# Planning a move to Castelldefels - seeking advice for housing and other good stuff



## kimuyen (Aug 8, 2013)

Hello all,

We (my husband, I and a 4 year old) are planning a move from the DC metro area in the US to the Castelldefel area next Spring. The British International School is partially what draws us to Castelldefels (and who can resist the beach?!). We are going to Barcelona next week and will stay in Castelldefels for a few days to get a feel for it. We will also visit both the British and American Schools (yes, we know that the American school is in a different area).

Are there any Americans on this forum who recently moved to Castelldefels? We could definitely benefit to learn from you. Our situation is a little unique in that though all of us hold US citizenship (my husband and son are also Canadians), my husband also holds Irish citizenship (by herritage). Thie Irish citizenship status would allow us to get residency in Spain. But we are not moving from an EU country and cannot transfer any services or benefits from an EU country. So any pointers (moving company, health insurance, etc.) from someone recently moved from the US would be greatly appreciated.

Secondly, could any one advice us what is the best way to look for housing? I have reached out to a couple real estate agents; one responded that the unit we wanted to see was not ready and did not respond when I inquired if we could set up an appointment with her. What is the culture or custom in searching for housing or working with a professional/owner?

Many thanks in advance!!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

kimuyen said:


> Hello all,
> 
> We (my husband, I and a 4 year old) are planning a move from the DC metro area in the US to the Castelldefel area next Spring. The British International School is partially what draws us to Castelldefels (and who can resist the beach?!). We are going to Barcelona next week and will stay in Castelldefels for a few days to get a feel for it. We will also visit both the British and American Schools (yes, we know that the American school is in a different area).
> 
> ...


we do have some members in that area & some Americans - not sure about Americans in that area though.............


as far as property hunting is concerned - agents will rarely deal much by e-mail

you need to be pretty much in front of them in their office before they will even think about making appointments to view - they aren't interested in anyone who isn't ready to move in pretty much immediately - or start paying the rent on the property to secure it

does your husband actually have an Irish passport atm?


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## kimuyen (Aug 8, 2013)

Thanks for responding to my post. My husband applied for an Irish pastport and according to the tracking website, it has been issued. We hope it will arrive shortly.

Regarding housing, what is better - secure housing before moving there and ship whatever we need to bring? Or stay in a hotel for a short term, look for housing and then ship belongings? There are pros and cons as well as costs associated with each option. I hope to hear from those who have been there, done that to learn what their experience was.

Thanks again!


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## rodap (Feb 13, 2013)

kimuyen said:


> Thanks for responding to my post. My husband applied for an Irish pastport and according to the tracking website, it has been issued. We hope it will arrive shortly.
> 
> Regarding housing, what is better - secure housing before moving there and ship whatever we need to bring? Or stay in a hotel for a short term, look for housing and then ship belongings? There are pros and cons as well as costs associated with each option. I hope to hear from those who have been there, done that to learn what their experience was.
> 
> Thanks again!


Do you know how much is to ship your furniture ? We are not sure if we gonna rent a furnished apartment or not yet . 

I know it takes time to find something so you can rent an apartment for a month or so and in the mean time ship your stuff , it takes around 3 weeks to get there I think.


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## kimuyen (Aug 8, 2013)

We don't know how much it costs to ship yet. Our plan for the visit next week is to also window shop to get a feel for how much things cost and whether it makes sense to ship anything or it is cheaper to replace them. Some other posts on here mentioned that most stuff come from Ikea and there are very few alternatives. We will need to identify "must have" items and get a quote from an international moving company. We also plan to rent a furnished appartment and understand that less is more in this case. To add to it, we don't know yet what the cost/fee/tax to pay custom and whether we can only ship after having our residency number. The procedures and logistics of moving are important for us to do a cost-benefit analysis. Storring stuff for weeks or months in the US cost money too.

I feel like we are going in a circle at this point. More questions than answers. I hope some kind hearts and souls on here can share their experiences.


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## rodap (Feb 13, 2013)

kimuyen said:


> We don't know how much it costs to ship yet. Our plan for the visit next week is to also window shop to get a feel for how much things cost and whether it makes sense to ship anything or it is cheaper to replace them. Some other posts on here mentioned that most stuff come from Ikea and there are very few alternatives. We will need to identify "must have" items and get a quote from an international moving company. We also plan to rent a furnished appartment and understand that less is more in this case. To add to it, we don't know yet what the cost/fee/tax to pay custom and whether we can only ship after having our residency number. The procedures and logistics of moving are important for us to do a cost-benefit analysis. Storring stuff for weeks or months in the US cost money too.
> 
> I feel like we are going in a circle at this point. More questions than answers. I hope some kind hearts and souls on here can share their experiences.


I know the feeling ! 

It seems like Ikea is the thing throughout Europe, they concentrate more on the social life not the house/ furniture / stuff things . 

We are thinking now to just get a furnished apartment for an year and get the feeling of the city and lifestyle before anything else . 

I quoted online a ship container and it's around $ 3-4000 door to door from Houston to Barcelona . 

I can't wait to see how you gonna like it and what else you gonna find out in your trip ! 
How many times you visited Spain before ?


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