Any Retired US Military?

[mightymo]

Being retired military, typically I would have access to a US military base and the security of healthcare, shopping, work, etc. that it provides. However, from what I understand, Spain is not willing to allow those securities to be provided to retirees like myself.

I believe about 6 years ago change was close to being approved that would grant retirees increased base privileges and the associated security; anyone know if any changes ever occurred in that area, and if there were what actual benefits came of it??

To have those securities we'd have to live close to a military facility and as far as I know the Navy base at Rota is the only option. That means that by necessity my wife and I would have to live in the Cadiz area near to Rota, while our hearts would prefer to be near Malaga / Torrox.

Is there anyone that can tell me whether there are any real benefits for a military retiree to chose to be anywhere near a military base in Spain? My first thoughts are that there really aren't any and that it should not be a deciding factor on where to settle down.

[Alcalaina]

Originally Posted by mightymo

Being retired military, typically I would have access to a US military base and the security of healthcare, shopping, work, etc. that it provides. However, from what I understand, Spain is not willing to allow those securities to be provided to retirees like myself.

I believe about 6 years ago change was close to being approved that would grant retirees increased base privileges and the associated security; anyone know if any changes ever occurred in that area, and if there were what actual benefits came of it??

To have those securities we'd have to live close to a military facility and as far as I know the Navy base at Rota is the only option. That means that by necessity my wife and I would have to live in the Cadiz area near to Rota, while our hearts would prefer to be near Malaga / Torrox.

Is there anyone that can tell me whether there are any real benefits for a military retiree to chose to be anywhere near a military base in Spain? My first thoughts are that there really aren't any and that it should not be a deciding factor on where to settle down.

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I live in Cadiz province and it is beautiful, with the Costa de la Luz, the Sierras and some lovely old cities, so being near Rota wouldn't be such a bad thing IMO!

"Spain is not willing to allow those securities to be provided to retirees like myself." Spain being part of the European Union offers welfare and healthcare facilities to retired EU citizens, but not otherwise, regardless of what your former career was. You would need private health insurance but the medical facilities and qualified staff here are as good as anywhere in Europe, if not better.

It would be helpful to know what is it that attracts you to Spain as a place to retire to, and what else are you are worried about missing out on by not being near a US base?

[mightymo]

Originally Posted by Alcalaina

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I live in Cadiz province and it is beautiful, with the Costa de la Luz, the Sierras and some lovely old cities, so being near Rota wouldn't be such a bad thing IMO!

"Spain is not willing to allow those securities to be provided to retirees like myself." Spain being part of the European Union offers welfare and healthcare facilities to retired EU citizens, but not otherwise, regardless of what your former career was. You would need private health insurance but the medical facilities and qualified staff here are as good as anywhere in Europe, if not better.

It would be helpful to know what is it that attracts you to Spain as a place to retire to, and what else are you are worried about missing out on by not being near a US base?

Thanks for the welcome, and the response Alcalaina

I guess I should clarify my statement. US military retirees are provided benefits (free healthcare, cheaper food and household items, cheaper fuel, etc) on-base by the US government for our years of service. When outside the country, those benefits are provided upon agreement with the host nation (Status of Forces Agreement). Unlike Germany and the UK, Spain does not allow us to use those benefits while living in Spain, at least that's what I believe. I was hoping someone "in the know" could clarify what is, and is not available. Those benefits are normally a valuable commodity and are worth pursuing if available.

As far as why we would like to retire in Spain, my wife is from Zaragoza up north. Understandably, after we get older she wants to return to her home country to be with family. I lived many years in Britain and Germany with the military and look forward to being able to return to Europe.

We plan to travel to the south around May 2011 to begin looking for a potential place to live. Although nothing is ruled out at this time, we tend to favor the Cadiz area for the base, but would prefer the Malaga / Torrox area for the life and what we believe to be an abundance of diversity from many Northern European Expats living in the area.

Our first thought is to travel between the two locations and see what appeals to us along the way. Then, once a preference list has been established, begin at the top to see what is available in the way of housing and the costs. I assume that there is probably a fairly large variance in the cost of living between communities based on how popular they are even though they are all within a relatively close distance, at least by American standards.

But my first concern is what the base provides, because as I said earlier, the benefits are worth a lot and will have a major impact on what goes towards the top of our preference list.

As a last minute thought, my wife became an American citizen 4 years ago. Does anyone know how that will affect her ability to purchase a home in Spain and other legal ramifications? It's our understanding that Spain looks at Spanish citizens as always being Spanish citizens no matter what passport you carry, unlike we yanks who do not respect dual citizenship.

[gus-lopez]

Originally Posted by mightymo

Thanks for the welcome, and the response Alcalaina

I guess I should clarify my statement. US military retirees are provided benefits (free healthcare, cheaper food and household items, cheaper fuel, etc) on-base by the US government for our years of service. When outside the country, those benefits are provided upon agreement with the host nation (Status of Forces Agreement). Unlike Germany and the UK, Spain does not allow us to use those benefits while living in Spain, at least that's what I believe. I was hoping someone "in the know" could clarify what is, and is not available. Those benefits are normally a valuable commodity and are worth pursuing if available.

As far as why we would like to retire in Spain, my wife is from Zaragoza up north. Understandably, after we get older she wants to return to her home country to be with family. I lived many years in Britain and Germany with the military and look forward to being able to return to Europe.

We plan to travel to the south around May 2011 to begin looking for a potential place to live. Although nothing is ruled out at this time, we tend to favor the Cadiz area for the base, but would prefer the Malaga / Torrox area for the life and what we believe to be an abundance of diversity from many Northern European Expats living in the area.

Our first thought is to travel between the two locations and see what appeals to us along the way. Then, once a preference list has been established, begin at the top to see what is available in the way of housing and the costs. I assume that there is probably a fairly large variance in the cost of living between communities based on how popular they are even though they are all within a relatively close distance, at least by American standards.

But my first concern is what the base provides, because as I said earlier, the benefits are worth a lot and will have a major impact on what goes towards the top of our preference list.

As a last minute thought, my wife became an American citizen 4 years ago. Does anyone know how that will affect her ability to purchase a home in Spain and other legal ramifications? It's our understanding that Spain looks at Spanish citizens as always being Spanish citizens no matter what passport you carry, unlike we yanks who do not respect dual citizenship.

Spain does not respect /allow dual citizenship either, but my understanding is that if she returns here & renews her national identity card, if necessary, she 'll be spanish,a spaniard & nothing but a spaniard & entitled to a passport & all the facilities open to EC citizens including healthcare. That means that you,as her spouse, will be eligible as well. The fact that she's taken up American citizenship is probably not even known here !

Arnold shwarzenegger still retains his Austrian citizenship even though he's ow an American. Multiple citizenship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I don't think your wife will have any sort of problem reverting to spanish . Hope this helps.

Just a question, are they closing down over there as the amount of posts today from Americans wanting to get out is quite unusual ?

[mightymo]

Originally Posted by gus-lopez

Spain does not respect /allow dual citizenship either, but my understanding is that if she returns here & renews her national identity card, if necessary, she 'll be spanish,a spaniard & nothing but a spaniard & entitled to a passport & all the facilities open to EC citizens including healthcare. That means that you,as her spouse, will be eligible as well. The fact that she's taken up American citizenship is probably not even known here !

Arnold shwarzenegger still retains his Austrian citizenship even though he's ow an American. I don't think your wife will have any sort of problem reverting to spanish . Hope this helps.

Just a question, are they closing down over there as the amount of posts today from Americans wanting to get out is quite unusual ?

Ya, sometimes I think we started "closing down" years ago but I missed the notice!


As far as the citizenship deal, thanks for the info! I didn't know the particulars, but I suspected what you said was the case. Most European countries aren't so hard headed about citizenship as the US is.

I suppose that has both its good and bad points, but generally speaking it seems to me that if you were born someplace and lived there until you were 23 you really shouldn't have any issues hanging onto, or regaining your citizenship.

[Alcalaina]

Originally Posted by mightymo

We plan to travel to the south around May 2011 to begin looking for a potential place to live. Although nothing is ruled out at this time, we tend to favor the Cadiz area for the base, but would prefer the Malaga / Torrox area for the life and what we believe to be an abundance of diversity from many Northern European Expats living in the area.

Our first thought is to travel between the two locations and see what appeals to us along the way. Then, once a preference list has been established, begin at the top to see what is available in the way of housing and the costs. I assume that there is probably a fairly large variance in the cost of living between communities based on how popular they are even though they are all within a relatively close distance, at least by American standards.

Yes, I can see now why you would want to take advantage of these benefits.

There are fewer northern Europeans in Cadiz province than in Malaga but as I said previously, it does have a lot going for it, and property prices are lower. As you say, the best thing is to come and have a look for yourselves.