Pichiclan Group - Granada Property Sales

Moving to Spain

Here is a brief guide to how you can move all those things, that you have accumulated over the years and those things that are dearest to you such as your pet, your car and all your belongings. Whether your new expat life will start in the rural and most inland areas of Andalucía, or on the Costa del Sol, you might find this guide useful. Remember; PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING!!! Have a strategy, but do remember that Spaniards have a slightly different time scale to the English – DO NOT STRESS life is too short. Pet transportation/ Pet Couriers: Unless you feel like doing the long drive to Spain with an angry cat meowing in the back and trying to escape, you may want to use a Pet Courier. Several companies offer to accompany your pet all the way, from doorstep to doorstep. Being professionals and having done the journey with animals many times before, they can often make a seemingly big project go smoothly and easily, helping you with all the preparations such as documents and vaccinations that will have to take place sometimes up to 30 days before the journey. For many pets it is far less stressful to fly because it is such an incredibly quicker journey, and often sedatives can be given if necessary as it is only for a short while. If you decide to transport your pet by air, you have to make sure you have the right equipment for your animal; there are very strict rules and conditions regarding transportation of animals and these rules do vary from airline to airline. Please remember to double check and never presume all airline regulations are the same. A crate is required for your dog and many pet couriers, vets and pet suppliers will also sell these, or might even hire them but do shop around. If you are not going to transport your pets this way again, it might be worth your while to look for a 2nd hand transportation box or find out if you can borrow/hire one as they do not come cheap. Where would we be without our beloved pets?   Car transportation: If you are moving to Spain and prefer your own car but the prospect of driving all the way down is daunting, fear not! Several companies offer to transport your car to Spain from the UK and at a very reasonable price. If you consider the amount of time, petrol, road tax, ferry or tunnel, accommodation, food and general hassle a drive all the way to Spain could generate, this might just be the right option for you. Many companies fill up car transporters and take a ferry down to one of the major ports in Spain; this might take slightly longer but is a cheaper option than driving all the way.  Another good point is all the extra mileage it will save you. Then as arranged with the courier, pick up your car when it arrives. Certainly a worthwhile idea if you have kids, they would probably not appreciate the long drive if it could be avoided. Do remember that legally you can only drive a tourist car in Spain for six months; it would be advisable and less hassle to transfer your car onto Spanish plates if you are looking as staying in Spain longer than 6 months.   Removals / Removal Companies in Spain: You have either bought a place in Spain or have found a place to rent, so the next major move will be to get all your furniture and belongings with you as well. Since quite a substantial amount of people especially from Europe (Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Poland, Romania to mention a few) have emigrated from their colder countries to enjoy the welcoming warmth of Spain, it is becoming increasingly easier and hassle free to get your belongings from e.g. the UK to Spain. Many removal companies even have a scheduled weekly trip going back and forth, so you shouldn’t have to wait for long to get your things on a truck heading south. Sometimes your housing plans might not work out quite as planned and finding storage could be essential whilst working out where you are going to stay. Luckily this is getting easier in Spain, and some removal companies also offer to store your belongings for a time, although we would always advice to shop around a bit to make sure you get a good deal. Read our guide on storage here. Remember to check if your chosen removal company has insurance or if you need to purchase this separately. International moving companies should be willing to give you a quote. Renting a Van in Spain/ Man and a Van: Many people moving from one place in Spain to another place don’t mind handling it all themselves. All they need is to be able to rent a van, or if they cannot drive, or perhaps a little extra help is needed, get a man with a van. If you do not have huge amounts of belongings, this is often a cheaper option than using a removals company. When using a removals company to move between Spain and say, England, check what is exactly covered. Most van hire companies will have several sizes available. When working out the space needed in removal look at it as a 3D jigsaw, for example if you have empty drawers because all your clothes have been boxed separately use the drawers as more boxes. And do make sure your drivers license covers you driving the size of vehicle you want to rent, most vans are small enough to be covered by a normal drivers license for a car, but better to be safe than sorry! If you decide to hire a man and a van, be straight about what type of job you need them for; be precise, if you expect help with the loading and unloading and maybe even packing of the boxes say so before you agree to hire. Do not take for granted that they will help you, as often they won’t. Storage in Spain: When moving it is always handy to know where you might be able to store your furniture etc. Because you never know, something might not go as planned; the building of your house could be delayed, the apartment you thought you had rented has gone to someone else or major repairs are all of a sudden necessary. Always wise to have a fall back plan, you just never know! After having moved your belongings down to Spain you’re probably not in a position to just move the whole thing back again and you would probably like to have some of your things with you as well. So fear not as several companies in Spain offer storage service. Some companies specialise in doing just this, and some removal companies offer it as well as moving your belongings. You will probably find that many long term rentals in Spain are already furnished, thus making it important to store your furniture until you find an unfurnished long term rental or purchase your own property. Make sure you get the best price by shopping around as more and more storage companies are appearing in Southern Spain. Storage insurance in Spain: If you decide to get your belongings into storage in Spain, remember to make sure that they are covered by some sort of insurance. On the Costa del Sol especially, there are several companies offering storage services, so if you cannot get your stored goods insured, shop around and find another company that is willing to provide this option. Many offer a basic insurance included in their quoted price, but depending on what you are transporting and the value of it, you might want to take out an additional insurance which most of the moving companies offer. Always wise to get it in writing, It’s not good enough to say that “Simon in the UK office told me I was covered against this” if you don’t have it in writing, and to be fair most of us don’t even get the name of who we spoke to!!!