Moving to Spain...

[xxsammyxx]

Oooh ill ask him if he knows it... Dutch people are really nice people, ive never met one that would make me think otherwise, very friendly and sincere!!

 

[Squiglet]

God help you girl! lol. I moved here 2 1/2 years ago. If you don't speak Spanish you are scuppered and jobs are few and far between even if you do! There is a big recession here and recently my partner got made redundant and I was getting paid 1 € and hour basic and commision on top (which was not very much!) I'm qualified in IT Technical Support and worked for NEXT Head Office in the UK. I gave up my house, sports car and job of 10 years to move here and it was the worst mistake of my life. Its great for a holiday but you try and sort all the legal documents, i.e. N.I.E., Residencia, Bank Accounts, buying a car and all the documents, Suma, household bills... etc if you don't speak Spanish and you will be at nervous breakdown stage by the end of the first week! Translators are expensive. Setting up a business here is a bad idea here as there is so many plumbers, estate agents, window companies, electricians, that there is not enough work for anyone. The police follow you everywhere and normally we get stopped at least every 2 weeks. Yep drinks are cheaper and fags (if you dont live in the City!) Generally things are going up in price! Our neighbours have just rented a 3 bed detached and its 850€ a month. As far as fertility clinics go they are very very few and far between. There is one in Benidorm and one in Alicante City (read my post for the incompetence of that one!) NHS is not free, everything is private and you cant get on the "so called" NHS now (new laws from a few weeks ago) without paying social security and having N.I.E. and Padrona. Prescriptions are expensive... i paid 8.50€ for a few zinc tablets for OH (normally £2.50 max in the UK. Any english food is REAL expensive (I saw a tin of Spam for 4.50€ in El Campello!!!) Before anyone disallusions you into thinking its a holiday life here, THINK really carefully before you come. Its not and after 3 years of living here I cant wait to go and live in another country. BTW since I have lived here my bag has been stolen 5 times and once from inside my house. We had our house robbed in Feb, the neighbours got theirs done the month before (all have security grills which the thieves crow bar out) and our neighbours car got done 2 nights ago. We live on an all english estate, detached houses with private pools and a communal pool so its by no means a ROUGH area its quite upper class. BUT it doesnt matter where you live cos the crime rate here is like nothing else. Anything else you want to know feel free to PM me.

Wow...erm I can't say thats all true tbh... I'm a translator and I'm really cheap Some of your complaints are valid though... Spain is like any other country... its not the land of bread and honey everyone thinks it is and neither is any other country... Think long and hard before you come here because its not the same as being on holiday...

Speaking Spanish is important... you wouldn't expect everywhere in the UK to speak Spanish, so you can't expect everywhere in Spain to speak English... so you learn. I didn't speak any Spanish when I moved here... nothing.... but I came across, got crappy jobs till I had enough Spanish to get better ones... now I have Spanish, its much easier for me to get jobs cos I'm bilingual.

Also English people do tend to be very, Very enclosed... living on English urbanisations, only watching English TV, reading English newspapers, sending their kids to english schools, working for English companies... its the biggest mistake any English person can do... you have to integrate... also the English urbanisations tend to have more crime in them for the simple reason that they are English... which usually means holiday makers which in turn means cash, jewellery, credit cards and passports and they are are target and well upper class areas are even more of a temptation.... also English people when out and about... sorry guys... you stick out like a sore thumb (as do many other nationalities) But no the crime rate in Spain isn't any higher than other EU countries....

Prescriptions aren't expensive though No more so than in the UK if you work Obviously the benefits system is different... but meh different country... I have to take lots of meds regularly and the cost is comparitable to the 6.80quid I used to have to pay in the UK PER prescription... as for the "change in the law" Its always been that way legally you have to be paying social security, have your NIE (fiscal number NI) and be on the padron (electorial register) unless you have an E121 form... but how annoyed are Brits at all the foreigners coming into the UK welching off the NHS and not paying taxes Just because Spain government are as much as a push over as the UK government doesn't mean its a worse system.

As for the fertility clinics... I only know one or two people who've been through it here, but you can get it on the nhs here

basically Ive been working for companies that have helped foreigners relocate to Spain for several years.... so I have a VAST knowledge of what you need and have to do... not thats a good thing... lol...so if you do decide to come here please pm me

I won't lie... i do get homesick sometimes (mainly starbucks ) but its because I spent 23 years in the UK and there are many cultural differences like there would be if you moved to any country.... but I only need to go back to the UK for a few days to remember why I moved here in the first place btw where are you looking at Sunshine girl....

 

[Squiglet]

yep steer clear of Torrevieja its worse for crime than here and full of Spanish, not the most pleasant place in the world!

Sorry this made me giggle. I would assume so since your moving to Spain
I hope the move goes well for youm i've been tempted by Spain a few times but never have the balls to go as i'd miss my family and friends too much.

Obviously I don't have experience of moving abroad but one thing i'd suggest is looking into doing a language course before you move across and at least learn a little bit of it. I think it would help you a lot and also I just think it's pretty ignorant to move to a country and not know at least the basics of the language.

Good luck

I live in Torrevieja!!! It is full of Spanish... which is why I live here... I'd never live in Cuidad Quesada nor Playa Flamenca... Its full of British people... And really the whole attitude of Brits disliking Spaniards or Spanish areas really upsets me

Torrevieja is not rough at all... I've lived in the centre for 6 years .... Its the majority British urbanisations that get most of the crime AND that can be attributed to many Brits not registering on the Padron so that the local government can request more police for the area... Thing is... if "full of Spanish" means a place isn't pleasant.... why move to Spain?

 

[Squiglet]

The guys are a bit slimy though (dont know if thats just spanish guys)

Ok I do have to agree with this Oh and if they say do you want coffee... and you say yes... you are basically agreeing to go out with them

 

[xxsammyxx]

Squiglet - I disgree with the price of pharmacy drugs here. Like i said i bought some zinc tablets and they were 8.50 euros! This would never be the price in the UK, they are about 1.50 - 2.00 if that. Dad has to have ventolin inhalers which were the price of a prescription in the UK but free with his certificate. Here you cant get a certificate and one inhaler costs 80 euros (if you dont believe me then i can send you the name and you can visit a pharmacy and find out!) A few aspirins cost about 3.50 € (16p in Asda) and the contraceptive pill was 12.95 € for a 21 day supply. This is not cheaper! Its far far more expensive. Walkers crisps are 1€ - 1.50 € in some shops. Tins of beans are 84c in Mercadona. This is NOT cheaper! I disagree with the police... we have tons of the damn idiots here. We are positively swarmed with the irritating sods. We get pulled over most weeks, my last time was last week in Lo Crispin for my documents AGAIN! They are there every Friday between 6 and 8 pm. They are in Quesada constantly. Permanently. AND in benimar and Benijofar stopping traffic. As far as the crime rate is concerned there are more illegal immigrants here i think than the UK since the UK opened up to all and sundry. For example in 33 years of living in the UK i got robber 0 times. While 2 (nearly 3) years in Spain I have had my bag stolen 5 times (or broken into while it was zipped and on my shoulder, pick pocketed) and once from my house. We have been robbed once in this time. I have been followed home on two separate instances while in te City TWICE. I never experienced any of this while i lived in the UK. Basically its each to their own on places to live, i find Torrevieja impossible to park (big problem if you work there, like i did) very congested and without all the luxuries of a pool etc. I much prefer where i live as i used to live in Alicante City and it was noisy and manic. Yeah here it has English but walk into Quesada Amsteleria and its mainly Spanish! Rojales is completely Spanish apart from one urb. Benijofar is the same - all spanish and i mean ALL. Only Benimar is English completely and Lo Crispin (a little mixed) BUT if you are starting out in Spain and need to learn Spanish a bit its ideal as all the spanish in the bars will help you along with it. I never said that i didnt like the Spanish if you read my text I said they are quite nice apart from some slimy blokes. Translators round here are on avergae 10 - 12 euros an hour. Cheap, yeah... especially if you want them to queue for residencia or NIE at 5 hours a time, having to return for maybe another 3 hours and thats just for NIE. Then theres all the bills, padron, doctors, forms... so yeah cheap for one hour maybe! Thankfully i speak Spanish and dont need one but for people that dont its mounts up to a small fortune if you have to call one out just to make a phone call or fill in a form! My daughter is in Spanish school where 2/3 are spanish so we dont take her to an english school. Yep most of the money to rob is on the urbs with the english as we are considered to have more money, however, they do this while your out as opposed to in the bigger towns and cities where they prefer to hold a knife to your throat. Whatever the case it doesnt make the crime rate acceptable. Re: benefits system? What benefits system? I am entitled to NOTHING and no help for my daughter from the Spanish government and i have residencia, NIE, padron, everything. Fertility on the NHS - first of all there isn't an NHS here and secondly if you can enrol onto the system here you will be about 100 years old before they get round to that! We started down that path and it took 2 weeks for an appointment (and i had to ring 3 times in one day for that! - bear in mind they dont speak english in our doctors and wont see you unless you speak spanish or have a translator - there are signs stating this!) when i got there the doctor questioned the hell out of me, threw my paperwork back at me and told me to make another appointment at the desk for a blood test. I made the apt (another week wait) and then had to wait 3 weeks for the results. Good luck to ANYONE TTC on this system cos it will take forever! The waiting list for the removal of a wisdom tooth was 12 - 18 months (this is coming from my experience and from a friend with the same problem) Just to let you know! BTW living in an english environment is far better than alicante city cos at least we can have english TV here and catch up with the local news back home if we choose... get english magazines etc. At the end of the day whether you speak spanish or not the spanish TV sucks and bores the hell outta me! lol.

 

[xxsammyxx]

Spain takes a lot of explaining! You have to been here to appreciate the "not so glam" lifestyle! I was bored at the time so i may have just rambled on a TAD...

 

[Squiglet]

- I disgree with the price of pharmacy drugs here. Like i said i bought some zinc tablets and they were 8.50 euros! This would never be the price in the UK, they are about 1.50 - 2.00 if that. Dad has to have ventolin inhalers which were the price of a prescription in the UK but free with his certificate. Here you cant get a certificate and one inhaler costs 80 euros (if you dont believe me then i can send you the name and you can visit a pharmacy and find out!) A few aspirins cost about 3.50 € (16p in Asda) and the contraceptive pill was 12.95 € for a 21 day supply. This is not cheaper! Its far far more expensive.

Hmmm you must be getting these prescriptions privately... My dad has several inhalers and his blood pressure pills and he pays a massive... 0€ because he is a pensioner and he has an E121 form and prescriptions are free for them on the Spanish NHS "Social Seguridad"... I just got given my contraceptive pill, 2 months supply and it was only 5€, and I have never paid more than a 2€ for pain meds (1.45€ for analgiplus)... IF I brought my Crohn's meds privately they would cost me nearly 100€ a month, but they are heavily subsidised by the Valencian Government and I pay 6€ (slightly less than in the UK now I believe) Of course its cheaper in the UK if you are on benefits, but its the way the Spanish government tries to deter people from going on benefits... Maybe your Farmacia is a tad expensive too

As far as the crime rate is concerned there are more illegal immigrants here i think than the UK since the UK opened up to all and sundry. For example in 33 years of living in the UK i got robber 0 times. While 2 (nearly 3) years in Spain I have had my bag stolen 5 times (or broken into while it was zipped and on my shoulder, pick pocketed) and once from my house. We have been robbed once in this time. I have been followed home on two separate instances while in te City TWICE. I never experienced any of this while i lived in the UK.

This is only a statement applicable on experience... I haven't had that experience in living in Spain... However, when I lived in the UK, someone broke into my home and tried to rape me, I was attacked and beaten in the middle of the high street at 5pm, for no reason other than apparently I looked at him the wrong way, with people walking by and no one stopped to help me, and it took the police 24 hours to come to see me....someone threatened to stab my daughter with a hypodermic syringe if I didn't give him my purse and he said he had AIDS when I was out and about, ....some one was stabbed by my car and his blood was splattered all over it... Does that mean that the UK is rife with crime and its worse than Spain? No of course not... but from my experience I would say it was worse than here in Spain... Iykwim...

i find Torrevieja impossible to park (big problem if you work there, like i did) very congested and without all the luxuries of a pool etc.

I agree with this in as much as it is impossible to park which is why we have a garage... Torrevieja has been in need of much needed parking space for a long time...although I have a community pool so thats not really a valid statement..

Whatever the case it doesnt make the crime rate acceptable.

Crime isn't acceptable full stop but its a sad fact of life anywhere these days

- first of all there isn't an NHS here and secondly if you can enrol onto the system here you will be about 100 years old before they get round to that!

That just not true... sorry... I don't want to cause an argument but its just not so... I got into the system in under 2 weeks when I moved (had to cos of my Crohns) I have all my treatment through the NHS "social seguridad" here... Lil miss was born in Torrevieja hospital and I got the same treatment as the private patients (theres no maternity unit at the local private hospital so they go to Torrevieja)... and for free... But I have paid into the system, I do my renta every year and its only fair that those who haven't done the same do not get that service. And tbh its not much worse than the NHS in the UK... I'd say its better... especially cancer treatment here, its amazingly fast... Although again... I had a terrible experience with the NHS in the UK and Tia almost died because of incompetence, and I suffered in pain for years before being finally listened too and diagnosed... so thats my experience...but Spanish docs do have the old fashioned God complex at times... I just ignore them

I also got benefits (not much not like the UK) when I was made redundant by going on whats known as Paro, unemployment and I got maternity pay... which is 400€ a month again through social security. If you are working social with pay your full wage for 16 weeks which is better than the UK. You are expected to work and pay your own way in your life here so the payments are worse than if you were working... is that a bad thing? Again these services are open to you IF you speak enough Spanish OR you take a translator with you... but why would they speak English...

As I said... going back to the original post, as I made it digress somewhat... sorry ... Sunshine Gal... you should think long and hard about moving to ANY new country, weigh up the pros and cons (but it sounds like you will generally be fine out here), and I do agree with Sammy on several of her points but not all of them...as she feels the same I'm sure ( ). I've lived here 6 years and it hasn't been easy at times, but I remember that it wasn't easy in the UK either which is why I moved...Once I got really fluent in the language and began to know the systems inside and out, it got a lot easier...

Culture plays a huge part and a lot of people have a huge culture shock, it is different... The systems are different... the humour is even different... but once you get over that whole cultural/language issue...life here is life like anywhere... there are your ups and downs... there are your highs and lows... you experience bad people, you experience good people...bad things happen to you... good things happen to you...but you get through it with your loved ones at your side...

 

[Squiglet]

Holy Cr*p... sorry that was even more epic... just read my last paragraph... its the only one that makes sense... I really should be banned for my ability to waffle rubbish once lil miss is in bed... Sammy is totally right Spain does take some explaining...

 

[sunshine_gal]

Thanks girls for all your help, at least i'll know who to come to if i have any questions what so ever..

I dont suppose anyone knows the best way to get animals over there do they? Im getting quoted around the £2000 mark for 2 dogs a bird and a lizard...

 

[xxsammyxx]

Hi, mum and dad brought two cats over on the plane. They had to get the usual injections, then go back and make sure that the jabs had worked and also had to have them chipped and get passports for both of them. I think they paid about £600 or £700 in total for all the injections and then the passport which they obtained from their vet. On top of that they had to buy pet carriers as well but be careful as you have to get specialised "plane friendly" pet carriers, you cant just take them in anyone. Check with the vet the type as it has to be up to a certain standard. Unfortunately its not cheap to bring pets, as is bringing furniture over! Mum and dad paid a friend with a van £1000 to bring their stuff (the petrol and ferries alone cost £500) and that was considered "cheap" and they only bought a transit van full, no beds, settees etc. Your local vet is the best person to ask about the other pets as i only know about cats. I would imagine the other pets would be cheaper as they dont have to be chipped but im unsure. Make sure you go to the vet a couple of months before to ask though as i think you have to have the injections and then wait a period of time for it to take effect and them be tested again. Hope this helps x