Anyone moved from the UK to Spain?
Discussion
tumble dryer said:
Much appreciated, I'm just at the depressed stage winter-weather wise (grey) and there's nothing holding me back from doing this. I'd thought about buying somewhere but thinking about it I would prefer to change winter destinations as and when it took my fancy and without the commitment to a property abroad.
Thanks for your help. I'm now off on a daydream....
Time to invest in a nice mobile home. Thanks for your help. I'm now off on a daydream....
My mum is looking at the caravan parks in place like Estepona/Benidorm/Torrevieja, shes a bit limited due to having the dog, her plan is to do 3 months of the year in Spain, the rest of the year is the UK, its mainly this time of year she struggles with the not being busy due to the weather, summer months in a caravan is supposed to be hell.
She looked at the caravan parks as its easy/safe, plus cheap holidays for me the rest of the year. As it would only be for a few months of the year its doesnt work out that cheap, 20k to buy and transfer to her name, then 3k a year on site fees and then electric.
If she doesnt like it she will sell on, if she does then she may look at buying a villa but she doesnt want to put all her money in and have nothing to live on, but its all very much testing the water.
She looked at the caravan parks as its easy/safe, plus cheap holidays for me the rest of the year. As it would only be for a few months of the year its doesnt work out that cheap, 20k to buy and transfer to her name, then 3k a year on site fees and then electric.
If she doesnt like it she will sell on, if she does then she may look at buying a villa but she doesnt want to put all her money in and have nothing to live on, but its all very much testing the water.
What time of the year is she looking to be living in Spain? Be aware that peak summer can be very hot and mid winter can be very cold - as soon as the sun drops temperatures drop hugely, even if its T-shirt weather in the middle of the day.
I forgot who originally said it, but I think its apt when I heard Spain described as, "a cold country with a warm sun".
Don't wish to put anyone off, far from it, but its certainly a consideration if you are looking at a prolonged stay in a caravan.
I forgot who originally said it, but I think its apt when I heard Spain described as, "a cold country with a warm sun".
Don't wish to put anyone off, far from it, but its certainly a consideration if you are looking at a prolonged stay in a caravan.
croyde said:
tumble dryer said:
Much appreciated, I'm just at the depressed stage winter-weather wise (grey) and there's nothing holding me back from doing this. I'd thought about buying somewhere but thinking about it I would prefer to change winter destinations as and when it took my fancy and without the commitment to a property abroad.
Thanks for your help. I'm now off on a daydream....
Time to invest in a nice mobile home. Thanks for your help. I'm now off on a daydream....
I lived here for six months, in a touring caravan rather than a mobile home. This was 16 years ago now.
I also tried to do what to OP did. Got fed up and came home. It's great when you're on your jollies but after a few months you get homesick (or I did).
I am 50 years old now though and looking at doing it for 6 months of the year when I retire, flitting between there and the UK - which is what most of the residents on this campsite do. They all start rolling up in Sept.
Shnozz said:
What time of the year is she looking to be living in Spain? Be aware that peak summer can be very hot and mid winter can be very cold - as soon as the sun drops temperatures drop hugely, even if its T-shirt weather in the middle of the day.
I forgot who originally said it, but I think its apt when I heard Spain described as, "a cold country with a warm sun".
Don't wish to put anyone off, far from it, but its certainly a consideration if you are looking at a prolonged stay in a caravan.
Our caravan was fI forgot who originally said it, but I think its apt when I heard Spain described as, "a cold country with a warm sun".
Don't wish to put anyone off, far from it, but its certainly a consideration if you are looking at a prolonged stay in a caravan.
king cold in December in the south of Spain!Fastchas said:
https://campinglosgallardos.com/
I lived here for six months, in a touring caravan rather than a mobile home. This was 16 years ago now.
I also tried to do what to OP did. Got fed up and came home. It's great when you're on your jollies but after a few months you get homesick (or I did).
I am 50 years old now though and looking at doing it for 6 months of the year when I retire, flitting between there and the UK - which is what most of the residents on this campsite do. They all start rolling up in Sept.
I do wonder how many folks have thought how much this 90/180 day situation is going to fook off a lot of retirees (many of which voted Brexit). Seems its quite a popular thing to (or want to) spend the crappy months further South. I lived here for six months, in a touring caravan rather than a mobile home. This was 16 years ago now.
I also tried to do what to OP did. Got fed up and came home. It's great when you're on your jollies but after a few months you get homesick (or I did).
I am 50 years old now though and looking at doing it for 6 months of the year when I retire, flitting between there and the UK - which is what most of the residents on this campsite do. They all start rolling up in Sept.
Fastchas said:
Our caravan was fking cold in December in the south of Spain!
Yeah, I can imagine! Hence enquiring as to what time of year they would visit. king cold in December in the south of Spain!Early March to mid June is a great temperature with no heating or cooling needed. Same mid Sept to beginning of November.
Outside of those times I tend to find its either a lot of cooling or a lot of heating to be comfortable.
It would be 3 months Feb to June range, dates would just be whatever worked out best to drive the dog there, as i said above the summer months in a caravan are supposed to be hell. Its mainly being able to do something like go for walks during the day, the evening does get chilly.
We visited quite a few of the campsites, the ones on bargain loving brits in the sun are nice, but not all allow dogs, and ones that do arent great, we have done quite a few trips so its all research, shes very much aware that a holiday is different to living there, which is why shes willing to try the caravan route which is a cheaper way of testing if she like it, if not she will lost a few k but not have the hassle/cost of buying.
We visited quite a few of the campsites, the ones on bargain loving brits in the sun are nice, but not all allow dogs, and ones that do arent great, we have done quite a few trips so its all research, shes very much aware that a holiday is different to living there, which is why shes willing to try the caravan route which is a cheaper way of testing if she like it, if not she will lost a few k but not have the hassle/cost of buying.
Shnozz said:
Fastchas said:
Our caravan was fking cold in December in the south of Spain!
Yeah, I can imagine! Hence enquiring as to what time of year they would visit. king cold in December in the south of Spain!Early March to mid June is a great temperature with no heating or cooling needed. Same mid Sept to beginning of November.
Outside of those times I tend to find its either a lot of cooling or a lot of heating to be comfortable.
I had a LR Discovery at the time and started a 4x4 club and went out scouting for trails. I have a photo somewhere of me leaning against the bonnet in just shorts and a vest. This was New Year's Day 2004.
Different story when the sun goes down.
Another time I was doing some welding on the campsite (I worked there for a while). This was February and it was so hot I gave up and went indoors to get out of the sun.
Bill said:
AlBondigaz said:
Note this is 90 days in 180 in any part of the EU Shegen area - not 90/180 in each EU country. So, e.g. you can't do 90 days in Spain followed by 90 days in France.
Any idea how they're planning to police it?Gone are the days of non-electronic passport gates. Borderless European movement is far easier but not for those of us who originate from an island.
Bill said:
AlBondigaz said:
Note this is 90 days in 180 in any part of the EU Shegen area - not 90/180 in each EU country. So, e.g. you can't do 90 days in Spain followed by 90 days in France.
Any idea how they're planning to police it?Shnozz said:
https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/polic...
Gone are the days of non-electronic passport gates. Borderless European movement is far easier but not for those of us who originate from an island.
Thanks. I guess that's the decision made about whether I bother getting an Irish passport then.Gone are the days of non-electronic passport gates. Borderless European movement is far easier but not for those of us who originate from an island.
993kimbo said:
None of us are relying on work and if we did any, it would be on a cash basis, ie undeclared.I doubt we'd get much work anyway.
Slowly going off the whole idea at the moment, especially with all the motoring red tape.
How strange. Slowly going off the whole idea at the moment, especially with all the motoring red tape.
The "motoring red tape" is actually the easiest bit to resolve, by buying a car locally.
The more complex part is what will you do post-Brexit transition if you're all on British Passports?
993kimbo said:
None of us are relying on work and if we did any, it would be on a cash basis, ie undeclared.I doubt we'd get much work anyway.
Slowly going off the whole idea at the moment, especially with all the motoring red tape.
I think it sounds a great idea and if you think of it in terms of a one year away to see how it goes - I assume you already rent your house out and the proceeds allows you to rent another house in the UK - so if you manage to get a rental in spain for half the price this will give you some money to live on as well - You obviously still have a lot of research to do but if I was in your position I would probably look to do the same - Slowly going off the whole idea at the moment, especially with all the motoring red tape.
Edited by 993kimbo on Sunday 23 February 20:42
993kimbo said:
None of us are relying on work and if we did any, it would be on a cash basis, ie undeclared.I doubt we'd get much work anyway.
Slowly going off the whole idea at the moment, especially with all the motoring red tape.
I think you have been given a lot of good advice already. The one thing that I would suggest you consider before any big move like this, is the likely impact on relations with your immediate family.Slowly going off the whole idea at the moment, especially with all the motoring red tape.
Edited by 993kimbo on Sunday 23 February 20:42
Being stuck together day-in; day-out, in basic rental accommodation, unable to go out for meals with friends, living off-the-grid waiting for a knock at the door, just sounds like contemplating utter disaster. How do you repair/replace a car? Even watching daytime TV all day requires a good broadband connection.
Whatever issues you have in the UK, I doubt that they can be solved by moving wholesale to Spain. A Spanish guy struggling, would probably have moved to the UK pre-Brexit as there were loads more opportunities there.
Shnozz said:
Your biggest issue in your plan is the 90/180 day rule that you will be subject to, assuming you retain your UK residency. Within any 180 day period you will not be able to stay beyond 90 days after the Brexit transition period.
Spain, along with many other EU states, already offer long-stay visas to people from non-EU countries. So even if Spain do nothing else, there is that option to take to allow you to stay beyond the 90 out of 180. However those long-stay visas come with significantly higher hurdles than even the existing rules for UK nationals wanting to obtain residency in Spain which apply up to 1/1/21, such as holding €27000 in a bank instead of €8000 (obviously no issue to the powerfully built directors here, but an issue for bargain hunting Brits).
Also an issue will be medical insurance needed to get a long-stay visa (the same as if you wanted to obtain residency), which up to now hasn't been an issue whilst the UK was in the EU.
So if the next 10 months of negotiations don't come up with something (or Spain unilaterally does something) then the bargain hunting Brit long stay retirees to Spain are f
ked and those with deeper pockets will have a whole lot of paperwork and significant additional cost to deal with. 
dmahon said:
Likewise sorry if I’m overstepping the mark, but if your property rents for £3k a month I suspect it’s worth a fair whack and/or possibly around London? Why don’t you sell up, downsize in the UK and possibly spend more time in Spain in the winters.
Less of a drastic change.
Thanks, a good idea. We can downsize but then have to dip into the remaining 'pot' to live, which is a black hole and will be gone in a few years.Less of a drastic change.
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