Moving to spain

I've lived in NE Spain for 20+ years. We are comfortable off pensioners. The life is pleasent, but we can afford to do want we want. The weather can be very hot in summer and quite cold in winter. You have little chance of getting a visa and the general beaurocravy is terrible. The health care is great, the weather is good, the food is great.......but don't do it!

OP- If you are thinking of Spain, your income will now have to be a lot higher per person than it used to be. Research tax laws, especially inheritance and income tax, and health care, which is not free unless you are a state pensioner or contributing to the system by working. It is expensive getting medical insurance for existing conditions. It is not that easy to get a well paid job. Even state pensioners contribute towards the cost of medication, which used to be free. Although the weather is better, living there is not like being on holiday. Research, research, research!

Did you really mean to use the word ‘ platonic’?

I think it's something that sounds great in theory but is hard going unless all the elements line up, money, housing, speaking the lingo to a reasonable level , working etc-

I think it works far better if you are older, have passive income and can work if needed from anywhere , can retain a base in UK anduse it essentially as long stay holiday home- I have friends late 60swho downscaled here in UK and go 4 times a year for 6 weeks at a time- this is fine within the limits as they space it out and they always manage to get great rents for those times , so they go all over. It costs them around £14,000 a year but they say it was more cost effective than buying somewhere in a fickle market , paying property taxes and maintaining it and retain the advantages of a UK home and have their business taxes here etc-

Spain faces drought constantly and the heat can be unbearable at times. Great for a holiday but not moved there. Many Spanish emigrate from Spain.

I am selling my flat in Spain. The weather is lovely, people are friendly... that's where it ends.
Everything in Spain is done "manyana" i.e. never. My bank account is now suspended and for the last 6 months I cannot get a hold of my personal advisor. She told me in July she was going on holiday. She must have been eaten by a shark. No, I cannot submit documents electronically. It's just not done there. No, I cannot get a new personal advisor. No, they do not respond to emails or phone calls. No, the head office can't help either.
My NIE number needs to be transferred to a new surname. To do that I need to prove that I own property in Spain. The property is under my old surname. To change it on the register, I need to present to the town hall with a copy of my NIE stating my new surname... It's been an ongoing issue for 10 years because I cannot get off this bureaucratic Marry-Go-Round.
Just go on holiday, OP. It's really not worth it.

If you can sort out the relevant visas (no mean feat with Brexit) then why not. If I were younger with small children I'd be off like a shot. The grass might not be greener but at least you'll have tried it. I'd be inclined to rent first (and rent out your property here but, again, many pitfalls with that). If you like it, sell up in the Uk and don't look back.

No matter where you move, there you are, same people with the same problems. Just a different view and different weather, and chances are more problems as you don't know how things work in a different country.

Just move to St Ives like every other fucker has done 👍

Half Spanish here 👋🏻. Honestly, same shit, different country.

I was there for 5 years, but I don't work, we retired early. It's cheaper all round In comparison to the sth east of the UK. Coffee was 1.50, fruit and veg and general shopping cheaper. Yes it's very hot in August but bearable on the coast. The hospitals are amazing, very efficient in a & e anyway.

We travel in Asia instead of Europe now.

Brexit was the worst result for the country.

I live in Spain and have done for a few years. It is hard now for Brits though there are options. The Golden Visa whereby you purchase a property (in cash) worth at least €500k is being withdrawn next year. There is still the NLV but they can be a bit weird about that - sometimes they let you use rental income sometimes they don't. I know people with NLVs who still work and earn money in other countries so who knows.

They have just started cracking down on the Digital Nomad Visa (DNV). I have a friend who applies for them on people's behalf and she's giving up as it's now too hard to get them through. I gather they are a little tired of people with them not necessarily paying tax in Spain!

I admit I love England and was happy living there but the sun here cheers me up no end. The bureaucracy is batshit mental but with some Spanish, Google translate and the help of the odd person you get through it. It is expensive though - food is pricey, taxes are high (not council tax or car tax, they're peanuts!) and petrol is expensive. Plus don't get me started on the price of cars... double that of the UK. I've met and made friends here of all nationalities, and most people I know here, from wherever they have come, because they have chosen to be here seem to love it. Most of the locals love it too and they're mostly friendly and are very good at helping you with your Spanish.

Schooling is hit and miss though so I'm glad I don't have kids as the international schools are expensive.

I know several NHS doctors who work remotely from here on DNVs which kind of amuses me, but they do go back to the UK periodically. I guess they do video consults.

Our plan is to move to Spain. My parents have residency over there having moved several yrs ago and I visit frequently. Cost of living is exceptional comparatively. Additionally I find Spain very family focused, so a great move with children also.

As far as I am aware, there in an unemployment crisis in Spain so you’d struggle to find work unless you are in a specialist field, and even then EU regulations may mean there are rules about hiring locally/EU residents first?

Also, post Brexit, you need a job/work permit in order to be allowed to move (both of you and especially with dependents travelling with), unless you have EU500,000 in equity, in which case you can buy a property for that amount and obtain residency and a work permit. The ‘golden visa’ granted if you buy a property for 500k is valid for 3 years, not permanent, so you’d need to look into the rules.

There is info on ‘Living in Spain’ on the gov.uk website and numerous sites advising UK citizens about emigrating.

As others have said, you will likely find it is the same old shit, just different location (plus too hot in the summer, frustrations with the language barrier, and fewer rights and protections than in the UK).

This sounds completely unrealistic. You basically want to spend all your equity and savings on living near a beach and not working properly. Never gonna happen, soz.

Think that's a mere myth now that the cost of living is hammering hard in Spain now.
I don't live there but my mum has for twenty years so have spent many months a year there.

Each time I visit I'm floored by the prices in the supermarket.
It's easy to absorb if you're on UK wages but think you'd struggle more than you think on a local wage.

And personally I could not be doing with dealing with all the officialdom without near fluency in the language.

As for your children, fine when they are young, but in my experience there's not much for teens and the education is not so great.
Most people we know have moved back when their kids hit the teen years.

The only ones that thrive are those like my mum and her friends with a pension.

We were planning to retire early and head over but are having to seriously look again at our plans 😔

Kids in Spain tend to stay up way later than kids in the UK, so if you're looking for more family time then that's an easy thing to change?

Oh and cost of living my electric bills are €200 a month and I live in a small apartment for a ridiculous rent. Like I said cars are stupidly expensive. Food is expensive and when I'm visited the U.K. I food food far cheaper because of deals and availability of different discount stores etc. 9-5 I wish 😂 I often work til 8/9pm. And as someone else mentioned there is absolutely fuck all to do apart from go to the beach which wears thin after a bit tbh

Sorry I was working before so will elaborate a bit now.
So ! I think the U.K. deffo has its faults but I wouldn't say spain is any better tbh.

There are huge problems with housing obviously this depends on what area you would be planning on moving to but it is almost impossible anywhere that is touristy to find a reasonably priced rental and buying prices are sky high. I would have much better accommodation choices in the U.K. because I am from the north.

Driving since brexit you may need to look into if you would need to do a driving test in order to drive here because the rules seem to change constantly. I have recently bought a very average car for 20 thousand euros cars are so expensive here.

Anything to do with anything basically is hard work especially if you aren't fluent in Spanish. You end up having to pay people to do basic tasks for you and it's constant.

Taxes are in my opinion a lot worse than they are in the U.K. and the government can just embargo your bank account if you owe so much as a parking fine.

Healthcare is no better than the U.K. and I have found when anyone is admitted to hospital here it is the family who are expected to care for the patient for example wash them and feed them if necessary. As a foreigner you aren't always treated well or welcomed so probably need to get health insurance which costs hundreds a month.

Getting anything delivered is an absolute nightmare and the choice of things available is not as varied. Supermarkets for example don't have special offers and very rarely change their stock so it's all just a bit boring and no convenience. Customer service is really lacking and you are lucky to get a hola.

Moving here since brexit is not easy your finances are looked into because basically the main thing the government in Spain are interested in is extracting as much money from people as possible and this goes for Spanish citizens too. Being self employed is a nightmare you have to pay 300 and off euros a month just to be registered that's before you make a cent and that's not tax that's just to be registered it doesn't matter if you are a cleaner or a dentist you all pay the same it's such a stupid system,

Living anywhere that is considered a tourist destination is a nightmare in the summer. Nowhere to park, constant noise, everywhere is just full and the infrastructure can not cope. It's often over 40 degrees too. There is a severely water shortage in a lot of areas because no money has been put into to drainage.

I could go on and on.
I know this all sounds very negative I don't have an awful life here but I do think my standard of living and opportunities were far higher in the U.K. and honestly even though I'm contributing and doing my best I don't feel massively welcome by the locals and that's fair enough I suppose because the U.K. don't welcome immigrants either and that's what you would be don't fool yourself it's only the British who like to call us expats

If you want beaches and nice weather move to Bournemouth- a lot less hassle than trying to move abroad now.

Fuck Brexit and every narrow minded eejit who voted for it and fucked things up for everyone else. I'm still furious

Yeah, 100%. Feel free to tag/message me if I can help with applying, I’ve done it a couple of times now!

My BF lives in Spain- a very expensive part just outside Marbella. She met her dh there (he's not Spanish) and they have 2dc. Her dh works all hours in hospitality and she's a teacher. It's very expensive there, activities like gymnastics, food and drinks. The cost of property is more expensive than where I live. It's lovely when it's warm - but also much too hot the past few years, then cold in winter with no central heating. They couldn't use the pool for a lot of the summer due to a water ban.

There's not a lot to do really and she's often bored. The parks are not as good as here and there's not the same things like shows and activities. Flights have gone up massively the past few years so they don't get home as much. She would move home but her dh wouldn't want to.

I'd think about what you want from moving. Presumably you'd need to work, if not immediately then soon. There's still school runs, shopping, chores etc etc so a lot will be same shit different place.

@virgo22

You've not answered the most fundamental questions that people have asked.

Do you or your partner have EU citizenship? OR

Do you or your partner have a qualification or skills that are in demand in Spain (or elsewhere in the EU) such that a visa might be possible and do you or your partner have the required language skills in adition to the academic/practical qualifications in order for you to be eligible for a visa?

Unless you can answer yes to either the Citizenship or the skills questions, your chances of relocating anywhere - Europe or Australia/Canada/NZ/USA/South Africa - are greatly reduced.

I live in Spain - happy to answer questions if it will help.

You need to ask for help for anyone who has done it post January 2021 - before that is irrelevant as it's totally different conditions before then