# Living abroad 4-6 months every year



## llopis (Aug 15, 2014)

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and I've looked around for information in my particular situation, but I'm guessing it's not very common.

I'm living in the US right now with my family, but it looks like we might start living in Spain between 4 and 6 months every year (I'm a Spanish citizen as well).

I was wondering if anyone had any advice or best practices in how to deal with utilities and other monthly recurring costs. Is it better to suck it up and pay them all year, or have people found it better to shut them down and re-start them when they come back? I'm thinking of things like cable, electricity, water (obviously won't be able to shut that down since we have a yard that needs watering in dry San Diego), cell phone, etc.

Thanks.


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## llopis (Aug 15, 2014)

This got moved to the Spain subforum, but my question referred to how to deal with not being in the US for 4-6 months per year and how to deal with that. Not a good start running into overzealous mods :-(


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

llopis said:


> This got moved to the Spain subforum, but my question referred to how to deal with not being in the US for 4-6 months per year and how to deal with that. Not a good start running into overzealous mods :-(


I don't know who moved it - but I'll move it back for you 


or rather I have already...


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## mamasue (Oct 7, 2008)

llopis said:


> Hello,
> 
> I'm new to the forum and I've looked around for information in my particular situation, but I'm guessing it's not very common.
> 
> ...


We go away for 3-4 months every winter.
We generally put the thermostat on very low and just leave the gas on. We turn the water off at the mains to stop the pipes freezing.... but that's probably not an issue for you. 
Internet and tv, we usually call the company and suspend it for 3 months, and have them turn it on the day before we arrive home.
Holding your mail might be an issue...USPS don't generally hold for more than 30 days. We're lucky.... we have a lovely mail lady who holds it for us.
We pay all our monthly bills online, so no problems there.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

One thing you'll have to look at is how the various utility bills are paid in Spain. I know here in France, most utilities are (or can be) put on a sort of bank standing order so that the utility company just withdraws the appropriate amount from your bank account each month.

For some of the utilities, you're billed based on your prior year's actual usage, so that by shutting off the utility for a couple of months at a time, you'll just be reducing your annual usage and thus reducing your monthly bill (or estimate, depending on how they do it). Don't know how its done in Spain, but in France the electricity "billing" is estimated monthly and the meter is only read twice a year. The water bill is simply your annual usage divided by 12.
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Flat rate billing is a option with most US providers. By the time you pay reconnection fees this may be less expensive. How do you plan to run house alarm and a/c? Have you contacted your home owners insurance?


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