Originally Posted by time4tea

No one has mentioned climate. You say you want to winter in Spain and are looking from Barcelona down. Well, I can tell you that I used to live in Catalonia and the winters there can be comparible with the UK. Generally, wet and windy and COLD. So if its a winter retreat youre after, I'd say you need to be looking further south, Murcia and down would be my advice.

Cars. You can get pretty amazing long term hire deals in some areas, but that's something you need to check out, however you CANT buy a car here unless you register as a Spanish resident, that will in turn make you liable for local taxes, etc. Another idea is to buy a UK registered car and take it back every 6 months, much easier on the paperwork. You can easily insure a UK car in Spain and you may be lucky enough to find a left hand drive model as well.

Renting- The normal terms are 6 or 11 months, so a 6 month rent is perfectly normal and doable. Also, as youll be renting off peek, you should be able to get a good deal as many properties are empty for the quite part of the year. However, have you considered the hasstle and upheaval of actually doing this EVERY year? I recently moved from Catalonia to the Costa Del Sol and I found the entire process to be a nightmare, the thought of willingly doing it yearly seems a bit harsh.

Originally Posted by time4tea

No one has mentioned climate. You say you want to winter in Spain and are looking from Barcelona down. Well, I can tell you that I used to live in Catalonia and the winters there can be comparible with the UK. Generally, wet and windy and COLD. So if its a winter retreat youre after, I'd say you need to be looking further south, Murcia and down would be my advice.

Cars. You can get pretty amazing long term hire deals in some areas, but that's something you need to check out, however you CANT buy a car here unless you register as a Spanish resident, that will in turn make you liable for local taxes, etc. Another idea is to buy a UK registered car and take it back every 6 months, much easier on the paperwork. You can easily insure a UK car in Spain and you may be lucky enough to find a left hand drive model as well.

Renting- The normal terms are 6 or 11 months, so a 6 month rent is perfectly normal and doable. Also, as youll be renting off peek, you should be able to get a good deal as many properties are empty for the quite part of the year. However, have you considered the hasstle and upheaval of actually doing this EVERY year? I recently moved from Catalonia to the Costa Del Sol and I found the entire process to be a nightmare, the thought of willingly doing it yearly seems a bit harsh.

Originally Posted by time4tea

....however you CANT buy a car here unless you register as a Spanish resident...

Originally Posted by time4tea

I used to live in Catalonia and the winters there can be comparible with the UK.

Originally Posted by time4tea

I recently moved and spent ALOT of time with various estate agents before finally signing for our present apartment and was told that the standard contract is 6 or 11 months. .

Originally Posted by Boneyboy

Thanks everyone for your advice and help. Time4tea, I wondered if you lived in Barcelona itself? We realise that the weather in Catalonia is cooler than down south further but having put up with winters here in Canada, it wont be a surprise. This trip is mainly to have a good look around hopefully decide where we would like to settle. We like the hustle and bustle of a larger city but long term I'm sure that might change. From what we have read on this forum, buying in Spain definitely has it pros and cons. For us, renting gives us the freedom to move around for the next while but on the other hand, there is nothing like owning your own home. Prices for property seem really cheap but it seems if you ever decide to sell, that might not be so easy? We wondered what percentage of the people on this forum rent or own their property? Also, what is the cost to buy or rent a villa with pool in the Murcia region? Sea view included!!

Originally Posted by Moses2013

The old climate talk. As cricketman said, you have different climates in Catalunya. We have a place 7 km from the coast, not far from Lloret/Blanes and it would be a lot milder than inland. You still have plenty of sunshine and it can get cold during night, but certainly not that cold. It's around 15 degrees now, but it's still nice to have a fire on in winter and you wouldn't have water shortages like places further south. If you're considering a permanent move, you don't want to live in a place that's always like a desert. It's nice to have a bit of green and Barcelona is just a short drive away. The Costa Brava doesn't have empty ugly high rise buildings like other parts of the country and you can still find affordable property too.

Originally Posted by cricketman

I took a day trip to Blanes a couple of times when I lived in Barcelona. The beach was very nice and I enjoying snorking to see the fish in the sea

Lloret de mar is ugly but is the exception rather than the rule. The Costa Brava more or less starts in Blanes and gets better looking (but more expensive) the further North you go

A completely different life to living in the Costa del sol though which can be rather sterile and just plain weird

Originally Posted by cricketman

That's what the dodgy estate agents tell the guiris who havent got a clue

I have lived and rented in Catalunya, Costa del sol and Asturias and I can tell you that a 3 or 5 year contract is legal and standard

As for the weather, Catalunya is a big place with 3 different climate systems. On the Coast the winters are sunny and much warmer than the UK, maybe by 5-10c. We lived in an old flat with no central heating and that was freezing, but that is a different issue

Originally Posted by snikpoh

Not any more - it changed last year!

Long term contracts are now 6 or 12 months (automatically) renewable up to 3 years (used to be 5). Must be in Spanish blah, blah, blah ...

Originally Posted by Boneyboy

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have a few questions I wondered if I could get answered by those that have already made this journey. My wife and I (no kids) presently live in Canada, both of us born in the UK. I am retiring in June and we are considering moving back to Europe and settling in Spain. We've had enough of the winters here and having spent many vacations in Spain, we feel it will be the right place for us due to the better climate and proximity to the UK where we have family. We are planning to go over this summer and rent, whilst touring around deciding where to settle. We intend to look from Barcelona down to Malaga as there is lots of places we haven't seen. When we rent accommodation, is 6 months viable or will the landlord want a year? I was also wondering about transportation for us to get around. Would it be best to just buy a car or rent when we need one? Any suggestions? We won't need to work and speak a little Spanish. Once we live in Spain permanently, we will do all we can to become fluent. I regards to a phone, I have a unlocked Iphone which I should be able to use in Europe?
Thanks for listening, and any suggestions on places to look out for or any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by cricketman

Yes but the point is that you are guarenteed to have the property for at least 3 years unless you don't want it, in which case you can get out after either 6 or 12 months