outteruniverse

Hello all,

My wife may be getting offered a job in ALicante, we are British and live in the UK.
It would be a big move but an opportunity probably would not come along again so would like to consider it. However, we have a few questions if anyone can help?

Her employment would be next to Sant Joan d'Alacant so we would like to rent somewhere within easy bus distance so can anyone recomend a nice please near by? Somewhere ideally that has lots of British Expats/shops and a friendly area.

In terms of renting, where to rent a property from? ie names of any reputable letting agents, what to avoid when renting etc?

Also we wanted to know should we bring our car or not? Its obviously a right hand drive. WOuld that be a problem? WHat is the average cost to bringing it? We would be flying down and not driving.

My wife speaks Spanish but I do not.
Can anyone recomend a good Junior age school for children near that area? no a private school though or any good nurserys?

What are the pros and cons of living in ALicante compared to the UK?

Does Spain have a siesta all year around? and what times are they normally? do all companies have a siesta?

Also what about health insurance? how would we sort that out?

Thank you all in advance.

Rosemary

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

deadshoppingmalls

Not exactly specific to Alicante, but

1) idealista.com is a great place to take a look at apartments. If your wife speaks Spanish it will be a lot easier.

2) Siesta...I lived in Spain for close on 10 years - not once outside of public holiday's did I siesta in the week. For me, and my Spanish friends and family it was business as usual in week. Sure, lunches are longer than you'd be used to BUT the siesta is relic of a bygone era when people went home at lunch - it's rare now so most people just go and have a menu del dia then a coffee before heading back to the office. Siesta for me was a saturday/sunday after lunch/pre tapear nap.

Depending on what your wife does for work, the office may shut between 1 and (or 2-4). Usually it's smaller places that do this - I worked for global company's in Spain - we had a 90 minute lunch that we could take whenever - I usually grabbed something with a colleague for 30 minutes then left early.

3) The car - yes, it would be handy to have in Alicante (not only for groceries but also to explore the region) BUT I would recommend selling and buying a left hand drive. I drove our left hand drive in the UK and Ireland when visiting and it was a pain. The pace of driving in Spain is completely different to the UK, and a right hand will put you at a disadvantage.

outteruniverse

Thank you very much.
Can I ask you of a place either south or North or San Joan to name a place or two which is on the tram line which is a nice place to live for a family with children who need to attend a school and ideally somewhere with shops we could live next to within walking distance of our home and ideally with lots of expats Brits or non Brits. Ideally within about 30-45 max of getting to San Joan via tram direct and no changes. Maybe Campello, Alicante?
We may or may not have a car so need to make sure we are somewhere thats good for not having a car.
We looked at Venta Lanuza but looks like its around 1 hour on the tram which is too long.

ALso do most rental apartments come with funiture and white goods? or unfunished?

Can anyone recomend some good reputable letttings agents that others have used and been happy with please?

dougal03

I used to rent out an apartment I owned & it was fully equipped,most are.I would stress that you use a legal letting agency who will give you a proper contract.This protects both parties as there are regulations imposed by the authorities.Sorry I can,t suggest an agency in Alicante city as I live further north.Good luck,hope you make the move.

outteruniverse

Thanks Doug, how can I know if a letting agents is Legal? Wish I had the name of some in Alicante that others have used and can vouch for.

dougal03

Hi Longfound, I had known my letting agents for years,so was fortunate in being around them & knew their history as I also had a business in the area.There are many businesses,a lot are estate agents also,who have their premises openly trading on the high street.You don't have to stick with British as all the foreign(to us)ones speak our language.In fact one of my regular ones was east european & another Swedish where I had excellent service.My tenants were a very mixed bunch,Roumanian,Algerian Arabs,S.American & Finnish as well as British,over the years.The agent will request a month,s rent,sometimes 2,from the tenant to be held against default.The utilities charges should be transferred to your name &,when you terminate(or continue) the length of the lease,the owner should request a visit to the property to ensure that all is in order.These details are normally stated on the original contract along with a copy of your current passport.Obviously you want everything to be OK as you have children who will be settled in a local school.We are all here to help each other so I will make some calls on Monday to see if some of my previous contacts can suggest people in your proposed area.Hope this helps.

outteruniverse

Hi Doug! Thank you very much for the information and for also making some calls for me on Monday. I would very much appreciate that. Sant Joan where my wife will be working would also be a nice area to live or Campello or anywhere around that area thats nice with a tram line next to it would be perfect. So yes if you are able to find anyone who is reputable and who has property to rent in and around Sant Joan that would be great. I will lookforward to what you can hopefully find next Monday, PM me with details if you wish. thanks Doug!

dougal03

Will send you some names by PM next week,happy to help.