Spain Forum

Anyone moved from Turkey to Spain?

2013-03-05T16:28:40+01:00

Hello all,

I am moving to Spain at some point and would like to get an idea how to move some personal items and small pieces of furniture and electrical goods. Does anyone know if it is possible to rent a van in Spain and take it to Turkey and back? Alternatively, does anyone know of a company who transports goods and could give me a rough estimate.
Thanks

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

2013-04-04T19:12:06+01:00

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

2013-05-07T19:12:10+01:00

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

Retirement and Spain

2013-04-21T00:11:49+01:00

Hi people,

I am a British citizen currently working but planning to retire one day and to enjoy my time abroad in a sunny and lovely place like Spain! I also have an older brother who’s planning to do that even sooner, that’s why it would be great to hear some thoughts from people who have had or have heard of a similar experience of retiring and moving to Spain.

I find it fascinating how many of us decide to stay there, and I can find some pragmatic factors behind the decision that might be crucial personally to me. But what were the most important moments about Spain that influenced you to move once? Are they so distinctive if we’re talking specifically about being a !British retired! expatriate, or there’re points that are unique in its attractiveness?

P.S.: If you know any particular communities or resources that are dedicated to retired UK expats in Spain: please share them with me!

Thanks,
James

Moving to Spain for one year

2013-03-22T02:14:23+01:00

Hi all,

My boyfriend and I are Canadians who are planning to move to Valencia, Spain for one year at the start of 2014. He speaks Spanish fluently and will be working remotley, while I will be learning Spanish and not working. I have a Polish passport and he will be getting a resident Visa. Our goal is to immerse ourselves in the culture, use Spain as a base to travel around Europe and for me to learn Spanish. We have sufficient savings to live for one year.

I have a few questions regarding the move:

What is the best way to find an apartment? When we get to the city or look online?

Can we buy health insurance in Spain, or should that be pre-purchased at home prior to departure?

Also, when it comes to banks, even though we are staying for one year, should we still set up a bank account in Spain? Is it possible to use travelers cheques instead, or is this not recommended? Basically what is the best way to access and maintain a bank account if we are only there for one year?

Any other tips or advice about moving to Spain or Valencia specifically would be greatly appreciated:)

Thank you

SMART PASSION

2013-03-10T19:51:11+01:00

I am selling my 2001 LHD silver Smart Passion (the top of the range model) which I have had since 2005 as the second owner. It has only done 48000 miles. I have all MOTs and FSH to back up mileage, all the paperwork, both keys, handbook and service book with receipts. It has always been garaged and serviced every year regardless of mileage. I have just had it serviced and MOT’d so you have almost another year before it is due again. Road tax is only £30 for the year and not due until December 2013. The gearbox is fully automatic at the touch of a button or semi-automatic tiptronic mode which I personally prefer. Non-smoker owner.
It has alloy wheels that look fantastic, remote central locking, front and rear fog lights, heated rear screen, rear screen wash/wiper, slightly tinted windows, electric windows, glass panoramic sun roof, air conditioning, a detachable Kenwood radio/CD player that replaced the original cassette player.
It is super clean inside and out and it has never let me down. To tell you how reliable it is and how confident I am in this car, I have been all the way down to Southern Spain 4 times with it and it runs like clockwork, does not need any oil between services whatsoever and averages 63.5 mpg and as much as 73.5 mpg. A lot of them out there have double the mileage so no doubt these are reliable little cars. It is LHD so perfect for driving in Spain but really it makes no difference as it is such a small car that goes through gaps you didn’t even know existed. It would be a cheap car to leave in Spain for when you visit. Economical to run and insure. Contact me to view the car or if you have any questions. £2195 ONO. Surrey, England.

See link below for more pics:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/smart-passion-silver-2001-lhd-low-mileage/1011226963

Moving from Canada to Spain this year

2013-03-13T18:01:15+01:00

Moving to Spain any helpful advice
I am from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. My husband (Peter) and I are planning to more to Spain in the near future. Peter is from the UK and his parents retired to Spain 33 years ago. We feel that since they are aging, that we should go to be near them. To help out and spend as much time as we can with them. We have our house here in Ottawa up for sale and plan on moving when it sells.
I am now looking at what we need to prepare for our move. We already have a place to live in Spain. When my husbands parents moved there the purchased two homes. I have already have my Canadian papers in order and have had them stamped here in Canada at DFAIT and at the Spanish Embassy. Then the documents were translated from English to Spanish by an approved Spanish lawyer. My husband is an EU citizen, has his passport and he also has been paying voluntary contributions to the UK state pension.
I am looking for information with regards to health insurance, and any other helpful advice from anyone who has gone though the process of moving to Spain, and how you found the experience.

Register help

2013-03-12T11:56:26+01:00

Hi My Wife and I intend to stay in Spain between six and ten months of the year.
I appreciate that either my car plates have to be registered, or buy a Spanish car. The latter would be best.
Because I am not resident and do not want to be at the moment, I have heard that I must register on the padron to be legal. I was also led to believe that after six months in this Country I was breaking the law driving on my EU licence. I was told that I would have to get a Spanish licence from trafico dept at la linea which would cost about 25 euros. But I could keep my uk licence for when in UK. Also I would not have to surrender my EU licence in which I would not, and to get the Spanish licence I would need no medical etc . It would involve filling a form in and paying the money end of
So if I was stopped by Guardia civil I would comply with the law.
Thank you in advance for any comments

European-Canadians considering moving to Spain - need some info

2013-02-18T00:38:15+01:00

Dear members,

We are really happy to have found this forum, and hope that we’ll get some answers to our questions.

About us: mid-to-late 30s, Caucasians, no kids, no pets. Professions: IT (design, management, infrastructure, support engineer, experienced in consulting, languages: English, German, French, and Spanish comprehension, and over 10yrs experience in working in high-profile companies and government in both Europe as well as North-America) and teacher (mostly primary education, and focusing on French, also know English, and passable Spanish - currently employed in the public system - highest standard over here at least).

We are actually having pretty good jobs here in Canada, and are naturalized citizens, but are both born in the EU, and maintain dual citizenship, so at least from that point of view it would be very simple to settle in Spain.

Why we consider the move? We moved once, ten years ago, and now feel it’s time for yet another change. Without badmouthing Canada, we’re a little tired of the crappy food, bad weather, very expensive housing (yes in reach, but still out of proportion compared to other countries with similar incomes), far from our typical destinations (we like to travel, and also love driving and road trips - but here most of the travelling happens by plane).

So long story short, we think that we can learn the language and be functional within approximately one year tops, and are flexible in terms of employment, i.e. we consider accepting more junior positions in our respective fields.

The plan is to buy some property (prices seem reasonable now) in Barcelona.

What we’d like to know:

1. if we’d pay no mortgage or rent, approximately what’s the monthly cost of living? We are non-smokers, eat out maybe once/week, aren’t very picky when it comes to cars, and in general are quite frugal.

2. how is the medical care in Spain compared to, let’s say, other European Countries? And how can we get the services? Is there a waiting period?

3. if applying for IT/teacher jobs in Spain, do we have to speak Spanish at an interview? Are there job opportunities that only require English/German/French?

4. while we’ve looked at job sites, we’d like to know what a “pretty good” income is. What can we expect, as newcomers? In Canada for instance, a typical newcomer is paid about 66% of what he will earn doing the very same thing in 2-5 years after arrival, after gaining what they call “Canadian experience”.

OK, we hope we’ll get some answer. It would be also lovely if we would hear from somebody in an as-similar-as-possible situation (Canadian expats, European-born how have spent some time in North-America, etc.).

Thank you all, and all the best!
Los Mascos

Moving to Spain in 2013 and in need of some advice

2013-02-13T21:38:11+01:00

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to move to northern Spain later on this year to teach English (am now nearing the end of my TEFL qualification) and have some questions for anyone out there who may be able and happy to offer any advice

I’m not sure if there are any expats on here who are currently teaching in Spain or have taught in the past, but, albeit I am very enthusiastic about the idea and am definitely set on doing it, I am really concerned about the summer period as I am aware that everything shuts down and teachers are basically unemployed during these months. I am 32 years old, single, and I have 2 cats whom I am hoping to take with me. I’m certainly past my party days and am set for working hard, living on a budget and I plan to lead a reasonably quiet life, won’t be out partying every night or anything.

I’m interested to learn, therefore, how people get by in Spain during the summer and what options there are for work during that time? I’m aware that many teachers return home to work in summer camps but this won’t be an option for me if I have animals. Furthermore in a way it seems silly to return home for the summer as surely it will be the most fun period in a foreign country. I’m not viewing this as a chance to travel I’m viewing it as a long term move so wouldn’t want to have to switch countries every summer. I’ve discovered there is an option to do a PGCE in Spain and so once I’m established within the TEFL world I would like to get this qualification with a view to eventually teaching in an international school in Spain, not sure if this would solve the no pay in the summer issue?

Finally I’m interested to hear from anyone who has taken their pets to Spain or has pets in Spain, and would like to know how they have responded to the change, whether Spain is a good environment for them, safe etc, how easy (or not) it is to rent properties with them and how good veterinary care is, and how it compares to the UK in terms of quality and price.
If anyone is willing to share some advice on any of the above I would be most grateful!

Thank you!

Sophie