Do and don't in Gibraltar

I am hoping to move to Gib with my partner. Love to hear from anyone who can advise re residency procedure. I'm an EU citizen. My partner is'nt.

You need proof of residence ie deeds/rental contract, and either a) permanent work contract or b) proof of enough money. (eg loads of savings and/or pension)

Relatively straightforward for brits and other EU citizens.  Don't know about partner status as we are married,

Thanks for that. How do you find life in Gib so far? Has it been difficult to get work?

Life in Gib is nice.  It is great having everything so near and within walking distance plus there is loads of stuff to do (depending on what you like doing obviously).  Climate is fine.  The views and the situation are just beautiful.

I've not tried to get work. My partner got work easily enough (he's in construction with City and Guilds papers) but a lot of people have been laid off.  A lot of office workers, and service staff have also lost their jobs, so now is harder for people than it was a couple of years ago.

Thanks. Do you live in Gib itself or commute from Spain. I understand property is quite expensive. How is the cost of living there and if I can pick your brains some more what kind of social scene could we expect (not that we,re great partyers or anything but we'd enjoy nice restaurants and bars, that sort of thing).

We live in Gib.  Yeah property is expensive for what you get, hence a lot of people buy in Spain where they got more for their money.

We bought a onebed flat at the bottom end of the market.  It suits us ok, although I do have delusional fantasies about trading up for a bigger one.   To buy - just look at the Gib estate agents websites.  You will see what is available.

Legit renting is also expensive - but there is cheaper stuff around. But remember you need some proof of where you live for your residency so any cheap deals would backfire on you.

With the exchange rate altering so much (sterling/euro) we know quite a lot of people who used to live in Spain and have now moved to Gib as it works out cheaper.  I think the min sort of going rate that we generally hear of is around £500 a month to rent.

Plenty of bars. Plenty of restaurants. A lot of 'international' cuisine so a good choice.  Don't believe people who say it is all fish and chips and pub grub.  There are some decent places to eat.

We've eaten well at all the places down Queensway/Ragged Staff marina - The Waterfront, The Boatyard and the Maharajah. A new one has opened too but we haven't tried that. There are a lot of places down Marina Bay/Ocean Village too. And then there are quite a few in Casemates, plus other restaurants dotted around the place.  Unless you choose to eat out every night, you should be able to spend some time trying them all out.  Our bills were usually £20-£30, for starter and main course, and a couple of drinks.  I think we got up to £40 for one meal.

Plenty of pizza places too.  Spaghetti Factory and in Irish Town does good value take aways (and sit down meals too), and next door is Cafe Rojo. The (pizza) one up at Jumpers is reasonable as well.

If you like cakes Sacarellos also in Irish Town has delicious looking ones. Never tried them, but I do buy my ground coffee from there.  Excellent coffee.

I'm not that keen on the pub scene (smoking is still allowed here), but there are plenty down main street, and again at the two marinas - a lot of restaurants are bar restaurants, and down Irish Town. Not sure what the minimum price for a pint is now - somewhere around £2.60 maybe?

If you smoke and drink spirits, Gib is paradise with incredibly cheap cigs (don't know how much, just that they are dead cheap), and spirits are well cheap.  A litre bottle of Larios gin costs £4.50 compared with nine euros ish in Spain.  No idea what the price of gin is in the UK.

Morrisons has a good selection of most things, although some lines are not always available.  I use local veg shops for my veg as the stuff is a) cheaper and b) fresher.

Cost of living is cheaper than the UK.  It's a while since I was in Ireland but I thought it was quite high back when I visited.  Cost of living relative to Spain varies depending on the exchange rate.  Right now it is good, hence people moving to rent in Gib.

Fixed costs eg utilities/rates/service charge for your block tend to vary.

Service charges can be thousands or hundreds depending on where you live.  No idea what rates others pay but ours are low - a couple of hundred a year.  Gibtel = £30 a month incl internet.  Water not high cost, but electricity in winter can be (tumble dryer and heater - both old and inefficient!!) - cheap in summer though.

The buses are 60p for a single, and you can also get returns and all day passes. They run frequently.  I'm never really sure why people drive round Gib.  You are unlikely to be able to park a vehicle outside your flat unless you have allocated parking.

I'll post up a couple of links to one of my blogs where I wrote up about eating out!

What else can I help with???

Here are the links.  They are on my dog blog, but the posts are about us eating out.

poppadoms and stuff

Maharajah and Waterfront

Italian place at Jumpers

Thanks for all the info. Its really helpful in building an image. Just a few more queries :

Is Gib very commercialised i.e. like your standard Torremolinos set up ...tacky bars and as you say, fish & chips restaurants?

Do either of you speak spanish and did your wife/partner need it to get work?

Have you made many friends since you moved and any ideas on the best way to make them.

You're right about Ireland. Its one of the most expensive countries in Europe now but our Cletic Tiger Economy is now whimpering badly. Its all very bleak for the foreseeable future so ergo our thoughts of sunnier climes.

Thanks again.

patmc wrote:

Thanks for all the info. Its really helpful in building an image. Just a few more queries :

Is Gib very commercialised i.e. like your standard Torremolinos set up ...tacky bars and as you say, fish & chips restaurants?

That depends on your opinion of Torremolinos.

Do either of you speak spanish

Yes

and did your wife/partner need it to get work?

Wife?

No.

Have you made many friends since you moved

No

and any ideas on the best way to make them.

No

You're right about Ireland. Its one of the most expensive countries in Europe now but our Cletic Tiger Economy is now whimpering badly. Its all very bleak for the foreseeable future so ergo our thoughts of sunnier climes.

Really?  When one economy fails others go down too.

Thanks again.

No problem.