Lessons of relocating to Spain
Lesson 1
Those who are planning to relocate to Spain for the entire year are advised to select a new property. In the main reception room, there should be wood or tiled floors instead of marble. The house should have cold and hot air conditioning and under floor heating. Another option is to purchase a very old Finca or Cortijo that has stone floors and walls about a meter thick.
Lesson 2
A family that lived in Neuva Andalucia used the swimming pool only for four months. From November to December, there was a fault in the setting of the heating device of the pool. This caused a €600 electricity bill. It was shocking that the regular electricity bills were more than €100. So, it is advised to live in an urbanization that has padel courts, tennis and communal pools.
Lesson 3
In case of “gastos domesticos” or the routine home bills, the mode of paying them may cause a shock to the new residents. In Spain, the electricity bill can be paid over the counter before 10 am and that too only on Thursday and Tuesday after the 10th of every month. For such a problem to be overcome, one should follow direct debits or “pago domiciliado.”
Lesson 4
The quality of schools in Spain is one of the most ideal in the world. However, space is a problem and these are not readily available. The success record of the school is an evidence of the level of the school. The ambience is warm and professional. The management is superb. It must be kept in mind that if you desire to send your children to a good school, there is a necessity of booking early.
Lesson 5
It often happens that the tastes of a person change in life. Due to this the necessities also change. Those who are not sure regarding their choices in life, obviously cannot finalize the precise location of their dream home. Such people ought to wait and rent. In Spain, rental business is becoming more and more competitive. The rented property has traditionally low yields. Thus, it is concluded that a long term rental on a valuable property is much cheaper than buying the property outright. The sole warning is whether the relocator buys for cash or settles on the newer style mortgage products.
It has been identified that those people who select Spain for relocation, fall into one of the three classifications as described below. The retired or semi-retired couple that are on the lookout of a better state in life and wish to offer their family a good vacation chance. The other type of people is the nomad expatriates for whom the work takes them to different corners of the world. These people have experienced an expatriate life in the Middle or Far East for several years and the home base is less important. The third type is of family lifestyle relocation. The breadwinner of the family works either in Spain or overseas and the location of the house has to be decided by quality. Among these groups the typical are petro-chemical engineers and airline pilots.