# Move to Spain for a year?



## Billt4sf (Nov 20, 2016)

My wife and I are looking to travel the world, one region at a time. We are currently in Bali, doing lots of scuba diving. We've only been expats a few months so far but we like the lifestyle and we really want to spend some time visiting Europe. We are thinking of using Spain as a base because it would be relatively warm and relatively inexpensive -- I think. 

Any comments and suggestions welcome.

Of course we have many questions, the first of which is whether we can get a longstay visa. I have seen some info on the internet, but I do not have a well-research opinion on how hard it would be get a longstay visa. (In Indonesia, we typically have to leave the country for a day every 60 days, and then return and pay $35 each time). 

A second question is where to live? We are thinking of the Mediterranean coast, not directly on the coast but inland somewhere north of Barcelona. We want to be near an airport so we can go to other countries, maybe good rail service would suffice. We also want a full Western style of living, not rich per se but with things like laundry machine, air conditioning where appropriate, adequate safety, a nice outside space, and good culture like restaurants, music, museums, etc. We are in our 60’s so we don’t want a party scene.

Our budget is around $3500USD per month for living expenses, not including travel.

I am looking for responses from individuals living in Spain, not from agencies.

Thank you in advance for any ideas of things to think about. 

Bill


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

I've never been there myself, but it sounds like Girona (the city) ticks a lot of boxes. It might not be particularly cheap compared to other parts of Europe, and English might not be spoken very much, but it is meant to be a very nice city. It has a small airport and AVE station, and it's just over an hour from Barcelona, where you'll find many flights to different parts of Europe. Also the coast near there is stunning and good for scuba diving. Can't help re. visas I'm afraid.


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

We are Americans living in Spain for a year on non lucrative visas, which I think would be the best fit for you. The process was cumbersome but well worth it. We have found cost of living to be very low here compared to what we were used to in a Northeastern US city.


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## Billt4sf (Nov 20, 2016)

SOunds good, how long does it let you stay for?

Girona sounds WONDERFUL. 

- Bill


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

We have one year visas but it sounds like it is fairly easy to renew. We arrived in July and plan to leave in June so the one year visa is perfect for us.


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## Billt4sf (Nov 20, 2016)

Chopera said:


> I've never been there myself, but it sounds like Girona (the city) ticks a lot of boxes. It might not be particularly cheap compared to other parts of Europe, and English might not be spoken very much, but it is meant to be a very nice city. It has a small airport and AVE station, and it's just over an hour from Barcelona, where you'll find many flights to different parts of Europe. Also the coast near there is stunning and good for scuba diving. Can't help re. visas I'm afraid.


Did a bit of online research on Girona and it sure sounds nice! I wonder what the housing situation is there -- I mean, can one get a nice quiet house with a yard or something and transportation for a reasonable price? It sounded like once you live away from the city center, you need a car (I think). 

We probably just have to go there to find out.

Thanks,

Bill & Emily


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

In my experience (though not with Girona in particular), it's quite unusual to get a house with very much outside space in a town or city. Most have to make do with balconies or, if you're lucky, a roof terrace. You might need to look at properties outside of the city to get a garden/yard.


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## Espanglish Spain (Nov 22, 2016)

Why don´t you look for a nice villa in the area of Almeria?, there are a wide range of house in the market at reasonable prices.
If you want more information I can recommend some agents in the area.


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## Billt4sf (Nov 20, 2016)

Espanglish Spain said:


> Why don´t you look for a nice villa in the area of Almeria?, there are a wide range of house in the market at reasonable prices.
> If you want more information I can recommend some agents in the area.


We are thinking of being more northerly than that to make it easier to visit northern and central Europe.

- Bill


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Billt4sf said:


> Did a bit of online research on Girona and it sure sounds nice! I wonder what the housing situation is there -- I mean, can one get a nice quiet house with a yard or something and transportation for a reasonable price? It sounded like once you live away from the city center, you need a car (I think).
> 
> We probably just have to go there to find out.
> 
> ...


This might give an indication re. housing in Girona...

https://www.idealista.com/venta-viviendas/girona-girona/

(generally it's quite difficult to get an accurate idea of the housing market in Spain, since a lot of property is not priced to the market)


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## Billt4sf (Nov 20, 2016)

kdsb said:


> We are Americans living in Spain for a year on non lucrative visas, which I think would be the best fit for you. The process was cumbersome but well worth it. We have found cost of living to be very low here compared to what we were used to in a Northeastern US city.


Could you give us some more detail on how to go about getting this type of Visa? With the current events in the US, I am very worried that Indonesia might not be a good place to be a few months from now.

Thanks,

Bill


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Billt4sf said:


> Could you give us some more detail on how to go about getting this type of Visa? With the current events in the US, I am very worried that Indonesia might not be a good place to be a few months from now.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Bill


You need to contact the Spanish consulate where you live - they will tell you exactly what you need.

I know that doesn't seem very helpful, but requirements vary from Consulate to Consulate!


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Billt4sf said:


> We are thinking of being more northerly than that to make it easier to visit northern and central Europe.
> 
> - Bill


Internal flights within Europe are cheap as chips.

https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/

Play with the dates and book well ahead. I'll be going UK to Tenerife next week, the return flights cost me £78 thats around $100


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## kdsb (May 3, 2015)

The requirements are slightly different for each consulate, but mostly the same. They seem to differ mostly on whether you need to have accommodation worked out ahead of time and whether you are allowed to work remotely while living in Spain. I have a blog which is linked in my signature which explains our process in Boston.


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## Rustean (Nov 9, 2016)

I am Australian my husband is British we stumbled upon Girona in 2013 and spent 4 months there in 2015 we returned for a year. We simply adore Girona. We made lots of friends local and expat. The local expat group Girona Grapevine is a lovely way to meet people. We made several lifelong friends who are Americans and like us they even brought their dog. Girona is 40 minutes by train to Barcelona. 20 minutes to the beach and 40 minutes to the French border. There is now a local train and bus service to Perpignan. The Pyrenees are right behind you and The Costa Brava on your doorstep. A twice weekly market, Market hall and Saturday flower market and many free events held by the ayuntamiento (council). Girona is a wonderfully cultural place and there are so many concerts and events throughout the year. Catalan is the main language, Spanish as well and most people speak English, People in Girona are happy to help you if they see you are making an effort. Once you start going daily to say the butcher, baker etc they will welcome you. Girona is a very easy city to walk around and once you register with the ayuntamiento as a resident you can use the public bikes on offer. Girona also has a great bus service that amazingly runs on time. If there is anything I can help you with please let me know. We are ourselves in the process of returning to Girona we feel truly at home there.


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