as they are and their assets are split between me/my sister it's "only" a couple hundred grand each. Whereas i think she thinks she's have enough to live on each!)
Man of Honour
Nah it's lovely!
@Martynt74 thanks for sharing! And good for you!
I need to sort that out myself. We all have European passports so Europe is an easy move for us... just need to convince the wife and the kids!
Definitely want to go back to sunnier lifestyle.
Out of office is on. **** gets real!
Soldato
Good luck!
Van packed. No space for the bikes which isn’t ideal but they’re too awkward so fitting them in would involve leaving too much other stuff.
I’m also not going to unpack and repack this lot!
Literally barely an inch and of spare space with a few bags left to go
I’m also not going to unpack and repack this lot!
Literally barely an inch and of spare space with a few bags left to go
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Awesome. We never were a big fan of Oliva for some reason. The beach is good though.
Nah. This this is full to the brim and the suspension has barely moved.
Yeah dog is on the front bench with us.
Whoop. The completion for the house went through smoothly yesterday so we’re now homeless.
We got to my in laws. Only for my wife to decide she wanted something out of the suitcase in the van. So that’s ruined things a bit.
I found a guy in Manchester selling a van bike rack. It’s for a Fiat Ducato but he was ok with me testing it on my van prior to purchase.
Traffic was awful and took over an hour of stop start motorways. It didn’t fit but after some umming and arring the guy said if I wanted it for £60 I could take it and see if I could get it to work.
Given these things usually go for £100+ I figured it was worth a punt.
This morning has been spent swearing excessively but I’ve got it fitted. I had intended to drill the rear doors and bolt some brackets, but have ended up using ratchet straps.
Had left my wife’s bike in the shed and the old house so went and picked that up and it made it home perfectly fine.
The door doesn’t quite shut properly. Could just be that I’ve bent it at the top from over tightening the straps and I have to really slam it shut or the straps get in the way.
Let all your prayers be with me!
We got to my in laws. Only for my wife to decide she wanted something out of the suitcase in the van. So that’s ruined things a bit.
I found a guy in Manchester selling a van bike rack. It’s for a Fiat Ducato but he was ok with me testing it on my van prior to purchase.
Traffic was awful and took over an hour of stop start motorways. It didn’t fit but after some umming and arring the guy said if I wanted it for £60 I could take it and see if I could get it to work.
Given these things usually go for £100+ I figured it was worth a punt.
This morning has been spent swearing excessively but I’ve got it fitted. I had intended to drill the rear doors and bolt some brackets, but have ended up using ratchet straps.
Had left my wife’s bike in the shed and the old house so went and picked that up and it made it home perfectly fine.
The door doesn’t quite shut properly. Could just be that I’ve bent it at the top from over tightening the straps and I have to really slam it shut or the straps get in the way.
Let all your prayers be with me!
Soldato
Sounds like you have successfully unlocked ***** achievement level 3
1) No fixed abode
2) Knackered old white van
3) Ratchet straps and a door that doesn't shut properly
Good luck
Edit, seems the pike fish sounding type traveller term is banned
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Haha sure sounds like it. Maybe I just need to push for level 4 and withdraw the money from the bank and stash it in a duffel bag?
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Food wise, i can't say there's anything i'll miss. Decent beer is the main one. I've found one brewery in Altea (Althaia) which is on the way to my parents, but you're talking ~$6/can. Being able to buy a really decent IPA in Tesco for £3-£4 is something i'll really miss. I've tried home brewing and had a terrible success rate. Might consider one of those "smart" brewers that take the effort out of it. Expensive outlay at £2k but could be worth it in the long run.
MiniBrew - The Easiest & Smartest Beer Brewing Machine, brew any beer!
MiniBrew is the only fully automatic beer brewing machine on this planet. Easy & smart to brew any craft beer in the world at home.
You can get some really good homebrew kits these days. For example during lockdown I made the Youngs American IPA 40 pint Beer Kit 6.5% and the resulting beer was excellent. Just make sure that you follow the instructions and don't rush it (can take a while to finish fermenting) and you will be rewarded with great beer at well under £1 per pint.
Soldato
ALDI are in Spain at a couple of places. They do a nice IPA for £1.39, 500ml. I don't know if they sell the same over there but it could be worth some research, a road trip and a boot full on return.
Soldato
Damnit, sorry mate, somehow I missed this offer!@AndyCr15 Fancy lending me some cash and you can have a holiday residence in the guest house whenever you wantBe great for cycling and learning the language.
Four bedroom luxury villa with two bedroom casita and swimming pool
We are delighted to present this epitome of luxury living in this stunning villa in a tranquil location,with scenic views over the surrounding countryside. Only a short drive to the prosperous town of Pinoso where you will find all the amenities you need. This villa has a large build size of...www.jewelsestateagents.com
Somehow I didn't even know about this thread?! (I've now read all of page 1, but succumbed to skimming pages 2 and 3!)Buena suerte, mi amigo!
I think it could be dangerous if I had a Spanish holiday residence, with a bike there. Flights are so cheap... how long can you spend in Spain for 'holidays' in a year?
Damnit, sorry mate, somehow I missed this offer!
Buena suerte, mi amigo!
I think it could be dangerous if I had a Spanish holiday residence, with a bike there. Flights are so cheap... how long can you spend in Spain for 'holidays' in a year?
How could you miss it? I even tagged you man!
You’d be good 180 days. It’s 90 days out of any rolling 180 days. So would be 3 months at a time each country.
Can confirm we’re on the Ferry now. Got a bit nervy when we got just behind a crash on the M6. Annoying it was half a mile after the junction for the M6 Toll and I’ve spent 10 minutes debating which to choose. I usually always use the toll but avoided it this time.
Then got delayed for an hour and was very close to missing it!
90mph in a fully loaded transit is a scary experience.