Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

droopsnout

¡Buena suerte!

droopsnout

Dave_in_Spain wrote: »

Hi Droopsnout. This link leads to the consultation area for the proposals of the DWP website http://www.dwp.gov.uk/welfarereform/noonewrittenoff/
I have one more year than you before my state retirement pension. My greatest concern is that for my Personal Capability Assessment, the doctor was only allowed to assess the condition he (not I) thought was most disabling. He had 9 to choose from and 2 more have been added since then, and the real problem is that for most of them medication for one prevents effective medication for another because of potentially lethal interactions. If this system has not been improved I will be forced into work I cannot do. (Incidentally, the doctor still wrote that he thought I had "substantially underestimated" my degree of disability). The other concern is that by changing the name and type of benefit to "Employment Support Allowance" are they trying to circumvent EU rules on the payment of benefits to expats within the EEA? And no, David Cameron will not change a thing. He has already put himself behind the new proposals, just a week or so after voting to keep his own 23K a year unaudited perk.

Yes, and of course, everybody knows that all those Brits sunning themselves in their foreign properties are obviously rolling in cash, which they earned from dodgy deals and money laundering. I assume your yacht is safely moored out of HMG's sight?

Well, good luck, Dave. It's late, but I'll just pop to your link and have a swift read. Thanks for posting it.

Paul

Edit: Ah - essentially the same link as I posted earlier.

droopsnout

Well, the document is 118 pages long, so I haven't read it all.

Instead, I did a search for "abroad", "Union" and "EEA". Nothing of any use was thrown up. (If that's an appropriate expression).

But do these two paragraphs conflict? (The "31" in the first paragraph is a footnote number, leading to the footnote which is the second paragraph).

This reform will also help to ensure that access to the UK benefits system for workers from other countries, including nationals from other European Economic Area (EEA) states, is limited to those who have a connection with, and have made a contribution to, the UK.31 We are currently reviewing all aspects of EEA nationals’ access to benefits; the review will report by autumn 2008.

31 The UK’s membership of the EEA enables free movement of workers between this country and other member states. Further measures ensure workers who exercise their right of free movement within the EEA do not lose social security rights built up in different member states. This means that EEA nationals who come to the UK may be entitled to access benefits here. The EEA consists of the 27 European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland is not part of the EEA but enjoys similar ties via bilateral treaties.

Dave_in_Spain

Rule 1. No claimant can be allowed to know all the rules.
Rule 2. If there is any possibility that a claimant knows all the rules, some of them must immediately be changed, if necessary retrospectively.
Presidents Putin and Mugabe use a similar system to acquire assets like oil or land that they want.

goldilocksblue

Yes the ladies dress shop Klass offer 10% discount for the over 60's

Savvy_Sue

goldilocksblue wrote: »

Yes the ladies dress shop Klass offer 10% discount for the over 60's

Huh! Swizz! I don't remember them offering it to my mum when we found her outfit for her neice's wedding there. Although as it was all in the sale at the Outlet store at Swindon maybe they don't do it there? Plus we were just SO relieved to find something eminently suitable in the first shop we went into, I think we'd have paid twice as much! :rotfl:

Leodogger

I am reading this thread with interest of your life out "in the sticks" in Spain as I visited Costa Del Sol recently to look at mobile homes which are relatively cheap and which is we think a good way of retiring to Spain whilst living off the capital of our house in the UK after it has been sold.

My daughter and her partner remained for another 12 days after we returned to the UK and they went to look at a new site just being developed at Iznate, in Malaga. They saw a beautiful resale Park home which was being sold at a bargain price and came back full of enthusiasm of trying to raise the funds to buy it. We were very keen to go 50/50 partnership but as we had not seen it and it would have taken all our savings plus cashing in our pension funds to buy it, we were reluctant to commit to it. However, we are determined next year to go back and visit the site.

Whilst they were there they visited the little village of Iznate which is only about 10 minutes from the site, the site also only being 15 minutes from the beach. They thought the village very lovely, population about 400 and stopped for a drink and something to eat in a bar there. They bought 2 Bocadillos (french sticks filled), 1 pint of beer, 1 coffee and a bottle of water for 5.5 euros !

We do have one problem to realise our dream. We bought an apartment on the Costa Blanca nearly 5 years ago and are struggling to sell it at the moment. We had bought it with the intention of retiring there to Algorfa but when my daughter and her partner decided to move to Costa Del Sol we decided to sell up on the Costa Blanca and buy instead a mobile home on CDS.

Does anyone have any plusses or minusses for buying a mobile home on a site in Spain? I would be very grateful for any advice you may have.

seven-day-weekend

Hi welcome to the forum!

I don't know anything about mobile homes in Spain, but would like to say, as with any property transaction in Spain, be absolutely sure that the place is legal - both the site and the facility to park a mobile home.

Good luck!

EdInvestor

JWhite wrote: »

We bought an apartment on the Costa Blanca nearly 5 years ago and are struggling to sell it at the moment. We had bought it with the intention of retiring there to Algorfa but when my daughter and her partner decided to move to Costa Del Sol we decided to sell up on the Costa Blanca and buy instead a mobile home on CDS.

Terrible time to be tyring to sell property either here or there.

Might be easier just to move to your apartment at least initially.Why not suggest the young ones rent something nearer to you and "see how it goes"?

TonyH_2

We came to live in SW France five years ago. Ours is a small village with about 36 permanent inhabitants. The cost of living is roughly two-thirds of life in the UK with electricity being about the same cost, internet access (broadband) including telephone line rental and call package about 55 euros a month (all world-wide and local calls included). No road fund licence for motorbikes or cars. TV licence roughly 100 euros p.a. (unless in an exempt group). Diesel for the car about the equivalent of £1 a litre (and that is unusually high). Beef and lamb we find quite expensive and we grow most of our own veg but the supermarkets and shops have plenty of variety and at a reasonable price, also there are always very good special prices on offer. Medical care has been a problem in the recent past, but mostly now sorted although there is usually a top-up insurance required. However, French health care is first class with a no waiting policy. Serious illnesses (cancer, heart probs etc) are treated 100 percent free. Our doctor speaks English and the cost per visit is about 21 euros with roughly 75% refunded on the Carte Vitale. If required a UK driving licence can be exchanged for the same category French licence free of charge. The dreaded civil service can be very good and human it all depends on how they are approached - like evreywhere. We live about 400 metres above sea level and air pollution - you can forget it. My wife's asthma (a reason for coming here) is easily controlled in this climate. House prices have risen, but not as dramatically as the UK. Water, strangely enough, is cheap but the abonnement (contract paid twice yearly) is expensive at 90 + euros every 6 months. Rates (fonciere and habitation) can be dear in a large town, but small villages (like ours) and country houses are as cheap as chips. Oh, and MoT is once every 2 years and is half the price of the UK. The folk are friendly, but the driving is appalling with tailgating being the main sport. Get a French registered car and this drops off quite nicely as the locals don't know who is driving. The UK will always be 'home' to me, but why is it so expensive to try and live there?