# Hello, new to forum. Looking to speak to expats now living in Spain



## Ottertail (Oct 16, 2021)

Hi, 

I am divorced and in my late forties and I have considered moving to Spain for a while.

I am not looking to move to a busy tourist area by the sea, perhaps a town or village a few miles inland whereby there are a mixture of expats and locals. A cooler climate than in the far south would be ideal, the main reason for moving to Spain in the sunshine hours, warmer climate and low living costs.

My knowledge of living in Spain is very limited and I do not know anyone living in Spain. I would be nice to speak to someone who was in my position and is now living in a similar environment to the one I am considering.

Topics of advice please......costs of living, community, healthcare, property prices, living in Spain with a dog.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you.

😊


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

Hi,
Welcome to the forum. I am sure you will find lots of guidance on here as much of it has been covered in previous posts and in the stickies e.g. applying for a visa if you do not have an EU passport, proof of funds to sustain you etc. 
Once through those, you could look for an area north of Valencia since that is where the real warm climat starts. Personally I would look nearer the coast than not as the sea keeps temperatures up in winter and down in summer, even 5 kilometres can make a huge difference. Idealista has its own app for searching for property. Our standing non-mortgage costs for a 2 bed garden flat well to the south and in a seaside area are about 2k euros
With regard to dogs, it depends on the dog: big dogs tend to scare the Spanish if you take them out for a walk. Smaller ones are less of a threat but overall are less molly coddled than in the UK. The vets I have used in Spain have been very competent and gone the extra mile to ensure I did the right thing by my two. What you choose to pay for food really is up to you from supermarkets own brand upwards. You should, obviously, make sure any property you occupy has plenty of shade available and / or air conditioning to help them cope with the summer.heat. I believe repassporting your dog as European, once you have arrived, can help reduce further travel costs but my animals were born here.
Also work on your language skills. There was a very recent thread on here about that topic but no course is going to give you all the vocab you need once outside of routine situations e.g. dog related terms, car terminology, banking terms, plant names etc.etc.
Best of luck.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

If you are not a EU passport holder you will need to get a Visa to live in Spain now UK has left EU. This requires approx 50+ thousand euros in a Spanish account and private medical insurance. You will not be able to work and cannot be absent from Spain for over 6 months. The Visa has to be applied for in UK not in Spain.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

kaipa said:


> If you are not a EU passport holder you will need to get a Visa to live in Spain now UK has left EU. This requires approx 50+ thousand euros in a Spanish account and private medical insurance. You will not be able to work and cannot be absent from Spain for over 6 months. The Visa has to be applied for in UK not in Spain.


Why 50k? I thought it was nearer 26k or is that earnings?


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

I think you need to show you have sufficient for 2 years until you reapply


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Why 50k? I thought it was nearer 26k or is that earnings?


It's around 27k for the main applicant - passive income or savings for the first year, but double that for the second & 4th year renewals, which are each for two years.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

Hi Ottertail,
As mentioned, Firstly, if you hold a UK passport you will need to apply for a visa from the Spanish consulate in London or Manchester and meet the income and healthcare requirements.

Here is a link to the various visas that apply to Spain:





Spain Visa Types - How to Apply for a Spanish Visa?







visaguide.world





You will need to have an income of around €27,000 per annum and full private healthcare paid for a full year.

Spanish healthcare is excellent and can easily match the NHS. After living here in Spain legally for a full year you can join the Convenio especial which will give you full access to the Spanish Healthcare.

Steve


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## Mark427 (Dec 22, 2020)

tebo53 said:


> Hi Ottertail,
> As mentioned, Firstly, if you hold a UK passport you will need to apply for a visa from the Spanish consulate in London or Manchester and meet the income and healthcare requirements.
> 
> Here is a link to the various visas that apply to Spain:
> ...


Don't forget there is a consulate in Edinburgh as well....not everyone is from england!.😁
Also while you can join the convenio especial it will cost you. under 65s pay 60 euros, over 65's pay 157 euros a month.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

If you have no knowledge of living in spain, you need first hand experience. Extended holidays at least are a must. You also need to find the area you like the most. Where are you familiar with? What do you like and dislike or would you change about areas you have spent time in? That will help people advise you. 

There are many open ended questions in your post. Spain has so much to offer and cater for all tastes but I'd advise anyone coming to travel round and find areas they like. 

When I first moved here, after 10+ years of extended stays, I was certain I had found the ideal area with a mix of Spanish and international residents. Then I met husband and circumstances meant it was easier for me to move closer to him than him move closer to me. I moved to a campo where the nearest village was 5 mins by car and they had never seen a foreigner before. Immediate regret set in but with time I fell in love with the area, learned the language and became one of the villagers. Fast forward a few years and it was time to look to buy rather than rent but by then I knew the wider area well. We bought a campo which for me is a dream.... Was an old run down house built in the 70s that didn't even have proper electric instalation or water. One light bulb in every room and one plug in the living room which was the old type. And one cold tap in the kitchen and bathroom. Had to literally redo everything but the area is a dream. Isolated fr everyone with 4 or 5 families living in nearby fincas, miles of hills and green, routes to walk dogs, but within 5 to 15 mins I cam be at 3 beaches, 3 villages, 1 town, a city and an airport. If I walk 10 mins up the hill I can see the sea. So now I've found my little heaven but it took years. 

Your level of Spanish will affect your choice of place and your level of determination to integrate and learn the language will affect it more. 

What questions do you have about dogs? Some need licenses which I have a lot of experience with, most no. Apart of that, living in spain with a dog is same as anywhere although there are some parasite born illnesses that need preventative treatment. Vets bills are generally much lower than the UK although again depends. Some English speaking vets charge high rates because they know the expats expect it. My Spanish vet speaks no English but I've used him for over a decade with all my animals and hes been there from cradle to, sadly grave. He will come to my house in the night, he is the most loving and caring man. Many times charges nothing for a visit, sometimes just the treatment. Has sat up all night in the clinic with one of my dogs and a cat and spent 24 hours with one of mine who sadly died... Tests, treatment and later put him to sleep at home at midnight and charged me just the tests and drugs. He never asks for money until the end of treatment and when its something big and I ask about money, his reply is always "salud y luego la pasta" which means basically he will do what he has to and we sort th money later"
So in general health care for animals is excellent. 

Share a bit more info and many people will be willing to help you!


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## Roland_O (Oct 17, 2016)

Welcome.

We came to Spain looking for bright weather, a lower cost of living and a new challenge to keep our brains occupied. Spain delivered this. Now we take the weather for granted, worry less about money, but we stay because yes, living in a new culture is keeping our brains occupied, but also because the standard of living here is very high, higher than the US or UK, and the Spanish people are nice to live amongst. 

So to try to offer some help: 

If you want sun, not heat, the the coast from Denia up to Tarragona could work: it has a micro climate that is a bit warmer in winter and cooler in the summer, and 300 days of sun. There will be about 2 weeks when it’s just too hot.

One thing to get your head round is how diverse Spain is. E.g. weather will vary radically depending on where you are. The north coast will be like Brittany or Cornwall. There center gets a continental climate like the Midwest of America. If one lives up high. You may get snow in winter, even in the south of the country. This vast diversity is not just about weather; healthcare, laws, the bureaucracy will vary a lot from community to community.

I think I can make a few generalisations though. It seems to me that Spanish people do not do commuting, they tend to live in flats near work. So if you are prepared to do 20 mins in the car to get somewhere nice, then you can buy a very cheap house that the locals would not touch. 

The Spanish do not seem to be very judgmental. I find this quite freeing. You don’t have to drive a flash car or live in the right place.

It’s a pretty safe country, especially for women. Very low levels of violence. 

Bureaucracy here can be a nightmare, but there are specialist paperwork ninjas called Gestors who will help for a fee. Some speak English. They are not expensive and we use them.

A huge decision for you will be to live with immigrant Northern Europeans or with Spanish people. The coast south of Denia all the way round to Portugal seems to be dominated by enclaves of brits, Dutch, French, Russian, German, all keeping themselves to themselves. There are pros and cons which I will touch on v briefly: if you live near other English speakers then you will find the local town is a bit more likely to have English speakers in the town hall, in banks, in hairdressers, and this can be a real help if your Spanish is as bad as mine (I had none when I moved here). But in such places you may find the locals a bit fed up with the antics of your countrymen, “oh no, not another snarky brit”. We live in a town north of Valencia and very few few people speak English here, but they are as excited as anything when they realise we are English, as we are unusual and people seems to go out of their way to help us. 

My opinion is, if you want to live with brits, why not got to England?

Cost of living is lower here because house prices are less and so are labour costs. But if you want to drive around in a German car, eat Northern European food, and drink Australian wine, it can actually be more expensive here.

Healthcare is good. Pay for private insurance for a year or two, and when your spanish is good enough, join the community system. It will cost about a grand a year for private.

As for dog: vets are excellent, kind and cheap (you will not need pet insurance). If your dog is of a breed that the Spanish consider dangerous then you will need a licence and have to keep it on a lead.

Moving to Spain from Northern Europe is a big step. The culture is different here. There is so much to relearn. But we have found it very worthwhile.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Not sure many Spanish would say that violence against women is low. Watch the news : usually a death of a woman every week through violence.


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

kaipa said:


> Not sure many Spanish would say that violence against women is low. Watch the news : usually a death of a woman every week through violence.


Yes I agree with Kaipa. There are often headlines related to violence toward women, albeit normally within the family its still a big issue. 

Steve


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

tebo53 said:


> Yes I agree with Kaipa. There are often headlines related to violence toward women, albeit normally within the family its still a big issue.
> 
> Steve


Domestic violence is certainly a big problem in Spain and has only really been taken seriously in the last 15 or 20 years, so every incident tends to get more publicity than it might in the UK.

But violence against strangers is I believe less common here than in some other countries. Personally I've never felt unsafe walking alone at night,


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## tardigrade (May 23, 2021)

kaipa said:


> Not sure many Spanish would say that violence against women is low. Watch the news : usually a death of a woman every week through violence.


You would also have to add homophobia to the list of increasing violence here in Spain.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

kaipa said:


> Watch the news : usually a death of a woman every week through violence.


Against on average two per week in UK!


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## tebo53 (Sep 18, 2014)

tardigrade said:


> You would also have to add homophobia to the list of increasing violence here in Spain.


There are many areas in Spain that fully accept gay and lesbian people. I've not heard of an increase in homophobia here in Benidorm, more like the opposite!!

Steve


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

tardigrade said:


> You would also have to add homophobia to the list of increasing violence here in Spain.


There have certainly been some horrible incidents reported lately. But whether they are increasing or just getting more media coverage, I wouldn't know.


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## Roland_O (Oct 17, 2016)

kaipa said:


> Not sure many Spanish would say that violence against women is low. Watch the news : usually a death of a woman every week through violence.


Hmmmm

Violent assault rates in Spain are half what they are in the UK. 

Yes the news will often carry a story about some poor person who got assaulted by her partner, but I see this as reassuring. The fact that an assault is big news shows that male on female violence is rare and usual here. Everyone rightly freaks out about such events. I have lived in countries where this would not even make the local paper. In the US the news wouldn’t even mention people shooting each other.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Roland_O said:


> Hmmmm
> 
> Violent assault rates in Spain are half what they are in the UK.
> 
> ...


Sorry deleted my comments as it was getting way off topic.


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## tardigrade (May 23, 2021)

It also seems sitting on a terrace having a drink is getting dangerous here also.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

tardigrade said:


> It also seems sitting on a terrace having a drink is getting dangerous here also.


Having a drink can be dangerous wherever you sit.  

Not sure how much this is helping the OP. My advice (finances permitting) would be to come on an extended holiday out of season (you can stay up to three months without a visa), rent somewhere in a place using a pin on a map, and just see how it feels to live here. I don't think you´ll be disappointed.


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## Finaror (Aug 19, 2019)

Alcalaina said:


> Having a drink can be dangerous wherever you sit.
> 
> Not sure how much this is helping the OP. My advice (finances permitting) would be to come on an extended holiday out of season (you can stay up to three months without a visa), rent somewhere in a place using a pin on a map, and just see how it feels to live here. I don't think you´ll be disappointed.


Thanks for the advice.


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## wayne.torrie1980 (Oct 1, 2021)

Good day fellow sunshine seeker. 
Im currently in the UK and working up until June/July next year, based in Rugby area. My plan is to go work for small holding farms in Northern Spain as i want to lease or buy a plot of land of my own to produce my own food and supply others. I had a look online at a website called - Workaway in over 180 countries - give meaning to your travels
Its somewhere where you can look for or kind of get in touch with local people and many expats or from different european countries to work for or help with their business or something like that in exchange for food and boarding. Well im going to be going down to Northern Spain (Lugo area) which is not to far from Santander which is a Ferry route via UK. The north has less heat from my research and more rain than the dry beautiful south. Ive been to spain many times and like yourself cost of living, space, and animals is a major draw for me. If you want to keep in touch feel free but just to let you know this is what i am doing. 
All the best
Wayne


Ottertail said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am divorced and in my late forties and I have considered moving to Spain for a while.
> 
> ...


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## Do28 (Dec 21, 2010)

My two cents for what its worth. I first came to Spain in 2008 working for company backwards and forwards between the UK with 5-6 months of the year in Spain. I went to the US for work and then when I came back to the UK my company had me doing the Spain thing again. Brexit came along and I was not working in Spain but still had my apartment etc and spent all my time off here. I finally had to decide if I was going to commit to Spain and managed to squeak in for work and residence under Article 50 this year which will make me a full time Spanish resident in due course. I don't work in Spain at the moment as I commute out to do my job, but next year it looks like my company will transfer me to the Spanish subsidiary. I am Jerez and love the area and the people, the city is clean and friendly and there is plenty to do here. I cycle or scooter everywhere generally including to the beach. I only recently bought a car but rarely use it. The gotcha you will have is you will need to do a Spanish driving test unless you hold an EU licence as you can't convert a UK one anymore and you will only be able to use a UK one for 6 months here. I was lucky that I hold a Dutch driving licence to converted it to Spanish but you need to be aware of the challenge getting a driving licence is if you want a car.

The dog is not a problem, we have a Yorkie and we bring her backwards and forwards from the UK. She has a French pet passport so we don't have any of the Brexit induced faff of getting here in and out. Spanish vets are excellent and super cheap compared to the UK. You will be able to get a Spanish passport for the dog once you have an address here. They have to be vaccinated in accordance with local regs and carry a tag with vaccination data but all dead easy.

Learning the language for me is a challenge. I have never needed to do it in my job and the circles I socialise in but actually being based in the country I consider it rude not to attempt to learn at least some of the language!


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## Finaror (Aug 19, 2019)

Do28 said:


> My two cents for what its worth. I first came to Spain in 2008 working for company backwards and forwards between the UK with 5-6 months of the year in Spain. I went to the US for work and then when I came back to the UK my company had me doing the Spain thing again. Brexit came along and I was not working in Spain but still had my apartment etc and spent all my time off here. I finally had to decide if I was going to commit to Spain and managed to squeak in for work and residence under Article 50 this year which will make me a full time Spanish resident in due course. I don't work in Spain at the moment as I commute out to do my job, but next year it looks like my company will transfer me to the Spanish subsidiary. I am Jerez and love the area and the people, the city is clean and friendly and there is plenty to do here. I cycle or scooter everywhere generally including to the beach. I only recently bought a car but rarely use it. The gotcha you will have is you will need to do a Spanish driving test unless you hold an EU licence as you can't convert a UK one anymore and you will only be able to use a UK one for 6 months here. I was lucky that I hold a Dutch driving licence to converted it to Spanish but you need to be aware of the challenge getting a driving licence is if you want a car.
> 
> The dog is not a problem, we have a Yorkie and we bring her backwards and forwards from the UK. She has a French pet passport so we don't have any of the Brexit induced faff of getting here in and out. Spanish vets are excellent and super cheap compared to the UK. You will be able to get a Spanish passport for the dog once you have an address here. They have to be vaccinated in accordance with local regs and carry a tag with vaccination data but all dead easy.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for sharing your experience. It's important for me.


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