Anyone moved from the UK to Spain?

[EddieSteadyGo]

PF62 said:

croyde said:

So if you stay 90 days in Europe, you are effectively banned for the next 90 days?

<snip>
Yep - The benefit of taking back control.

No it doesn't.

You won't be able to exceed the 90 day limit using the regular Schengen Visa, but you will be able to apply to the specific country you want to live in for a full visa (and that is unless the government negotiates anything better).

[V8mate]

EddieSteadyGo said:

PF62 said:

croyde said:

So if you stay 90 days in Europe, you are effectively banned for the next 90 days?

<snip>
Yep - The benefit of taking back control.

No it doesn't.

You won't be able to exceed the 90 day limit using the regular Schengen Visa, but you will be able to apply to the specific country you want to live in for a full visa (and that is unless the government negotiates anything better).

Better? You've seen our new immigration baseline, right? You see anything on it about how desperate we are for ageing, non-working folk?

Spain will, like us, want younger, skilled people. Being Britain's remote old people's home was Spain's downside of EU membership.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

OP - have you considered Portugal?

Many of the benefits you outline, but with a (so far at least) pro-UK immigration and tax regime. Similar benefits, similar variety, and similar challenges I guess.

Unless you're wedded to Spain, and you don't seem to be particularly, it's worth considering other places too.

[EddieSteadyGo]

V8mate said:

Better? You've seen our new immigration baseline, right? You see anything on it about how desperate we are for ageing, non-working folk?

Spain will, like us, want younger, skilled people. Being Britain's remote old people's home was Spain's downside of EU membership.

I wasn't commenting whether there would be different arrangements after the transition period. Just stating that the baseline is that you would be able to apply for a full visa to the country. And that would be the situation unless the EU and UK government negotiate something better.

[993kimbo]

Thanks Charles, being a woos, always found the sea and the swimming pols to be a bit nippy. Love the people, love the food, might be worth another look. Thank you.

Edited by 993kimbo on Tuesday 25th February 20:15

[Patrick magooagain]

I would like to thank the OP for prompting so many interesting replies.

[PF62]

EddieSteadyGo said:

PF62 said:

croyde said:

So if you stay 90 days in Europe, you are effectively banned for the next 90 days?

<snip>
Yep - The benefit of taking back control.

No it doesn't.

You won't be able to exceed the 90 day limit using the regular Schengen Visa, but you will be able to apply to the specific country you want to live in for a full visa (and that is unless the government negotiates anything better).

Which was exactly what I said!

PF62 said:

Yep - The benefit of taking back control.

Of course you could spend time and cash dealing with bureaucracy in whichever EU country you want to stay longer and hope you can persuade them to issue you a long stay visa, but good luck with that.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

993kimbo said:

Thanks Charles, being a woos, always found the sea and the swimming pols to be a bit nippy. Love the people, love the food, might be worth another look. Thank you.

Edited by 993kimbo on Tuesday 25th February 20:15

The Atlantic coast is certainly cooler than the Med, but Algarve is hot. Cheaper in the north, some fantastic property all over. Language can be a challenge but English fairly widely spoken. I'm considering a move there myself.

[citizensm1th]

Portugal is known as the gateway to Europe for a reason, you will have to wait for brexit to settle down a bit but i think there is a good chance that long term visa's will be doable via Portugal.

[EddieSteadyGo]

PF62 said:

Which was exactly what I said!

I read your point as agreeing with croyde's question that, if you stayed for 90 days in Europe you are were effectively banned for the next 90 days, as anything else would be, in practice, improbable to arrange.

Maybe wishful thinking on my behalf, but I have been looking at the visa rules for my family and they don't seem massively onerous.

[993kimbo]

Patrick magooagain said:

I would like to thank the OP for prompting so many interesting replies.

I would like to thank you all for your replies.

Most helpful and appreciated.

[wisbech]

Obvious point - the 90 day visas will also not allow for any work. Long term resident visas, depending on the country and details, may not either (eg may be designed for retirement/ study). Getting a work permit/ visa will probably be another kettle of fish.

[tobinen]

A good thread I think, and some interesting information.

I fancy the idea of a pad in Spain for winter but I think I would just rent a flat for a month first and see if I like the area. Málaga is my favourite city so far on my brief travels. Unlike the OP it's just me, myself and I.

I can work from anywhere with a decent internet connection, so I could keep my UK job if I have a UK address. The company might have ideas however.

Early musings

[JEA1K]

We are looking at moving lock stock in 5 years. Location TBC ... South/South East, potentially Denia. We have a great life here, but we do not want to go through another potential 40'odd winters where we see very little daylight and have 5-6/7 days of wet, cold weather ... and we're ready (mid 40's) for a total change of lifestyle, spending more time outdoors.

We do not expect a year round summer, but when you consider the average annual temps of say Denia to York, we're looking at 18.3 degrees vs 9.3. For instance February average rainfall is 27mm ... 6 degrees on a night 17 during the day (York 1 degree at night and 7 degrees during the day and 70mm average rainfall) I'm sure its cold in the winter ... but no way as cold, as wet and lacking in sunlight as the UK!

[Robertj21a]

JEA1K said:

We are looking at moving lock stock in 5 years. Location TBC ... South/South East, potentially Denia. We have a great life here, but we do not want to go through another potential 40'odd winters where we see very little daylight and have 5-6/7 days of wet, cold weather ... and we're ready (mid 40's) for a total change of lifestyle, spending more time outdoors.

We do not expect a year round summer, but when you consider the average annual temps of say Denia to York, we're looking at 18.3 degrees vs 9.3. For instance February average rainfall is 27mm ... 6 degrees on a night 17 during the day (York 1 degree at night and 7 degrees during the day and 70mm average rainfall) I'm sure its cold in the winter ... but no way as cold, as wet and lacking in sunlight as the UK!

I'm sure most people would appreciate the better weather. It's virtually everything else that's the problem !

[Shnozz]

Robertj21a said:

I'm sure most people would appreciate the better weather. It's virtually everything else that's the problem !

Bizarre statement IMO. Everything else? Certainly doesn't feel that way to me. There is little that I find I enjoy more in the UK compared to when in Spain. Greenery perhaps, although the nature reserve over the road has plenty of that also, just more pine trees.

[Shnozz]

JEA1K said:

We are looking at moving lock stock in 5 years. Location TBC ... South/South East, potentially Denia. We have a great life here, but we do not want to go through another potential 40'odd winters where we see very little daylight and have 5-6/7 days of wet, cold weather ... and we're ready (mid 40's) for a total change of lifestyle, spending more time outdoors.

We do not expect a year round summer, but when you consider the average annual temps of say Denia to York, we're looking at 18.3 degrees vs 9.3. For instance February average rainfall is 27mm ... 6 degrees on a night 17 during the day (York 1 degree at night and 7 degrees during the day and 70mm average rainfall) I'm sure its cold in the winter ... but no way as cold, as wet and lacking in sunlight as the UK!

Denia is lovely. My parents lived there for a number of years and I too would have probably aimed in that direction were it not for the fact I am years from retirement (as is the Mrs) and so have to go back and forward to the UK regularly. Although Denia is only an hour from the airport, commute distance/time/ease was a big factor for me. The area is lovely though, in my view. I was up there the other week in the marina area with some friends.

Your concept of the winters is about right. Sunny day times, cold evenings but its clear skies. The difference it makes is massive and nothing like waking up to the sun on your face, regardless. Dragging my arse out of bed to hit the gym at 7 in the UK feels like a chore, far less so in Spain. At my desk for 8:30 and with a coffee and sun streaming through the window. Been in the UK a lot this month and its fookin miserable.

Back to Spain this Saturday and its a BBQ for dinner, then Sunday morning a shop at the market followed in the pm by the Elche home match (sadly relegated from La Liga to Segunda a few years back now) with a few mates and some beers. Padel tennis court booked for after work Tuesday etc. Comparing that to what I would have been up to in the UK...a wet and windy drive out? Cinema? Couch and Netflix? Different world.

[JEA1K]

Shnozz said:

Denia is lovely. My parents lived there for a number of years and I too would have probably aimed in that direction were it not for the fact I am years from retirement (as is the Mrs) and so have to go back and forward to the UK regularly. Although Denia is only an hour from the airport, commute distance/time/ease was a big factor for me. The area is lovely though, in my view. I was up there the other week in the marina area with some friends.

Your concept of the winters is about right. Sunny day times, cold evenings but its clear skies. The difference it makes is massive and nothing like waking up to the sun on your face, regardless. Dragging my arse out of bed to hit the gym at 7 in the UK feels like a chore, far less so in Spain. At my desk for 8:30 and with a coffee and sun streaming through the window. Been in the UK a lot this month and its fookin miserable.

Back to Spain this Saturday and its a BBQ for dinner, then Sunday morning a shop at the market followed in the pm by the Elche home match (sadly relegated from La Liga to Segunda a few years back now) with a few mates and some beers. Padel tennis court booked for after work Tuesday etc. Comparing that to what I would have been up to in the UK...a wet and windy drive out? Cinema? Couch and Netflix? Different world.

THIS!

Good to know about Denia thanks ... I've not been, my Mrs spent quite a few hols there as a kid so we're heading there for a week in August. We'll spend 2 x 1 week trips a year getting a feel for where we want to be and will rent for 1 -2 years before we sell here and move.

I do not claim Spain to be Utopia but to think the UK is a better place to live? The weather is shocking and the people are, in the main, miserable because their stuck in a house, job or relationship they cannot escape from

Wellness, happiness and life expectancy are longer is both Spain and Portugal ... I wonder why?! The winters here literally kill me. We have dogs, so I spend 2 hours a day walking in cold, wet and windy conditions ... I spend 8 - 12 hours a week on my bike ... in winter, its absolutely grim.

[Robertj21a]

Shnozz said:

Robertj21a said:

I'm sure most people would appreciate the better weather. It's virtually everything else that's the problem !

Bizarre statement IMO. Everything else? Certainly doesn't feel that way to me. There is little that I find I enjoy more in the UK compared to when in Spain. Greenery perhaps, although the nature reserve over the road has plenty of that also, just more pine trees.

The weather is only one (albeit important) issue. What about all the hassle, the bureaucracy, the difficulty in getting anything done ?

[Shnozz]

Robertj21a said:

Shnozz said:

Robertj21a said:

I'm sure most people would appreciate the better weather. It's virtually everything else that's the problem !

Bizarre statement IMO. Everything else? Certainly doesn't feel that way to me. There is little that I find I enjoy more in the UK compared to when in Spain. Greenery perhaps, although the nature reserve over the road has plenty of that also, just more pine trees.

The weather is only one (albeit important) issue. What about all the hassle, the bureaucracy, the difficulty in getting anything done ?

You change your attitude to a Spanish one as part of the acclimatisation. Or you tear your hair out.

It can be frustrating but its infrequent enough for the most part that it doesn't happen with such regularity that I would class it as an issue. And when it does, you go home and enjoy a gin on the terrace and some tunes playing. I know which country I have a more relaxed vibe in, and its not the UK.

But I do accept some of it is very backward and some admin tasks seem ridiculously laborious as a result. It wouldn't put me off a country, but its inefficiency does sometimes leave you frustrated. The consequences of such bureaucratic hurdles though are also as limp; a non-resident I have to pay a non-resident income tax which is basically a percentage of what I could have earned on my property if I had decided to rent it out. It's peanuts (like many taxes in Spain) but the hurdles to jump through to file the documents etc are burdensome. If I miss it, however, the penalties are equally relaxed.

As I say, slip into the manana shoulder-shrug attitude and go with the flow. Oh, and always keep a bit of food in the house as shops can be open. Maybe. But not Sundays. Or Siesta hours. Or public holidays (and there are a lot of those!). Or 2 weeks over Xmas. Or 2 weeks over Semana Santa. Or when they can't be arsed to open.

That said, you are never more than about 50 steps away from a Chinese store in Spain and they sell anything you can think of and are open every day of the year.