Spain Forum

Living in Barcelona’s El Raval

2013-05-19T12:36:24Z

Hi!

My wife and I are interested in renting a flat in El Raval…Carrer Santa Elena near the intersection of Sant Pau and Av. Paral-lel. We hear bad things about El Raval, however, we know that the entire El Raval neighborhood can’t be bad. Does anyone know about which parts of El Raval are more notorious than others? Are there any relatively safe parts of El Raval? Also, when people refer to the south part of El Raval, are they talking about the area south of La Rambla near Drassanes Metro station? Thanks!

Looking for a place to stay in Spain this summer, mid short term rental

2013-05-19T03:51:34Z

Hi I’m from Switzerland (33) and I would like to move to Spain for this summer together with my wife.
The place can be a villa, a bungalow, an apparment anywhere on the mainland of Spain or on Mallorca. I’ll provide a short list of what I want, so you dont waste your time unneccesarily.

These are the mandatory qualitities i’m looking for:
1. rental beginning in june or july ending in september/octobre (or as long the sea water is warm enough to go swimming) - it’s somewhat negotionable (the beginning aswell)
2. 1 Bedroom with 1 big bed is enough (it’s ok if there is another bedroom, it’s just that I don’t care - so it would be only a minor plus)
3. the rent should be between 300 to 750 CHF, that’s about 250 to 600 euros with no large additional costs.
4. it should be a quiet place. No permanent street noise or any other permanent noises (nomore than 60db). This is very important to me.
5. the place should either have internet access by itself or should be in an area covered by an internet mobile provider with a connection fast enough to make stable calls over IP (i need this for business, so that’s important aswell). An alternative would be a nice place not too far, which has solid internet access and where I could hang out all day long, if I have to work on some days (10-12days per month, mo - fr, from 8am to 17pm)
6. it should be close enough to the beach, so I can reach it by foot in no more than 30min walk.
7. it must be a clean place; i intend to leave it this way (f.e. no cockroaches, not meaning to be offensive - just saying) and the area has to be okay aswell

optional stuff I’m looking for
1. the closer to the sea, the better
2. airport reachable by bus or train - or if it’s reasonably close by taxi. Me and/or my wife have to fly within in Europe from time to time. And the possibility to reach the airport by bus or train, would make us more flexible (please include what options there are in your offer)
3. A pool would be plus, but only if it’s clean (else I don’t care)
4. a nice veranda and/or garden would be nice… (that’s rather important)
5. please point me to a video or pictures, so I can have a look at the object.
6. I would prefer a lonely neighbourhood. So a bungalow or villa would be better than an apartment - but this really depends on the overall picture.
7. a supermarket reachable by foot would be a plus.
8. a nice town with a nice harbor and restaurants would be a major plus.

PM me or post here. I will watch my PM’s and check this post for the next 2 weeks except if a find an object sooner of course. Please only PM me if you have a usefull tipp or have an object that meets all criteria of the mandatory list. Thanks for your time.

Non-Eu spouse Insurance?

2013-05-18T04:44:26Z

I have been granted an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate scholarship to Spain. I am a Pakistani Citizen and my wife is a US Citizen.

My visa (“visado de investigación para residencia temporal y trabajo para investigación” or “visado para residencia con exceptuación de permiso de trabajo”)

My wife will get “visado para residencia temporal” (visa for temporal residence) or a “visado de residencia no lucrativa” (non lucrative visa).

QUESTIONS

1. The EMJD award letter states “All PhD candidates signing an EMFC are automatically covered by the Spanish Social and Health System. The PhD candidates are also covered by an insurance scheme against risks related to accidents, death, permanent invalidity and civil responsibility according to the rules for researchers of the SETS consortium partners.” The EMJD specifically says that spouses and children are not covered by this insurance. As a temporary residence will my wife also be covered by the Spanish Social Health System?

2. We may have a child in the next year or two. Is childbirth and pregnancy covered by the Spanish Health Insurance? Who can I contact for details about the insurance?

Working in Spain on a research visa? What about my wife?

2013-05-18T04:30:11Z

I have been granted an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate scholarship to Spain. I am a Pakistani Citizen and my wife is a US Citizen.

My questions are:

1. On my visa (“visado de investigación para residencia temporal y trabajo para investigación” or “visado para residencia con exceptuación de permiso de trabajo”) am I allowed to work part-time (e.g. as a waiter, or some other job in addition to my PhD)?

2. My wife will get “visado para residencia temporal” (visa for temporal residence) or a “visado de residencia no lucrativa” (non lucrative visa). Is my wife allowed to work in Spain on this Visa?

In a bit of a mess

2013-05-15T13:08:21Z

Hi we relied upon a Spanish/UK agency on the Costa Blanca to find a villa with the villa being sounded out by Spain based family and friends. The Spanish contract was translated by the agent but not to a high standard and we now find that what we thought was going to be ‘in’ the villa is not going to be ‘in’ the villa. These are not minor omissions but deal with a/c and the number of units that sort of thing.

We are now going to give notice and will be out of here within two months.

Hence we are looking for a villa in or near Moraira or Javea have first class references etc etc. Has to have a garden will accept well behaved pets and a pool and full a/c please.

best wishes

I need some help from people living in Valencia, Almeria, Costa Blanca, Murcia, Costa Calida!

2012-04-26T18:06:33Z

We have always travelled in the Costa Del Sol, Cadiz and Costa Tropical and have been looking for Software jobs in those areas, however, we are now going to expand our search to all of these areas of which we do not know much about and so I want to start learning.
Therefore, can people that live in these areas please give me some names of nice towns to live in, preferably near the coast and within 40 mins of the nearest large city where such jobs may be found?

In the areas we have been to our favourite place to stay was always Nerja and so places that are similar to there would be a good start, i.e. not a huge town but one that has lots of bars, restaurants and shops, preferably a beach but that still has Spanish influence and hasn’t been ruined too much by british belly buster type places (i.e. stay well clear from Benidorm!!!)

I would really appreciate any ideas so that I can start looking into them and hopefully plan a place to go and stay on a holiday at so we can explore further.

Thanks.

Change a car’s registration plates from British to Spanish?

2013-04-04T19:12:06Z

I am enquiring on behalf of a British person who has a holiday home in mainland Spain. He has a British registered car which has been here well over the 30 or 60 days grace which allows residents to avoid import duty. He is not resident in Spain, spends less than 6 months a year here and has an NIE and presumably is on the “padron”. He wants to change the registration plates from British to Spanish. The car is normal model of Mazda, over 15 years old and of little second hand value (but runs well). I have looked at three or four other threads on this forum, but still feel a bit confused.

What we would like to know is
1) the stages you have to go through,
2) the order in which you have to do them and
3) what documentation he needs for each stage.

We are fairly clear on the technical side of the ITV (the headlights have already been changed round, for example).

We have another question. We have been asking various people how long a British car can stay in Spain before it needs to have its plates changed. And the answers we have got are:
a) if the car has been in Spain more than 6 months
b) if the owner has been in Spain more than 6 months
c) if the driver has been in Spain more than 6 months
d) if the car has been driven in Spain for more than 6 months

Does anyone know the correct answer? If you have a reference to the relevant BOE (Boletín Oficial del Estado) that would be great too. And does it make any difference if the car is kept off-road?

Thanks for any help you can give.

schools in spain

2013-05-07T19:12:10Z

Hi we are considering moving to Spain September 2014… I know its still along time away but I like to be prepared.
We want to open a bar/café/restaurant type business as we have a lot of experience in these fields. We also have two young children in September 2014 they will be just turned 4 and 6 at the end of September . which schools should I be looking at as school business and long term rental should be close, and we haven’t got a clue yet where we should be looking.

thank you in advance

Where to live in Madrid

2006-07-06T13:07:43Z

Hi folks,

My partner and I are moving to Madrid from Scotland at the start of August and we are a little unsure about where to rent an apartment. We are looking to rent a one bedroom apartment and we don’t want to spend more than E 750 per month. Is this viable? and if so what areas can anyone recomend. We have been looking on Idealista.com mostly and the areas that seem to stand out so far are Palacio and Embajadores? What are these areas like in terms of safety and social life etc?

One other thing I was quiet concerned about is our distinct lack of Spanish. Will this make finding an apartment very difficult? I have the basics but beyond that I am struggling. I apologise for the barrage of questions but any resposes would be greatly welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Moving to spain 3-6 months for Uk family permit reasons

2013-04-01T04:09:03Z

Hello

I am an english woman currently living in the Domincan Republic with my Dominican husband and our three small children.

I speak spanish very well and actually own my own business here in the DR, however as we have decided as a family to move back to the UK and as we are self employed here we can not apply for a spouse visa even though we earn three times the minimum income otherwise required.

So it has been sugessted we travel to an EU country first and Spain is the obvious choice as we are a spanish speaking family and I have to find work (even though financially we will not needed) so as we can then apply for a Family permit to move back to the UK.

As i have three small children and do not need to earn a particular amount, just be employed or self empoyed in Spain, I am looking for suggestions of work i can do that is part-time or on a self employed basis. We will be living off our salaries from the Dominican Republic. In a perfect world i would like a job where i could work from home, but I am open to sugestions and advice.

We have not decided on an area just yet, ideally Madrid would be perfect as being near the english consulate would be an advantage, however i realize the south and expat areas would offer me more perhaps.

I need advice on schools for my daughter who will be six in July, she is a spanish speaker, but understands english perfectly.

Advice on best areas to live with children for 3-6 months. Furnished rental properties etc.

Also perhaps advice from anyone in a similar situation to myself or someone who has done so I would really apreciate any comments.