Spain: can anyone offer advice on living there?

[Jzee]

Due to a change in our circumstances we are thinking of taking a year out and moving to Spain next Jan to re- charge our batteries. We would like to rent a house - not too expensive, near the beach and with a garden suitable for our 5month old and our two cats. Can anyone offer any advice on whether they think finding something to rent with a baby and two cats would be a problem? Or recommend a nice area to start looking or just general thoughts on their own experiences.

Hi Jzee

It depends on your budget really.

The Spanish don't really do gardens - some places have shared gardens with pool, but many houses just have a terrace. You get gardens in areas that have been invaded by British and German ex-pats (so the expensive areas).

Baby and cats won't be a problem for renting, but the cats will be a problem for staying in a hotel, so make sure you have your house rented and ready before you come.

As for where to look - it depends entirely on your budget and general circumstances. Can you speak spanish? if not then you should probably stick to the tourist areas (but they are more expensive. You should however be able to find something within 10k of a beach in a touristy area).

Have a look at surinenglish.com for property rentals on the costa del sol (it's the best english language online newspaper of any area - I'm afraid there is no equivalent for the Costa Brava). For the best bargains in other areas then I recommend you learn a bit of Spanish or find an interpreter - don't rely on english speaking estate agents. (rentals don't have enough profit for them).

Also for more info try spain.othercountries.com - a plug for my own website I'm afraid, but I wrote it because I was getting annoyed with the advertiser-led rubbish out there!

What were you thinking of doing work-wise?

PS email me via the email on the other countries website if you like.

Forgot to mention that the West Costa del Sol is cheaper than Marbella etc and we're thinking of moving there ourselves. There aren't as many Brits as in the East but there are a few. Don't know about the other coasts

lucy123 thanks for your detailed advice - much appreciated, I shall have a look at your website in a minute. We don't speak Spanish, but are planning on learning soon. We are more or less thinking of taking a year out to relax away from the stresses of London as Dh contract in the city is coming to an end soon. Dh is in IT so if something came up he may be tempted, except we are not counting on that until we speak the lingo. With regards to renting do you think we could get something decent for up to £800 per month? A townhouse near the beach is really what we are looking for with a few mod cons and not too touristy but with all the neccessary amenties, ie vets, doctors and hospitals.

Where are you planning on moving to in Spain?

£800 pcm should be ample, except in the real prestige areas (Marbella or within 5 mins walk of the beach). You probably will find a garden for that too, but that would be on the coast or in the country.

With IT, your DH is probably more likely to get work from ex-pats than Spanish people - we're in IT working for ex-pats and British companies despite speaking very good but not quite fluent Spanish - but the jobs here are a little thin on the ground. He should be able to get a little money coming in on a part time basis if he needed to though (but would be a major drop in wages for him if he's been working in the city! )

Since you want a not too touristy area I would again recommend the Western Costa del Sol (but there are probably similar areas further along). We're looking at Salobreña, Almuñecar or Motril (of those, Motril is the least touristy) - but we haven't got very far with looking yet.

It might be an idea for you to have a look at some property sale websites (there aren't any rentals ones, but rents are around 5% of house value per year, unless you have a British landlord). spanishestate.com is a good one.

buena suerte

Lucy123 - It's funny that you should recommend Salobrena as I was looking at houses to buy there about a year ago -I was taken in by the views. I get the impression that in terms of finding something to rent it would be better to go over there for a holiday and do some ground work. I know that the Spanish are good with kids, but what are they like with cats? Crazy I know, but I couldn't leave my moggys behind.

Well, I'm recommending it based on what I have read and a process of deduction really - we haven't checked it out properly yet. We're in Granada now, but its too hot so we're looking at going back down to the coast.

Yes, the Spanish are great with kids. They are not so good with animals though (except for those little yappy lap dogs). And most hotels - in fact the vast majority of hotels - don't accept them. I know this because we tried every hotel in Fuengirola when a friend visited with a cat. We eventually found one, but it was run by Russians and I think they accepted the cat only because they didn't really understand.

So yes, coming over for a holiday first would be a good idea, but don't bring the cats! (they'll be fine when you live here though. in general Spanish landlords are more relaxed than British ones - ours laughed when I asked if we could get a new phone line, saying "it's your house" ). Best to visit no more than two months before you plan to move and I would go for 2 weeks (1 week should be enough but you never know).

When we moved over we only came for a week beforehand, but were very lucky.

Anyway I'd be interested to know how you get on.

Jzee, one word of warning .. there are some very undesirable Brits (and other ex-pats) living on the Costa dcel Sol. We did exactly what you plan to do, we stayed a year, had a laugh and came (very happily) back to UK. During our year, we met some really good people (Lucy123 included) but we also met a lot of ruthless small time con men who were willing to rip us off for a few quid. We are not niaive or inexperienced (dh run a business in London for 23 years)but we still got conned on more than one occassion, by so called friends. I dont want to put you off but do bear in mind many Brits out there are desperate to make a few quid any way they can so treat them all with caution.

Yes bunny2, you are right. But we are hoping that there are fewer of them in Granada province (other side of Nerja) just because there are fewer ex-pats altogether there.

we lived in a small village outside valencia - no brits apart from small group of teachers working there. The coast further south, near Alicante is pretty in places and not too far to drive from Valencia. Also, we used to go to the beaches in Canet and Sagunto to the north in the low season. Again, only Spanish there. We returned to UK to have children and cannot imagine how they could have coped with the heat in the summer out there!!We had a good laugh for 2 years,it depends what you want - for a year only it might be interesting to experience the real Spain. Good luck to you and your family!

Lucy123, I am sure the other side of Malaga is much nicer. It is that stretch from Malaga to Marbella that houses all the unsavoury types. Hope the pregnancy is going well.