# Ideal Place in Spain



## fill_your_boots (Apr 12, 2013)

Hi:

My wife and I are currently living in Singapore and have a sabbatical year coming up in 2014. For part of it we were thinking of spending a few months in a Spanish speaking country, relaxing and taking some Spanish classes. We were thinking of either Spain or Ecuador. We would be renting a place for around 3 months. We don't have kids, obviously won't be looking for work and wouldn't want to live in a city as that is what we generally do (but living near one would be o.k. We were thinking maybe close-ish to Barcelona. I don't know the country at all-only went to Madrid for work once.

So two question for those who know:
1. If you could live close to Barcelona for 3 months, where would you live?
2. If you could live anywhere in Spain for 3 months, where would that be?

I'm thinking we would want to spend less than 1200 Euros a month on rent. Close to the ocean is nice, but I realize that would make it tougher on our budget.


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## fill_your_boots (Apr 12, 2013)

I should probably add that this will be August-November time frame.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

fill_your_boots said:


> I should probably add that this will be August-November time frame.


:welcome:


if I was footloose & fancyfree in Spain for 3 months I'd hire an SUV & travel around!

despite living here nearly 10 years there's so much of the country I haven't yet seen - & it's such a diverse country in terms of landscape it would be a great trip


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> :welcome:
> 
> 
> if I was footloose & fancyfree in Spain for 3 months I'd hire an SUV & travel around!
> ...


Not sure about the SUV (we used a VW Golf with no air conditioning!), but I would also recommend travelling around and staying in some of the many beautiful towns and cities. It's the best way to understand just what a wonderful country it is  
Inland Spain is a world away from the costas!


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Barcelona, I don't know. However, if you're looking for ocean front rentals, you could probably find something around that price on the northern coast. (Basque Country-Cantabria-Asturias).


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## fill_your_boots (Apr 12, 2013)

Will definitely travel around but would like a good base where we can soak up the atmosphere and take some Spanish lessons (plus I'll be working from home via my very remote job..)


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

If you intend to travel around, I would recommend that you base yourselves more centrally than Barcelona. Spain is a huge country! Toledo is nice


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## Guest (Apr 12, 2013)

I saw a 3 bedroom older home nestled in the older original part of Candás (a small fishing village in Asturias) for rent: 500€ a month... looked completely renovated yet retained it's original charm. The North coast from Basque Country to Asturias has many small to larger towns and has built up some to accommodate the tourists who come from the North seeking warmth (but not toooo warm) and the spanish from the South fleeing Summer's at times scorching heat. 

You'll find good language schools just about everywhere.

Also, August thru November are good months weather wise for the North of Spain.

I used to design, build, and maintain web sites... also converted texts to ebooks, and so I needed a good internet connection, and I have not been disappointed with what I have encountered here in the North.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

If one of your aims is to learn Spanish I wouldn't base myself in Catalonia where the first language is Catalan/ Valenciano, even though everyone speaks Spanish.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

To get to know the country, working from one base is not very practicable. You will need to have many locations around which to base your activities if you are going to do the country justice. 

To start with, the coasts are so different. To the north, you have the Bay of Biscay which can be quite rugged in places towards the eastern end but with sandy coves and bays; moving further west towards the NW corner of the peninsula and it becomes more like Norway with fjords (Rías in Spanish). Further on going down the west coast and into Portugal and you will get the real Atlantic effect. Carry on round the SW corner and to Gibraltar and the Atlantic becomes a little less severe. Through the straits to the Costa del Sol and you are into real tourist land with the Mediterranean. On the east coast, you have a different face of the Mediterranean. All of the coasts have different climates and these influence the vegetation and what type of agriculture is carried out, how many tourists and hence the types of .

The general terrain varies according to the movements of the various tectonic plates giving rise to mountainous areas, some snow-capped for part of the year. Some broad river valleys and a central mesa.

The climate variations mean that there are parts such as the northweast and along the northern coasts that are much more green for most, if not all, of the year. The central mesa (cold in winter hot in summer) becomes burnt and parched during the summer (fine if your favourite colour is brown!). Some areas have more obvious seasonal colour change. Where I live, the predominant colour is olive green (we do have the largest number of olive trees in the world) which remains with us all year while the other vegetation dies back and becomes brown.

Culture, archæology, sights vary across the peninsula according to history. Where there were concentrations of prehistoric peoples, you will find cave dwellers' pottery remains, cave paintings, castros and the like. You will even find people still living in cave houses and you can even stay in one yourself (be prepared to be surprised!) Then there are the areas favoured by the Phœnicians and the Romans with remains of villas, etc. Then came the Alans, the Goths and Visigoths followed by the Moors and each has made its mark on the areas they favoured. The Reconquest, in some places destroyed what was there already, in others, the pre-existing was modified to suit the new occupants.

There are many UN World Heritage Sites and a great deal to explore if history is your thing. Crowds or peace and quiet, music, sport, history, cuisine, local foods, handicrafts, almost anything you could want or imagine, you will find it all somewhere in Spain. We have been here almost five years and are slowly experiencing different parts by taking holidays in various areas - we have been down to sherry country, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada which are all on our doorstep, we have been to Barcelona in the northeast, Galicia in the northwest and this year we are going to Cantabria. We have even been to Portugal. We have stayed in the largest Natural Park - it is all fabulous. But it takes time becasue there is so much to see and do.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

fill_your_boots said:


> Will definitely travel around but would like a good base where we can soak up the atmosphere and take some Spanish lessons (plus I'll be working from home via my very remote job..)


ahhh - you do realise that if you're here on a holiday visa (Schengen), you're not allowed to work at all?

not even 'remotely'


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## Leper (May 12, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> To get to know the country, working from one base is not very practicable. You will need to have many locations around which to base your activities if you are going to do the country justice.
> 
> To start with, the coasts are so different. To the north, you have the Bay of Biscay which can be quite rugged in places towards the eastern end but with sandy coves and bays; moving further west towards the NW corner of the peninsula and it becomes more like Norway with fjords (Rías in Spanish). Further on going down the west coast and into Portugal and you will get the real Atlantic effect. Carry on round the SW corner and to Gibraltar and the Atlantic becomes a little less severe. Through the straits to the Costa del Sol and you are into real tourist land with the Mediterranean. On the east coast, you have a different face of the Mediterranean. All of the coasts have different climates and these influence the vegetation and what type of agriculture is carried out, how many tourists and hence the types of .
> 
> ...


Well said Baldilocks - Post of the Month in my opinion.


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> ahhh - you do realise that if you're here on a holiday visa (Schengen), you're not allowed to work at all?
> 
> not even 'remotely'


Is that actually the case? If I come to Spain for a month's vacation, bring my laptop, and respond to some work e-mails, is that not "working remotely" while on a holiday visa?

I've done this repeatedly in Germany and it's never been an issue - if nothing else because it's completely undetectable. Only after 90 days, when you need a residence permit, is it potentially an issue.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Nononymous said:


> Is that actually the case? If I come to Spain for a month's vacation, bring my laptop, and respond to some work e-mails, is that not "working remotely" while on a holiday visa?
> 
> I've done this repeatedly in Germany and it's never been an issue - if nothing else because it's completely undetectable. Only after 90 days, when you need a residence permit, is it potentially an issue.


strictly speaking, yes, it's true

but there's a world of difference between 'responding to a few work e-mails' which could arguably be done from a bar, & what you said ........''working from home via my very remote job''

I guess it's not an issue unless you get caught..........


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> strictly speaking, yes, it's true
> 
> but there's a world of difference between 'responding to a few work e-mails' which could arguably be done from a bar, & what you said ........''working from home via my very remote job''
> 
> I guess it's not an issue unless you get caught..........


This is a pretty theoretical argument, as I can't really imagine a scenario where you live somewhere for up to 89 days as a tourist (so no visa, no paperwork, no nothing) and get busted by the authorities for noodling about online while money flows into your account at home. 

As I said, I've done this in Germany almost every year for close to a decade. You simply have no interaction with local bureaucracy unless you do the simple registration that you need to open a bank account or get a library card or whatever, and those folks aren't interested in your employment status.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Nononymous said:


> This is a pretty theoretical argument, as I can't really imagine a scenario where you live somewhere for up to 89 days as a tourist (so no visa, no paperwork, no nothing) and get busted by the authorities for noodling about online while money flows into your account at home.
> 
> As I said, I've done this in Germany almost every year for close to a decade. You simply have no interaction with local bureaucracy unless you do the simple registration that you need to open a bank account or get a library card or whatever, and those folks aren't interested in your employment status.


no I dare say they aren't that bothered tbh

the fact remains though that it is, strictly speaking, against the terms of the Schengen permit to work & I would guess that penalties could be high if you were caught

& sorry - just realised it wasn't you who said the 'work from home' bit


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> no I dare say they aren't that bothered tbh
> 
> the fact remains though that it is, strictly speaking, against the terms of the Schengen permit to work & I would guess that penalties could be high if you were caught
> 
> & sorry - just realised it wasn't you who said the 'work from home' bit


The world of rules lags behind the world of digital work.


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