Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

donny-gal

sandy2 wrote: »

We live in rural Spain and our Spanish mobile phone is very old and on it's last legs...OH is going back to Uk in a few weeks for a couple of days and thought he'd buy a new modern up to date mobile over there.(as instruction book will be in English) We're not at all technically minded, so has anyone any suggestions as to which quite basic one we should get that comes already unlocked or that can be unlocked easily and cheaply Thanx

I downloaded a pdf file of the instructions of the phone I purchased in Spain. I recently got a Carrefour Sim for when I was over there. If you are bad with technology keep to the same make as you have as that will have the least differences.

donny-gal

Hi everyone, back in the land of BBand for a short while, just been out with the 'van and been restricted to using MacDonalds free wi-fi, but better than "nowt", very quick actually.

A little contraversial on the subject of feeling the pinch with the strength of the Euro, while you have less Euros and will feel it for sure, I think you would feel it even more in the UK, the prices have gone up dramatically this year, and although they have gone up in Spain I am not finding that it is hurting me hard when I am out there. I think there are one or two near me in the ex-pat belt that think that their money would go further in the UK, and me thinks they may be dreaming.

I see there was a couple from the Sheffield area on our local news last night, who had taken their 90 year old mother over to Spain, and now they wanted her to come back as she could not stand the heat, but she is now in no-man's land relative to either council accommodation or residential care home without the means to do it privately. Why is it that me thinks there is some underlying twist where they have got Mum's money out into Spain to help buy their place and now they want the UK tax payers to pick it up. Or am I just becoming a old cynic?
DG

droopsnout

Hard to believe anyone would be so reckless as to take an elderly person to the heat without doing a trial period first.

Unless, of course, your cynicism is well founded!

donny-gal

Well I wondered as you can get air con for around 200€ to enable her to sleep! IYKWIM.

DG

droopsnout

Ouch! Air con. Expensive to run at French electricity prices! Is electricity cheaper in Spain?

It's quite a surprise to read from s-d-w that water is so cheap, as I am reading stories about water shortages in Spain, and the possibility of desalination plants on the Med to offset global warming and the desertification of the country.

maggiem

Hi,
Really interesting to read this thread. Like many I wonder about moving abroad when OH and I finally retire. One thing that concerns me is that I am an avid reader and frequent visitor to libraries in UK. How do other readers cope? My languages aren't good enough to read a novel although it would definitely slow me down having to read with a dictionary alongside - and reading the thread about Bridge over Troubled Water - maybe not the best way to understand what is happening.

I know I could order via internet but this would be sooo expensive! Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Maggie

seven-day-weekend

Where we live in the sticks in southern Spain there are several second hand book outlets run by expats and you can buy a book for say three euros, read it, take it back and sell it back to them for a euro. You might find something similar where you live.

Or you swop with other expats.

I too love reading and raid second hand bookshops while I'm in the UK and bring them all back.

There is never enough reading material however and I find myself reading my old favourites time and time again!

Welcome to the forum!

droopsnout

Hi, Maggie, and welcome to the thread.

English language books are available through Amazon France, a bit dearer but currently with free postage. On our local market (and our area isn't especially heavily peppered with Brits) there is a Brit seller of paperbacks in English.

A friend of ours who moved over in the last few weeks has already approached her local library, and is arranging for surplus stocks of English library books in another branch to be transferred to her library, where she will probably run the English-language section as a volunteer.

Don't forget, too, that many classic works are available free on the net, especially through the Gutenberg Project.

I guess the only limitations are our imaginations!

seven-day-weekend

droopsnout wrote: »

Ouch! Air con. Expensive to run at French electricity prices! Is electricity cheaper in Spain?

It's quite a surprise to read from s-d-w that water is so cheap, as I am reading stories about water shortages in Spain, and the possibility of desalination plants on the Med to offset global warming and the desertification of the country.

It's cheap in our area as we have springs that come from high in the Sierra Nevada mountains and are constantly flowing.

I don't know the price of it in any other part of Spain. I do know that Jaen province (north of us) is metered.

On the south coast in Almeria province (the driest place in the whole of Europe and containing the only true European desert) and Malaga province they are throwing it around like there is no tomorrow on watering golf courses and plastic agriculture and providing for new build housing developments that no-one is buying. The groundwater is rapidly disappearing but everyone just wants a 'fast buck'.

The Sahara is moving North and in not too many years the results of their short-sighted policies for short-term gain will all come back to bite the Spanish authorities on their greedy noses.

clearmydebts

Hi all,

I am really enjoying this thread. I haven't managed to get through it all yet but I am getting there!

I am hoping to move to Spain (just South of Barcelona) in a few years time. Myself and my husband are in our early 30's. We are going to look at land after Xmas but as my name says we need to clear our debts first! We do have a flat here that we would leave behind. We won't be moving until we figure out how to make a living there but it looks like my husband could get a job there or do contract work and work from home. I currently work from home so I would be looking at how feasible it is to do this in Spain. We would view this move as a permanent one (bearing in mind that it might not work out for us as it hasn't for a lot of people)

Just wanted to say hi to everyone and well done to everyone who has made the move! I'm jealous!!!