I am new in this forum.

We have an apartment in a rural village near Alicante, 10 minute from the beaches of Guardamar.

After owning our apartment for a few years, we are thinking of buying the corresponding garage space in the basement from the builders.

Does anyone know whether this would merely involve a simple transfer of funds and release of deeds, or would solicitors be needed in order to re-draft our existing deed of the apartment to include the garage space?

I would appreciate any advice, especially from those who have been through this process.

Thanks.

a one bedroom retirement apartment with english speaking people not just the 55 to 65’s but with older community, warden on site and even a nurse available, near to a hospital, near to shops, near to the coast, starting point Malaga and looking either side other there?

Really don’t know where to start looking but it’s for my dad aged 78 and wanting to move from Estepa a small spanish village to somewhere with many more english speaking people, he must have a warden on site for help if needed and near to a hospital/doctors and a bit more warmer climate, he is a recluse so it’s not so much about the lifestyle but the area to be near more english speaking people.

Any help would be great or names of reputable estate agents.

Thanks
Ruth

I was wondering if anyone had any insight on racism in Southern Spain? I am a black-american very much interested in traveling to Spain in the summer for 1-2 months. My friend who will be going also plans to stay for about 3 months. My friend is half black and in Spain would probably pass as Moroccan. I am visibly much darker. I’m not new to traveling, lived in Buenos Aires for a bit and loved it and Brazil.

My question is how would black/mixed people be accepted in the smaller cities of southern spain?? Maybe I should be more specific. I have no problem with people staring or gawking—what concerns me is the more insidious side of racism (that I’ve unfortunately experienced in other countries), ie being denied entrance to certain bars/clubs etc, based on the color of my skin. People warned me of racism in Buenos Aires, but the racism is targeted at immigrants that look stereotypically Bolivian/paraguayan or “brown”. Since there were so few blacks, I never had any issue—it was more that I was “exotic”.

So I’m wondering has any person of color experienced anything negative or racist in Cadiz/Granada/Seville?? I’m especially attracted to Cadiz and Granada but concerned with it being a smaller city and less exposure to different people.

2nd part of the question. Is Southern Spain considerably cheaper than Barcelona and Madrid?

Insight much appreciated!

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!

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?

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.

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.