Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

seven-day-weekend

Hey Wearside, thanks for joining in; it is great to have non-European expats here to get a taster of non - EU life!

What is a Florida room?

And....what is a CARPET? we don't have those here in southern Spain!! :rotfl:

wearside_2

seven-day-weekend wrote:

Hey Wearside, thanks for joining in; it is great to have non-European expats here to get a taster of non - EU life!

What is a Florida room?

And....what is a CARPET? we don't have those here in southern Spain!! :rotfl:

A Florida Room is the same as a conservatory. A carpet is something that goes on the floor and is warmer to lie on than tiles, should one wish to do that:eek:

droopsnout

I thought a carpet was some kind of animal toy that lives in the car. A Churchill dog, for example.

wearside_2

droopsnout wrote:

I thought a carpet was some kind of animal toy that lives in the car. A Churchill dog, for example.

I don't think that they have heard of Churchill here! I hate that advert by the way!

wearside_2

Who has stolen the Florida heat Its 22.07 here I have just put the central heating on for thie first time ever:eek:

Smiley_Mum

I'm really enjoying reading this thread. Thanks to all the contributors. :T

EdInvestor

palgrave124 wrote:

.. we had great marriage and still have ,we where one of the lucky ones, but saw so many marriages break up many leaving their parner in spain, only to follow later through loneliness or lack of money...

I suspect people underestimate the strain that expat life can put on relationships, particularly if a couple are fairly isolated and surrounded by people speaking a different language and experiencing a lot of adjustment problems .Some men for instance seem to have problems adjusting to giving up work, even when they are in their home country much less somewhere foreign. Missing friends and family ( particularly grand children) can also be a problem.If couples aren't very good at communication, the relationship can quickly come under stress.

It may be sensible to do things gradually, step by step. That is, don't retire, sell home and move abroad simultaneously. Renting rather than buying may also be best for a while in a new country especially in markets where there is a lot of new build property and pre-owned homes may be harder to sell.That way, if you find you can't adjust and want to come back, it is easy to up sticks without losing any money.

Mrs_pbradley936

Hello wearside,

We do the same as you and have a place in Fort Myers. We are usually there by now but due to family commitments we will not be there for a couple of weeks. We are selling up now and will still go to Florida but will rent. Our property taxes have shot up and so has the insurance because we are west of the 41 so are considered to be in a flood zone. We are not in a park and so have pay all our own yard and pool services so adding up what it costs we think we will be better of renting. Plus the house has increased in value no end (we are near but not on the beach) over the last couple of years. The legal side of owning abroad has raised questions I had never thought of (that is on another thread) in terms of what would happen if you or your partner died and the tax situation.

seven-day-weekend

Agree with EdInvestoe, don't do everyhting at once and keep your house (or a smaller one) in the UK if you can.

We have not sold our UK house, and bought our Spanish house a year before we moved here and used it for holidays during that year .

We knew we had a safety net. Muy importante!

Pobby

Thank you to seven-day-weekend for the picture that has been painted about living in Spain.Also thanks for the e-mails.I see taht you bought your property in 2003,what would it be valued at now?