Moving to Andalucia

[Cristobal]

Hi all

I'm Chris, 69 and retired. I was previously on this forum as ChrisM about seven years ago. I had problems logging in, so in a feat of amazing ingenuity, I chose my name as my new user name!

Very surprisingly, our son told my better half and I he wants to move to Spain with his family. I have long wanted to move there, but work and family ties were what they were. I'm chuffed with the idea! At this stage, we don't have a clear idea where we aim to move to, but I recall Costa Tropical's microclimate is kinder than some other areas of Spain? Ditto Benalmádena? We're planning to pool our house budgets and buy one villa together. Anyway, there's loads of research to do!

My main hobby is learning languages, and I've gone back to learning Spanish, using the amazing language apps out there. The best by far IMHO is Rocket Languages, and I supplement it with others for variety.

Anyway, I look forward to learning loads from you all, and to chatting once again.

All the best

Chris

[gavilan]

suggest you bring your own water supply with you ... or look very carefully at such in the place you are thinking of buying/living

[El Cid]

Have you looked at the latest requirements for residency? They are much stricter now after Brexit.

As for location, Benalmadena and the Costa Tropical are at either end of the spectrum.

Sid

[Pamela1]

If you can afford to do it then go for it. I think family is important and if your son is willing to join you then you have the icing on the cake...So many people leave their families behind...I couldn't do it...I am very close to my children, why have them otherwise...They are my life and what i am about...I don't know your situation, mine is that i could move to Spain at any time and so could my family but life isn't always that simple...not everyone desires to do so either..However i do love my home in Spain as i do my home in the Uk, if you can do best of both worlds like myself then it's the best it can get.We all love Spain in my family...One day who knows...

[El Cid]

My concern is about the family coming. Being retired makes getting residency relatively easy (subject to health issues) but many people do not realise that getting a visa that allows you to work is very difficult. Before Brexit it was not a problem.

Sid

[Wicksey]

As others have said, you need to look very closely at the residency requirements now as they have changed since the UK Brexited. As you seem to be aware, there is a lot of research to do.

We have friends that used to live here and whose daughter is very keen to move here but seems to have no idea of what is required these days. Our friends moved back to the UK in 2018 and on this first visit to Spain for years, have been taken aback at the expense of everything here now. Their daughter still seems to think Spain is a cheap place to live but that isn't the case any more.

As Sid says, Costa Tropical and Benalmadena are poles apart. If you want to be away from the busy built up areas then quieter Costa Tropical will be a better choice.

[costakid]

The only thing that Benalmadena and the Costa Tropical have in common is they are both in Andalucia

[El Cid]

We have friends that used to live here and whose daughter is very keen to move here but seems to have no idea of what is required these days.

Many people assume that they will be able to get a job. The normal visa for residency is the NLV - Non Lucrative Visa - the clue is in the name, so you couldn't even work in a bar. Even the Golden Visa doesn't give you the right to work.

Getting a work permit is next to impossible for most people.

Sid

[Wicksey]

There is the Digital Nomad Visa which looks equally tricky to get. I think a lot of those WFH or who have a small online business think that they can roll up and work and get residency, but the requirements are pretty stringent.

[Cristobal]

Thanks for your replies, all. We already intend using tax and visa experts to guide us through those issues. Increasing heat waves are also a major consideration, so picking the right area is important, although other than the northwest of Spain, there's no getting away from that. We had an incredibly wet year in the UK last year, and still are. When we do have a heatwave, there's no aircon to help. As I said, much research to do!

Thanks again.

Chris