Recommendations for Relocation to Spain

11POSTS

9 years ago

Looking for any tips and guidance for relocating from the United States to Spain. What were the major steps you took, lessons learned, and recommendations for making this move as easy as possible.

My wife Le and I are looking to move to Spain from Tampa Florida in April 2018. We are both retired and would like to live in a coastal city within a 45 minute train ride of either Barcelona or Valencia. Also would welcome thoughts about potential cities / towns that might be good places to relocate either from expats or locals. Our plan would be to rent a 2 bedroom / 1-2 Bathroom house or flat for 1 year, a Terrace overlooking the Sea would be ideal.

We of course have our US Passports and are working on our retirement or Non Lucrative Visa for non EU Citizens paperwork (will go thru Spanish Consulate in Miami, any experiences with this process?), but are interested in understanding additional steps we need to take to make this move happen.

Thanks for your help.

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bevandian Member

11POSTS

9 years ago

Hi, we'd strongly recommend Valencia .... It's a stunningly beautiful city, with so much to do and see, from old cultural sights to the ultra moden science park, and the fantastic natural reed bed reserves at Albufera. The cost of living is significantly less than that of Barcelona, and although the third biggest city in Spain, it nevertheless feels very safe and friendly. You can get the super fast train to Madrid in under two hours, and for us, direct return flights to England for less than €100!

There are long stretches of beach either side, so you should be able to find a sea location which suits; ideally one served by the Metro service. You could download the Metro Valencia app, and house hunt for locations along that, giving you the best of both worlds.

I hope everything goes well for your next year

Bev

2 members reacted to this post

Jemorris3 Member

11POSTS

9 years ago

Thanks that's a lot of good advice.

bevandian Member

11POSTS

9 years ago

Thanks. Take a look at Sagunto .... 30km from Valencia, may suit you. For an idea of rentals in Spain, try Fotocasa online ...

Xurfer Member

3POSTS

9 years ago

Agree with Bevandian.
But if Barcelona is your choice, take a look to Sitges, Vilanova i la Geltru and Castelldefels in the southern side.
Premia, Vilassar, at the northen side.
They are cities at the sea...a train ride to Barcelona with high frequency..only 30-45 min intrain which stops you in the center of downtown Barcelona.
Personally, I would choose Sitges.

Sergio