Anglo_American

Hi to anyone who can offer their opinion...

We are returning to the UK after 15 yrs in the USA but we've been caught out by the UK rabies rule. So, we are planning to move to the Benalmadena area for 6 months. Much better than leaving them in quarantine.

So, can anyone advise how best to find a quiet inland apartment, suitable for two people and two small dogs (Border Terrier and a Lhasa Apso) with easy access to amenities? No real constraints as the kids are in college and we won't be working.

I have been given two websites already (spmrentals.net and unicasa.es) as well as the surinenglish.com website. But the sheer number of results is overwhelming and they don't clearly state pets or no pets.

One of us is planning to fly in next week (March 23rd 2009) and just call and drive around. Is this practical considering we don't speak Spanish? Or would we be better to arrange appts via email first?

Any advice very much appreciated.

Rgds

Stephen and Christine McHugh
(and Bess and Teddy!)

jjh

jdr lives in this area so maybe he will come along with some suggestions. Good luck.

Anglo_American

JDR? I keep seeing that name pop up here and there

Is he/she famous?

McHugh

jdr

Are you still British citizens ?

I am not sure Spain will let animals in without the required paperwork etc, you may have to quarentine them here too.

There are loads of rentals available due to people not being able to sell, but you may struggle to get pets allowed.

Anglo_American

JDR,

Oh yes, still offically Brits! But we now consider ourselves to be international Anglo/Americans or something like that.

And yes, we have all the necessary paperwork for the doggies. In triplicate. Unfortunately, we have become experts in how to ship dogs in and out the USA, UK and now Spain

In regard to finding apartments, is it the norm for owners to use a broker/letting agent or do they advertize in newspapers, internet, etc? I guess we're spoilt in the U.S. as everyone lists their properties on the same website, which therefore has dozens of results with specific parameters. But when searching for apts in Benalmadena, I find that I'm having to google dozens of websites with only one or two hits per.

If we were to give up searching the intertubes and one of us simply fly into town for a few days, would you say it's feasible that I could find properties easy? Or difficult? Also consider neither of us speak Spanish.

Thnx muchly

McHugh

jdr

A lot of the Spanish places are just rented by word of mouth, the Brits tend to use agents, but you will find a lot of the agents will speak English.
As this is Spain there is no way I would rent over the tinternet. lol
It would be best to see the place, possibly in different times of day and night etc as things can vastly change.
If you see something you like, don`t get too excited and say how much ? if you know what I mean, as there are so many rentals available.

Anglo_American

JDR,

Thanks for the heads up. Don't worry, I wasn't planning on committing to anything from the interweb thingy without seeing it first! I was a bit concerned about flying into town cold, without appts set up. But it seems the one common bit of advice I'm getting is that if I went into a popular Brit bar and announce what I'm looking for, I'd be inundated with options!

So, anyone have any suggestions as to which bars are popular with British locals in the Pueblo and Arroyo parts of town?! What tiem of day/night? Weekdays or weeknights?

Thnx

Steve

admon

benalmadena is quite a stacked up busy place, all the way up to arroyo.

If you don't mind driving, better value for money and quality of living could be got by renting a villa/house/finca, either an hour or so away from the coast, or an area like duquesa (south near gibraltar) or around al haurin (north towards malaga airport)

with a house you will have much better options for the dogs

Anglo_American

Admon,

Without local knowledge, how to find these places? Are they well-known amongst the local Brits?

Current plan is to fly in next week for a few days and just ask around. Trying to establish "where" to do the asking! Any local haunts you can recommend that would have a large local British expat flavor?

Steve

admon

the areas are well known.

duquesa is just off the n340, about km170 if I remember right. This is the main road to gibraltar, another 20 miles or so away (not the toll rd). alhaurin is only about 5km from malaga airport, same road.

Both are relatively compact expat centres with sprawling areas beyond - lots of brits.
You will find agents driving around both areas and let/sale boards.

I haven't been there for a few years so couldnt recommend particular agents.

Anglo_American

Good point. Which leads me on to another question. Is a car an absolute necessity if we were to live in the Pueblo area? Could we survive on taxis and foot, with the occasional hire-car for long journeys?

Steve

AdrianTO

When we got our apartment for a 6 month rental we did through an agent over the internet. It was a British run agency that is now no longer in operation. The owner that we rented from was British and was OK with us having a dog. Most Spanish owners do not want to rent to you with pets. Things may be easier now as there are many apartments available, so the owners might ease some restrictions.

Going there and looking around as you have planned would be your best bet. Once you get there ask about rental properties at the British bars and stores in town. If you don't get leads through that just walk into one of the many estate agents offices.

There is no quarantine for dogs flown into Spain. All you need is a rabies certificate that has been stamped by an official agency. I flew my dog into Malaga airport from Canada. Nobody even bothered to look at the paper work.

A car is definitely useful, you can get a good long term rate from Sixt at Malaga airport. I can't recall exactly how much we paid, I seem to recall it was 300 to 400 Euros a month for a small car.

Have you booked your flights yet? If you are flying from the US into Malaga, I don't think there are any direct flights. I flew Lufthansa via Frankfurt. They are excellent with dogs. Probably the best airline to fly with if you have a dog. If it is a longer layover, they take the dogs off at Frankfurt airport and take them to a pet facility where they give them water, take them for a walk etc. before bringing them back to catch the connecting flight.

Anglo_American

Adrian,

Thnx for your insight. We are now experts in USA/UK/Spain rabies rules and certificates etc.!!

We're flying the doggies direct from Atlanta to Madrid and then we'll take a leisurely drive down to the coast. Remember, a 6 hr drive is nothing to an americanized Brit...

Did the Spanish immigration people scan your dog, looking for the micro-chip?

Steve

AdrianTO

Nope, nothing at all. They didn't look at my dog or bother with the paperwork. He came off the luggage belt in his pet carrier, I loaded it on to the trolley and took off. There was an official looking customs guy hanging around, he didn't seem to care. But, this was Malaga. Madrid might be different.

You do need the micro chip number to put on the certificate though.

trentino

If you want a bit more space La Cala or anywhere twds Marbella might be better for you. Benalmadena is very built up!!