onlineamiga

A big part of me has always wanted to move abroad but theres always been something stopping me, girlfriends, debt, etc. But im finally in a situation where perhaps yeah I could do it. I got a girlfriend at the moment in a rented house, she doesnt wana move to spain and to be honest we're on the rocks and i suspect she's cheating on me. Its all sad, but theres one thing that will get me through it. If we do break up then sod it im jumping in the car and driving 1,500 miles south to the costa del sol. Ive been there a few times and i love it. I know a little spanish and already learning more and have been looking into what is required when moving to the costa. The more ive looked into it the more I want to do it! Im a 25 year old male, so unlike a lot of people this is no retirement. I'd be quitting a 20k a year job to take the move and itd just be madness. I have some money saved to maybe put a deposit down on a house, but id just want to rent to start with. Infact to start with id be looking at just renting a room in shared accomodation. Good way to meet people, very cheap and give me time to find a job. Preferbally in IT but heck i'd do a good bar job for a while give me a nice break from IT. Ive been an IT Support Technician for the last 8 years.

Im sick of the UK Weather, we get like 2 decent hot days a year and 1 snow day a year and when that happenes everyone goes skits about it.. its like whats the big deal? You go abroad and you see real weather. I know how well it can rain in the Costa Del Sol and I know how lovely the weather is the rest of the time. I really love hot sunny weather, makes me feel so much better about life.

So yes if things do go wrong with the g/f (which is looking likely right now, i wont go into detail on that). I think id be jumping in the car and coming down on my own. Ive been quite suprised at the lack of any costa del sol ex pat forums and stuff. Theres so many brits down there. The hardest bits going to be establishing myself, finding friends, finding a job etc.

When ive been there on holiday i spoke to a lot of ex pats and they all had something in common. They love it down there, they have no regrets in moving, they dont miss england and they dont want to move back.

So I guess im on here just to say Hi, get to know a few of you hopefully from Costa Del Sol region as well so if/when I come be good to say hi in person when im here! Plus of course any direction, help advice would be greatly appreciated.

Now how do i pay toll booths in a right hand drive vehicle ?

Cheers guys.

mrsjdr

Now how do i pay toll booths in a right hand drive vehicle ?

GET A LONGER ARM....

onlineamiga

I was thinking about the drive down through france etc and was wondering how. Previously when driving in europe ive had a passenger so its been OK. So i guess i'd have to perfect an unbuckle seatbelt, hop into left hand seat window down and pay / take card and back again really quiclky before you annoy the queue behind you

Theres one good thing, i drive a seat ibiza so should be no problem getting servicing and repairs in spain

jdr

The car will only be legal for 6 months in Spain and I doubt if your ins will cover you out of UK for more than a few months.
Sell it and buy a lhd here.

big wheels

And change the A for an O at the end of your name onlineamiga
Otherwise you might get one or two blokes on here trying to chat you up

onlineamiga

Hi,

Im fully aware that the car will only be legal in spain for 6 months before I have to get it plated up with spanish plates, but its only 2 years old ive done a bit to it and dont wanna give it up just yet. What id probably do is depending on how well things are going, is bring it down for 6 months, and if things are going well id take it back to the UK to sell, fly home and buy a LHD Seat Leon or something in Spain.
If things arent going so well then i can begin procedures for getting spanish plates on it etc. Its no problem.
As for insurance you can get insurance out in spain for british plated cars. Looked into that already And its a hell of a lot cheaper than the rip off UK insurance companies

As for my name, When signing up to the forum i was awell aware that onlineamiga my make people think im female. But its my legacy nick name from the good old days of the Amiga Computer. I was online with it and thus i was always known as the onlineamiga. I was a bit of an amiga die hard and my specced up amiga was the best computer i ever had It was certinately more faithful to me than any 'amiga' (girlfriend) ive ever had!

Lionda

You seem to have thought this out. If you have some money in the bank to tide you over until you can find a job then I say...Go for it! My daughter went over to Spain with us in Jan for a holiday and stayed, she was fed-up at home, let down by boyfriends, no job and no place of her own, living part time with a friend and part time with us. Now she is in Spain and renting a room from a friend of ours who moved over last Dec. She hasn't got a job yet but has left her name and number with a few bars/cafes and has a job interview on Friday. She is learning Spanish and can already hold a basic conversation in Spanish. Hope it works out for you.

Big Pete

Hi

Welcome to the forum, Sounds to me like you are ready to go for it and i dont blame you.. Dont know if you noticed but you play your cards right you could get a new girl over there !! so keep in with Lionda lol

As for your present Girlfriend elbow her !! If she gives you any reason to have hassles ditch her your not married so no probs, If Lionda`s daughter doesnt work out then , dont worry . The Spanish Girls will be putty in your hands just say the right words and you will melt them , If you need any tips on pulling the Senoritas ask me and i will advise you .

Good Luck

onlineamiga

Hmm strange i typed out a hell of a reply then detailing all my plans and its dissapeared. Hmm weired. But i think i know what it was, i included a URL and the mod has to approve the post first, so mod dont worry about em ive reworded it without supplying the URL.

Well you never know i might get lucky with a local senorita you never know

Grr cant believe i gotta type my plan out again. But basically situation im in is that Ive been to the costa a couple of times before and i recently took the g/f on a short break there. We got talking to a lot of ex pats and they were all saying how great it is living there and stuff. Got me thinking it really did. I got some money saved up for a deposit on a house and I thought, why buy one in greysville when maybe i could be happier out there? Unfortunately the g/f didnt agree, she's very close to all her family they all live in the same village whereas mine dont. The few family i have are scattered around the place and i dont see them often. So i kinda put the idea to rest. When i discovered her potential affair i started thinking about it. Kinda makes me feel a hell of a lot better about being cheated on and hurt if Im going to the costa del sol afterwards. So i started planning the move. And let me know if ive missed any gaps out.

Basically find a room something, shared accomodation, furnished etc. Its generally cheap ive seen a few good ones. Be good to start with. Good way to meet someone good cheap accomodation.
Get car serviced, new tyres, new windscreen (it got a chip) so its in top condition. Pay off credit cards, hand house finances over to the g/f (thatll teach her)
Book ferry, hotel in france, one in spain for first night and spend two days driving down.
Get some spanish lessons another good way to brush up on the lingo. No hablo espanol muy bien pero querio aprender. Theres no point living in Spain if you dont want to learn the lingo. I intend to be able to speak it fluently, and its easier to learn down there. Tho i've already started studying up here.
Find a job, heck if its just a bar job to start with im not bothered, be an ice break from I.T what i always do. But be good to get into IT down there.
Once happy ive got an income start looking for a studio flat or something closer to work.
Sort out residency tax, etc.
If all going well after first year look at buying a house, and of course after 6 months get car plated up with spanish plates etc. or if im doing really well take it home, sell it and buy a spanish car.

If all doesnt go well, ive got enough money to survive out there for a good few months or more, and it'd have been a great fun experience and i'll come home. Nothing lost.

So yes really liking the thought of it. More i look into it the more i want to do it whether the g/fs cheating or not! eek :/ Youll also be happy to know that in the north of england its done nothing but rain for the last 2 days and is set to continue. Its so depressing i want sunshine!

Lionda

My daughter has had enough with boyfriends and wants to stay single with no ties at all. She's 29 now and just seems to meet the idiots (there must be some decent blokes out there )

onlineamiga

Maybe your daughter should try getting a girlfriend instead hehehe.

Im being mucked about by my girlfriend at the moment and ive had ex's muck me about hence why im thinking of starting afresh in spain. Something ive always wanted to do. So might aswell go for my dream.

Lionda

Exactly the way my daughter felt. It hasn't been easy for her and we are paying her rent at the moment and subbing her for food and expenses so hoping she gets a job soon. Phoned her yesterday and suggested if she doesn't get a job soon it may be a good idea to come home. Her answer...."NO WAY there is nothing in England I'll stick with it"

onlineamiga

Thats very good of you to do that for her. The only good news is is that summers coming so theres bound to be a tonne of bar work and stuff coming up. Or maybe start her own business?

Though i guess you cant be paying for her forever. The only other option is instead of renting her a place, buy her one. At least then the money youre sending is going to a property which will be an asset for later on down the line.

Lionda

Already been down that road (buying a property) I went halves on a flat with her but she couldn't manage the mortgage and living expenses, it had to be sold in the end and she came home. She can't afford to live on her own. We are buying in Spain and should be moving over soon so if it doesn't work out for her she can always move back in with us. Crossing my fingers that she gets a job soon.

maryann

you are such a cheeky chappy big pete...............i thought you were dedicated to your lady wife, who else could understand the rudiments of trout fishing, and know which order to put your ' views of the peak discrict' DVDs in.
Do you think a spanish lady could pour you a real ale the way you like it.
Think hard big pete, i would hate you to cut your nose of to spite your face!

love

mary x x x