Hi, new to the forum, first post!

My wife and I would like to move to Granada, Spain for 6 months. I am going to ask two questions about that, but first my details:

- I’m American but live in the UK on a student dependant VISA (my wife has the student VISA).
- I speak good Spanish, having previously lived in Granada for 2 years, as a student, and having learned it since age 8.
- I know nothing about the logistics of VISAs and paperwork and such. When I went to Spain as a student, my University handled everything; I just showed up with a passport.
- I have my own business, based in the US, which I can run from any laptop with an internet connection.
- I also have an HSBC UK bank account that will let me use ATMs in Spain without penalty. I also have credit cards, in terms of paying expenses… so I don’t see that I’d need a bank account in Spain.

All of the above pretty much applies to my wife, though her Spanish isn’t as good as mine.

If I show up with cash in hand for 6 months rent, do you think a landlord would rent to me? Could I therefore just skip the whole paperwork/bank account routine?

If I was able to secure an apartment this way, is there anything else I’d need to worry about in terms of avoiding paperwork?

Thanks!

David

Hi David,

Now I could be totally wrong here so place no absolute trust in my observations…

I think that your visit to Spain on your existing paperwork and Visas is entirely dependent upon whether your wife’s visa has a Shengen extension. The UK is not a signatory to the Shengen agreement, so my gut feeling is that her Visa (and by extension yours) will have no validity for gaining admittance to Spain or any other Shengen signatory country.

I think in the first instance you need to establish the validity of your Visas… I would suggest that a visit to the Spanish Embassy in London. If it transpires that your existing visas are not valid for Spain, you will need to get the ball rolling PDQ…

http://www.maec.es/subwebs/Consulados/Londres/en/home/Paginas/home_cglondres.aspx

See particularly this sub-page regarding Visas…

http://www.maec.es/subwebs/Consulados/Londres/en/MenuPpal/Servicios/Visados/Paginas/visaappointment_services.aspx

Obtaining accommodation by putting up 6 months rental in advance, particularly in cash shouldn’t pose any problems at all… but… you might well need a document called an NIE (Numero Identificacion Extranjero)... you can apply for this once you here or in advance via the Spanish Embassy. This document is a pre-requisite for a lot of contractual agreements such as phone / internet and for the purchase of a car should you decide to buy one.

Talking of which… Depending on what part of the USA you are from your US Drivers Licence may not be valid in Spain…

Again the Spanish Embassy should be your first port of call.

One minor annoyance too is that their are no direct flights from the UK to Granada; two options UK airport -Madrid -Granada or UK Airport - Malaga then coach connection to Granada city (2 coaches per day). There is no direct rail link Malaga - Granada; the AVE link is a long way from complete…

Hope some of this helps but as I said you need to talk to the Embassy.

fb

Hi foxbat,

Very helpful information, thanks. I’ll definitely go to the Spanish embassy and see about getting us NIEs and inquire as to our Visas. On reflection, I’m sure it’s wise to err on the side of getting as much official documentation as possible. 

By the way, I’m going a kind of scouting mission next week—going to stay in La Herradura and Granada and catch the Fiesta de Nuestra Senora de las Angustias. I got a flight from Heathrow to Madrid and then to Granada. I booked an apartment stay through airbnb.com and the owner has already told me I could rent it for much longer - has an internet connection too…

I’ll let the thread know what I find out in case other are looking for similar short term living solutions.

Thanks again

Rowan, David…

Hi again, pleased to hear that youre planning a scouting trip… one thing we have learned is that you can never do enough research!
We live about 35Kms WSW of Granada City in a little village. Been here since 2006.

Couple of links for you with information relating to Granada

Airport Coach shuttle… just 3? each way…

http://www.autocaresjosegonzalez.com/index.php/en/services.html

Granada Tourist info…

http://www.granadainfo.com/english.htm

Intercity Coach travel… especially useful for visits to Malaga and the CDS.

http://www.alsa.es/en

Intercity Rail… Direct services to Sevilla, Ronda, Algerciras, Madrid, Barcelona…

http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html

Hope you enjoy your visit; at the moment its just beginning to cool off a little; we have had a very hot August (typically around 40C), its a lot more comfortable now at around 30C…

If I can help with any more info please feel free to pm me…

fb

Thanks so much for the links! Flying down tomorrow.. forecast looks great 😊

I would be keen to hear how your extended stay turns out, David. Granada is one of the places I’m considering moving to next year. (And Foxbat, thanks for the useful Granada-to-other-cities travel links.)

Hey guys, my stay in Granada was great (the scouting mission, not the extended stay). I stayed five days there and about 6 days down in La Herradura, a sea-side town to the South. Fox—weather was perfect!

Granada hasn’t changed much since I lived there in 1992. Granada in 2012 struck me as having changed very little:

- kinda packed in and busy; great urban density
- food is exceptional (even compared to other places in Spain) and not expensive
- not a great variety of cuisines, though Spanish cuisine is itself quite varied
- rent is inexpensive, compared to many other parts of the Western World
- banks are a pain the ass to deal with (surprise, surprise)
- people are friendly and range from slightly formal/old-fashioned to garrulous (possibly boracho).
- the economy seems to have taken its toll a bit, but people still seem pretty content
- public transportation is excellent and cheap
- still kind of a small, college town feel
- some parts of town that seemed livelier in the past seem a little moribund
- the realejo and surrounding neighborhoods seems more alive. so does the base of the albaicyn—elvira
- Granada feels more connected now to surrounding area towns and destinations; not sure why
- the realejo could be one of the nicest neighborhood to live in; very traditionally beautiful
- generally speaking, Internet access is spotty, expensive, unreliable, slow.

All things considered, it’s still a very magical place. You still have to expect nothing and be extremely self-sufficient, yet be open to randomly having a good time throughout your day.

I found a nice apartment in realejo through airbnb; if you’re not staying long you may opt for the conveniences of a hotel, since you may end up eating out a lot anyway.

I didn’t yet find anything out about Visas; Spanish embassy here in London a much better place to do that I think.

Hope that’s helpful!

Rowan / David…

Glad all went well for you.

Your description of Granada is very accurate.

There has been a lot of expansion on the outskirts not all of it good… but I think you could come back in another 20 years and the central part of town will still be the same.

Next big thing is the AVE rail service connection for Madrid, Malaga and Seville but that seems subject to some delay because of the budgetary constraints imposed by the current administration. Also the cross town tram system has come to a grinding halt for the same reason. Shame in both cases because granada needs these services.

fb