# Moving Furniture from UK to Spain



## swampiesue

Hi I just wondered how much approx does it cost to move furniture to the south of Spain, as I said in an earlier thread, all I am doing is finding out if my dream for the future is possible. I believe it would be a lot cheaper to buy a van an move it ourselves but husband not keen on that Idea as I don't drive....all I want to know is a very rough Idea....


----------



## jojo

swampiesue said:


> Hi I just wondered how much approx does it cost to move furniture to the south of Spain, as I said in an earlier thread, all I am doing is finding out if my dream for the future is possible. I believe it would be a lot cheaper to buy a van an move it ourselves but husband not keen on that Idea as I don't drive....all I want to know is a very rough Idea....



A friend of mine who is owns a removal company, usually charges around 90 - 100€ a cubed metre ish!? but it depends on where you are in the UK and the time of year. Why dont you have a ring round and get a few "ball park" estimates????

Jo xxx


----------



## swampiesue

Thank you, I think the best thing will be to sell nearly every thing, buy a van and drive over and enjoy the drive staying in rustic B&B's across France and Spain...neither off us have hardy travelled so think it would be quite romantic...


----------



## jojo

swampiesue said:


> Thank you, I think the best thing will be to sell nearly every thing, buy a van and drive over and enjoy the drive staying in rustic B&B's across France and Spain...neither off us have hardy travelled so think it would be quite romantic...



Hhhhmmm!!! We drove down once and - romantic isnt the word that I'd use, but then we did have the kids with us AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHH

Jo xxxx


----------



## swampiesue

No I should think not with the kids in the back " are we there yet MUM lol"


----------



## karened74

Hi, we moved to Mallorca in july this year, we moved quite alot of stuff as we have 2 children and it cost us just under one thousand four hundred pounds, I thought this was a very good price as it saved alot of stress. the van came to our house in the UK on a Friday and delivered it to our house in Mallorca the next Friday. We flew over and had a weeks holiday before all the stuff came. We also looked into the possibility of buying a van and doing it ourselves but with ferry, fuel, B&B and the re-registration of the van in Spain it just wasn't worth it. 
Hope this helps.


----------



## jojo

swampiesue said:


> No I should think not with the kids in the back " are we there yet MUM lol"


"Are we there yet" before we'd left the county. The food I brought with us was all but gone and "I need a wee" twice before we reached the ferry and when we'd almost arrived to the CDS "Mum, I've forgotten my mobile phone"!! Not to mention various tears and tantrums in between A and B!!! 

Jo xxxx


----------



## karened74

sorry that was mean't to say just under one thousand four hundred pounds


----------



## Alcalaina

swampiesue said:


> Hi I just wondered how much approx does it cost to move furniture to the south of Spain, as I said in an earlier thread, all I am doing is finding out if my dream for the future is possible. I believe it would be a lot cheaper to buy a van an move it ourselves but husband not keen on that Idea as I don't drive....all I want to know is a very rough Idea....


We bought our house in Spain fully furnished, which is quite common. The only furniture we bought over were a king-size bed (hard to find here in Andalucia where the average height for men is 5'6") and a rather nice pine table and chairs. I won't mention the 60 boxes of books and CDs ... About 20 cubic metres in total, including suitcases full of clothes and quite a lot of musical instruments. 

We hired a "man with a van" which cost about 1400 pounds but we had to load and unload it ourselves. We put all the computer equipment and personal stuff in the car and drove down separately.


----------



## swampiesue

Thanks everyone....£1,400 that is not bad at all, never even thought of the price of the fuel 
" that's an non driver for your lol....." what with the cost of the van...B&B's fuel that is really good....I would head off tomorrow, and rent for a few months but I have an oldish dog and it really would not be fair to her at this point in her life..

I am sure there will be lot's more questions, I pray this will not be a pipe dream but if i am to even think about this I have lots to plan and think about....I am sure a lot of you have all be there .xx


----------



## Alcalaina

swampiesue said:


> Thanks everyone....£1,400 that is not bad at all, never even thought of the price of the fuel
> " that's an non driver for your lol....." what with the cost of the van...B&B's fuel that is really good....I would head off tomorrow, and rent for a few months but I have an oldish dog and it really would not be fair to her at this point in her life..
> 
> I am sure there will be lot's more questions, I pray this will not be a pipe dream but if i am to even think about this I have lots to plan and think about....I am sure a lot of you have all be there .xx


Yes, we've all been there! It took us three years to plan our "great escape" ... 

But it really is worth getting all the pieces in the jigsaw in place before you leave, so that you aren't faced with a lot of stress and surprises when you get here. Looks to me like you're going about it the right way.


----------



## Jaxx

*Moving costs to Spain*



swampiesue said:


> Thanks everyone....£1,400 that is not bad at all, never even thought of the price of the fuel
> " that's an non driver for your lol....." what with the cost of the van...B&B's fuel that is really good....I would head off tomorrow, and rent for a few months but I have an oldish dog and it really would not be fair to her at this point in her life..
> 
> I am sure there will be lot's more questions, I pray this will not be a pipe dream but if i am to even think about this I have lots to plan and think about....I am sure a lot of you have all be there .xx



Hi there,
We are about to move to Spain and had many quotes from removal firms, they varied from £100 per cubic metre to £140 per cubic metre. We have, they tell us 38 cubic metres but we are hardly bringing any furniture except 2 beds,outside furniture and many many boxes, plus a shed, trailer and motorbike. Our most expensive quote was almost £7000 but its still costing us £4000. Heaven knows how much it would have been if we had brought all the furniture with us!
Best of luck anyway, shall be so glad when were over there and settled now.x


----------



## swampiesue

Been chatting to my husband and maybe we can give this a try regardless... Think we might rent a place for a few months next year.... I have noticed there are some reasonable winter rents on this forum...Is southern Spain pretty warm in the winter compared to other parts....Might be better to try it out first. I forgot about Dog passports and Spain is not really that far


----------



## jojo

swampiesue said:


> Been chatting to my husband and maybe we can give this a try regardless... Think we might rent a place for a few months next year.... I have noticed there are some reasonable winter rents on this forum...Is southern Spain pretty warm in the winter compared to other parts....Might be better to try it out first. I forgot about Dog passports and Spain is not really that far



compared to the UK its probably warm, altho certainly in the last few days its got very chilly at night (its lovely during the day when the sun shines tho). Snow and frosts arent unheard of and of course theres the rain, which, when it falls can be torrential causing floods and landslides and power cuts (dont mention last winter!!!!) If you can do a winter here then thats a good acid test to how you'll cope

As for your doggy, altho its not so strict bringing him to Spain, he'll still need the passport. And before he can leave Spain, should you wish him to, he'll need to have a rabies vaccination thats been in his system for at least 6 months! Speak to your vet for the details


----------



## swampiesue

I live on the Norfolk coast in a very rural coastal area, it rains sideways and the snow when we have it does the same....yes I did see that a passport would be required it would not be until next winter and she is 12 this year a Cav King Charles so anything could happen in a year. I just feel it would be important to try his whole thing out rather than sell up and up sticks without trying it out. I would love to live in a pretty rural inland area any suggestion anyone.


----------



## jojo

swampiesue said:


> I live on the Norfolk coast in a very rural coastal area, it rains sideways and the snow when we have it does the same....yes I did see that a passport would be required it would not be until next winter and she is 12 this year a Cav King Charles so anything could happen in a year. I just feel it would be important to try his whole thing out rather than sell up and up sticks without trying it out. I would love to live in a pretty rural inland area any suggestion anyone.


What about coming over for a visit - a long weekend or a holiday. Flights arent too expensive at the moment!??

To try to get an idea of where you want to be, first write a list of things that you want to be close to - airport, hospital, the sea, brits, mountains, golf courses...etc... Pin point a few areas then come over and have a look!? Or go onto google earth and see what you come up with. We could all give you places that we like, but you might not. My suggestion would be Mijas, Alhaurin El Grande, possibly Nerja????? 

Jo xxxx


----------



## Alcalaina

swampiesue said:


> I live on the Norfolk coast in a very rural coastal area, it rains sideways and the snow when we have it does the same....yes I did see that a passport would be required it would not be until next winter and she is 12 this year a Cav King Charles so anything could happen in a year. I just feel it would be important to try his whole thing out rather than sell up and up sticks without trying it out. I would love to live in a pretty rural inland area any suggestion anyone.


I live in a pretty, rural inland area and I know people who are looking for tenants. How's your Spanish?


----------



## dunmovin

I would bin the idea of getting a van and driving down for several reasons. Unless you plan to keep the van until it falls apart, be aware you would have two chances of selling a RHD van here and both of them end in "all". If you did keep it, the process of changing it to Spanish plates has been known to bring grown men to tears, keep it on UK plates after 6 months it's illegal, then there is the fact traffic cops love to enquire after you health.... (yeah right) when they see a commercial vehicle on UK plates.
Add up the cost of buying the van,insuring and taxing it, plus fuel, plus overnight stays on the trip, the ferry /tunnel fees... you might find it cheaper and less stressfull if you got a professional mover (such as Pickfords, Crown, Schenker etc.).

Another point is, with a mover, they will have far better "goods in transit" insurance than you could ever get. They pack it all, load it and unload it.


----------



## swampiesue

Alcalaina it looks beautiful, yes that is the sort of area we are looking at, I am afraid that my general chit chat has somewhat got my threads all repeating them selves...Sorry Moderators..Spanish a little from writing to a Spanish boyfriend MANY years ago I am going to learn via the computer. Plans at the moment are cheap holiday this year...rent for a few months over the winter to find out how cold it is and costs...Hopefully next year, and the following and take it from there.


----------



## Stravinsky

swampiesue said:


> months over the winter to find out how cold it is and costs...Hopefully next year, and the following and take it from there.


Its often confusing here weather wise
Outside its been beautiful and sunny all day long, but it's bloody cold and has been for a week or so now, with high winds


----------



## Calas felices

*Move to Spain*

Just don't let the romance get in the way of reality. You mentioned that you are disabled and have to rely on your husband/partner for transport. Do think about such things as doctors, hospitals/health in general. Initially you will get assisted health but eventually you will have to fund it yourself. Do consider such basic items as food shopping etc. Not every little Spanish village has a supermarket for example. Unless you're used to learning recently, trying to do so on a computer will not help much and if you don't speak the language in a little rural village you will be very lonely. Don't even think about integrating with the Spanish - the best you will get to is exchanging pleasantries when you see someone. The major topic of conversation for the Spanish is politics/family and firends - all the things you will have left behind. Finally as someone has already said, whatever the photographs say, it can get very cold in Spain and the houses (mostly) are very poorly insulated. Not likely to be gas supplies either so you are stuck with electricity or having to travel to go and get gas/wood/etc. Unfortunately it seems that for every good thing there is an equivalent bad thing that drives people mad. Most people who stay seem to be able to forget about the bad ( but don't mention the mind blowing bureacracy!).


----------



## Stravinsky

Calas felices said:


> JUnfortunately it seems that for every good thing there is an equivalent bad thing that drives people mad. Most people who stay seem to be able to forget about the bad ( but don't mention the mind blowing bureacracy!).


Well .... in some ways I'd agree ...... but it's all about how you handle it isn't it. The good things about Spain far outweigh the bad. You just have to accept that you live in a different country. Theres not much point in paperwork sending you mad .... you just get on with it and deal with it

The houses aren't particularly well insulated against cold .... but then again it's nice to be sitting infront of a log fire in the evenings  And cold here at night tends to be at its worst about 8 degrees in the winter


----------



## neilmac

swampiesue said:


> I live on the Norfolk coast in a very rural coastal area, it rains sideways and the snow when we have it does the same....yes I did see that a passport would be required it would not be until next winter and she is 12 this year a Cav King Charles so anything could happen in a year. I just feel it would be important to try his whole thing out rather than sell up and up sticks without trying it out. I would love to live in a pretty rural inland area any suggestion anyone.


We came to the Valencia region from the north Norfolk coast - I don't believe I have ever witnessed rain there like I have here. It s like someone quite literally pouring water out from a jug - forget raindrops!That said most of the year the sun really does shine and yes the chilly nights sometime have you hopping about I believe my wife's asthma and eczema have both improved due to not having central heating.

Trying a long holiday will give you an idea of what it's like here but living here is another world. We just popped up the market in our village were fussed over by the ladies and the postman shook my hand as he hadn't seen us for a few days. 
We would always favour village life to 'campo' or 'urbanizacion' but that is clearly down to preference. 

Being within 20 mins or so of the coast but in the mountains which we are delighted to say have just become designated Natural park is perfect for us.


----------



## mrypg9

We have made two major moves in the past six years....from the UK to Prague and from Prague to Southern Spain. We brought literally everything with us and like Alcalaina we had a lot of books, CDs, DVDs plus our clothes, crockery etc. Having these personal things around us helped us settle in. We flew over as we were dogless then.
We drove from Prague to Marbella because by then we had our dog. The journey was most enjoyable....we took it easy and planned good hotels with good restaurants for overnight stays. It was a mini-holiday in itself.
For our first move we chose the cheapest quote, 4000 pounds, from a local firm.....big mistake. Because they were 'local' they used sub-contractors in Prague to handle delivery who were careless and useless.
We learnt our lesson when we moved from an apartment to a house in Prague and used Pickfords. Excellent service.
Then when moving to Spain we chose AGS, a French international removals company. I think it cost around 4000 pounds again.
When/if we make our next move we will not be looking to economise as in our admittedly limited experience you get what you pay for.


----------



## neilmac

mrypg9 said:


> We have made two major moves in the past six years....from the UK to Prague and from Prague to Southern Spain. We brought literally everything with us and like Alcalaina we had a lot of books, CDs, DVDs plus our clothes, crockery etc. Having these personal things around us helped us settle in. We flew over as we were dogless then.
> We drove from Prague to Marbella because by then we had our dog. The journey was most enjoyable....we took it easy and planned good hotels with good restaurants for overnight stays. It was a mini-holiday in itself.
> For our first move we chose the cheapest quote, 4000 pounds, from a local firm.....big mistake. Because they were 'local' they used sub-contractors in Prague to handle delivery who were careless and useless.
> We learnt our lesson when we moved from an apartment to a house in Prague and used Pickfords. Excellent service.
> Then when moving to Spain we chose AGS, a French international removals company. I think it cost around 4000 pounds again.
> When/if we make our next move we will not be looking to economise as in our admittedly limited experience you get what you pay for.


Hi 
Just a note on removals - we too used Pickfords (The Careful Movers) of all the stuff we brought and I confess there was some rubbish - a lawn mower for instance, we had several things broken by the time our stuff got here. Admittedly it had been in storage for a few months. 

What was broken? An antique clock, antique desk and a set of antique watercolours! You cant watch the packers all the time they are there packing up but the practise of wrapping glass in only blankets is foolhardy. Shame we only saw this at the unpacking! However the point to this is only - if you have precious stuff either oversee the packing or do it yourself - whoever you decide to use.


----------



## Alcalaina

I´d never trust anyone else to pack anything that was of value to me. We did our own, with acres of bubble wrap and rigid cardboard boxes. It all survived.


----------



## silverfox911

Hello JoJo just to let you know that we are very close to making a decision as to where we live, and it's pointing more + more to Spain! we should get the reply back some time next week and finger's crossed, do you remember ruffly how long it took you when you signed and sold your property in the UK to moving in to your house in Spain! many thank's.


----------



## xabiaxica

silverfox911 said:


> Hello JoJo just to let you know that we are very close to making a decision as to where we live, and it's pointing more + more to Spain! we should get the reply back some time next week and finger's crossed, do you remember ruffly how long it took you when you signed and sold your property in the UK to moving in to your house in Spain! many thank's.


Hi

jojo didn't actually sell her house in the UK - she rented it out - & with one thing & another she's actually back in the UK now - although spending as much time as possible here as she can...I'm sure she'll tell you more herself - she's still here on the forum 


when we moved here nearly 10 years ago, we weren't buying here - in fact I still rent - but we did sell our house in the UK...and we were here with about 48 hours of the final completion!!


----------



## silverfox911

xabiachica said:


> Hi
> 
> jojo didn't actually sell her house in the UK - she rented it out - & with one thing & another she's actually back in the UK now - although spending as much time as possible here as she can...I'm sure she'll tell you more herself - she's still here on the forum
> 
> 
> when we moved here nearly 10 years ago, we weren't buying here - in fact I still rent - but we did sell our house in the UK...and we were here with about 48 hours of the final completion!!


many thanks for that will bare that in mind, we are beginning to get all the right info together waiting on one letter. uk


----------



## cyclequeen

*Driving through Spain*



Alcalaina said:


> We bought our house in Spain fully furnished, which is quite common. The only furniture we bought over were a king-size bed (hard to find here in Andalucia where the average height for men is 5'6") and a rather nice pine table and chairs. I won't mention the 60 boxes of books and CDs ... About 20 cubic metres in total, including suitcases full of clothes and quite a lot of musical instruments.
> 
> We hired a "man with a van" which cost about 1400 pounds but we had to load and unload it ourselves. We put all the computer equipment and personal stuff in the car and drove down separately.


Hi Alcalaina, as you have done what we intend to do in June I wonder if you have any tips please. We are driving from Santander to La Linea with our cat!! I have managed to get our car insurance sorted for the journey & to cover us for the first 3 weeks in Spain, hopefully then we can sort out the Spanish equivalent. Do you know if there is a breakdown company, we have Green Flag in the UK but they don't cover Spain. Any tips would be great please


----------



## extranjero

*is it worth the risk?*

I know it is cheaper to hire a van to move stuff, but it's not always the best idea. You must also insure your goods. Also customs may search your van, which is fine,nothing to hide but is disruptive. Surely it is safer to use a good removal firm belonging to British Association of Removers. Someone quoted 90-100 euros a sq metre-thats expensive!


----------



## Dunpleecin

extranjero said:


> I know it is cheaper to hire a van to move stuff, but it's not always the best idea. You must also insure your goods. Also customs may search your van, which is fine,nothing to hide but is disruptive. Surely it is safer to use a good removal firm belonging to British Association of Removers. Someone quoted 90-100 euros a sq metre-thats expensive!


Is that square meter or cubic metre? A cubic metrer is obviously much more area and is about 8 large boxes. And might include IVA?

I think if you get a UK to Spain removal for a grand (Sterling or Euros) you're doing well...


----------



## extranjero

*moving*

Yes, sorry! CUBIC metre.


----------



## baldilocks

cyclequeen said:


> Hi Alcalaina, as you have done what we intend to do in June I wonder if you have any tips please. We are driving from Santander to La Linea with our cat!! I have managed to get our car insurance sorted for the journey & to cover us for the first 3 weeks in Spain, hopefully then we can sort out the Spanish equivalent. Do you know if there is a breakdown company, we have Green Flag in the UK but they don't cover Spain. Any tips would be great please


It usually comes as part of your car insurance here.


----------



## SophieEvans

Did you try with any moving company?


----------



## baldilocks

SophieEvans said:


> Did you try with any moving company?


We asked for quotes and got figures in the region of £3-3.5 k so did it ourselves for £2.5k and by driving down through France made it all part of the new adventure.


----------



## glaz

I got a quote for the contents of a 3 bedroom house and got quoted £5500 and contents in the region of £30000 was quoted £1500 for insurance so a total of £7000 

comments and advice please


----------



## glaz

glaz said:


> I got a quote for the contents of a 3 bedroom house and got quoted £5500 and contents in the region of £30000 was quoted £1500 for insurance so a total of £7000
> 
> comments and advice please



this is from Gatwick area to Lanzarote ( Canary Islands )


----------



## jojo

glaz said:


> I got a quote for the contents of a 3 bedroom house and got quoted £5500 and contents in the region of £30000 was quoted £1500 for insurance so a total of £7000
> 
> comments and advice please


 that doesnt sound too bad to me. If memory serves it cost us arounf £3000 when we moved over from south of england to malaga 8 years ago and we only took half a house worth

Jo xxx


----------



## glaz

jojo said:


> that doesnt sound too bad to me. If memory serves it cost us arounf £3000 when we moved over from south of england to malaga 8 years ago and we only took half a house worth
> 
> Jo xxx



thanks Jo , can never tell if a quote is good or bad which is great finding this forum for second opinions


----------



## st3v3y

If you want more quotes then you can receive plenty by visiting anyvan.com and entering your requirements. From there you can try and check out feedback to figure out who is best to trust with your stuff.


----------



## glaz

st3v3y said:


> If you want more quotes then you can receive plenty by visiting anyvan.com and entering your requirements. From there you can try and check out feedback to figure out who is best to trust with your stuff.


thanks for this will have a good look at this


----------



## paintersmate

Please choose a company very carefully, ask every detail about their insurance, whether they will be contracting it out to another company and they are members of British Association of Removers, We had an awful experience with a company when moving here in March.


----------



## The Skipper

swampiesue said:


> Hi I just wondered how much approx does it cost to move furniture to the south of Spain, as I said in an earlier thread, all I am doing is finding out if my dream for the future is possible. I believe it would be a lot cheaper to buy a van an move it ourselves but husband not keen on that Idea as I don't drive....all I want to know is a very rough Idea....


We used Pickfords when we moved from the SW of England to the Costa Blanca eight years ago. We had a three-bedroom house and my Mum (who moved with us) had a one-bed apartment. The Pickfords crew packed everything for us, individually wrapping every cup, glass and plate as well as shifting all the furniture. The total cost for the two properties was GBP 3,800.


----------



## st3v3y

As she asked that 5 1/2 years ago, I'm thinking she's sorted it by now


----------



## glaz

The Skipper said:


> We used Pickfords when we moved from the SW of England to the Costa Blanca eight years ago. We had a three-bedroom house and my Mum (who moved with us) had a one-bed apartment. The Pickfords crew packed everything for us, individually wrapping every cup, glass and plate as well as shifting all the furniture. The total cost for the two properties was GBP 3,800.


thanks , have looked them up and sent them a message


----------



## glaz

st3v3y said:


> If you want more quotes then you can receive plenty by visiting anyvan.com and entering your requirements. From there you can try and check out feedback to figure out who is best to trust with your stuff.


got some replies but so far a lot more than the quote I already had via another company


----------

