# Moving to Majorca



## Mandy29 (Oct 27, 2013)

Hello

I really need help and I'm having trouble finding answers and do hope you can help. Our situation is that my husband works for himself and his work is internet based, so we can live anywhere with an internet connection. We love Majorca and really want to move there with our family (our children range from 18 to 4). I thought we could just sell up here and rent a large apartment and that would be it, but apparently we need to apply for all sorts of cards etc and my husband would be paying tax, so how does that work if he isn't employed in a Spanish job? Any help on what we need to do would really help and also as far as schools and healthcare are concerned, is this expensive? Thanks so much for any advice in advance.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Mandy29 said:


> Hello
> 
> I really need help and I'm having trouble finding answers and do hope you can help. Our situation is that my husband works for himself and his work is internet based, so we can live anywhere with an internet connection. We love Majorca and really want to move there with our family (our children range from 18 to 4). I thought we could just sell up here and rent a large apartment and that would be it, but apparently we need to apply for all sorts of cards etc and my husband would be paying tax, so how does that work if he isn't employed in a Spanish job? Any help on what we need to do would really help and also as far as schools and healthcare are concerned, is this expensive? Thanks so much for any advice in advance.


:welcome:

yes, Spain requires that you register as resident & for that you have to prove that you have sufficient income to support yourselves & that you have healthcare provision in place

if you come before the end of March next year, then the UK will supply you with forms S1 & effectively pick up the bill for your healthcare here for a limited period - they stop issuing them as of 31st March 2014 though - so after that time you'd have to make other arrangements

the tax issue for your husband is complex - in some circumstances he can continue paying tax in the UK, in others, he might be better off registering a company/as self-employed & paying it here.... even if he continues to pay tax in the UK though, he'd have to submit tax returns here

as for schools - children under 10 usually settle well into the state system - generally older than that they would really need to go to International school & be taught in English

I have to admit I'm wondering what your 18 year old would be planning to do?


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## Mandy29 (Oct 27, 2013)

If I'm honest, we just feel like we are drowning here in the expenses it is costing us to live. We have to find £4000 per month to pay all the bills and live and we just feel if we just sold up and moved and found a nice place to rent, our bills would be less and there would be less of a strain on us constantly having to find the money... this country is just crippling us and after speaking to people who live in Majorca, they don't pay council tax, utilities are a lot less, petrol etc... it just seems better... but please tell me if I'm wrong. We do want to move as a family and the answer to your final question, is... I don't know... hopefully find work?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Mandy29 said:


> If I'm honest, we just feel like we are drowning here in the expenses it is costing us to live. We have to find £4000 per month to pay all the bills and live and we just feel if we just sold up and moved and found a nice place to rent, our bills would be less and there would be less of a strain on us constantly having to find the money... this country is just crippling us and after speaking to people who live in Majorca, they don't pay council tax, utilities are a lot less, petrol etc... it just seems better... but please tell me if I'm wrong. We do want to move as a family and the answer to your final question, is... I don't know... hopefully find work?


there is council tax, though much lower than in the UK - utilities aren't less, though of course we probably use central heating less - less months of the year anyway

phone & internet is SERIOUSLY expensive when compared to the UK - & MUCH slower too

you don't say how many children you have - but children are expensive here - & as I say older kids would need private school at 

as for your 18 year old finding work....more than 50% of 16-24 year olds are out of work countrywide - maybe more on the islands - & unemployment overall is over 25%, compared to about 8% in the UK.......... & whereas in the UK he'd at least get jobseekers allowance - he wouldn't get cent here

yes, it probably would be a bit cheaper here - but I wouldn't count on it being that much different


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## Mandy29 (Oct 27, 2013)

that's interesting and has given me some food for thought. At the moment my Council tax is £150 pm and elec/gas £178 pm, not to mention water at £78 pm. We pay around £90 pm for phone and internet... knowing my costs is it much different to what Majorcans pay? I have 4 children 2 in school, 1 in college and 1 works.


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

You're probably better off staying in the UK as much as you probably don't want to hear that. 

Overall it probably would be cheaper in Spain, just. You mention you're thinking of selling up and renting an apartment. Is that just a straight swop of mortgage for rental payments?

Don't forget you'd be liable for Spanish taxes as well as UK, but you wouldn't pay the same tax twice. Given that the Spanish allowances are lower than the UK ones you'd probably end up being liable for some Spanish tax, so your overall tax bill might well be higher than you're currently paying in the UK.

You could probably make the argument for moving to Majorca on 'quality of life' but I doubt you could on a financial basis particularly as you would also have to factor in private health care costs.

To be honest, I suspect you'd be swopping one set of problems for another set of problems and at the end of the day not be any better off financially.

It's a sad fact that living costs are rising everywhere as the real rate of inflation easily outstrips wage increases and incompetent governments increasingly look to the tax paying population to bail them out of their own incompetences via higher taxation and stupid fiscal policies.

Think very carefully and do all your research very thoroughly before considering this.


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## Mandy29 (Oct 27, 2013)

I would be selling up and just renting as I don't want the noose of a mortgage round my neck anymore... strange as that may sound. I am glad for both your advice and equally sad that it doesn't hold the answers I was hoping for. I was told such a positive story from someone living on the island, perhaps its just different if you're on your own as opposed to moving over with a whole family... thanks so much!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Mandy29 said:


> I would be selling up and just renting as I don't want the noose of a mortgage round my neck anymore... strange as that may sound. I am glad for both your advice and equally sad that it doesn't hold the answers I was hoping for. I was told such a positive story from someone living on the island, perhaps* its just different if you're on your own as opposed to moving over with a whole family... *thanks so much!!


that _*IS*_ the big difference - for a single person, a retired person or a retired couple it's _*VERY*_ different

it's also *VERY* different from when those of us with families came here years ago - some of us have managed to build a business & make a life here over the years - sadly, many many more are returning to the UK or wherever they came from

my daughters learned a long time ago to make friends with the locals - they will still be here next year......


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

What is Mallorca like in the winter months?

There are other locations in Spain that have a better winter climate, hence less heating costs , therefore far cheaper. Perhaps you should consider widening your search?


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## carmic (Dec 23, 2012)

You need to think a lot about the schooling. The local schools teach mostly in Catalan and have a reputation of pushing Catalan more than anything else (I.e. If a kid leaves school able to read, write and count in Catalan then that is a success. Anything else is just a bonus). My son is 14 and in an international school at €900 a month. Colleagues have their children in part funded schools, but they would need good Spanish and some Catalan for that


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