Moving to spain
 

Hi there all.
New to this site.
my names Darrell, 49,from gloucester ,uk. my partners name is trudi and shes 46 also from gloucester.
we are seriously thinking of emigrating to spain to buy a property outright and to buy a small coffee shop type of buisness too.
ive driven hgv,s for the last 32 years and home is paid off so all good to go..
am starting to get the bug for moving and my partner is edging me closer and closer to going..
well thats me introduced to you ,is there anything i need to know ?

thanks. Darrell.

Re: Moving to spain
 

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

Re: Moving to spain
 

Hi Darrell, there are a few recent threads on here that will be very helpful to you, folk in here say it how it is, but everyone is different,please remember that. We have just purchased in Cadiz area, ideal for us, but not for everyone. Also from Gloucester, making the move slowly and without any stress. Take time out to research this big step. I took a year to decide once all the research was done, the. We visited a few times to get the ideal property in the ideal place. That's so important. Best of luck mate, keep visiting here, it's a mine of information.

Re: Moving to spain
 

As always it depends how well off you are financially. If the coffee shop business doesn't work, will you have enough money to survive and will your pension be enough? Are you selling your UK home to fund the place in Spain etc.

Re: Moving to spain
 

will very much depend on the area and the coffee shop. please ensure that you see the genuine books for the shop so you can see just what sort of living you can make, coffee shops open and close faster than a pair of curtains, and usually leave the owner with a big debt, there is no shortage of coffee shops in any area of Spain, so you really need your shop to stand out from the crowd.

My personal advice would be, unless you are prepared to lose thousands of pounds, is stay in the UK, I know that Spain is warmer and sunnier, but it has no benefit system to help you if you are in trouble, and you would have to pay something like €250 a month just to get into the Spanish health service, and this does mean every month. Even then health care would not be free, there are some fees you would have to pay.

Re: Moving to spain
 

I personally have never seen a coffee shop in Spain. I go to a bar to have a cup of coffee.

Re: Moving to spain
 

You evidently haven't been to Madrid then ;)

Re: Moving to spain
 

I believe the OP may be referring to a café... of which there is one on every corner around here. In fact, many "bars" claim to be a "café".

And yes, the ones that survive tend to have a very strong local "rapport" - in other words, everybody knows you and feels "at home" there. So, aside from a viable location, if it's a local café, then you need to speak local language and develop local relationships.

If you're limited to a British resort or expat area, then your costs of doing business will be significantly higher. You'll need to be in a strategic location, preferably on the waterfront, which of course, will render significantly higher costs of everything, and therefore, you'll have to charge a good bob for your offerings, which will likely put off a certain percentage of clientele. And it will be seasonal, so you'll need to make your year in 6 months or less.

Re: Moving to spain
 

Thanks for the info. Have discussed with partner about finances but as we both hold hgv licences money would not be a problem even if having to pop back to UK to earn a bit..