Pip84

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and look forward to viewing loads of useful stuff.

I am interested to know from those of you who have moved abroad, with the value of hindsight, what 3 things would you have done differently before you moved abroad? Also, how have you changed as a person since you moved and what 3 things would have helped you prepare for this?

Really appreciate any advice you guys can give.

Cheers
Pip

lynnxa

I would have learned Spanish before I came

Pip84

great, thanks
I guess simple 'bar talk Spanish' won't get you some of the more complex things you'll need to deal with!

GrapeEater

Me Too !! We tried so hard (night-school, DVDs, Books, the Web) and can get by but only just - anything complicated like Police, Medical or Solicitors - well !!!

My "learn spanish in XYX hours / days / lessons" are a joke - you REALLY DO NEED TO SPEND MONTHS (if not years) learning a language and I do think us Brits struggle with the Masc'/ Fem' aspects - but most of us are bloody lazy and pig-ignorant !!

Hand's up all this that sit watching the soaps, cricket, x-Factor, sun-bathing, etc when they coud be improving their language skills ??? NO PAIN - NO GAIN !!

JLFS

us.......

pete_l

Well, using hindsight the one biggest thing I would have done differently would be to have come over sooner - years sooner. Given that the £ is continually dropping in value against the € getting out of sterling (selling up in the UK, transferring to a eurozone economy) is something I should have done as soon as possible - rather than waiting until I did.
Also, I made the mistake of believing some estate agents' banter (though nothing serious, and a lot of it was such transparent nonsense that it was obviously wrong), so be hyper-skeptical: if you can't see and touch something, don't believe it will be (still) there when you come to buy. And I mean services, phone, leccy etc.
The third thing I'd do differently would be to source all my furniture and white goods from the UK. While some decent stuff may be available if you live in/near a spanish city, for people out in the boonies, there's next to nothing available. If you've got to transport it yourself (being far outside any delivery zones) you might as well make the small extra effort and ship it from the UK

jojojojojo

yes, in hindsight I would have and should have come over sooner. My children would have adapted better, the economy was better and I think it would have been easier!

Otherwise, I think we planned very carefully to come here, we didnt just think "lets move to Spain, we'll get jobs and live happily ever after" which is the mistake that a lot of people make! However, even with all our planning, we hadnt planned for the recession which hasnt made things easy!

Jo xxxx

scampicat

I would have learned more Spanish before I came and bought my furniture from the nearest IKEA in Spain, not lugged it over from IKEA in the Midlands! (lack of research there!).

Seriously, I think we would not have become resident. We have a house in the UK, which we are now beginning to spend months at a time in, I think I'd have done the 'half-and-half' from the beginning. Far less hassle. IMO anyway.

jackytoo

1. Rented for at least 6 months instead of buying which would have saved a costly move.

2. Set up an Estate Agency to catch the boom

3. Gone to Florida instead.

Veleta

I didn't learn Spanish before coming over but I don't regret that. I 'blitzed it' when I got here by going to an academy 20 hours a week for about 4 months. That gave me a flying start and then meeting my Spanish OH a few months later helped me get fluent within say a couple of years (although it's hard to pinpoint the moment when you become fluent). My concern about going to evening classes 2/3 hours a week is that 10 years down the line you'll still be a beginner....it just isn't enough, although every little bit helps of course!

What I do regret though is renting for so long. I think I was renting for about 4 years or something. House prices went up a lot during that time and I could have saved myself thousands of €€ by buying sooner. I really don't know what I was waiting for....I guess I just got lazy.

I struggle to think of any other regrets though. I love my city, I love my house, have a great set of friends, great OH, business is good.

Oh, one small regret....when I left the UK I closed all my UK bank accounts as I didn't need them. I have since wanted to open an account again but it is absolutely impossible to do if you no longer have any ties with the UK. In the end I had to cheat and open the account in someone else's name, but I guess I should have left just one of my accounts open albeit with a zero balance for a few years.

scampicat

I certainly agree about the Bank Accounts, luckily we left all ours open because we still had connections with the UK and knew we would return at some point. But I think as you say it is worth doing anyway, even if you can't see any reason why you would need them.

painterhombre

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ok

1. Would have learnt more Spanish.
2. Would have got NIE number from Spanish embassy before coming over to live.
3. Would have paid a bit more in removal costs at brought all the furniture over we gave away to charity before we left.
4. Would have researched where we first lived better and moved to Valencia in the 1st place.
5. Would have (with NIE) bought a spanish plated car in the UK from someone who came back and was desperate to sell it.
6. Wouldnt have trusted the many english expats who make a living out of ripping off other British expats in spain.

oh thats more than 3 isnt it? Oh well, that my 2 cents worth.

lynnxa

come to think about it we should have done #3 too

Veleta

Out of interest, why would you buy a Spanish car in the UK before you came over? Is it because you would have been able to drive a harder bargain and get it much cheaper than in Spain?

Also interested to know why you would get your NIE before coming over. I applied for my number when I got here but only had to wait about 3 days. (For the number that is, the little card took several weeks to arrive).

expatasia

If anybody left without formally closing bank accounts this site may be useful:



http://www.mylostaccount.org.uk/


It's a free service that can trace your dormant account back home. It says the process takes 12 weeks.