Hi all, Wanting some advice on moving to Andalucia region of Spain. Rental help! :)

Hello My Wife and Me (both in 30s) are hoping to move across from the uk but would like some advice on how to go about finding long term rentals as we plan on staying for a while. Where is the best place to find a cheap rental to start with to make sure it suits us both and what are the living costs involved (rent/tax/fees) We want to do all our homework before we make any moves. The area we have been looking into is Andalucia Roughly 1hr East of Malaga. Thanks for taking the time to read and hope to hear back from some of you and hear some great advice.

Regards.

Hi Huck 19

Hi Huck.

im a new member here as of the other day.

Having problems with responding. Third attempt now.  I have similar question and disappointed to see that you had no response. My wife and I hoping to move sooner rather than later to the Salobrena/Nerja area. I find that reading some of the posts and forums here helps, but it appears that there is lots to consider.  We are hoping to rent/ lease a bed and breakfast in the area..

We have a German Shepherd too which it seems is not very straightforward either..

I have left my details and requirements with some of the estate agents in the area.  That might be useful for you.  

Good luck

I'm very familiar with Salobrenya and also know Nerja. They are quite different, but both nice. I'd say that to rent (or buy) in Nerja would cost quite a bit more, so you would probably get more for your money in Salobrenya. Also, it can be murder to park in Nerja, so if you have a car Salobrenya will be better. A lot of the estate agents have closed down over recent years, but there must be lots of places to rent. Personally I'd find a Spanish language website for rentals and try that route as the Spanish tend to charge less than the British - but you have to watch that any house or flat is well-insulated as many Spaniards are in denial over the fact that their properties are freezing in winter. Also, for this you would need reasonable Spanish - you shouldn't go over without that anyway.

So that's my tuppence worth.

All the best.

Rent about 500 eu per month / electricity is more expensive than the U.K / water is approximately the same as the U.K / house rates about 500 per year / petrol and diesel is more expensive than U.K / you will be shocked with the price of food in Spanish supermarkets everything is more expensive than the U.K you say you are in your thirties so you will probably be looking for a job that is when you troubles will start the only jobs you will be offered is of the cuff low paid bar work or cleaning swimming pools thats if you are lucky enough to be renting in a expat area if you are planning to move to a predominantly Spanish area you can forget get about getting a job good luck  .

The first thing you should do is never listen to advice. Find out for yourself very carefully on the ground and the mistakes you will inevitably make will provide a basis for all you will need to know.

I'm afraid there are no short cuts. If you listen to others you will end up in a worse mess than if you had tried life in Spain for yourself competely blind.

Remember there are many smiling friendly people in Spain who speak your languge and who's sole intent is to empty your pockets..It's how they make a living.

Hi Huck 1975,

Depends on where you are looking at. We live 25 kms north of Granada city center, approx 1 hr 20 mins from Malaga and have a lovely life. We live in a small village where there are no other English people although we do look after an urbanization for English owners. Electricity is about the same as in England but our water is €1 per cubic meter so around €90 per year and we have a plunge pool. Deisel is €1.36 per litre  so about 1.08 GBP so definitely cheaper than UK and we pay €80 per annum IBI ( council tax ). Just do your homework. If you want to live in an area where there are lots of other Brits then it is going to be much more expensive but living in a Spanish village especially if you are prepared to learn the language can be very rewarding. You can rent a 2 bed apartment in Granada for around €300 per month. We are 40 mins from Salobreña  ( the beach ) and 30 mins from Sierra Nevada so we have the best of both worlds and would not change it for the world.

Regards

Kim

Rent about 500 eu per month. A 2 bed townhouse or flat in Nerja would be more than that. Other areas that is about right.

electricity is more expensive than the U.K The tax on electricity in Spain is higher which makes it more expensive. The cost of electricity per unit is actually cheaper but we all have to pay taxes unfortunately. But you won't have the gas bill.

/ water is approximately the same as the U.K My water rates are around 65 euro a quarter so about 208 pounds a year. As the cheapest water rates in UK (Wales water) is £345 a year I can't see where that came from. The press reported in November 2013 that the average water bill in UK will rise to over £400. That's about €500.

/ house rates about 500 per year / My IBI (council rates) was €240 last October. For a 3 bed, 125 sq m house. You must have a very expensive council

petrol and diesel is more expensive than U.K / Petrol in Spain is about £1.12 a litre and diesel about £1.08. Why lie about the prices? UK average is about £1.35 for petrol and more for diesel. And the annual road tax for my crossover SUV is €40.65.

you will be shocked with the price of food in Spanish supermarkets everything is more expensive than the U.K You mean in the English supermarkets you frequent. I can assure that is also a load of rubbish. Prices in Spain are about the same as UK but in euros, not pound. Now you'll probably tell us how you buy Patak's in Asda for a pound despite the website saying it is 1.98. Cheaper here in Iceland at €1.75 and Carrefour, although 3 euro a jar, has 70% of the second one so that makes it cheaper than Asda advertises it for online. Unless you insist on stick to the British brands, I am sure you will find it a lot cheaper in Spain than UK.

Don't listen to people who have a real downer on Spain. They make things up to try and prove something.

My wife and I had to visit some people in Portugos and spent the night in Motril, which we thought was very pleasant. It seemed quite Spanish, so to speak. And nicely shabby - nothing very flash. I'd be interested in what any of you think of it.

Yes!

Look for the authentic Spain.... it has all the values

Hi

I have to totally disagree with windtalker and agree with lorrain and mariedav.

Where windtalker got those prices from I dont know, we like lorrain56 live north of granada and our entire running costs for a year including all taxes insurance, electricity,  gas, and water work out at £100 per month. And as for food prices if you live in a holiday resort be prepared to pay for it in all costs, food in mercadona if far cheaper than was said by windtalker. If you lived in say Torquay would you do all your shopping in tge local nisa or spar?

What do you live in casperruby, a yurt? Please reveal I'm coming to be your neighbour.

I was not going to get lulled into the old cheaper/expensive argument again but since others have waded in I have to say that the figures quoted by windtalker are bizzare.   In the UK, my council tax was nearer £3000 a year, in Spain it is  under 300 euros.   And I don't agree re the supermarket prices either.

GuyT.

Motril is an interesting idea. It would be stacks cheaper than many other places on the coast. The beach isn't very nice, but it's so near to Salobrenya, that that wouldn't matter. It does have a nice feel to it, with a buzz in the evenings and seems hardly touched by any British influence (there are other nationalities). Personally though I wouldn't choose to live there - too many prostitutes plying their wares and drugs...

All these wildly differing amounts just points to one thing, you need to check it out for yourself. I would love to live like casperruby for £100 per month and we only spend around 4 months a year in Spain We budget for around £1500 per year to run our small apartment. I would hate to have had Roly's £3000 per month council tax. Ours is around £1400 for a small 3 bed house in the UK. Taking into account community fees and IBI our taxes in Spain are around two thirds of our council tax in the UK. We find food about the same and petrol slightly cheaper.

Obviously, the exchange rate makes quite a difference to people who's income comes from the UK. The OP doesn't say how they plan to earn a living in Spain, as they are only in their 30's.

Some pearls in Cadiz will post on more soon

Algeciras

La Línea 

San Roque

Castellar de la Frontera

Jimena de la Frontera

Vejer de la Frontera

Conil

Barbate

Tarifa 

Zahara de los Atunes

Grazalema

Arcos de la Frontera

Alcalá de los Gazules

Medina Sidonia

£3000 a YEAR council tax!!!   Not £3000 a month.   

If you're going to rent, things like council tax and community fees won't matter to you. If you do decide on buying then it's something to look into as they vary greatly. If a prvious poster is correct at €500 a year IBI then that is more than double what we pay. I have seen some community fees as high as a couple of thousand a year and we pay €520 whereas others are as low as 50 or 60 a quarter. Just something to consider.

I think £100 a month (€125) is a bit low for all the bills. Our electric alone is about €100 (£80) a month. Our annual bill including IBI, community fees, house insurance, car insurance, electricity, water and solicitors fees add up to around €2200 a year (£1760) which is about the same as we were paying in UK council tax 3 years ago for a similar property (but without the pools and gardens).

We find shopping is cheaper if you shop around. Of course, if you stick to English bacon, English bread, baked beans and (dare I say it) the famous Pataks curry mixes you will find it more expensive.  (example: I see from an ad on the telly that Sainsburys is offering fresh salmon at half price down from £20 to £10 a kilo. We had some yesterday from Consum at €9.95 a kilo).

By the way, windtalker, you do realise those prices at the petrol station are in euros not pounds? A report in the CBN stated that a petrol station in our town was the most expensive on the Costa Blanca at €1.44 for a litre of 95 (£1.15). We get it from a different one at currently €1.38 (£1.10)..

Sorry Roly, silly typo, I knew it was a year!

Hi mickyfin

No not in a yhurt but a modest house In a small village 

I have just recieved today my non residents tax bill it works out at €49 for tge year we paid our council tax bill in june at €128  my electric bill is €30 per two months totaling €360 and my house and content insurance was €243. We have a log burner but still use say 10 gas bottles at €16 and water is due in september but I assured no more than €200 so thats my running costs for the house if I were tgere more then all that would ruse is my electric and gas and im putting in solar in place og most of both. Its not a mansion but big enough to swing a cat at 6 bedrooms.