Hi, Louise here. Moving to Murcia with mum and kids before Xmas. Would like as much advise as possible.

We have enough savings to last for a year or so, so we need to find work during that period. I have an online business which is an ongoing steady income. Need to know as much information as possible for the kids, schools, activities etc. They are 11 and 14. Also would like to make friends, Im Louise 29 female......mum- Beth is 49, Hope to hear from you all soon.

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http://www.wikipedia.org/

It's a massive step and needs  a lot of research which you could do on expat forums, of which there are many, info sites such as UK in Spain, Anglo info, just Google and loads will come up .

Will you sell your UK home before moving here, or keep it as a Bolt hole if all goes pear shaped ?

Hopefully you will not need to work, as your chances of finding  work are very, very low.

Your main priorities are :

Qualifying for residency you will need to prove income of at least 600 euros per month/ and or 6000 euros in the Spanish bank, and health cover. That's each adult.

Health cover -you will need private health cover for a year before being able to pay into the Spanish healthcare system, 

Which is 60 euros per month each

If you are self employed, as you are with your online business, you will have to pay autonomo, 250 euros per month, although I think there is a new scheme whereby new self employed pay 50 per month for a year, then it increases.

Finance  -make sure you have at least a year's money 

Tax -even though your business is online, you will pay taxes in Spain on your income, and from any money you receive from the UK, including savings interest.

Taxes are different from the UK.Research inheritance tax, especially as you are moving to Murcia.

Schools -your children are at a very difficult age to start school in Spain. They will be severely disrupted in their education.They would probably be best in an international private school, which will be very expensive.

Even a state school has expenses eg school books, lunches , transport etc, possibly 600  plus euros to set them up

No children's allowance, or benefits in Spain is something to consider as well

In other words research, research and more research!

Don't expect Spain to be a cheap place to live- electricity is horrendous , and though some things are cheaper than UK, overall there's not a lot of difference.

Don't be annoyed if you get a lot of negative feedback, people are telling you how it is.

It's better to know now what you are up against, so you can weigh up the pros and cons.

I think that is a great post Camposol  - It should be made a 'Read This' for all those thinking of moving here. I don't know where you get 'electricity is horrendous' from though - Its Just not!!

Well, according to El Pais, electricity has gone up 60% between 2006 and 2012,  and Spain's electricity i charges are among the highest in Europe.

my bills certainly seem high, and I try not to leave lights on, TV on standby, have dual tariff etc

It sent up by a whopping amount in July, so I don't know where you get the idea that it isn't horrendous!

electricity in Spain is is much more expensive compaired to the U.K  with the meter rental and modest use for one week it will cost approxamatley 40eu .

No! Vat in Spain at 21% compared with the reduced 5% in the UK does not help but the price per kw/hr is less in Spain

My bill for August and September, just in!

Consumo 1.064 KWh x 0.123867 €/kw     131.79

Potencia  5.75kw x 63 days x 0.115187      41.73

Impto/tax                                                        8.87

Equpment rental                                             1,24

Vat                                                                38.56

Total                                                            222.19  - For two months supply

There are two of us in a 180sg mtr 4 bed all electric house with two aircon units and weve had visitors all summer.

When we left the UK in 2008 we were paying £300 per month for gas/elec combined.

Sorry to get off the advice thread but there is so much mis information regarding electricity prices.

Didn't the price go up by 17.8% in July this year?

Personally, I think your gas/ electricity bill in the UK was horrendous- where did you live, a Downton Abbey? 

My daughter said her combined gas/ electricity bill for 3 months, middle of winter quarter , was £350, family of 4 , washing machine on every day,  computers, tablets on a lot, etc, CH on all the time in winter, not frugal.

She thought that was enough!

Your bill in Spain was, I feel, quite high too. I wouldn't feel pleased to get a bill like that, but on the other hand, we are frugal with air on, have only 1 unit not on that often, fans usually sufficient.

Personally, I think your gas/ electricity bill in the UK was horrendous- where did you live, a Downton Abbey? 

Steady on Camposol you seem to be developing a sense of humour 

The truth is energy prices are not cheap anywhere.

I'm more than happy with our 100€ per month, paying with UK derived income that's only £78 per month!!

My electricity bill for the summer was €198.23 for a 3 bed house which is about 25 euro more than last year. However, we did use the aircon a lot more this year.

No, prices did not go up 17.8% in July. The cost to the supplier went up by that amount but will reduce on your next bill as prices have now come down. According to El Pais, the 17.8% was passed on to the consumer but they will find lower bills as the last quarter of the year is forecast to be even less.

Saying that, Spain is one of the highest in Europe mainly because of the VAT and standing charges. Those coming on holidays will find it expensive (but not 40 euro a week, surely?) but those on a permanent basis won't,

Of course, our house is all electric. In UK we also had the gas bill on top. I redid the standing orders for my Mum, also in a 3 bed house in UK, last time I was home. She pays £57 a month for gas and £74 for electric so £131 a month. This is usually over the top, though, and she gets a rebate for the last quarter so I guess she's paying an average of £100 a month throughout the year. The highest we've had for 2 months was €245 (that was a shock) so I guess there isn't much difference.

Mind you, the amount we save on council tax, water bills and so on makes up for it all. (IBI 204, community fees 97 a qtr or 388 aq year comes to €592 or around £470 a year compared to £1452 council tax. Water is about €60 a qtr here or £190 a year compared to £340 in UK 3 years ago).

Numbeo, a site that compares costs of living, gives the average utility bills in the part of Leicestershire we lived in  for an 85 sq m apartment as £217 a month (electricity, gas, heating, water). It gives S Wales an average of £190 a month for the same things but internet access and phones are higher in S Wales.

Not that any of this makes any difference as some will agree and some won't. Some will buy different things to others - some will stick to English bacon, sausages and baked beans for example- so it's pointless comparing one persons lifestyle to another. Some don't drink whilst others will revel in the prices here and so on.

Back to original poster, as camposol says, do your homework. The education for your (brothers/sisters?) would be a big point. Kids of about 6 to 9 pick up the language quickly and integrate quicker, ones of your ages tend not to and may feel a bit left out (Unlike UK schools, they insist on Spanish here, same as at doctors and so on).

I wouldn't advise anyone not to come to Spain as we have thoroughly enjoyed it here and intend staying for a long time. We haven't had the problems many seem to have had but our circumstances are entirely different being early retirees with a fairly good private and NHS pension coming in. So, again as camposol says, do your homework thoroughly before upping sticks and making the big move.

Louise,  are you still on the forum?now you've had some answers, what are your feelings about moving to Spain?

If I were in your position, I would leave it  for a few years.

There are too many uncertainties, and it's a bad time to bring kids of that age here, facing an uncertain future.

Do let us know your thoughts, as so many come on here asking for advice, then we never hear from them again.

This message was last edited by camposol on 03/10/2014.