# Where to live in Spain



## Valhalla Rising (May 19, 2014)

Hello, I currently run a business that I could run form anywhere in the world so I am thinking to go somewhere hot for a few years but still in Europe. 

I would like to learn the language but currently I don't speak any Spanish and need an area where English is widely spoken. 

My other key needs are a decent school (I have a 4 and a 6 year old), close to the beach, close to nice families who live there all year, good food, close to life but not hoards of drunken brits.

Any idea?

Many thanks

James


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## anonserg (May 13, 2014)

Hi

I am also currently looking for a place to move and I chance upon this neighbourhood Pedralbes in Barcelona. Mostly expat families and many good international schools too. You may want to consider that.


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## Supercod (May 22, 2014)

I work online also and I am moving to an area that borders Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa as it seems to tick all your boxes however your going to get the normal holiday folk come July / August. As for families, yes it has them but you do get a lot of older folk and this is no bad thing, means your neighbours in the most part are not up all night partying and have a bit of respect for other people ;-)


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## Supercod (May 22, 2014)

Should have added, every place as rubbish Internet it would seem with the exception of Madrid one of the few places I could find FTTC.


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## el pescador (Mar 14, 2013)

TBH who needs 70MBs unless your a heavy downloader?


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## Supercod (May 22, 2014)

el pescador said:


> TBH who needs 70MBs unless your a heavy downloader?


Yeah and your entire living is based online.. I need to be able to upload and download files fast, the longer it takes the more time I waste. Ultra Fast Internet will come to Spain but in the mean time I just need to pay for extra lines and join them together to get an ok speed. Spain could be the California for Internet folk from all over Europe and that could only be a good thing for jobs and for the country but like I said in time fast internet access for all will come, I fully expect that 4G will take over from the current "fast" wifi offerings in many area's.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

I spent time going up and down the east coast recently and was able to stream iPlayer without any stalls most of the time. I know the Internet connections aren't very high speed but for the most part they seemed to deliver the bandwidth they were supposed to, and it was quick enough for many functions.

I work on the Internet too and found that speeds were sufficient for my work. I access servers elsewhere and assemble and compile code on them, and I had no problems doing that. When I need to change files and transfer them, I use bit-level replication to avoid shifting a whole file if I only change a few bytes.

I'm sure the experience wouldn't be so positive if I was shifting huge files back and forth. I would imagine video editing businesses would struggle.


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## Valhalla Rising (May 19, 2014)

Apart from the internet how was your experience on the east coast? do you live in Spain?

I am really looking at Barcelona (or more likely a town close to the city) as a place to live. 

I know this sounds bad but at least in the beginning I need access to English TV. Is this possible/easy?

Is there anywhere I can get an idea of the cost of living in Spain? The rent is easy but I am not sure on bills, taxes, food and general living.

Thanks


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

the majority of the regulars on this forum live in Spain - some live in Barcelona so can give you more detailed info of the area than I can

I wouldn't bet on it being hot though, except for a month or so in the summer, although to be fair it will be warmer than the UK, most of the time

parts of Cataluña get snow every winter, and a lot of it, although perhaps not actually in Barcelona on a regular basis

you would have more chance of faster internet in the city than a town nearby


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## el pescador (Mar 14, 2013)

Supercod said:


> Yeah and your entire living is based online.. I need to be able to upload and download files fast, the longer it takes the more time I waste. Ultra Fast Internet will come to Spain but in the mean time I just need to pay for extra lines and join them together to get an ok speed. Spain could be the California for Internet folk from all over Europe and that could only be a good thing for jobs and for the country but like I said in time fast internet access for all will come, I fully expect that 4G will take over from the current "fast" wifi offerings in many area's.



by the sounds of it you gonna set up some sort of server to distribute large files?

if its what i do you wont need to worry much.
i just need reasonable pings and no dropped packets....live prices etc

so far no outages unlike back home even with fttc.


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## freezer2k (Apr 22, 2014)

Hey guys,

I'm currently looking at living in Estepona. 

Looks like in terms of wired broadband internet, there's only Movistar available?

Up to 10mbit/s ...
Not that much, but I could live with it. Anyone has experience how much of that is arriving in Estepona?

What is an area with good coverage?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

By "wired internet" do you mean fibre-optic cable? I don't think there is any in Estepona yet, but it might arrive in the next few years.

Cobertura de Fibra Óptica, ¿dónde y para cuándo? - Comparaiso.es

If you can live with ADSL in the meantime there are various options besides Movistar.


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## mickbcn (Feb 4, 2013)

In Barcelona you can get 100 mb in ONO take a look here Las velocidades de Internet de ONO | ONO


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## freezer2k (Apr 22, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> By "wired internet" do you mean fibre-optic cable? I don't think there is any in Estepona yet, but it might arrive in the next few years.
> 
> Cobertura de Fibra Óptica, ¿dónde y para cuándo? - Comparaiso.es
> 
> If you can live with ADSL in the meantime there are various options besides Movistar.


Yes i mean ADSL, 

Can you list the options, which one has the best quality, service?

Is there some page that can list all options available at a specific address?

Thanks!


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## Trusetyven (Feb 20, 2014)

Valhalla Rising said:


> Apart from the internet how was your experience on the east coast? do you live in Spain?
> 
> I am really looking at Barcelona (or more likely a town close to the city) as a place to live.
> 
> ...



Seems to be a lot of concern about the internet. I have zero concern about that. 

I live in Barcelona. As me and my other half have started talking about child, we very easily decided to leave Barcelona. Next week we will do a roadtrip down the coast, and see what else Spain has to offer. I think we will end up in Marbella area.

Prices in BCN is not terrible, and not cheap.
Depends what you are used to I guess

I have a nice flat. 650 eur + water and electric wich is about 70-80 pr month

Garage: 150 eur. You can get cheaper parkings. The problem can be the size of them

Traffic is horrible, always.. 24 hrs rush hour

and so on...


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## pattib (Apr 17, 2013)

Is treatment for ARMD free in Spain


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

pattib said:


> Is treatment for ARMD free in Spain


 I guess it would depend on your age and if you qualify for medical care in Spain

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

pattib said:


> Is treatment for ARMD free in Spain


yes, as jojo says, in the first place it depends if you qualify for state healthcare

if you do, you would receive the same treatment as a Spanish National with the same condition


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