me me

Very profound........

tebo53

If everything is that bad it beats me why you are all still living there

Maybe it's a good job you all kept your 'Boltholes'

me me

Having a bolthole has nothing to do with being bad, it does not make financial sense to sell a UK property, to stick the money in the bank, earning very little interest.

Getting a rental income from a UK property makes much more sense.

Neptuno

Plus cgt has to be paid in Spain on the sale of a UK house
Tebo56- taxes are very different from the UK and not in a good way!

tebo53

Yes thanks for that. I did understand that I would have to pay CGT & other taxes. I have already paid quite a bit of tax already because of a non-res bank account I have with Sabadell.

Even so, my OH and I still think it will be well worth paying our do's just to get out of the money grabbing, miserable UK

You only have to pay CGT once so its a case of getting over it and getting on with your life

me me

If you think the UK is money grabbing, wait till you are in haciendas clutches.

tebo53

I can't really understand people on this site. Everything I read is about how everyone is unhappy about nearly everything that's going off in Spain. Loads of suggestions about why everybody would need to go back to UK, and that's why they keep a 'bolthole'

Can you tell me anything that most expats might be happy about?

Rosemary

Take note of who is saying what and I think that you will answer your own question. The vast majority of the posters who live here in Spain are not complaining and are fairly content with their lives here. There are a sellect few who have a lot to say about why people need to return to the UK.

Personally I have never had any problems with officialdom, yes it is hassle setting things up when you first move here but this is tedious rather than a problem if you go to the offices well prepared. Making sure that you do things such as gaining licences for work being done in the house is easy. I have found people to be very helpful and friendly.

As far as I am concerned the best part about living in Spain is being with Spanish people.

Rosemary

tebo53

Thank you so much for that Rosemary

You have lifted my mood by a mile

We are well prepared for everything that will be required of us and happy to stand in queues if required. After all, it only needs to be done now and then.

Rosemary

Remember when going to any of the offices to have every piece of paperwork that may (or may not) be relevant and take a couple of copies of these too and you will be dealt with efficiently. Most things only have to be dealt with once so that is good too.

Anyone moving to another country must expect to spend time dealing with officials in order to make sure that their paperwork is correct. One thing that you will find is that the officials love their rubber stamps and their large important signatures.

Rosemary

jackytoo

I can see you have done your research...not

Neptuno

You might have to pay more than once- lump sums, inheritances, winnings, matured savings plans etc. from the UK-What is tax free in UK isn't here!
As someone has already said, if you think UK is money grabbing you ain't seen nothing yet!

Sally Redux

People in the UK don't know they're born.

megmet

All of that is true, but the quality of life here in Spain is a hundred times better than in the UK.
We have been living here for over six years now and have no wish to leave, not even in a box!
Most expats are happy with their life here, ignore the ones who talk it down, they are usually the ones who came unprepared or with the wrong attitude and couldn't hack it.
Just so long as you don't expect everything to be done as it is in England you'll be fine.

HBG

I can understand the moaners who have lived in Spain for some time and returned to the UK when they found that Spanish life was not for them - they provide useful advice for incomers.

I can't understand the moaners who have never lived in Spain and then complain - how would they know?

But you can't shrug your shoulders at Spanish bureaucracy, tax and corruption - not when the bulldozers are revving up outside your illegal house and Hacienda has just emptied your worldwide bank accounts.

So why are a million of us living in Spain? Apart from the weather?

If you don't join any queues and sign any forms, they don't know you're here. (And they don't want to know). It's not strictly true, but it nearly is.