You need a bank account in Spain ? A reliable bank account from a stable bank with no commissions, no requirements, great customer service in English, easy to operate online and that allow you to open your account from abroad ? Banco Sabadell: Great conditions, customer service and online banking in English Yes, [...]
There are several important things many freshly arrived expats do not know when looking for a flat. So here it is, the list of the 10 things I wish I would have known when I arrived here ! 1. Rent includes taxes but not bills in most cases Utilities are usually not included [...]
Internet is now part of the essential relocation pack for any expat, since it enables us to connect with our friends and family in our hone country and around the world. In fact, when I help fellow expats to move to Spain, I always take all necessary steps to have internet ready before they [...]
If you are moving to Madrid to stay for more than 3 months, if you want to buy a property or start a company, you are legally required to get a NIE, “Número de Identificación Fiscal de Extranjeros”, or “Foreigners Registration Number”. Before anything else, this is the process to get it in Madrid. In [...]
Most think the “Rent or Buy” question has an obvious answer: “If you can afford it, buy, since renting is throwing money away”. Wrong. I will tell you simply in this post why buying can mean throwing money away and renting can be the most profitable decision from a financial point of view. The 4 [...]
What kind of Madrid lifestyle can I afford ? Compare your monthly budget to these estimations, and visualize right now the lifestyle you can afford in Madrid: 800 – 1000 €: bare necessities in Madrid’s city center for a student life, 1100 – 1500 €: living a bit more comfortably, eating out with [...]
Madrid is a great place to live, mainly because it is a capital city with all you need, and with a great quality of life you do not have in London or Paris: no stress, no insecurity, you can eat out for as much as 10 €, people are open and talkative. You want [...]
If you are planning to buy an appartment in Madrid, I recommend you follow these 10 tips: 1) Beware of the market variations in Spain, and buy now only if you plan to hold the property for more than a minimum of five years. It’s helpful to use the New York Times calculator to evaluate [...]
Let’s suppose here you found a great flat in Madrid. Congratulations – you need to move in and deal with the utilities. I already presented how much you can expect utilities to cost you in Madrid. Now I’ll explain simply the few mandatory steps you will need to go through to be all set to [...]
“Spain is different”. Rentals are a good example: Everything is negotiable or nearly, depending on the market. In a rental, all the conditions depend on the agreement you reach with the landlord. When you negotiate these conditions, it is essential you have in mind the law and the norm: yes, in Spain they are often [...]