Hello all,

My wife and I are intending to 'retire' and move permanently to Spain (Costa del Sol) in the middle of this year. Presently we are 47 and 50 and want to escape the UK Rat Race!!

Having 'holidayed' in Spain dozens of times and thoroughly loving the lifestyle/climate/food etc., and the fact both set of our parents are out there for approx. 5 months of the year each it seems an ideal choice.

Naturally though, we would welcome any advice on actually where to start...

Firstly, in what order should one do things to help facilitate the 'move' e.g. Firstly pen a Bank Account, get Private Health Insurance, then find a place to rent etc.. I notice people have been mentioning 'registering' - registering for what and in what time frame?

Secondly, people have been saying you need to either have a job offer, be self employed, or self sufficient - how does one prove they are 'self-sufficient' - is this quantifiable and how does one go about it?

Many thanks I advance.

Lee

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

You need to use the search facility for the relevant advice on each subject, residency, bank accounts etc as there are vast amounts of information required that would take a very long time to explain in one post.
Your priorities are
health
Taxes
Finances
Also, just google any of these subjects.
You will be deluged with information
Sites like UK in Spain, Anglo Ingo, are also helpful
You will get lots of conflicting advice which you will just have to sift through
You will be advised to get a good solicitor- thing is, how do you know they are good? Experience of a friend? Yes, but someone else has had a bad experience with them, so what do you do? It's difficult.
In the end you will have to do what most of us do research, trial and error. Some seem to have no problems, others have horrendous experiences- be prepared!
It's easy to get bogged down with all this stuff.

Hi
You mention finding a place to rent.
Renting is the advice most people would give you, do not buy until you are absolutely sure the lifestyle / area etc are perfect for you.

If you buy and then change your mind it could be years before you are able to sell and the taxes are crippling.

Thanks all, will start research.

Just one question about the cost of living in areas like Torre Del Mar and Nerja. We intend to lead a reasonably simple life, maybe eating out once or twice a week, certainly nothing extravagant, just wanting to enjoy the Spanish way of life.

Therefore my question is, after rent and bills are paid (these will be paid by UK rental income), is it realistic that one could live on 400 Euros per week, I guess the only other essentials that would need to come out of the 400 Euros would be health insurance (ages 49 & 50 good health), running a basic car, like a Ford Focus, and keeping a dog!

In Torrox Costa which is between Torre del Mar and Nerja you can get a long let on a nice beach front studio apartment for 300 euros per month, there are all sorts of "menu's of the day' from 6 euros for 3 courses! I pay sanitas 70 euros per month for my private medical care! I dont have a car or a dog! Do you need a car? places like Torrox costa, Torre del mar, Nerja have great bus services to everywhere, you could perhaps just rent a car cheaply for the odd trips you want to make, this would keep costs down?? Good luck!

We were looking for a 3 bed place, and have €880pm to cover that and associated bills. After that we are left with €400pw to 'live' on. From what you are saying it should be quite feasible?

Yup, I think you will be just fine, you may like to treat yourself to more than one meal out per week