All the latest news from Valencia Property

City life is the same the World over. There are marvellous things and there are things that anyone would be sad to see. Think about begging on the streets, people rummaging in bins, and junkies shooting up in public. Now I know that New York managed to clean up the city some time ago with a zero tolerance policy towards anything considered anti social although that seems to be falling apart now. Spain has a similar problem, a friend of mine has just moved out of Barcelona due to the scams, prostitutes and general feeling of the Ramblas these days, and when I went to the UK recently the same problems were evident there except without the joy of the Ramblas and Barcelona in general.

When you are thinking of working in Spain the main thing that generally pops into our head is "Who is going to give me a job?" or "How am I going to get a job?" They are the wrong questions. The question should be "How can I make a living in Spain?" and that is what "The Secrets to Working and Making a Living in Spain" answers.

Next week there is a general strike in Spain. You cannot miss it. Fliers by the UGT and CC.OO the two main unions involved are plastered all over every single spare piece of wall and graffiti that there is in Valencia. The combined positive effect of these fliers on the Spanish economy might well be greater than the negative effect of the General Strike itself. It has been a good time for printers recently I think you can safely say.

Are you thinking about bringing your pets to Spain? What do you need to bear in mind before bringing pets to Spain? Have you got cat or dog that may need tagging or will your goldfish swim away?

I got a lot of feedback about tip number 54 which you can see by going to the You Tube Channel and looking through the playlist that is featured. It asked the question whether you are racist/bigoted. Today tip number 59 has been uploaded into YouTube and that is the simple point that Spain is a noisy place so get used to the idea. Don't buy a city flat then complain about the noise because you have been forewarned about it now. Valencia is actually the noisiest city in Europe apparently and they revel in that status.

This is just a quick blog post to answer a question I saw on a forum. What can you do if you are bringing an 18 year old to Spain from the point of view of their education? Previously there wasn't much that you could offer them if they didn't speak Spanish. Now in Valencia there is a new option.

I know Mazarron Playa well and I know Isla Plana even better. My inlaws used to winter there for years and we had lots of visits enjoying its microclimate and i even ventured into the sea a few times in November and February, if I can anyone can by the way!

In the immortal words of Joe Gormley, ex Union Leader in the strife ridden UK of the 1970's ;-) you should always be ready to negotiate when you are thinking of buying a house for sale in Spain. (He didn't actually mention houses for sale in Spain but you get what I mean) Prices are generally flexible on most properties but remember that sometimes you have to do that negotiation with a bank because the owner owes as much as they are asking for the property. Even, and possibly especially, bank repossessions are negotiable because the banks have been told by the Spanish central bank to get rid of some of their outstanding stock.

OK, you have to use a bank for receiving money but not to send it. You should use a currency transfer company and as I say in this video it will save you thousands of Euros or Pounds on your property purchase. Even on smaller amounts it can mean a saving as described in the video of €5000 so make sure you do not forget this bit. If you need any advice about which currencies company to use then don't heistate to get in touch on grahunt@gmail.com

When you are thinking of moving to Spain one of the major considerations should be the family of course. For those who have a close family relationship as opposed to hating the other members of the family, the move can be very traumatic. This can be described as the 3 generation conundrum when there are Grandparents and Grandchildren involved in the move.

Tip number 43 of our 100 tips for people moving to Spain is about couples. No this is not a swingers' post but it is about couples and when they are planning the move to Spain. I have seen it all too often, one partner wants the move and the other is being dragged kicking and screaming into it. Both parts of a couple need to be interested and enthusiastic about the move to Spain. If not then disaster will inevitably happen usually in the form of a divorce, separation or constant arguments.

I have been away but I still managed to post every day a video of our 100 tips for those wanting to move to Spain. We are now up to number 40 and that video can be found here.

When you come over to Spain your life changes of course. One of the most difficult things to try and understand are the ways in which you get new friends. You may well have been surrounded by your current friends and especially your family of course, for many years. Getting out and getting new friends is a prerequisite for settling in.

Beware at Spanish Service Stations. If there is one thing I hear countless times that is very easy to avoid it is the Spanish service station scam. Basically the scam is the following. You pull into a service station and go for a drink or a rest. You come out get in your car and drive off. After a couple of kilometres you notice something is wrong with the car and more or less at the same time a car will start flashing you from behind. When you stop they will helpfully inform you that your back tyre is down and that you need to change it.

A Third of the way Through Our 100 Tips for Moving To Spain. We have now uploaded 33 of our 100 tips for moving to Spain and today we get to number 34. The Notary is the essential part of any Spanish property transaction. Essentially they do the following:

Both of these tips are available on You Tube but here are the embeds to look at. Number 31 talks about integration into the local community

It all seems so simple really. You buy a house, get your telephone line, set up a wifi system and start surfing the internet in your new home in Spain. However life is never that simple in Spain. At times getting a telephone line and even more an internet connection can seem like one of Dante's more devilish circles on your descent into hell.

Tip number 27 of out 100 tips for moving to Spain talks about food and how you should explore the tastes of Spain when you come over here. If you stick to your normal diet then food becomes a lot more expensive. Fresh food tends to be cheaper here but processed food is quite a bit more expensive. I have included two videos today, the first is the tip and the second is one I made last year that talks about the price of fruit and veg in Spain.