valenciatim

Simple, don't officailly export the car for until you have been here for six months, then apply for residency and import the car at the same time (assuming of course that you intend to apply for residency, there really is no need any more!). Just make sure your UK car insurance will cover you for the six months and also the MOT. If the vehicle is over 10 years old, the taxes are much, much lower. Also make sure that your documents are in the car at all times.
Re negatives! The only ones I can think of are the communication problems with the language, and dealing with local red tape!
Regards
Tim

Mitzyboy

Yes thats why I said search because we've just been over this recently I think in detail.

Fred James

Apart from the fact that it is still a legal requirement to apply if you are living in Spain for more than 90 days unless you are working legally and paying social security payments.

valenciatim

Fred, that all changed over two years ago! If you are here for more than 183 days, you are automatically classed as a resident, you do NOT have to apply for residency according to my Abogado. It is to do with EU law. There are threads everywhere on the net about it.
Regards
Tim

tim hortons man

Should you go, well tonight my wife and I are sitting in a hotel room with all are earthly goods packed away, looking back and saying good bye to Germany. Tomorrow we fly out to Madrid and start anew again. 7 years ago we took a risk and left Canada for a new life in Germany and we've never looked back. We came only for a year and never got around to leaving. Know were doing the same with Spain. Yes it's scary and somewhat risky. But what's the worse that can happen, you live in Spain for a year or two and then move back. I can think of worse things.

If will make you feel more comfortable keep your doors to the UK open, rent rather than selling your place, tell everyone its only for a year. I myself took a years leave of absence, it was only after work called my Dad to ask if I was coming back that I finally got around to quiting, man that felt good.

Is it all peaches and cream, no, the Germans can annoy the hell out of you at times but we've never regretted leaving. I'm sure in a few months I'll be saying the same about the Spanish, but for the time being I'm looking forward to leaving behind crappy weather we've been getting.

My only suggestion is not to assume that Spain is England, buy a copy Spain the law and you.

good luck

ps do keep us up to date

kaylee

Good luck to both of you and your families We are going to move the earliest that we can next year. I don't want 20 years (till I reach retirement age)of 'what ifs' I want to live my life now. If it doesn't work out we can go back to England, but not until I have given it my best shot.
Best wishes Karen

Fred James

Tim, I am afraid you have been ill advised.

You comment about 183 days applies to tax residency only.

The law did indeed change a couple of years ago to bring it in like with the EU directive which actually came into force in April this year.

Some people were excluded from the need to apply for residency. These are people working and paying Spanish social security, those in receipt of a Spanish state pension and registered students. For the rest of us there has been no change apart from a relaxation of the criteria at that time – no need for private health care or proof of income.

Unfortunately the rumour mills on the Internet have been working overtime on this issue for years now and most of the information is out of date or simply wrong. Even some lawyers seem unaware of the law – a not uncommon situation with Spanish lawyers!

If you want some accurate information then I suggest you have a look at some of the relevant government or EU websites which will confirm what I am saying.

The UK Embassy is information here

http://www.ukinspain.com/english/Con...ons=30&lang=en

The relevant EU directive is here

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/...en00350048.pdf

The relevant Spanish law is here

http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2003/02/2...7397-07402.pdf

Chiclanagir

This is interesting, so if you live in Spain you can apply by post for an EHIC to Newcastle which would cover you if you went back to the UK for a visit.

Fred James

If you are a resident and on the Spanish health system you apply for a Spanish EHIC card.

UK EHIC issued cards do not cover you in the UK. If you are a UK resident it is assumed that you go to your UK doctor. If you are a foreign resident then you need a foreign EHIC card.

Anyway, the UK treat anyone for an emrgency without any paperwork.

DrStarsky

I'm thinking of leaving Spain so, since you ask for negatives, I'll give you a few.
1. Salaries are very low, and housing is very expensive in the cities (you don't say where you are going). A lot of spanish families have a hard time reaching the end of the month.
2. People tend to act more on the basis of emotions than rational thought. This can be nice, but it also means lack of professionalism and a certain tendency for backstabbing (saying one thing and doing another).
3. Group culture. The group (family, political party, "comunidad autonoma") you belong to is more important than the individual. As a foreigner for example you will never really fit in.

Of course there are also a lot of positives.

the sun is shining

Hi,
Thank you for replying and taking time to reply.
Are you leaving because you are unhappy? We have decided to give it two years and then if we like it we will stay if not england is here still :scared: I get a lot of friends and family saying why Spain and not elsewhere, but we look at Spain as just a couple of hours away no different than driving to see our family's now.
We already have friends there who love it and it has been tough for them and they have seen a lot of English move out and move back within weeks and months.
A lot of them are homesick or the culture is a shock i cant say i would be homesick as i can just jump on a plane if i do and i very rarely see my family now maybe once every couple of months and i can msn them and talk to them on the phone.

culture shock might be different as we will be moving to a very spanish town about 20 minutes from marbella but we are prepared to mix with all nationality's and learn the way of life. we have been moaning about our life's for the last 3 years so we just decided to go for it Ive told my family we are going to try and change our life's instead of moaning and wanting different things so i have my fingers crossed and i hope it works how i would like it to.

Mitzyboy

I think the lesson is to not expect the locals always to welcome you with open arms, but not to take that as a sign that they dislike you! I've always found that my pathetic attempts at speaking Spanish have helped, even if they can't understand a bloody word of what I'm saying

the sun is shining

Hi,
Thats what our friends say, they have said the spanish do speak English but like to see you try and speak to them in spanish, my friends kids are all fluent and when we visit i do always take them to the shops with me to get them to ask for things ha ha.

It is a case of just going with the flow, i do remember that they do have a much slower pace of life i can be behind someone in a shop and they have a 30 minute conversation before i get served but I'm prepared for that ha ha.

Thanks for all your help

Chiclanagir

If you want to look at negative things. See www.mycadiz.biz. - thread electricity. Poor Fred!

DrStarsky

I haven't firmly decided to leave yet. I'm not unhappy, and the reasons I'm considering leaving are mainly professional and financial. I need to work in an environment that is professionally more advanced, in my field of work Spain is definitely lacking behind the UK and northern Europe. Keep in mind that this is a young country that 30 years ago was a very backwards dictatorship. It has made enormous progress since and will continue to do so. Also, I want to buy a home and here in Barcelona prices are crazy. Elsewhere I can easily double my salary and pay less for a home. I speak fluent Spanish so didn't have too many practical problems or integration problems.

If you'll have a job in Spain that pays sufficiently to afford the lifestyle you want, I'd say give it a go! As you say you can always come back, and even if you do so the experience of living in a new country will give your life a whole new dimension. Concerning my previous comments 2 and 3, I don't let that kind of things influence my decisions because in every country, if you live there long enough, you'll find something you don't like about people, politics, etc. But it's good to be aware of the cultural differences.