Is this how you want to start A New Life in Spain?

As Britains' only matador returns to the ring at 67, I think it shows how starting A New Life in Spain doesn't mean just changing country. I have mentioned earlier that to learn a new skill before you get to Spain could not only make your move succesful but more enjoyable. Now of course I am not suggesting you become a bull fighter,(unless you want to) but language and computer skills are easier and of course far safer!
Read the whole story of Britains only matador here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1210169/Frank-Evans-Bull-fighting-age-67-return-El-Ingles--Britains-oldest-matador.html

Top tips for starting your New Life in Spain

Even if you sell everything in the U.K it is a good idea to rent an apartment or villa in your chosen area for at least a year before you decide wether to buy or not. This allows you to "roadtest" the area. Is there enough going on to make it interesting all year round or is it too busy? Get to know people in local bars or social clubs, find out about the availability of work. What jobs do people do, what are the local schools like. Above all if the area doesn't fit your criteria don't be afraid to move to another region.

Think about where you want to live, is living by the sea really such a good idea? Beaches are noisy in summer and property prices by the sea are at a premium. Also many apartments are only used in the season so the area may well be very quiet out of season meaning some bars, restaurants and businesses may be closed. Inland may well be quiet all year round and the expat community non existent, many people dream of living in the "real" Spain but unless you speak the language too a high standard you could find it hard to get things done. Redtape in Spain is everywhere and you really need a guide and one who speaks your language. Service providers in Sapin, Ibedrola(electric) and Telefonica(phone/internet) have few english speaking staff and resolving problems can be virtually impossible without speaking some Spanish.

If you have some lovely peices of furniture by all means bring them with you, however classical furniture will be out of place if you decide on say a modern apartment. There are many excellent places to purchase furnishings but prices can vary wildly. DO NOT consider bring electrical goods(laptops aside) as the slight variation in voltage drastically shortens the life of many items. Televisions are particularly prone.

Read up extensively on the area you are planning on going to, make a note of places of interest and make an effort to visit them. List all the local fiestas and go and watch the processions and fireworks etc. These are always well supported by the locals and are part of what makes Spain and the Spanish way of life so enjoyable.

The start of a dream

It's a cold, dreary day and your daydreaming about a warm golden beach. That's when the first seeds of A New Life in Spain are sown. However many people dream but few follow their dreams. Why?
Well of course there are many reasons, too little money, your earning so much another couple of years will set you for life, the kids are so little, the kids are getting ready for exams and of course, often close relatives are getting older. The truth is there will always be a reason but if your serious you need to make a plan. Write it in next years dairy, A New Life in Spain, list all the plus points and minus ones as well and see if you can do some thing about the minus ones. Set out a timetable of what you want to have resolved and when and how.
Many problems are the same for most people. Money is obviously one of the major ones, start putting some savings away, if you own your house decide wether it can be easily rented or are you going to sell it. Renting offers a safety net as you have somewhere to return to but are you in a good rental area, are their good agents where you are?
What will you do for work? Can your job be easily transfered to Spain? Maybe your company has a spanish office or you are going to set up your own busines.
All this and more will be covered by A New Life in Spain and I will be sharing with you some of our experiences and those of others we have met here in Calpe, Spain.

The 2nd page of useful spanish words

Web Site: sitio web, sitio

Folder: carpeta

Toolbar: barra de herramientas

To go back: regresar

Back(button): atras regresar

No more building in Calpe?

Calpe town hall says the enviroment ministrys' plans to extend the protection area along the towns' entire coastline are based on outdated information going back to 1992.
It is thought it could affect upto 1000 properties with the possibility of partial demolition as some of the land will revert to public ownership. This is of course good news to enviromentalists who are against further development and there is also more protection given to areas of the Salinas wetlands.
I think personally Calpe doesn't have the infrastructure for more large scale development but that all property owners should get behind the mayor, Ximo Tur to stop any further concern for property owners.
Although these kind of problems in Spain are rare, (whatever the British press report), they show why it is so important to use the services of companies with good local knowledge.

Why pick Spain for your new life?

Well, why would you look at a new life in Spain rather than say America or Madeira? After all there are no language issues with America and Madeira has good weather, a relatively low cost of living and is surrounded by the sea.
The answer is of course down to the individual. Although you will have to learn another language to live in Spain this is also part of the enjoyment for many people. To be able to immerse yourself in one of Europes' most historic cultures is a real joy and the brits particularly have a strong bond with Spain from the earliest years of the package holiday to a love of all things Spanish. Think San Miguel, Barcelona and Raphael Nadal.
From a logical point of view, Spain is little more than 2 hours from the U.K, making seeing friends and relatives easy. There is a large expat population which can lend support, in the form of advice or job oppertunities. Also the Spanish themselves are use to brits and many schools are well versed to integrating children who speak little or no Spanish.
Then there are the people themselves who are friendly, warm and exuberant. They actively enjoy becoming involved in their community and make all local festivals a spectacular. I could go on about the regional food dishes and wines but I will leave this for another time.
There is plenty of information you can look up so give it a go and maybe you too could be starting
A New Life in Spain.

A sad Lesson

After a 40 year old woman from Chelmsford died on an Iberia flight from Morocco to Madrid doctors are reminding people that half an aspirin before flying can combat DVT or deep vein thrombosis. It's widely accepted DVT is more prevelant than was previously thought.
The woman died even though the flight diverted to Seville, it's not known if the cause of death was DVT.For the cost of aspirin I would recomend everyone take a half prior to flying.

The 1st page of useful spanish words

THE INTERNET

INTERNET: internet

LINK: enlace


HYPERLINK: hyperenlace


BOOKMARK: favorito, marcador

HOME PAGE: pagina principal, pagina inicial

A guide to buying in Spain from Calpe1stop

First you will need the Nota simple informativa which comes from the
Registro de la Proppiedad which is Spains property registration
office. This shows the owners name and a description of the property
(this is especially important as it will show if something had been
added illegally which happens quite a lot in Spain), and also that the
property is free of any debts, which would transfer to the new owner
as debts in Spain are linked to the debtors property.

Next you have a pre-agreement. This is a contract between the vendor
and the purchaser in which the vendor agrees to sell and the purchaser
to buy, the price agreed and any conditions. There is usually a
percentage of the purchase price paid to the vendor at this time. In a
Spanish contract it will often state that were the buyer to pull out
of the sale the deposit will be lost and were the seller to pull out
they would have to pay double.

The actual transfer will be done at the notaries office where the deed
of purchase will be read, agreed on and signed by both parties and the
notary. You will need either proof of identity or a power of attorney
if a solicitor is signing for you.

There are 2 taxes to pay, a transfer tax (around 7%) and stamp duty,
which is different region to region (around 1%).

The property is then registered at the local office.

A new life in Spain - 6 months on

Well I setup my blog then went away to learn how to make one! I have now been in Spain for 2 years in all with the 1st year spent going back and forth to England. The reason I have left some time before I write the blog(apart from the learning curve) is because I wanted to get plenty of quality information together.
Each day from now on I am going to add current information and content along with what I have done since arriving in Spain. I will tell you about work, what I have done to find it, schooling from my 7 year olds point of view, our family having a baby in Spain and all the other things we have done in the last 2 years.
One of these is the starting of our new business which involves property management, maintenance, sales & rentals here in Calpe. I will also be giving information on Spain and our area of the Costa Blanca and commenting on all aspects relating to property.
I hope this gives you plenty of food for thought and maybe inspires some of you to find A new life in Spain

Ian