Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 8:52am
Hi Wes,
I hope that you have spoken to an accountant about what time of the year it is best to sell your house and whether there are any tax liabilities. Its best not to expect the tax/healthcare system to be the same in each country.
The advice that is usually given from expats is to rent and try it for a year. Perhaps that is the best advice but not one I took. Maybe I just got lucky and the stars lined up for me but I had no teenage child to deal with. Is your teenager on board with this move?
I was 14 when I moved from Canada to the UK and it was very difficult. Thrust into another language at that age is also not so easy. Yes it is tremendous to learn a second language but at 13 maybe not so easy and if the teenager is unhappy everything you do will be more difficult.
As far a good 'family vibe' remember that this is Spain and the vibes are more difficult to plug into if you are a foreigner in this Country.
My suggestion would be to find the type of 'home' and close neighborhood (Urbanization or Village or Town) you like based on the home itself (view of the sea, mountains, top floor apartment/ground floor with a yard for a pet, on a golf course, villa, townhouse - all based on your financial ability) close location school for your child so they can make friends more easily close to home, activities that are close by (sports center or mountains, water etc.) So that no matter what is really happening around you in the bigger sphere, you will have a bubble of your own to slowly adapt to a very huge difference in culture.
For me, I fell in love with my townhouse online and when I saw it in person I fell in love with the views and the small size of the community (with a mix of Spanish and Expats). With these important elements for me I could find my feet in a larger and larger area around but my home was and still is, my bubble when I need it.
I hope these thoughts are helpful. I have not found the government so difficult actually but the language is a constant issue. I have found many people around that help. Highly recommend getting your Certificate set up on your computer soon as possible and then dealing with the Government is alot easier.