Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

No I don't believe we are moving to fast We have thought about doing this for a long time, just never done anything about it, but now is the right time for us. We have no intention on selling our House here in the UK we are hoping to rent it out. We are going to do the 4 day inspection visit for our benefit to get some input on areas. We are also doing a 1 mth holiday through the mth of May to get a feel for the area, and we will carry on holidaying there until we find where suits us both. I am doing a lot of research on the net I know you can never have enough info, and that is why I want to do things hands on whilst I am out there.
We also have a caravan in the UK on a well known site and have managed to do a swop with some caravan owners over in Spain for the mth of May so we fell lucky there. I am looking forward to this new path we are going to be taking if it doesn't work out at least we can say we tried it.:)

Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

Just an update
Spoke to the person we are doing the caravan exchange with on the phone yesterday everything going ahead for us to spend a mth in their caravan at camping los gallardos we are going to hire a car so will be able to get around the different areas so all going good so far :rofl:

Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

Just remember that Spain in May is a lot different than Spain in January. A friend went to live in the Alicante area and she said she has never been so cold in her life. My only advice is to take off any rose coloured glasses. We received warnings about electricity, illegal homes etc and thought we knew better. However we didn´t. You are so sensible though to say about renting and renting your home out in the UK. You can also get reciprocal health care for up to two years after you leave the UK on the basis of when you leave and the number of stamps you have paid. So that should sort you for then. Just think of it as an adventure and that you can always go home if it doesn´t work out. Good luck and enjoy.

Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

First of all would like to say a big thankyou to everyone who answered We have taken everything into account and it as all been more than useful to us. :thumbsup:

reciprocal health care what is this? do I apply for it? Yes the reason we want to rent here to fund the rent there is if it doesn't work out we can come home not necessarily to this house has we wouldn't turf anyone out we would prob get an apartment over here and it still be funded by letting our house out We have no morgage on our house and it being 4 beds will maybe get more per mth than an apartment would cost so would be a nice bonus but not a necessity.

Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

I can only reiterate what the others have said. May in Spain is a lot different to the winter and is also a lot different to the summer also.
If this still hasnt put you off, have you thought about the Costa de la Luz? What is beneficial is that you are very close to the portuguese border so you can also fly from faro back to any of the major uk airports frequently, all year.
We are only an hour from the border, 15 minutes from the coast and 7 minutes from the town, so have the best of all worlds but live in tranquility, so think about what time of environment you want to live in.
Bear in mind spanish towns can become very noisy sometimes even starting as late as 2am before things really get going.
I love the algarve (have you thought about there)?, and english is spoken widely all long the coast.
i wish you luck in whatever you decide.

Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

I read back through your posting and can only repeat what others have said.
There is little or no chance of your husband getting a job - part time or otherwise.
If you restrict yourself to an area where 'there are a number of ex-pats' then you will be restricting yourself to a limited number of areas of Spain.
Can you speak another language? If you didn't learn languages when you are at school you will find it 100 times harder now you are older.
You will have to pay tax on the rental income you receive in the UK.
A Masa inspection trip will show you nothing of Spain - only what they want you to see.
Just some additional points to consider.

Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Re: Moving to Spain lots of advise needed
 

Hello and goodluck.. we moved to Gran Canaria 3 years ago and wished we had done it earlier... There is no work here people are going back to the UK.. we live on my pension and house rental and have a good life if you dont go over budget.. the all year sunshine is great.. so come and look around here..