# Campervan living



## NCEdge (Apr 30, 2013)

Seriously thinking of coming to Spain and living in a campervan. Can anyone give me the pros and cons? How cheaply can you live if not doing a lot of driving? I would like to know if I could live on less than ₤500 a month.
Any advice is most welcome about free camping and medical services if needed. Also how would I go about getting my monthly medications from the UK?
Thanks in advance


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hi and welcome to the forum, 

I would think you would be hard pushed to live on 500€ a month. and you will have to pay a percentage for medications 

Davexf


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

NCEdge said:


> Seriously thinking of coming to Spain and living in a campervan. Can anyone give me the pros and cons? How cheaply can you live if not doing a lot of driving? I would like to know if I could live on less than ₤500 a month.
> Any advice is most welcome about free camping and medical services if needed. Also how would I go about getting my monthly medications from the UK?
> Thanks in advance


there _are _free 'campings' around - but usually you can't stay for more than a night or so

you can only access free medical services if you are a registered resident & contributing to social security in some way, either by working & paying NI or by way of a reciprocal agreement from your current home country 

also - in order to register as resident you have to show that you have an income (more than 500€ a month is generally required) & some healthcare provision in place

you don't say where you're from - that info would help us answer your questions

as davexf says though - even if entitled to state healthcare you would still have to pay for your prescriptions


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## Jumar (Mar 14, 2012)

If you are thinking of going to Spain permanently you would have to register and prove you had suffient funds to support yourself and healthcare. Also your campervan would have to be re-registered in Spain.

If you are going to Spain as a tourist, i.e. up to 3 months at a time, then campsite fees would be from approximately 14 Euros a night up to 40 Euros plus, a night, depending on areas and time of year. Long stay discounts are available on some campsites.

If you were wild camping (i.e. not paying for overnight stays) then depending on how much you paid for fuel each month your only other outgoing would be for food and drink (and for occasional fees to go on a campsite to empty your toilet etc.) Your food and drink would be approximately the same as you would spend in GB.
This is the only way you could expect to only spend 500 Euros a month. Personally I don´t agree with people living (long stay) this way in any country, but many people do.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jaws101 said:


> If you are thinking of going to Spain permanently you would have to register and prove you had suffient funds to support yourself and healthcare. Also your campervan would have to be re-registered in Spain.
> 
> If you are going to Spain as a tourist, i.e. up to 3 months at a time, then campsite fees would be from approximately 14 Euros a night up to 40 Euros plus, a night, depending on areas and time of year. Long stay discounts are available on some campsites.
> 
> ...



Many local people are getting tired of campervans being parked for long periods in their neighbourhoods and the police are moving these 'wild campers' on.

I don' t think I'd like to see a campervan parked for long periods around our village.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

If you are here for more than 90 days you will have to become "Residents" and for this you will have to demonstrate that you have sufficient income going into a *Spanish* bank account or have a considerable sum in savings that you can draw upon and prove that you have healthcare provision. Once you are resident you have a further period of 90 days in which to either (maybe impossible) to homologate your vehicle since a resident is not allowed to drive around in a foreign registered vehicle. Homologation maybe impossible if your vehicle is RHD and does not have all-round visibility through the vehicle from the drivers's seat. It must also have lights etc converted (the stick-on things are not acceptable) for driving on the right. You will also have to pay any importation taxes, etc. dependent upon how long you have owned the vehicle.


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## Guest (Apr 30, 2013)

*Homologation maybe impossible*

I have a little experience in this and if things haven't radically changed in the last 3 years I can say that registering a vehicle within the EU, but from different countries can be very difficult... and I am talking about LHD vehicles... it was a slow and frustrating process for a couple who are legal residents of Spain who tried to register a camper from Holland.

And like mrypg9 wrote, people are getting fed up with the camper community "free camping".


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

mysticsmick said:


> I have a little experience in this and if things haven't radically changed in the last 3 years I can say that registering a vehicle within the EU, but from different countries can be very difficult... and I am talking about LHD vehicles... it was a slow and frustrating process for a couple who are legal residents of Spain who tried to register a camper from Holland.
> 
> And like mrypg9 wrote, people are getting fed up with the camper community "free camping".


This question of 'free' tourism is complicated. I've had many discussions with Czech friends on this topic.
After the fall of socialism people from all over the former Soviet bloc wanted to travel but lacked the means to do so. So many people, especially the young, explored Europe on very little money, sleeping on beaches, wild camping, living on very little. My Czech friend was part of a group that travelled around Europe in an old coach. They literally took everything they needed with them: foodstuffs, drinking water...They slept on the bus and washed in roadside garage loos or the sea.
They couldn't understand why this was viewed unfavourably and why they were often moved on by police when eating a picnic lunch in places like St. Mark's Square in Venice... They didn't see why travel required payment. Socialism has a lot to answer for in the way it narrowed people's minds and by its very repression gave a false view of capitalism as total freedom. They really thought that in 'free' societies you would be free from petty restrictions, that you could pitch your tent or park your bus where you pleased, that cultural monuments etc. would offer free entrance.
I sympathise with them, in a way, but also realise that in the real world of everyday experience everything has a price and must be paid for, which is perhaps sad but no the less true.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

We know of a Spanish guy who lives in a caravan (small) and it is parked outside the house his wife used to own before she stopped paying her mortgage and the bank repossessed it. He absolutely hates it especially in the hot summer months and the freezing winter nights. But he gets by on €400 a month, half of which he often gives to his wife (who isn't living with him). So, depending on where you live, it is feasible to live frugally and therefore €500+ a month might be doable. But take heed of the advice offered above, all of which is good!!!


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