As a newbie to the site despite being an expat in Tokyo for three years, we've arrived back in the UK and are now seriously considering leaving again!

I have read some of the many posts looking for advice and could really do with some hard facts on life in Majorca. Apart from the winter months, what exactly are the drawbacks? How can I find out about tax implications and financial issues? Are there any really helpful websites?

Any pointers or comments will be very welcome!

Thank you all.

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Ok, well, in brief (relatively speaking);

First, I certainly won't declare this place to be the best place that ever was, but Majorca is a lovely place to live, as long as you don't come with rose coloured glasses and senseless naivity. My first impression of newbies is that they all seem to believe they need to live in the southwest. The single most crowded, trampled-on, and expensive place to live on the island. 10x what it costs to live a far better quality of life just 30km away. But most people don't realise that, and assume everything outside of Calvia is wasteland. Their loss.

Second, what you know about life in the UK or Tokyo or anywhere else often requires a reset when living in Spain. We anglos, in particular, tend to believe that we are well-protected by law, and we are to a large extent. Not necessarily true in Spain. The law tends to be on the side of those that have the resources to influence the law, not necessary what's right or wrong.

The other part of that is that there is clearly more disrespect for the law. No, not necessarily in an evil way, but historically, the government hasn't exhibited much common sense when it comes to things social or in the law (although ironically, Spain has historically been one of the most generous in terms of social welfare). There is a lot of corruption, and has been for decades, and so people generally don't trust anything governmental - at all, and routinely, as a matter of everyday life, find it perfectly acceptable to "go around" the law to achieve what they need (unlike Brits, who would be patently appalled at some of the goings-on here if were happening in their town).

This is an important point to keep in mind, as the behavior that results from this attitude can often be mistaken as something "evil", which it usually isn't. You just have to figure out how things work, then you'll know how to avoid the downsides.

Next, Spain is a good place to have money, not to make money. So if you are planning to work, then you may be in for a bit of a shock.

But it's equally not a good place to have a lot of money, unless you have skilled people around you to keep it from being taken from you, either by unscrupulous types selling you junk at ridiculous prices, or the government, in their incessant quest to collect as much as they can from anyone who may appear to have it. In truth, you can easily avoid these things, as long as you aren't naive and come here with a UK mindset.

Tax implications, well, for most people, taxes are pretty tolerable, but you will be required to declare any assets you have worldwide, and pay tax on them. So, it's better not to own much.

Finance; well, you need money to live. If you don't have it, this is bad. If you do, this is good. If you need a mortgage, you can get one, but prepare for a frustrating experience (unless of course, you already have the money and don't need a mortgage, and that's a different kettle of fish - most will be happy to give one to you as long as you deposit it in their bank). But I find Spanish (and generally European) banks to be far better than UK banks. The banks here are truly full-service with a minimum of nonsense, and you can generally conduct all banking functions and worldwide transactions, easily, from the comfort of your online banking (in many languages) at very reasonable fees and exchange rates, which you rarely find in the UK.

Real Estate: Don't believe a word anybody tells you. Find out the truth by yourself or a trusted lawyer-type who works for you, with no other interests at play.

Owners selling property often have delusions of grandeur about the value of their properties (and refuse to listen to experts, appraisers, real estate agents, etc), and hence, many sit on the market for years collecting dust.

But don't let that scare you away. Make a reasonable offer and be committed to walking away. If they're hungry, they'll be back. It took us 2 years to negotiate a reasonable deal for our house. We just held to our (reasonable) offer and eventually, they took it, 'cause when reality came home, nobody else was going to buy it at the dreamland price they were asking.

If you're not planning to buy just yet (wise), long-term rentals can be had at jaw-droppingly low prices (if you're not in the southwest, of course). There are a lot of lovely properties with pools and land and lots of space, especially in the country, owned by people who inherited them or no longer live there, but would be happy to make some money from them. But most will need fixing up, painting and so on. This isn't the UK. They'll advertise them with horrible pictures and show them to you without cleaning anything or applying a drop of paint. That will be your problem. If you have vision and DIY skills, it's definitely a renter's market.

Once you've settled in, you'll start to get into the rhythm, and figure out what works and what doesn't and then it will not seem so insane anymore. But it takes some getting used to...

Good luck...

I think this is a general human condition. I see a modified version of this in London - newcomers insist on living close to a tube station. This may make sense in the central zone, but if they're a few zones out, it's often a lot quicker and more comfortable to catch the train into town - and they can still change onto a connecting tube or bus if need be. But no, the newcomers will pay 1000s more in rent over the year, so they live next to an Underground station.