# staying in Spain 3-6 months to start



## samanthatt88

Hello, my family and I are "moving" to Spain in October.
We are planning on staying between 3 to 6 months to start with. We are not looking for employment; we are just snow birds with a desire to escape the harsh Alaskan winter months.
What kind of visa will we need? I have the Belgian citizenship (my kids 8 and 11 have dual), but my husband is American. Once again, he is not looking for employment, just a tourist visa.
Also, what is the cost of living in Spain? (electric, water, food). We pay an average 0f $300-$400 a month on electricity for a 3 bedroom home (this does NOT include heat!)
Any help will be greatly appreciated! (since I'm the one who wants to go to Spain, I have to be sure I'm making the right decision!!! -
Thanks so much in advance,
Sam


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## chris(madrid)

Sam

As a Belgian (with your EEC member status) - you can walk straight in - Your Husband I'm not sure. As your spouse it wont be hard but I'd contact the Spanish embassy. 

One word of caution - if you're here more than 180 days - LEGALLY you can be classified as RESIDENT. This gives you that all American right "to pay taxes" here too - just be carefull. i.e If you want to buy/register a car here you'll need to have a fixed abode - and this gets you on the "known about" list. Renting a car here is however NOT like the US - it's expensive imo.

I've spent a fair amount of time in the US in the past, and was at one time considering living there - so I've some idea - but it's NOT CURRENT.

Electricity has just (July 1) risen and it's not a linear scale - depends on how much you contract as a Max amperage (wattage) and how much you later use. Frankly I'm unsure how much we use - but I can guaranty we have lower bills than 400bucks/month. But we, for example, do not have A/C and use Gas as well as electricity for cooking. Be aware that in some rural areas you may even not be able to contract the max amperage you want either! - Just for confirmation - remember its 240V here!

Food - If you buy local produce here it can be VERY cheap indeed - Insist on something you're used to in the US and it could get VERY expensive. Certain US lifestyle foodstuff basics you may find hard to get depending where you live. Other stuff - i.e Olive Oil you may find much cheaper than the US.

From experience of the US - you'll miss the liberal opening hours more than the food itself. 

Water - it depends area to area - you may well find that some areas near enough ration water in summer - places simply get cut off an hour or two. You more and more can expect hose pipe bans too. This probably is more of an issue than price - Unless you intend to hose the house down daily. In winter less of an issue.

Schooling may be your issue if you intend to back and fro much.


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## samanthatt88

Chris,
thanks so much for your reply! It helped a lot!
Do you enjoy living in Spain (recommend it)?
Thanks again,
Sam


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## chris(madrid)

samanthatt88 said:


> Do you enjoy living in Spain (recommend it)?


Mmmm - there are STILL things about Spain I do not like much. And they're things that still wrankle after MANY years here. 

Especially things commercial. It can be a real PITA if you needs something "non-supermarket" as very often the shops dealing with them only open a couple of hours on Saturday (if at all) - never on Sunday. Some things I simply don't even try to find here any more. 

This is a bit at the fore currently as I wasted yesterday morning trying to find something and could not. A specific motorcycle helmet.

Not finding restaurants open before 21:00 is another. Mind you I was not happy being unable to find many restaurant kitchens open in the US after 21:00. This is LESS of an issue where there are many tourists/foreigners.

Working here is occasionally closer to slavery than employment - and this takes a bit of getting used to. A 2 hour lunch sounds great until you realise that your working day (incl transport) is 10 hours long. It explains in part why the Spaniards take their weekend/holidays so seriously though. I escape partially this aspect of Spanish life - My wife is a Civil Servant in the capital and I work in a small town hall. We have more free time together than many.

*But yes - despite the wrankles - I really cant imagine living anywhere else right now.* We live in the hills west of Madrid - hardly a non-Spanish contact. We live more like rural Spaniards than ex-pats though. I have the slight advantage that my wife is Spanish. 

If you have money and can take life slowly - some find it TOO SLOW - then it's a good place to be. I was "retired" a few years - that was too slow for me.

We may need to move one day to help relieve my wife's growing allergies - It could be somewhere different to Spain - but now unlikely. Valencia, or close, at a guess is where we'll end up.


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## Stravinsky

We have a 4 bed villa with pool (pump running) and our electric (no gas) is around €170 avery two months. We have a lot of electrical stuff, and no solar power at the moment.

Have a look at the cost of living thread at the top of this section, it may be of some help. 

I think you need to speak to the Spanish Embassy about your husbands status, he may gain entry due to your EU citizenship, but I confess I am really not 100% sure.


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