FAQs Spain

Here you'll find all kinds of different details about money, food, weather, school, etc.

Things we find exciting, disappointing, surprising, interesting and ridiculous.

If YOU have a question, feel free to comment, send an email or message and we'll respond directly or add it to this growing list.

**Disclaimer: All of this information is from our experience, current knowledge and/or opinion. If you see information you disagree with or know is incorrect, please reach out.

1. Why did you choose to live in Malaga of all places?

--We love the beach and want to live as close as possible to it throughout the year. We also wanted a sunny beach. So this narrowed it down to the Eastern or Southern coast of Spain. We wanted to live in an area where Spanish is spoken. That sounds funny but many areas of Spain speak a different predominant language. That ruled out the east coast from the French border to Valencia. Because we weren't moving here permanently, we had reservations about throwing our boys into a 100% Spanish public school and the logistics of that. So we searched for private english schools within 2km of the southern coast of Spain. Upon further research we narrowed it down to Almeria and Malaga. The combination of beaches, international airport, culture, housing, and school settled us in Torremolinos, Malaga.

2. Why are you only staying in Spain for 3 months?

--We orginally thought we'd live in Spain for the entire year. But the Spanish consulate on strike in San Francisco had other plans for us. Getting a visa to live in Spain is a pain enough as it is, but to get a visa while the only possible people available to help you are on strike indefinitely is impossible. After weeks/months of trying to just get an appointment or even communicate with someone, we decided to alter our plans.

We can still try to get a visa, but all of us would need to apply in person in San Francisco and then go back in person to pick up the visas. Why put ourselves through this rigmarole when we could enjoy life with even more adventures instead! We can stay for 90/180 days on a tourist visa in the EU.

3. Where else you planning to go?

--So we're thinking about central America for December-March, then come back April-June to finish up school for the boys and do a little more European travel before headed back to Seattle in mid July '23.

4. So then what's the deal with your boys' education? Different schools, homeschooling or what?

--Our boys are happy, challenged, and stable for 3 months in a private British school. The teachers use Microsoft Teams to assign, collect and give feedback on work. We plan to keep in touch with their teachers while we're away from Spain for 3-4 months, do some daily homeschooling to make sure they're keeping up, and hope to put them back into the same classrooms when we return to Spain to finish out the year in the Spring of '23. For the 4 months they'll be out of school, there are about 4 weeks of breaks. So they're really only missing 3 months of direct instruction and (hopefully) in school for 6 months of the year.

5. Todd and Amber aren't working then? Am I understanding this right?

--Correctamundo. We drop off and pick up our kids from school. We grocery shop, we clean up, we do research and planning. But basically have up to 6 hours a day to pack full of sightseeing, reading, online classes, sitting on the beach, excercising, yoga or whatever we want. We really do hope to make the most of our time by enjoying it, our surroundings, and each other. Taking a gap year to rest, reset, reflect and explore.

6. What have been some of the biggest challenges with this whole thing?

--Countless hours sitting on the computer since February doing research and planning has been tiresome and taken our time away from family. So much time wasted trying to figure out the visa process and what was going on with the Spanish consulate in San Fran. Finding housing was challenging: Do we book before we arrive or try to look in person first? So many affordable places available for long term rent, and many short term places (nightly rates) for 3-4 times as much! Finding something in between-- 3 months for a reasonable price--was highly time consuming and stressful. We expect similar challenges as we continue our plans in Central America for the winter.

7. What have been the biggest disappointments so far?

A. The Mediterranean Sea in southern Spain is chilly. About 66-70 degrees depending on the day. They say it was warmer in August and gets colder in November. But it's not comfortable, and only a refreshing swim for 15min or so when it's hot and sunny out. Which is almost every day so far. We love swimming and playing in this beautiful water, but this section of the sea has cold currents from the Atlantic and it's been a disappointment. We probably won't be swimming in November or April.

B. Bikes or scooters: we figured we could just find a used bike shop and pick up some bikes. Nope. Cruising around on a bike isn't very popular in this area. Scooters are, but there's no hop and ride rentals available. They both require an investment, which means we'll be exclusively walking, training, and occasionally renting a car. There are buses but they don't seem feasible enough to figure out.

C. It's nice that Americans are uncommon here, but tourists are. We're in a European tourist destination, which means authentic Spanish culture is not easily accessible, and there's no pressure/need to study and use Spanish language. There's also loud music some nights and catering to tourists everywhere. But to be in a metro area near the beach makes this hard to avoid.

D. Due to miscommunication from the agent we worked with to secure our first rental, we found out there was no A/C the night we moved in. Over 3 weeks it's gotten much better but there were several days and a few nights that fans alone didn't cut it and we suffered a bit. There are also no screens, which hasn't been a problem until recently with a couple night time mosquito bites.

8. So what's going well? Highlights and silverlinings?

--We feel mostly lucky and thankful in many ways. We're close to the beach in a nice building with a great view in a prime location. The weather has generally been gorgeous and life has been more or less easy. Food, drink, transportation and most goods/services are very affordable. Think 1/2 the price of Seattle, give or take. The new school for Parker and Drion has been a good experience so far. And there is still so much to explore, see and taste. And there are many gluten free food (and beer!) options for Todd. We also happened upon a train ticket promotion this fall that essentially gives all 4 of us unlimited, free rides!

9. How much do things cost there?

--First off, the Euro has been just about equal with the USD in the Spring-Winter of 2022. So essentially 1 Euro = 1 dollar. But the dollar decreased 10% by the Spring of 2023. In general, things are cheaper: about 1/2 the price of the US. Healthy foods (produce and staples), beer and wine are very affordable if not downright cheap. Beer and wine especially: most beers are less than 1 Euro (the cheapest I've seen is .32 cents) and about half of all wines are less than 5 Euros, many as low as 2 or 3 dollars for a bottle of wine.

Eating out can be very reasonable, but depending on the place it's also easy to drop $100 on dinner for a family of 4. However $40 with drinks isn't hard to find. Tips are not expected and 10% is sometimes included.

At least half of normal products like housewares are 1/3 to 2/3rds the prices we're used to. While electronics such as TV's and cell phones are about the same price.

Transportation services such as rental cars and local flights are cheaper.

Hotels are similarly priced to US, maybe slightly cheaper. There's generally not much if anything available for less than $100/night during high season unless maybe hostels/airbnbs.

Services are often about 1/2 the price or so. We got a couple of boys/mens haircuts at the barber nextdoor for 10 bucks. Nail salons can be 10-15 for a manicure.

There are "Bazaar China" stores that sell all manner of items for rock bottom prices: something akin to a dollar store with more options.

Housing: Because we're in a high density housing area, there are very few houses available. But 1200sqft+ houses with pools outside the urban areas are about the same costs as 2 bedroom apartments. Long term rent for a 2 bed, 2 bath 900 sqft place with a decent terrace and pool averages about 1100 per month. While the sales cost of the place would be around 270k, depending.

Aside from Madrid and Barcelona (I've heard), Spain is a very affordable place to live. And one main reason for that is the average annual income in the US is about 70k while in Spain it's about 35k (depending on where you get your numbers).

10. How has your diet changed? Do you drink the water?

--The water is safe to drink but it's "hard" water with a lot of calcium. After realizing we went through over 2 gallons of bottled drinking water every 24 hours, we switched to a pitcher filter which has helped.

The area is flooded with seafood including whole fried or grilled fish, any manner of squid, cuttlefish and octopus, and all sorts of shrimp you've never seen so many. It's popular to eat the entire fish, or to pick the whole fish off the bones on your plate.

They're also infatuated with pig legs. So So many pig legs hanging everywhere. Sliced pig leg with cheese or sandwiches or on pizza. It's an obsession.

We eat more produce, cheese and wine (but don't get carried away, this isn't France), nutella, chocolate, gelato, nuts, pastries. We eat less mexican obviously. Corn tortillas aren't a thing here. Generally we eat about the same, maybe slightly healthier. Olives and olive oil are the staple here. Most spanish people seem to consume several olives and maybe a quarter cup of oil a day. Stores have entire isles dedicated to olive oil and much of it is sold in quantities over a gallon.

11. What has been surprising or different so far?

--Our second day here we went down to the beach and soon realized we were surrounded by many many men. Surprise! We live in the very gay part of town. Definitely a "Hallelujah, it's raining men!" situation. Torremolinos is probably the biggest gay tourist destination in Spain and a candidate for Europride 2027.

The Daily Spanish Schedule. We kinda already knew about this but it's been interesting to experience. Almost everyone works from about 9-2, and 4-7 give or take. Most business is closed for 2-3 hours in the afternoon. Some places like the post office just shut down at 230. That's because eating and lounging around and talking a mile a minute is very popular here. Like a national daily pastime.

First breakfast is often light at 7-9am. Second breakfast may be more substantial from about 9-11. That's because lunch isn't until between 1-4 depending on your situation. And this often includes sitting around a while. There is no rush. Siesta. With a beer. And dinner is anywhere from 7-11pm, with nightlfe usually getting started around 11.

Eating out seems to be normal (if you walk two blocks you may pass 10 restaurants and they are often full) and most eateries are closed from 11-1 and 4-7. Many restaurants don't open until 8. Trying to get food at noon or 6pm is nearly impossible. It's like a ghost town. Also, Sunday? almost everything is closed. Except for restaurants. LIterally EVERYONE goes out to eat on Sunday afternoon or evening. Catholicism has been big here for a while.

12. What's the deal with the biday?

--After living in Japan we learned to appreciate the Japanese toilets, the Japanese biday, and how everything stays in one place. Here in Europe as you may know, there is a separate "toilet" for washing the nethers. We're not into that. This video explains it well. After hearing "you can use your hand" and "there's a towel", there's really no reason for us to try it. Thanks but no thanks, Europe.

https://youtu.be/nt_XsRB6nfo

13. Do you have health insurance?

--Yes. Tourists, even if we had a year long visa, are not automatically covered under government health insurance. We purchased private health insurance through Sanitas for about $2400 for 12 months for our family of 4. This is also a requirement when applying for a visa. Somehow they make money on covering 4 people at $200 per month. Meanwhile, similar coverage in Seattle is 10 times that at $2000 per month. And what's more, the co-pays and 20% or so that we're responsible for in the states is close to the full cost of the same meds/treatment here.

14. What's the weather and topography like?

--Here on the Costa del Sol it is very much like southern California. The dry hills and mountains come down close to the shore. Generally an arid region with scatterings of cactus but can be humid with onshore sea air/mist/fog. The water is also a similar temperature however because it is not the open ocean there are usually not waves big enough for surfing, though wind/kite surfing are popular. September was usually in the lower 80's and October in the mid to upper 70s and 60s at night.

It has sprinkled a couple of times but generally sunny everyday with infrequent cloud cover.

Costa del Sol: Coast of Sun. Yet, there are no solar panels. Electricity is expensive here, and with the war in Ukriane there is a $30 monthly surcharge for extra energy shipping costs. Yet, there are no solar panels. Anywhere. Windfarms? check. Solar panels? No.