Where are the best places to live in Spain?

What areas in spain are the best places to live? Could somebody please please help a confused person? My fiance and I are planning to move to spain in 3 years, hopefully if all goes well, I know its early to start planning but we need to research things, we have two children (who will be 4.5 & 3 by the time we move) so we need a school nearby, shops, doctor & dentist. I will be a qualified plumber by then so need to know the best areas for work, we are going to start learning the language so that will hopefully make finding work easier, not to mention everything else. We also have three dogs and would like to maybe have a horse, goats & chickens so would like an area where houses have a bit of land, even a small holding would be great! Can a family in Spain live off one wage or best to have two incomes if possible? Maybe were asking for a lot but if you dont ask the questions you'll never know. Any answers would be great if anyone could please please help. Many Thanks, Jon. Hi Sue, Thank you very much for your reply, its much appreciated! I understand what your saying about the job situation. I live in the UK so the visa thing is no problem but like you say its getting a job beforehand. With the dogs I believe from what Ive read that because its in the EU as long as they are up to date with boosters and stuff theyre ok to go straight in. I think with the language though surely 3 years (or possibley a little more) is enough to get at least a basic grasp, enough to communicate in some way? With the small holding, I guess that it would be a compromise between that and schooling, obviously schooling being more important. Can I ask whether you live in Spain? Many Thanks.

Public Comments

1. First thing you need to think about is if you can even get work. You can't just pick up your family and move to another country without a job. Where are you from? This is key, because Americans need to get a work visa, which is nearly impossible to get, and then you need to figure out how to get a job. You probably want to work with someone who speaks both languages. EU members, on the other hand, don't have to worry about the visa thing. Not sure about the single-income thing...I would think you would want to both work. Inside the cities, there are schools. You don't want to go to the public schools, and almost all the private schools are run by the catholic church. And even still, not sure how to decide which ones are better than others. Do you know how complicated it is to bring animals across national borders? I think you need to put them in a kennel for, like one to three months for quarantine. You have to make sure you know the rules. I think you are beginning your language learning awfully late. You really want to know the language BEFORE you leave. It takes about seven years of ordinary lessons (less if you do some sort of immersion program like Berlitz), and that's if you really apply yourself, to learn a new language. If you want to live on a ranch (finca), you can find rural property in a number of areas. You should probably be looking in Andalucía, specifically near Jerez de la Frontera, if you want to raise horses. That's where all the best horses come from. But then, you are complicating the school issue. What you want to do is pretty complicated. You need to REALLY think this through, carefully.
2. Interesting to read your question. Spain is a great place to live. I think the important part to start with is your children. Coming to Spain pre-school is a huge advantage to them. Kids seem to settle in school better if they start in the beginners class. They need to learn the language quickly and make friends. Your children would need to go to public school unless you want to fork out a lot of money on a private English speaking school. It would indeed be a brave move on your part, especially with so young a family. With all of your animals you will need to live in a rural area or semi rural area. It will be cheaper away from the coast and away from tourist areas. I live in a semi rural village in the mountains in Andalucia. You would need to check with your local vet on travel for your animals within Europe, but I see no problem because it is less restrictive these days. If you come to live and work in Spain you will have to take up residency as you will need to pay your taxes in Spain. The tax system in Spain is different to the UK. There is a wealth tax to consider. Being a resident would be more beneficial in respect of that tax. In Spain if the father is working and the mother is looking after the children her tax allowance is lumped together with her husband.. Health care. You will not be eligible to use the Spanish health service when you get here. Obviously if you are going to make Spain your home you will at some point get a social security number. I’m not certain of the time limits on that one. Most Brits get private medical insurance cover once they are out here. It’s a lot cheaper than the UK. Working out here. The UK being in the EU, you have a right to live & work, but getting a job won’t be easy. Having said that, there is a demand for good English speaking plumbers working on their own. Some parts of Spain with a high concentration of Brits they find it easier to employ another Brit to do the work. There are good & bad times to come to Spain. Most Brits bring finance with them to get started. The British pound is very weak against the euro right now and it is NOT a good time to come here, but things will improve eventually and in three years it may be the other way round. I’ve only scratched the surface here of moving to Spain. This country is still a beaurocratic nightmare at times. The very first thing you do before coming here is to get a good English speaking lawyer to help you get started. There are many ex-pats organisations out here that can recommend such things as lawyers. I wish you luck in your venture.
3. Hi i live in zaragoza (spain), spain looks great but there 're many places that u'd avoid. The best places r Galicia (north-west), canaric islands, balearic islands, aragon or Andalucia. In madrid and barcelona there're so many people and criminals. Seville is so beautiful and many cities in the coast too. The rest of the peninsula is too warm and dry. VISIT EXPO ZARAGOZA 2008 AND THE FUTURE GRAND SCALA IN MONEGROS (ARAGON). GRAND SCALA: LAS VEGAS II