# Young Family Moving to Malaga Region



## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

Hi All,

Totally new to this forum so please be gentle! thought it would be a great place to start and gain some good advice, so I hope you can help?!

I know this subject has been covered many times before (i've read a fair few threads) but i wanted to get some up to date advice on our personal situation. So apologies to anyone repeating any advice.

We are a young family 37 & 36 with two young children 2 & 4 Months. We are interested in moving to Spain for a healthier more outdoorsy life. 

After travelling around Spain, France and Italy looking for somewhere to live we decided that Spain would be our best bet for a number of reasons. We travelled all over Spain and fell in love with many areas, but due to one reason or another those particular areas were not suitable. We have however decided that as far as regions go, Andalusia is the best place for us. We have narrowed our search down to the Malaga area not discounting Granada.

We are particularly interested in Estepona (sorry mrypg9 your secret is out) and feel that would be a good starting point.

Our requirements are:
- Good schools (Int'l & local) / nurseries
- Infrastructure - Activities for the kids, amenities etc..
- Not reliant on tourism, so open all year round
- Other young families around
- Not brits abroad and only fools and horses bars (no offence to anyone if that's your thing - Each to their own and i totally respect that)
- Reasonable distance to hospital / medical centre
- Happy to be slightly inland if need be.


We do not speak Spanish yet but will learn.

We are open to all suggestions and are very keen to explore all the towns in the area that meet out criteria.

We are flying out to Malaga in March to finalise the area we want to live in and to also speak with agents re long term lets etc.. Our strategy is to rent for a year or two before we buy somewhere.

We are renting in Estepona for the first week and will use that as out base to explore the area west of Malaga. We are still undecided on where to stay east of Malaga, Nerja or Motril or Velez Malaga etc..


Thanks again and I look forward to hearing from you all.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Just wondering how you would make a living


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

We work for ourselves and have a small property business in the UK that provides us with an income


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chancerz said:


> We work for ourselves and have a small property business in the UK that provides us with an income


OK, that's good to know otherwise people will just go on about looking for work


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Chancerz said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Totally new to this forum so please be gentle! thought it would be a great place to start and gain some good advice, so I hope you can help?!
> 
> ...



As you have international schools on your wish list, then the only one East of Málaga at present is in Almuñecar, so I suppose that would be the logical place to base yourself for that part of your trip. I think it would meet all your other criteria too, although your nearest hospitals would be in Motril or Granada.

http://www.almunecarinternationalschool.org/


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

Thanks Lynn, that's good to know we will be sure to pay it a visit on our trip.

As our kids are quite young we have a couple of years to find out about good infant and secondary schools. We would be keen to put them into a local nursery though until then, hopefully at such a young age they will soak up the spanish language


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## LDN2ESP (Jul 24, 2015)

Hello

I've got a place in Almunecar, there is a thread I started recently about the first six months living there and going to the International school. Pretty much everywhere east of Malaga moves away from mass tourism of the West Malaga area. Nerja is admittedly rather too touristy for moi, with Frigging Aida above Nerja, just as busy. Both are nice places to start off I would guess, but watch out for the floaters in the sea in Nerja ... According to Euro weekly they haven't bothered sorting out a sewage treatment works for the town's waste ... yuk. Almunecar INT School is a very nice school and quite a bit cheaper than the int schools around west Malaga.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

LDN2ESP said:


> Hello
> 
> I've got a place in Almunecar, there is a thread I started recently about the first six months living there and going to the International school. Pretty much everywhere east of Malaga moves away from mass tourism of the West Malaga area. Nerja is admittedly rather too touristy for moi, with Frigging Aida above Nerja, just as busy. Both are nice places to start off I would guess, but watch out for the floaters in the sea in Nerja ... According to Euro weekly they haven't bothered sorting out a sewage treatment works for the town's waste ... yuk. Almunecar INT School is a very nice school and quite a bit cheaper than the int schools around west Malaga.


 I'm in the process of buyting a place in Nerja and go there regularly - yes, I've heard about problems in the sea, although I havent witnessed anything!!!!

Nerja does have a fair few expats of various nationalities, but everyone gets on well.

Jo xxx


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## cermignano (Feb 9, 2017)

If your children are so young why do you want an international school. I f you do not need one then do not limit yourselves to those areas. The world (Spain) is your oyster. There are so so many beautiful places to be. Maybe you need more than a week in Estepona to explore. But if you have made up your mind maybe not. Good luck. Keep us posted


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Chancerz said:


> We work for ourselves and have a small property business in the UK that provides us with an income


A couple of things to consider with this. Sounds like you will need to register as self employed. This means a monthly payment ( irrespective of income) of 250 euros each. Quite hefty if it is a small business. Without this you will not receive free healthcare and will need to have private insurance for the whole family.
Also a small property business in another country can have implications . Capital Gains tax will be levied on any sales even if you are able to exempt yourself in the UK and thirdly Spain requires all foreign assets over 50,000 euros to be declared. Post Brexit this could a major headache if non- Eu citizens are subject to different tax levels. 
And again with Brexit in mind things could be very expensive for people settling after the UK leaves. So don't leave it too late. With the UK government keen for a hard brexit and tight controls on immigration it seems reasonable to expect Europe to exact similar terms on UK passport holders. Might be a good idea to try and get registered in Spain before article 50 is triggered as the UK is going to want a cut off date to prevent what the right wing UK press thinks will be a huge immigration wave if they wait 2 years.


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

> If your children are so young why do you want an international school. I f you do not need one then do not limit yourselves to those areas. The world (Spain) is your oyster. There are so so many beautiful places to be. Maybe you need more than a week in Estepona to explore. But if you have made up your mind maybe not. Good luck. Keep us posted


We have driven around most of Spain and loved a lot of what we saw. However as i mentioned for some reason or another those areas were not suitable. We felt the Malaga region and in particular Estepona covers most of our criteria and has easy access to the glorious beaches of the south, the infrastructure Marbella and Malaga have for a young family and of course close to two airports!


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

kaipa said:


> A couple of things to consider with this. Sounds like you will need to register as self employed. This means a monthly payment ( irrespective of income) of 250 euros each. Quite hefty if it is a small business. Without this you will not receive free healthcare and will need to have private insurance for the whole family.
> Also a small property business in another country can have implications . Capital Gains tax will be levied on any sales even if you are able to exempt yourself in the UK and thirdly Spain requires all foreign assets over 50,000 euros to be declared. Post Brexit this could a major headache if non- Eu citizens are subject to different tax levels.
> And again with Brexit in mind things could be very expensive for people settling after the UK leaves. So don't leave it too late. With the UK government keen for a hard brexit and tight controls on immigration it seems reasonable to expect Europe to exact similar terms on UK passport holders. Might be a good idea to try and get registered in Spain before article 50 is triggered as the UK is going to want a cut off date to prevent what the right wing UK press thinks will be a huge immigration wave if they wait 2 years.


We will be going to Spain in March but will not be moving over until latter part of the year. I don't think we can register until we move over properly can we?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Chancerz said:


> We will be going to Spain in March but will not be moving over until latter part of the year. I don't think we can register until we move over properly can we?


That's correct, you can't register as resident until you are actually resident


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Front page of Guardian suggests that EU is secretly considering an "eye for an eye" approach to UK nationals in EU after brexit. If the UK deliberately seeks to make life difficult for EU immigrants wishing to live there then the same might apply to UK nationals in europe. Unlikely free health care will continue unless you have contributed not to mention possible work restrictions and mountains of new paperwork. 
Admittedly we should hope for the best but be prepared for the worse!


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## Motril Ben (Feb 10, 2017)

kaipa said:


> register as self employed. This means a monthly payment ( irrespective of income) of 250 euros each.


The good old "autonomo". It's a wonderful thing, in such a politically divided society as Spain, to see that there ARE things both left and right can agree on! In this case, it's that the State has a sworn and sacred duty to stamp down on those with potential to rise out of the class they were born into by means of exercising individual initiative, hard work and gumption. :thumb:


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## Chancerz (Feb 12, 2017)

kaipa said:


> Front page of Guardian suggests that EU is secretly considering an "eye for an eye" approach to UK nationals in EU after brexit. If the UK deliberately seeks to make life difficult for EU immigrants wishing to live there then the same might apply to UK nationals in europe. Unlikely free health care will continue unless you have contributed not to mention possible work restrictions and mountains of new paperwork.
> Admittedly we should hope for the best but be prepared for the worse!


Agreed.. Shame really as an eye for an eye will make make the whole world blind


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

kaipa said:


> Front page of Guardian suggests that EU is secretly considering an "eye for an eye" approach to UK nationals in EU after brexit. If the UK deliberately seeks to make life difficult for EU immigrants wishing to live there then the same might apply to UK nationals in europe. Unlikely free health care will continue unless you have contributed not to mention possible work restrictions and mountains of new paperwork.
> Admittedly we should hope for the best but be prepared for the worse!


No-one gets free healthcare now, except those who were already registered as living here before April 24 2012

Anyone who has registered since then has to pay for healthcare one way or another - either by working & contributing that way, by the convenio especial, or by way of an S1, where, in the case of British pensioners for example, Britain picks up the bill.


If British pensioners have to pay for their healthcare post Brexit, it will be because BRITAIN has decided to stop the arrangement. Why should Spain or any other country have to absorb those costs? 


I don't think I'd call it 'an eye for an eye' - but why on earth should the EU not treat British citizens in EU countries in the same way as Britain treats EU citizens in Britain? 

It's all about reciprocal agreements. If the current reciprocity stops, it stops.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Motril Ben said:


> The good old "autonomo". It's a wonderful thing, in such a politically divided society as Spain, to see that there ARE things both left and right can agree on! In this case, it's that the State has a sworn and sacred duty to stamp down on those with potential to rise out of the class they were born into by means of exercising individual initiative, hard work and gumption. :thumb:


Actually, the PSOE wants to (in many cases) reduce autónomo payments, changing to a system of paying a % of income as in the UK


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Agree with a previous poster that Spanish school, state or concertado (semi private) might be a good choice.


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## Motril Ben (Feb 10, 2017)

xabiachica said:


> Actually, the PSOE wants to (in many cases) reduce autónomo payments, changing to a system of paying a % of income as in the UK


You mean they finally figured out that getting a few quid is better than criminalising millions who've been forced to go illegal? I don't believe it! Ah well, I suppose they've got to pay for all the sex change ops and so on that they've promised the identity politics lobby.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

xabiachica said:


> No-one gets free healthcare now, except those who were already registered as living here before April 24 2012
> 
> Anyone who has registered since then has to pay for healthcare one way or another - either by working & contributing that way, by the convenio especial, or by way of an S1, where, in the case of British pensioners for example, Britain picks up the bill.
> 
> ...



Yes, I agree. The problem for us here in Spain is that the UK government doesn't appear to want to treat immigrants quite as nicely as we might have thought. The way the British press and the conservatives speak seems to suggest them doing everything possible to make life difficult for them. Consequently expect a bumpy ride for UK nationals in EU


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

kaipa said:


> Yes, I agree. The problem for us here in Spain is that the UK government doesn't appear to want to treat immigrants quite as nicely as we might have thought. The way the British press and the conservatives speak seems to suggest them doing everything possible to make life difficult for them. Consequently expect a bumpy ride for UK nationals in EU


Sadly I think you might be right  

Judging by what I'm hearing of the way some Spanish( & other EU) nationals are now being treated in the UK, some of whom have 'high powered' jobs & have been there for years, I would say that British citizens in the EU could well be in for a bumpy ride, to put it mildly.

Equally sadly I'm not at all surprised at the attitude of the British govt., nor the people.


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