# Newbie



## Peapod (Sep 9, 2010)

Hi everyone, I am a newbie to the forum, I am 52 my husband will be 60 in January & we will be retiring to Andulucia region, possibly Dequesa. Would like to communicate with anybody living in that region, for advice etc.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Peapod said:


> Hi everyone, I am a newbie to the forum, I am 52 my husband will be 60 in January & we will be retiring to Andulucia region, possibly Dequesa. Would like to communicate with anybody living in that region, for advice etc.


Hello Peapod and welcome to the best ex-pat forum about Spain!

My husband and I retired here two years ago, and we live near the Costa de la Luz (the other side of Gibraltar from Duquesa). We have no regrets and are very happy.

There are lots of threads on this forum offering advice and ideas for people retiring here, which you are probably busy reading right now!

The best advice is to rent somewhere for a year first, before burning your bridges completely. That way you can get a feel for the place all year round and you aren't lumbered with a house you can't sell if you decide it's not right for you after all.


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## Peapod (Sep 9, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Hello Peapod and welcome to the best ex-pat forum about Spain!
> 
> My husband and I retired here two years ago, and we live near the Costa de la Luz (the other side of Gibraltar from Duquesa). We have no regrets and are very happy.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply, one concern my husband has, is i have rheumatoid athritis, & he is worried about medical treatment, can you advise at all?
Are you in rented accomadation or have you bought?


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Peapod said:


> Thanks for your reply, one concern my husband has, is i have rheumatoid athritis, & he is worried about medical treatment, can you advise at all?
> Are you in rented accomadation or have you bought?


Sorry to butt in on this one, but thought I would answer your query above,,,

to the best of my knowledge, if you are 50 and your husband 60 neither of you will be classed as "pensionista". If you have paid NI in the UK in recent years you bay be entitled to Spanish healthcare for up to 2 years (i think), by getting a form from Newcastle. After this period until you are state pension age you will not get healthcare unless you contribute into the system.

In the Valencia region you can contribute in JUST for healthcare (about 200 euros every 3 months), and this gives you full healthcare and the usual 40% off prescriptions BUT I am not sure if this is widespread throughout spain. Naturally if you work and contribute into the social security you will get healthcare as standard.

If youa re in receipt of any UK benefits long term such as incapacity etc then you may be entitled to export this to Spain and also get the healthcare (my ex partner did this) but I would advice getting some expert advice (I am sure many people here have more knowledge than me).

Other options unclude a private policy (I have one of these), but pre existing conditions would be excluded.

Once you establish how you are getting healthcare you can rest assured that the private and public care here is good. 

Like everything here be prepared for mistakes in admin, bizarre queues where everyone has an unexplained psychic power and knows who is next, doctors that always know best even when they dont, and the usual manana manana attitude, BUT the doctors here don't mess about, they treat you and they treat you well.

I saw my GP one week ago about a small lump, she sent me to the hospital the following day (thankfully nothing to worry about BUT needs removing), i was offered the surgery the next morning. I had to decline due to comitments, but I go in 2 weeks!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Peapod said:


> Thanks for your reply, one concern my husband has, is i have rheumatoid athritis, & he is worried about medical treatment, can you advise at all?
> Are you in rented accomadation or have you bought?



What is he worried about exactly? The healthcare here is as good if not better than in the UK - I can get a doctor's appointment the same day, and the prescription charge is about 2 euros as opposed to £7 or whatever it is now in the UK. 

If you have been working in the UK, you will be entitled to free state healthcare for a couple of years (apply for an E106 form from the Dept of Work & Pensions). As soon as one of you starts getting a UK State pension you will both get everything free.

In addition to the public clinics there are private medical centres you can register with. We pay €9 a month for the two of us and that gives us 24 hour access to GP services plus heavily discounted prices to see a specialist (e.g. I paid €16 to see a neurologist).

I suffer from osteoarthritis in my neck and I have felt a whole lot better since I've been here, the warm weather helps a lot.

We bought our house a few years before moving out here permanently, but we already knew the area well.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

steve_in_spain said:


> to the best of my knowledge, if you are 50 and your husband 60 neither of you will be classed as "pensionista". If you have paid NI in the UK in recent years you bay be entitled to Spanish healthcare for up to 2 years (i think), by getting a form from Newcastle. After this period until you are state pension age you will not get healthcare unless you contribute into the system.


In Andalucia you can, if your annual income (irrespective of savings) is less than €12,000 as a couple. Basically, you go and see the social worker at your local health clinic with evidence of your meagre income, and ask for your EHIC card to be extended.



steve_in_spain said:


> Once you establish how you are getting healthcare you can rest assured that the private and public care here is good.
> 
> Like everything here be prepared for mistakes in admin, bizarre queues where everyone has an unexplained psychic power and knows who is next, doctors that always know best even when they dont, and the usual manana manana attitude, BUT the doctors here don't mess about, they treat you and they treat you well.


 Steve is talking about the Spanish habit whereby instead of queueing, people ask "quien es la ultima?"(who's last?") when they arrive, be it a shop, a clinic or whatever. Most clinics give you a printed ticket with the time of your appointment. In ours, the old folks use the waiting room as a sort of social club - warm in winter, air-conditioned in summer - and go there an hour before their appointment just to sit and have a chat!

I don't know if we've just been lucky but we've not come across this "mañana" attitude! Mind you, I know a lot of Brits who "never get round to" doing all the bureaucratic stuff that they are supposed to in order to become resident here. It's not that bad really and there is lots of help on this forum to guide you through it all.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> I don't know if we've just been lucky but we've not come across this "mañana" attitude! Mind you, I know a lot of Brits who "never get round to" doing all the bureaucratic stuff that they are supposed to in order to become resident here. It's not that bad really and there is lots of help on this forum to guide you through it all.


actually it isn't as bad as people make out when you get used to it, i find little things, like the post, the plumber that says "tomorrow" and shows up 4 days later, etc annoying but maybe I am unlucky... i think that once you get used to the burocracy and 350 steps to doing anything it is fine, ive definately learned to relax, expect nothing fast and when it happens you get a nice surprise!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Off subject - sorry - Mañana
I think we "foreigners" are sometimes too literal in our translations. When my husband says he's going to do XXX *ahora*, he doesn't mean *now*; he means *relatively soon. *Depending on the activity he could mean in the next half hour, couple of hours, some time during the morning...
In the same vein we have *a lado de*. *A lado de* doesn't mean it's literal translation of beside/ next to. When OH says he got the melon from the fruit shop *a lado de la iglesia *my first reaction is complete confusion. There _is_ no fruit shop next to the church. There is one crossing the road and three shops down... So *a lado de* means in the general area of...
Likewise _*Mañana*_ doesn't mean tomorrow, but _*in the future*_. Think tomorrow - but *elastic tomorrow.*
You may think I'm joking, but this is absolutely serious and it has taken many years relationship - arguments and laughter to get here - 19 years of marriage actually, as it was our anniversary on the 12th Sept! Plus the years before!! It takes a long time to _interperate_ Spanish...like a native:tongue1:


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Off subject - sorry - Mañana
> I think we "foreigners" are sometimes too literal in our translations. When my husband says he's going to do XXX *ahora*, he doesn't mean *now*; he means *relatively soon. *Depending on the activity he could mean in the next half hour, couple of hours, some time during the morning...
> In the same vein we have *a lado de*. *A lado de* doesn't mean it's literal translation of beside/ next to. When OH says he got the melon from the fruit shop *a lado de la iglesia *my first reaction is complete confusion. There _is_ no fruit shop next to the church. There is one crossing the road and three shops down... So *a lado de* means in the general area of...
> Likewise _*Mañana*_ doesn't mean tomorrow, but _*in the future*_. Think tomorrow - but *elastic tomorrow.*
> You may think I'm joking, but this is absolutely serious and it has taken many years relationship - arguments and laughter to get here - 19 years of marriage actually, as it was our anniversary on the 12th Sept! Plus the years before!! It takes a long time to _interperate_ Spanish...like a native:tongue1:


Too right! "_Quince minutos_" can mean anything up to an hour!

How's your Spanish, Peapod?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

For info on health issues, especially the ehic, look at the sticky at the top of the page!


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## Peapod (Sep 9, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> Too right! "_Quince minutos_" can mean anything up to an hour!
> 
> How's your Spanish, Peapod?


I am learning, but have a good teacher my husband, who has a degree in spanish. So he can speak fluently!!!!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Peapod said:


> I am learning, but have a good teacher my husband, who has a degree in spanish. So he can speak fluently!!!!


That´s good, life here is so much richer if you can understand what´s going on around you! You´d be amazed at the number of people who buy a book or a CD and think they´ll just pick it up as they go along.


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