About anlgza

Status:

Expatriate  

Gender:

Male

Currently Lives:

Citizen Of:

United States

Some Forum Posts:

Spain: Barcelona:

We got ideas from websites like fotocasa and idealista. We used Sandra Burela (sandraburela.com) as a facilitator (interacting with agents and translating.) She also helped us with temporary housing but you can use websites like airbnb and homeaway. Viewings are generally set up day to day and not ahead of time. If you have a list of what you are looking for in a neighborhood, I can be more specific with suggestions. Your budget is very reasonable so that should not be an issue. We were somewhat limited because of our pets - it is very pet-friendly here but landlords can be protective.

Spain: Health Insurance:

Your example would be an emergency so it should be covered. We used Azimuth Beacon for our initial coverage for emergencies and evacuation back to the U.S. You can shop on-line for local Spanish health insurance. It helps to have a bank account in Spain for automatic premium payments. We encountered some companies that refuse coverage for certain pre-existing conditions like depression. Our insurance is with Atlantida and we have been satisfied thus far. We do have to use their in-network doctors and their own lab and x-ray facilities. I understand that most health insurance companies here work that way. Any other questions are welcomed. Good Luck!

Spain: housing in Badalona:

Are wanting long term or short term? Short term you would have to use websites like AirBnB. For long term, we used the Fotocasa and Idealista websites. Then we had Sandra Burela, who has her own website, assist when we went to see the properties. We tried lining up visits ahead of time but they just don't do it that way. It really seems to help if you have a local phone number when you fill out the "if interested send the following info" for showing requests. Good luck.

Spain: cheque: garantizado, bancario or conformada.:

Dear Dawn, Thank you for your blog and all your advice. We opened a bank account with Sabadell as soon as we arrived in Barcelona with the help of a facilitator Montse Viega with ERS. It has made it so much easier to pay rent and bills. Maybe a "local' friend can help you by being a reference to their bank or maybe they can write a check for you and then pay them back. Are there any disadvantages to having a bank account here like income taxes, etc? Good luck and Happy New Year Kelly

Spain: Appropriate dress in Barcelona:

We have lived in Barcelona for a year now and it is mostly very casual, particularly in areas frequented by tourists. This is true especially n the summer, though it's not too hot but very humid. The subways are very warm too so it is usually more comfortable by bus. The older locals tend to dress more conservatively while mostly what you see will be shorts and t-shirts. So the bottom-line...DRESS COMFORTABLY.

Spain: resident visa:

To clarify the terms, there are several different forms of residency visas which allow you to stay up to a year before needing to renew. A visa is unecessary if you stay up to 90 days per 180 day period in the Schengen area which includes Spain. After 3 months, the Schengen agreement then requires you to leave the area which includes most of Europe. Thereafter to stay in the general area you could go to one of the Balkan countries and the UK, for several months depending on their individual rules. http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/how-to-legally-stay-in-europe-for-more-than-90-days/ We only put "Barcelona" on the form as our address, and like others, the consulate in Houston accepted that after we explained that we would find long term housing once we arrived.

Spain: Setting up utilities non EU:

The listing agent for our rental helped us set up utilities. You give them your bank information and they will contact the utilities and set up automatic withdrawals. However the accounts remained in the name of the landlord. We have one little inconvenience in that our electric bill is in the landlord's deceased father's name and there is not enough information to set up automatic payments. You may be lucky enough to have tv and wi fi service already set up as part of your rent. If not you will have to set up your own internet/cable/phone installation and service, which is generally much cheaper than in the U.S. Movistar and Vodafone are the largest providers and have storefronts everywhere. The tricky part comes if you want fiberoptic sevice for faster internet. Ask your landlord if it is already installed in your building and who is the provider. Any company should be able to use the building's existing fiberoptic but they may tell you that THEY don't have it in your building yet will "in a couple of months." We went with Movistar first and waited for fiberoptic to be installed but switched to Vodafone because we got tired of the repeated delays.

Spain: Health Insurance Poviders:

We used Azimuth Beacon, a reasonably priced international travel health plan and paid the zero deductible premium. The consulate in Houston accepted it for our visa application.

Spain: Does residency for non-EU citizens include national healthcare?:

Only if you are working and contributing to the system each month. After one year of residency you can then pay monthly through a specific program to use the national system.

Spain: Where to buy in Spain???:

Some factors include weather, cost, international flights available, and proximity to coast. Seville is much warmer, with fewer international flights, is cheaper generally and the coast is a day trip. Barcelona is more expensive with a more moderate climate though humid, many international flights, and its own beaches.

Date Joined:

6/6/2013

Total Posts:

45

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0.03