What's one of those then? Never seen anything like that in El CE

Well don't bring a TV or telephones cos they don't work here. I brought my breadmaker but have had difficulty finding flour for it. (managed to get white only & it is quite expensive) Kettles and toasters are around but not in the cheaper stores and not much of a range. I bought a large freezer with me, to freeze home grown produce and cut down on shopping trips. Its been well used and worth bringing as I would probably only have got £50 selling it in the UK. I also brought the washing machine as it was only a couple of years old and, goodness knows why - the tumble dryer which I have used once!

Before we came I looked at El Corte Ingles website to get a rough idea of prices here and then decided accordingly. Its worth bringing things like garden tools which don't take up much space cos any money spent replacing these things can be saved.

Watch out for beds and bedding. We bought one double bed and can't get bedding to fit. Fitted sheets pretty much don't exist here. Again check El Cortes Ingles to get idea of standard spanish sizes - an Ikea catalogue is a useful guide as well. Check their spanish website for prices (generally cheaper than UK) and the locations of their stores.

Best of luck with your move.

Rose

where do you shop in the uk.Harrods

We found one useful thing. In Polanco's they sell single beds, in a variety of widths that can be linked together to make a double of almost any size, so we were able to get a super kingsize, which we couldn't find anywhere. Plus it was simple, light and cheap. Presumably there are other places that will sell these.

Duvets are one thing that is very cheap in the UK, and the only ones we have seen in Spain have been very expensive.

No, I have never been to El Corte Ingles, I don't think we have one nearer than two-three hours drive.

Agree with BIL about duvets - in fact I bring most of my bedding from the UK.

[QUOTE=jo-ann;6703372]You have obviously not shopped at El Corte Ingles's 'Oportunidades' great bargains to be had and top quality labels and all sizes, cannot be beaten anywhere in the UK[/QUOTE]

I bet they can you know.

In my city in the UK there is a Matalan clearance store (our son works there).

I bought a top (£1) and a pair of shorts (50p), they were BOGOF so that meant I owed Matalan £1 - however they had to re-imburse my £1 parking fee so I paid nothing at the checkout.

Never had that happen before!

[QUOTE=scampicat;6703937] Tacaño

[QUOTE=Rotor;6703992] Claro..........

Thanks everyone for all of the useful information, its all very helpful. Yes I shall stock up on M & S undies.

At the moment the property we are buying is still full of the current owners beds, tables, chairs etc. As the owner is an older lady who has been living with her son for the past 5 years, we are hoping that they will leave it all behind.


Ian and Irene, do you have any useful links for the rules of growing your own food and serving them to customers? A few months ago you gave a list of the regs that cover Rural B & B's which were very helpful.

We are hoping that a local gestor will advise us of any regs that we don't manage to find out about before we move down.

Stocking up on M&S undies is a great idea.
One thing we should have said, is shoes for women are on the small size. So if you have large feet purchase as many as possible! Men should have no problems.
We don’t have any further information other than that posted some time ago. We have only been told about food regulations when attending the cursos para certificado Manipulador De Alimentos, (a certificate to handle food) and when we are inspected by the health inspector (he comes twice a year). Maybe when you approach the Xunta you will find out more. I bet your list of questions for them is getting quite long now!
The food certificate course is run by the Xunta and will be in Spanish, but the good news it is free!

We are interested in that type of bed and have looked around but not found anywhere yet. Is POLANCO'S a chain? Might I find one near Ayamonte?

The nearest we have found was a strap to pull the mattress's together and then cover the ridge (in Edinburgh) but have only seen the bed lnks in Spanish hotels.

I'll pm you a couple of ref's as I think I'll get my wrists slapped if I post the links.

As long as they are not your own links, you have used them and are recommending them, then its`s ok.

OK,

http://www.polanco.net/TrabajaNosotros.htm

Can't find a ref for the beds tho.

A long time ago I mentioned sedating cats and the general consensus was that it’s not necessary. Our cats sleep just about all the time anyway. On a recent trip to the vet, one of them was asleep in his carrier box within two or three streets. I think you’ll find your vet will agree on this. Always worth asking. Maybe take them for a test run in the car?

Check out the thread: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=552437 which might be useful to you. I will post back there with more information later. I will also post AFTER the trip with any useful hints. Maybe it would be best to post on that thread if you want to explore that further, keeping this thread for the prices UK vs Spain?

My wife suggests calming music for animals, which is available from http://www.petsandmusic.com/ I have no idea what that is like, and I have a feeling that as the main driver they may have to put up with music that calms 55 year old male drivers. Life is hard…