Re: Moving to Spain
 

yours are much younger than mine though - mine are both teenagers

atm we're happy for my 13 year old to stay at the IES she currently attends - the teaching team is very dedicated (most of them, anyway) & she is happy & doing well there - but if it came to it then I would consider private education too

for my 16 year old though, the issue is much more immediate - yes, she could stay here & do bachi, then on to uni either here or in the UK - but she can't do the course she wants at uni here, so it sort of makes sense to do A levels in the UK (the International schools nearby don't do the A levels she wants either :() & start working towards what she wants to do sooner rather than later


which doesn't mean that she wouldn't return to Spain eventually

I have no plans to return to the UK either - but I have spent several years building my business here, to the point that it's doing well - it wouldn't makes sense on any level to leave our home

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Very good point........i stand corrected:nod:

I Dont need a taste of rural idle as i have lived all my life in rural areas. My chooks think they are ducks, we loose power on a regular basis
Rural life anywhere takes a certain type of person to live the country life, As it takes all sorts to live in all sorts of locations

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Yes, at least you can get hammered cheaply and forget about it. Well, for a short while. Even touring around Andalucia over many years, yes we've certainly had some good weather, and we've had some awful weather. Rain of biblical proportions, having to drive miles around because whole roads are washed away. It was only a few weeks ago 10 people died because of the floods. I can remember a few years ago in Almuñecar, guy was trapped and drowned in his garage, whole bridges washed away. At least you tell it like it is, most seem to be in denial, they are convinced it´s sunshine 365 days a year.;) And most Spanish houses are like friggin´fridges!;)

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Who are all these people who are convinced that it is sunny 365 days a year in Spain or anywhere...... Do they come on these boards, are these people you meet when you are out and about. I have the intelligence to realise that it can rains in Spain, it can get cold in Spain that the summers can be unbearable, that horrendous flooding/landslides etc can happen. All these people that you know in denial must be very odd.......can they not read etc. Where do they live in a parallel universe.........are they in denial in spain or elsewhere... in denial

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I remember a poster here a few years ago who accused us of lying when we told him that we get 'biblical proportion rains' as agoreira called them............. & even snow :eek:

photos from the national govt. weather website eventually convinced him.................... I think :unsure:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

The weather would probably be my biggest negative about living in spain, the extremes are draining. When its really hot you are a prisoner of your house and like Pocaloca a few weeks ago my vegetable patch was under 2 foot of water and I was wading around the campo rescuing chickens from trees and floating debris, I lost 4! The vegetables have slowly comeback to life. Tonight I am thinking about lighting the fire and soon there will be the daily chore of bringing wood round, cleaning the chimenea etc. But we did our homework and knew it was like this.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

:eek::eek::eek::eek:GOOD GOD!!!!!!!!!

Yep i can understand this.....but as you say [QUOTEBut we did our homework and knew it was like this.][/QUOTE]
This what I do not understand, how can you move in the UK let alone to another country and not have at least an idea of the weather etc.
I am stunned .......Talking of chooks mine are in a mud bath at the moment

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I often have friends who want to come over in the winter to "get some good weather". They look at the weather charts online and see daytime temperatures of 18 or 20 degrees here, when it's around zero in GB. They don't realise that this is just for 2 hours in the afternoon and there's no central heating indoors!

Re: Moving to Spain
 

To be honest i am amazed..still takes all sorts bet I have some odd ideas as well about places LOL:thumbsup:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

We've had relatives come over in January or February "because the flights are really cheap" and then they sit about looking put out if the weather's wet, cold or both - in spite of us warning them that at that time of year the weather's just as likely to be bad as good!:frown:

I'd had enough winter holidays in Spain to know full well that it rains (a lot) sometimes, and doesn't feel warm before the sun is properly up or after it goes down, before we decided to move here. I must admit I wouldn't have chosen one of the areas where it really does get unbearably hot (over 40C) for much of the summer, nor a mountain area where it gets very cold in winter. I'd had enough of snow and ice living in a moorland area of the North of England and I am very happy to come no closer to it now than looking at snow capped mountains in the distance from my roof terrace!

I am one of the people who prefers to live in a town with all the amenities within walking distance, I am no gardener and my patio and large roof terrace are quite enough outside space for me! It is sometimes possible to find town properties with a surprising amount of outside space, a friend of ours bought one nearby which is set at the end of a small, gated cul de sac shared with one other house. His house is set behind a high wall, has a huge patio area at ground floor level, a raised terrace of 12m x 7m where you could put a pool, another terrace and a 50sqm roof terrace as well. Sadly he died before he could put his plans to develop it into action, but with not too much spent on it it could become really nice.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

If its too cold for you ..Move to the Canary Isles..mostly 20* to 25*in winter..

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Well I thought I knew about spanish weather...spent a year at Sevilla Uni. Grandfather had a house in Spain, so did my parents. We must have been lucky with the weather or I was suffering from selective memory:lol: We were a bit stunned when we lived in Spain year round. Ok. it's not as cold as the UK and we have spent some lovely days in chiringuitos at lunchtimes but it's the houses. When the sun goes down it can be very cold. Our CH cost a fortune to run but never felt adequate (was an old system). As soon as it goes off the house seemed to get cold within a half hour whereas here in the UK it seems to keep warm for hours.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Maybe in the South it does! The last year I spent in the UK we had to have our central heating on in August, which is ridiculous. In the winter, as soon as it went off the house went cold pretty darn quickly. We once went on a long haul winter holiday and made the mistake of not leaving the heating on for a few hours a day whilst we were away. Luckily the pipes didn't freeze but the house was like an ice box and took about 2 weeks to warm up again.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

would you really want this load of moaning minnies ? ?
:rofl:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

yeah! my sister told me she would be making the matriarchal single visit to see her older brother ensconsed in Spain in March.
when I said it would be inordinately cold, us being at like 800m asl she said, no my husband has said that is the best time.

so I am ensuring the spare 14tog duvet is aired ready

she only ever visits the once, even when driving by she wouldnt drop in, its only a few minutes before we can get home and have a cup of tea !!
:rofl:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Just looking at the UK weather charts.

Down to minus 5 in N.Scotland tonight and little better elsewhere with snow showers and a Northerly wind blowing down of the North Sea..... Brrrrrrrr.

Had snow in Oct, 2 yrs out of the last 3 back home in the N.E. and much the same as late as June, so at least those of us close to the Costas are a bit better off than that, despite the poorly insulated houses.

The Canaries are definitely the place to be for decent Winter weather and certainly a big contrast to the Peninsula.

The first few yrs I spent back on the mainland, I often rented an apartment in Benidorm for a while in mid winter taking with me a couple of extra heating appliances, as the electric was covered in the rent, so it was never a problem keeping warm.

Also most of the apt terraces are South facng and quite sheltered, as is much of the town itself, so its a useful bolthole for those wishing to avoid the worst of the Spanish Winter for the odd month or maybe two.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

yep this year we had the log burner still on in july.......and the past few years i have never seen so much fliiping rain

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Strange how we all have differing experiences, I can't remember having heating on in the summer in UK, much less in August. Our modest house has cavity wall insulation, double glazing, max thickness of loft insulation, we have the top rating, and normally our CH goes off beginning May and stays off until recently and then only at night. It's been on for an hour tonight, it's off now but I still only have a shirt on, it's not cold. We use the same tog rated duvet throughout the year and I've never bothered with wearing anything in bed. The last time I wore anything in bed was in a house in Montefrio (yes, I know the meaning) in May! the coldest house I have ever stayed in.
2 weeks to warm up? :confused: that's sounds like an extremely cold house or a very inefficient heating system.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I bought flanalette PJ's in Spain from Dunnes stores:lol: Still wear PJ's but am into silk now:thumbup:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

No, just a different climate (and probably the fact that we experienced a 35 degree drop in temperature within 24 hours from being in the Far East to coming back to northern England didn't help!). You are always telling us what a wonderful area you live in, after all, you never get snow, heavy rain or whatever else is affecting the rest of the country, do you?

We had a brand new boiler, double glazing, loft insulation et al.

I don't have an electric blanket here in Spain (I do put a hot water bottle in the bed in the coldest months) and I never wear anything to sleep in (nor did I in the UK). I've seen people mention on here that they watch TV wrapped up in blankets, wear gloves indoors and all sorts of other things, but never have I felt the need to do that. I've not used any heating in this house since March, the gas heater may need to go on for an hour or so last thing at night soon, though.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Anywhere inland suffers greater temperature extremes, north or south.
Oceans tend to moderate things quite a bit.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

True. When we lived mins from the beach on level ground it was the warmest house we had in Spain. Have friends who live on a hillside close to Ronda and it can be chilly on their terrace in summer. If they put out pot plants they either wither and die or the wind strips the leaves of.

Chilly here today, seems like a wonderful summers day in the conservatory but it's 7C outside:eek:...was 18C two days ago!

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I believe we're a lot further north than you, but it's still in the 20's in the day and teens at night here. Wouldn't expect temps like 7 (at night) until Feb., but we are surrounded by a sea with surface temps of about 22c.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Just saw some beautiful Christmas Card-like snow scene photos from my neighbouring villages in the N.E on todays UK National news. Brrrrr.
Quite a covering already.

Only just got away in time, It feels like the coldest spot on the planet, back there, once Winter sets in.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Yes, and the difference can be marked even if the geographical distance is small. We stayed overnight at a hotel in Nerja this July, and it was noticeably cooler and fresher than where I live, although we are less than 5km inland. It's a couple of degrees warmer on the coast in winter, as well.

We have the sun back today after 2 days of heavy rain, it was 25C in town when I was out shopping and I had to take my lightweight cardigan off when I got back in the house as I was too warm. The forecast shows a cold night tonight, though, so the heater may yet need to go on! Only for one night, after that night time temperatures are back up to 16 or thereabouts.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I would have to have heating on at nightime 16C:D Also it will probably feel like 14C inside a Spanish house.

Have to smile when I see those place in the sun type programmes and they come out with comments such as:

Would we ever need to use that fireplace?
No space for dining table but we would eat outside all the time.
It will be nice to be able to swim all year...thre's more:rofl::rofl:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

It's still 22C inside mine.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I think paris hilton expalined htings in Spain very well. And lets face it, if some one tells you all the positives and you dont find them yourself when you arrive, what will you do???? You need to know everything and this thread pretty much covers everything. You can now make an informed decision!!

The one thing I'll say is that Spain is lovely, but I'm so glad we didnt sell our UK house and only rented. Cos my husbands idea of relocating his business to Spain didnt/couldnt happen and luckily we had somewhere to move back to - cos yes, we're now back in the UK. I often wonder what on earth we'd have done if our UK house had sold and we'd bought in Spain as we'd initially planned

Jo xxxx

Re: Moving to Spain
 

But Lynn, it was you who posted after that night time temperatures are back up to 16 or thereabouts.

Grandson has just come back from the CDS. They were on a schooltrip and playing spanish footie teams. He said it was warm until it started to rain.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I agree, there is some sound advice. The only negative I see is that some now expect new wannabe's to almost put a CV and a bank statement on the thread before giving advice:)

Re: Moving to Spain
 

haha, up here on the Poniente Granadino it gets warmer when it rains
:)

Re: Moving to Spain
 

...and your house is valued in sterling, which is a hell of a lot less risky than being valued in Euro right now.

We're considering selling while the Euro still has some value.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Jacky a bit of an exageration....
but how do you respond to someone who says
"I hate life in the UK and I am moving to Spain with the kids and dog in January - what do I need to know?"

Good advice can only come from both sides being honest, we know of one couple who may not come since they found out about the "nasty" autonomo charges. Would they have got here and suddenly found out about them ??

Perhaps you would like to tell all how little information is needed to tell the patient they are dying ??

Re: Moving to Spain
 

considering how the euro seems to be climbing against the pound at the moment (based onthe exchange rate from my weekly visits to the bank) it looks like it isnt doing too bad - for the moment.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Yes, those are minimum night time temperatures OUTSIDE. Inside it hasn't gone below 22C yet. When the weather is at it's very coldest (maybe for a few nights in January or February) it might be as low as 16 inside when we get up in the morning, when the heater has not been on all night.

I'm sorry for the families who have been to the CDS for half term holidays this last week, the weather hasn't been very good at all.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

We moved to Spain two years ago and unfortunately have to move on due to work commitments but unlike many we would SAY GO FOR IT. life is what YOU make of it not what someone else does for you. A lot of Brits have been disillusioned due to health cuts, cost increases etc. However this is happening not just in Spain it is happeningn everywhere. it needs to as well, the Spanish Government should not have to pay for us coming here and as for unemployment yes it is high but I would challenge the statisitics as the black economy seems rampant. Maybe this is what Spain needs to attack?

The lifestyle is better but you need to have some money behind you for the first twelve :)months

Re: Moving to Spain
 

It's sods law. When they came out to visit us in October break it was unusually hot until the day before they arrived:blink: He seems to have had a great time though, enjoyed pointing out to the other kids the hospital where he was born. They had a trip to La Roselada stadium and he bought a Málaga football shirt. He didn't want us to sell our house in Spain, he asked us to wait until he was 21 so he could buy it:rofl:

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I think you just want to bury your head in the sand madlass and hear only the good things and not the reality!,read the papers do your research which i don't think you've done have you?.

Spain per se is a great place to live,many good things about it,i work hard here and will continue to do so,have an active lifestyle,swim,fish,water ski,and much more besides and have a very happy healthy lifestyle,with good my spanish wife and kids.
But with 30% out of work and no hope for employement very,very dificulty if not impossible to get work if your young or 40s plus,its just that over the last few years living here has become much harder due to the financial crisis affecting all europe and the world,while cost living has gone up prices in the shops,bills,wages have not followed,in fact a lot of companies have said to their staff take a pay cut 25% wages or we close,so correct information you should get and NOt look through ROSE TINTED GLASSES as most expats do,which is what you are doing.
You obviosly have more money than you know what to do with and less common sense too,so make the move fall flat on your face and blolw all your money,and by the way i have a property in the uk,so i think the only person going back there is you in a short period of living here in spain when it all goes tist up for you.

paris

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Just a point for you,why do need encouragement,why do you need it,you have made up your mind?,do you need your decision approved or re-inforced by everyone,if you had done your homework you would not have to ask?.:sneaky:

You did ask a question so here is a better answer for you,a more balanced view,not that you will take any notice i know that!,so that you will be better equipped for when you come here:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Positive things living in spain.

1/better weather annually,can be very hot 35-40c can be cold 0-2c winter
2/much cheaper IBI (council tax)
3/cheaper food/acoholic drinks/tabacco
4/cheaper car tax,fuel bit cheaper than uk
5/quiter easier going lifestyle generally depending where you live e.g not madrid/barcelona large cities,people are just as streesed as the uk.
6/friendly spanish people
7/mostly free parking at the beaches
8/swimming pools cheaper access
9/roads better maintained and cleaner and parks and towns
10/ nightly daily rubbish collection,more hygienec uk weekly.
11/reported better diagnosis with doctors and treatment hospital under the spanish social care sytem,less prone to get hospital related infections.
12/guardia civil(civil guard police) from experience myself others been very good when bad problems occur,helpful relaxed,quick to respond normally depnding location.

There you are some encouraging things for you dear.

Negative Positive things living in spain.

1/bureaucracy gone mad OTT,mountains of paperwork,endless forms triplicate takes ages to get things sorted,so much so you have to employ a GESTOR official to wade through it all quicker.
2/very,very,very slow laborious court system to deal with justice for people,not always satisfactory results either,some have been waiting 5 years and still waiting,e.g illegal new built property,on illegal built land,by dodgy builders,council,mayors,architects,solicitors,land theft,abuse.
2/corruption on a massive scale,solicitors,estate agents,judges,police,constructors,builders,archite cts,developersect ect ect.
3/higher water charges,higher electric bills,much much higher phone and internet charges and mobile charges,expensive to live major cities spain renting and buying and annual costs,council tax(IBI),ECT ECT.
4/higher house,car,motorbike insurance policy charges.
5/corrupt police bribery and can be uninterested in dealing with crimes of breakins into properties,domestic disputes and small crimes,cuts in policing and funding,lack of police patrols presence estates,police lowered morale for their job,cuts in their wages for not meeting their monthly fines targets!.
6/expensive banking charges,an annual charge,admin charge,maintenence charge,credit card annual charge,debit card annual charge.
7/ zero tolerance on drink driving toughest in europe and very very tough penalties...which is good.
8/extremes of weather which some like,i do!!,very hot summer maybe 40c+ we have had it down to 0-2c winter,freezing and snow in winter worst in the higher mountain areas or north spain sever like the uk,here can be extremely cold and last 3 months as it has done previosly,electric blanket most expats have,a good heating system.
9/barking dogs continually are a big nuisance in spain,the spainsih accept it you wont like it,speeding noisy scooters.
10/fiestas here are an important part of spanish culture and i we lall love them,however if you are an unfortunate shall we say to live in the village or in the town where the fietas takes place which can go on for 1 week,you WILL NOT GET ANY SLEEP all night as the fiestas continue all night into early hours morning,firecrackers,fireworks,trumpets,drums,pipe s,shouting,lots noise,it also can all start up at 6.00 am morning,great if you have young kids or a baby!.
11/racist/ageist/sexist attitude toward employment,been that way long time
12/lack of real help or support if you lose your job or and home even if you have family kids,you are on the street,here establishmnet are very unforgiven,unlike uk,their are charities but they are now overwhelmed!.
13/social security payments (dole money) is only 400 euros a month if you are out of work and been working previously this is for you your wife and kids,bills,mortgage,rent,plus if you have not worked before you get nothing and no health cover.
14/with the crisis and jobs cuts many immigrants especially morrocans,romanies gypsies,bulgarians,russians ect many working in groups to break into villas,houses,flats all over spain especially on estates and in the les populated areas and when expats or spanish leave their properties empty winter or return back holidays uk or wherever,they are and have ben using violence and force against peopl even breaking in when the people are in their homes,and previously gassing the people in their beds at night when the air-conditioners are on by spraying knock out gas into the intake or the aircon,they also have no compassion to kill your family dog or guard dogs to gain entry.

If you can accept and deal with bad stuff like we have its a good life here ok!

paris;)

Re: Moving to Spain
 

:o:unsure::unsure::eek: