We have Set a Moving Date!!!!

hello all, It has been a while since we last posted (due to wedding plans!) We are off to get married in Mauritius in November then once we are back, its all systems go and want to check our plans sound ok and we are not doing something wrong or missing anything major out. 

We have set a date for 28th December 2009 to move over to Southern Spain. 

We have been over a few times and viewed several properties and have decided that Alcaidesa is the right place for us. We have arranged to come over at the beginning of December to sort out a property and hopefully sort a discount out as we are looking at paying 6 months rental upfront. 

We are both looking at working in Gib and i have experience working in IT over in the UK but have worked for a Gambling company in the Uk as well in first line, customer support so i think a job shouldnt be a problem (fingers crossed!)

I am selling my car and buying a Transit van for the move and we have a cat so he will have a "mini hotel" built in the back.

We are driving down, crossing via Chunnel, and driving down. We aim to do it in 2 days as we both will share the driving. 

We also have another car which we are bringing across, we wont be reregistering it in spain but have just had it MOTed for 12 months and will buy tax online, we are looking at taking the car back once a year to be re MOTed as this would far outway the cost of importing it etc. We will buy tax online and our insurance at the minute covers us for europe. We wont be doing this until the ferry is back up and running 

I will be looking to either sell the van back in the UK or sell it to someone who would be moving back to the UK etc.

When we come over in December to sort our house out we will also be opening a non residentia account in la linea to pay the bills etc. We have had the form for the Halifax Banco account but dont want to apply until we have moved but if anyone can recommend another bank as i realise the nearest Halifax is in Malaga (so we have been told)

As we will be working in Gib, can we use our current account (nat west) to be paid and what sort of costs are involved in transferring from one to the other or would it be easier to draw out the cash machine in Gib and pay in la linea. 

we are both trying to learn spanish but neither of us are fluent by any means!!!!

We are renting in the UK so we have no worries about selling etc. and we are not taking our furniture etc but selling it and leaving the money we make from it in a uk account in case we ever have to come back to the uk.

We have a budget of around £7000 to do this move and we dont have any children to reschool etc but do you think this is enough?

If you have any comments or suggestions then please feel free to post below :)

Some comments below in bold green ( same text as your email):

hello all, It has been a while since we last posted (due to wedding plans!) We are off to get married in Mauritius in November then once we are back, its all systems go and want to check our plans sound ok and we are not doing something wrong or missing anything major out. 

We have set a date for 28th December 2009 to move over to Southern Spain.  Great dates... Christmas time!

We have been over a few times and viewed several properties and have decided that Alcaidesa is the right place for us. wow! I love Alcaidesa!  We have arranged to come over at the beginning of December to sort out a property and hopefully sort a discount out as we are looking at paying 6 months rental upfront. 

We are both looking at working in Gib and i have experience working in IT over in the UK but have worked for a Gambling company in the Uk as well in first line, customer support so i think a job shouldnt be a problem (fingers crossed!) There used to be gamb ling IT jobs in Gib announced here in EOS.

I am selling my car and buying a Transit van for the move and we have a cat so he will have a "mini hotel" built in the back.

We are driving down, crossing via Chunnel, and driving down. We aim to do it in 2 days as we both will share the driving. 

We also have another car which we are bringing across, we wont be reregistering it in spain but have just had it MOTed for 12 months and will buy tax online, we are looking at taking the car back once a year to be re MOTed as this would far outway the cost of importing it etc. We will buy tax online and our insurance at the minute covers us for europe. We wont be doing this until the ferry is back up and running 

I will be looking to either sell the van back in the UK or sell it to someone who would be moving back to the UK etc.

When we come over in December to sort our house out we will also be opening a non residentia account in la linea to pay the bills etc. We have had the form for the Halifax Banco account but dont want to apply until we have moved but if anyone can recommend another bank as i realise the nearest Halifax is in Malaga (so we have been told) There is one Halifax in Sotogrande.

As we will be working in Gib, can we use our current account (nat west) to be paid and what sort of costs are involved in transferring from one to the other or would it be easier to draw out the cash machine in Gib and pay in la linea. 

we are both trying to learn spanish but neither of us are fluent by any means!!!!

We are renting in the UK so we have no worries about selling etc. and we are not taking our furniture etc but selling it and leaving the money we make from it in a uk account in case we ever have to come back to the uk.

We have a budget of around £7000 to do this move and we dont have any children to reschool etc but do you think this is enough? I do think it will be enough for 2-3 months but you need to take a job soon. English classes are always a possibility, specially for small kids as many academies do not offer english till kids are 4 or 5. A nursery service with english will be succesfull for sure. Anything kids related with languages is a good bet... you can talk with Juan Pablo at the Golf Club in ALcaidesa: I amsure he will offer to you his locations. Susan and me have been thinking for a while of doing something international there, once a month. Talk to he too.

If you have any comments or suggestions then please feel free to post below :)

 Hi Maria, Thanks for the reply. 

I dont get the last post, we dont have kids so it was only the two of us on the budget i listed. 

Thanks about the Halifax in Sotogrande, this will be very handy and we will prob decide to open one there.

Luci and Col...Hi

Couple of points possibly worth raising;

Driving down from the UK to Southern Spain in December...

Daylight hours are very short, sunrise around 8am sunset around 4.30pm so lots of night driving involved if you want to do this in a two day hop. Also weather considerations in Northern Spain; crossing the Cantabrian Mountains or the Pyrenees may involve some serious amounts of snow...

Secondly...

quote...We also have another car which we are bringing across, we wont be reregistering it in spain but have just had it MOTed for 12 months and will buy tax online, we are looking at taking the car back once a year to be re MOTed as this would far outway the cost of importing it etc. ..unquote

What you are planning is not legal...you are only allowed to drive a UK reg vehicle for 182 days ie 6 months in a twelve month period after which, to remain legal, you must take the vehicle out of Spain for six months before starting a fresh six month stay in Spain. During its time in Spain (and elsewhere) the vehicle must be fully UK legal in respect of Road Tax, MOT and Insurance. You cannot run a six month period from one year into a six month period the in the next...

Irrespective of what some might suggest a Spanish ITV cert (MOT) is not valid on a UK reg car and an expired MOT cert automatically invalidates your insurance. If you have a prang and it's proven to be your fault and if your UK documentation is not valid, the police can and probably will confiscate and crush the vehicle in question whilst pursueing criminal charges for any motoring offences contributory to the accident and failure to comply with legislation relating to the operation of a vehicle not registered in Spain; you would also be fully liable for any claims made against you by aggrieved third party vehicle owners and if death or serious injuries are concerned these claims could run into thousands if not millions!

Running an illegal UK reg car in Spain is an extremely dodgy act. Just because Joe Bloggs next door (and thousands of others) has / have been doing it for years doesn't make it right or legal. And I for one would sue the a** off anyone who pranged me in such a vehicle...

One another point on Living in Spain and working in Gib. This can lead to some interesting tax and social security problems that need a lot of investigation...As you will be living in Spain you will need to contribute to the Spanish social security system in order to use the health care facilities, but employment in Gib means that you will also be contributing to the UK system as well. You should also be aware that some people have come unstuck when trying to use UK (Gib) DHSS contributions for reconciliation of UK Pension rights..

So far as Maria's comment about kids is concerned I think she was talking about you teaching English...thats my interpretation anyway...

Also you should be aware that across the Christmas /  New Year period it may be difficult to arrange anything of a legal nature; as with the UK it can be a long holiday period. You will need to get your NIE docs sorted out pronto in order to complete any long term rental agreements.

I realise that there is a fair bit of negativity in this response, but as with everything associated with Moving to Spain you need to research every last detail. All that apart I hope that the move goes well for you and that your new life is happy and successful.

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Hi Foxbat

Thanks for the info, in regards to the weather, we have checked the route from here to spain and as we will be coming down the west coast of france, over to santander and then head south west toward seville instead of going through madrid. We are looking at a couple of days travel and we both will take it in turns to drive, fingers crossed the snow wont be too bad!!!!!!!

the car issue we have discussed and have had quotes to transfer the car to spanish and it would be around 750E which is worth paying as we take on board what you have said.

In regards to the Working in Gib etc, i have read that NI contributions and tax in spain for healthcare etc are subsidised by your Gibraltar deductions, i have heard there is a form to do this.

IN relation to pensions, by the time both of us are due to retire, state pensions will no doubt be a thing of the past!

We have discussed in detail about the time we are moving and we are happy to take a week or two to relax and get used to our new surroundings!

Please let us know once you arrive and tell us a bit about the adventure!

Maria