Retirement, thinking ahead

[Alcalaina]

Originally Posted by tobyo

well, it's very well done and I'm not done perusing it yet, there is so much there

ah....as much as I enjoyed the slide show of Alcalá, it's much too small of a town for me. but the thought is nice. perhaps we could meet halfway between Alcalá and Málaga and all make music together So, you're keeping busy in retirement. What's a typical week like for you? If you don't mind sharing that is.

Jimenato's bar is halfway between Alcalá and Málaga city and they are musicians too, so you never know! The problem is that although it´s less than 20 km away as the vulture flies, it´s an hour and a half by road. Someone put a load of mountains in the way.

My typical day:
Get up when the sun comes into the bedroom window (about 9 am at the moment).

Have breakfast, read newspapers online, check email, Facebook and Expat Forum - that can take between one and two hours.

Do a bit of housework, walk up to the village square, buy fresh produce and have a cafe con leche in the bar.

Have a light lunch then do an hour's Spanish (audio exercises at the moment but I also do a lot of translating) then sit on the terrace and read till the sun goes behind the cliff (4 pm in midwinter).

Half an hour on the rowing machine in a pathetic attempt to keep fit.

Do some writing, painting or drawing until dinner - OH and I take turns to cook. Check emails etc again.

From about 9 pm we watch downloaded movies or Spanish TV (especially if Barcelona is playing). We go out a couple of times a week and meet friends for a beer or two. Bedtime is around 1 am.

Don't know where the time goes really!

[tobyo]

you made my hubby smile I guess we'll see huh?

and your day sounds divine......sounds almost exactly like I picture it for myself. thanks for sharing!

[thrax]

I took early retirement in UK as my OH is/was a very successful financial manager and then we had a baby and decided we couldn't bring him up in an increasingly violent British society with crumbling moral standards (that's the serious bit over with) so here is our typical week (now that I have been bundled unceremoniously out of retirement):
Monday wake up anywhere between 6 and 8 depending on the little one, OH cleans her parents 3 bathrooms in the morning and I do lesson prep for the afternoon lessons. Afternoon I give English lessons to groups of 10 yr olds and 7 yr olds. Armed with freshly earned lucre I descend on the shops to get some fresh produce and milk (I always have to buy milk, thinking of buying a cow) and go home. The boy has his evening meal and I cook ours (am a trained chef so have no excuse). The boy has stories which we take in turn to read to him and then it's bed for him and we have time for ourselves with a meal, some TV (usually a downloaded movie), some wine and then bed.
Tuesday, OH goes to a mother and toddler group for the morning where the boy has the opportunity to bite his peers and I have the same as Monday but today I teach 17 yr olds who are far more rewarding as they seem to want to learn English, I buy some milk and maybe a week's supply of catfood and go home where Monday's evening replicates itself, although I endevour to cook something different.
Wednesday, lessons for 10 yr olds today and some adults (and today is the day when it is obvious that 10 yr olds are sponges and adults are like reinforced steel doors. I buy some milk and fresh things and then go home for a repeat performance, although we try to eat healthily (ie salad stuff) on this day, we rarely succeed.
Thursday, OH off to another mother and toddler group and I teach a mix of teens and young kids but today I don't get home untilo after the boy is in bed and OH prepares the meal. Thius is my best day so far as I am not cooking after teaching. I get to watch some crap TV while she is cooking and then we eat, talk, sup some wine and watch more crap TV. And so to bed.
Friday has become a mightily confusing day for my putrified brain. When I worked full time it was Monday to Friday. Now I work part-time but Monday to Thursday, so my brain refuses to accept that today is Friday and willo remain convinced it is Saturday until Sunday. I spend the day doing lesson prep for next week and OH visits friends (sometimes they all come here) who also hav eyoung children. OH and the boy come home and I spend some time with the boy playing football (this is surely why men want boys??? (oh no, I remember, it's for Scalextirics) - although my two girls were pretty good at football too) then we endeavour to eat our meal with him and we do the other stuff, baths and stories, bed and TV.
Saturday is shopping day and family day so we spend most if not all of the day together. Maybe the beach (well usually the beach even now) which the boy adores, or a trip to Malaga and Plaza Mayor so he can watch the planes flying low overhead.
Sunday we will be seeing parents in a social capacity, either mine or the outlaws. I suddenly realise it isn't Monday so I can relax. Always a movie Sunday night, early bed to do some catchup reading and thats the week done.

My God what a boring post.

[tobyo]

not boring at all!! but I've only just gotten to read only part of your post (keep getting interrupted...). your life sounds very interesting too. you are giving me ideas and I so appreciate that!! thanks so much thrax.

[Joppa]

tobyo

It's something you touched on in earlier threads you have started or contributed to, but you do need to look at the visa situation for Americans wanting to retire to Spain. OK, the Bill Gates of this world won't have much of a problem getting a suitable visa to live in Spain, but the rest of us don't have fat bank accounts to draw on. As it has been said before, most of the regulars here are from UK or other EU countries, or are married to one, and they have freedom to live, work and retire just about anywhere in Europe, with a minimum of red tape. So for them, even if they don't have millions stashed away in their bank accounts, they can live a frugal yet comfortable life relying on pensions and modest investment, supplemented by some casual work. This option isn't open to you, as it's most unlikely you get a long-stay visa without a 'comfortable' and 'adequate' unearned income. How much that is, or will be when you come to retire, is unspecified and depends on personal factors, but it's very likely to be a lot higher than what a 'frugal' couple live on. And you cannot supplement your income by working, even online for a business based outside Spain - all counts as working and is illegal. I don't know what your projected financial resources will be in 10 years' time, but a normal Social Security pension income alone is unlikely to be enough. Alternative is to have plenty of savings - comfortable six-figure sum - which can generate income and you can draw out the capital where needed. When selling your real estate and other holdings in US, you may generate enough savings.

Non-EU citizens get very frustrated at what they see as artificially high barriers erected against their desire to relocate, but EU states claim that they have enough problems supporting their citizens and other legal residents in these tough times and don't want to add to the number of people who are 'just managing' - i.e. without substantial disposable income to benefit the host country in terms of job creation and substantial tax take. So they can, and do set, quite high financial requirements to weed out all but the affluent.

There are relatively few retired US expats in Spain, and the main reason for it is the difficulty of getting a visa. There are some who alternate between US and Spain every three months - the maximum they are allowed to stay without a visa.

So I respectfully suggest you make a thorough investigation of visa requirements for Spain and your possible future financial resources (boring and tedious it may be), as well as thinking about your lifestyle choices.

[thrax]

Originally Posted by tobyo

not boring at all!! but I've only just gotten to read only part of your post (keep getting interrupted...). your life sounds very interesting too. you are giving me ideas and I so appreciate that!! thanks so much thrax.

You are very welcome

[tobyo]

Originally Posted by Joppa

So I respectfully suggest you make a thorough investigation of visa requirements for Spain and your possible future financial resources (boring and tedious it may be), as well as thinking about your lifestyle choices.

I do believe your comment was well-intentioned. however, I was taken quite aback as well by your reply. How do you know I'm not making a thorough investigation of visa requirements?? Because of my lack of questions of the same? It appears that you assume that I'm not doing this. If I'm wrong, I will apologize in advance. What I was looking for was what retirees do with their time but I guess I could find another retirement forum to ask this, one where I don't feel very small reading responses like this. and you didn't respond to my query at all.

Six figures? Would you care to extrapolate on that number? that could be anywhere between $100,000 and $999,999 couldn't it? So far, I have not found anything that tells me what that threshold might be when I get to the point of applying for this Visa. You're right, we're not all Bill Gates but someone who has worked hard her entire life and has built up savings and will get social security income (as long as it's still available when I retire) surely just MIGHT have a chance to live in a country that she fell in love with as a student many moons ago? If not, what's the point of trying?

Thanks to all of you that took the time to give me food for thought. and I just noticed that this is a forum for people already living in Spain, not me who just wants to. So, I guess I really don't belong here anyway. I do appreciate the input I have gotten from many of you. I'll go back to lurking now.

[Joppa]

Please, please don't misinterpret my intentions. My contribution was meant to help you - and others who are thinking along the same lines - to take into account factors that can determine whether your dream can become reality or will likely to stay as a dream. It's meant as a practical contribution. If you are already doing it, fine. If you've found my comment. offensive, I can only apologise.

As for six-figure sum, it's meant as an example but from what I know of how immigration people think these days, I don't think it's entirely unreasonable assumption. In UK, there are no longer retirement visas as such and intending migrants without work visa are expected to have at least £200,000 ($320,000) in cash savings plus steady pension and investment income at least equal to natioanl average salary of £26,000 ($41,000) a year, and they are expected to invest sizeable sum into UK economy. While Spain may have differenty criteria, the thinking behind can't be a million miles apart..

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by tobyo

I do believe your comment was well-intentioned. however, I was taken quite aback as well by your reply. How do you know I'm not making a thorough investigation of visa requirements?? Because of my lack of questions of the same? It appears that you assume that I'm not doing this. If I'm wrong, I will apologize in advance. What I was looking for was what retirees do with their time but I guess I could find another retirement forum to ask this, one where I don't feel very small reading responses like this. and you didn't respond to my query at all.

Six figures? Would you care to extrapolate on that number? that could be anywhere between $100,000 and $999,999 couldn't it? So far, I have not found anything that tells me what that threshold might be when I get to the point of applying for this Visa. You're right, we're not all Bill Gates but someone who has worked hard her entire life and has built up savings and will get social security income (as long as it's still available when I retire) surely just MIGHT have a chance to live in a country that she fell in love with as a student many moons ago? If not, what's the point of trying?

Thanks to all of you that took the time to give me food for thought. and I just noticed that this is a forum for people already living in Spain, not me who just wants to. So, I guess I really don't belong here anyway. I do appreciate the input I have gotten from many of you. I'll go back to lurking now.

I think this is partly the problem - no-one seems to know what the actual figure is or indeed will be by the time you apply - but from what we have heard it seems to vary depending upon who is processing the application (as so much seems to is Spain) - and you can bet it won't be 'frugal'. The only thing I have ever seen was on another forum and that said for a retirement visa you need to show proof of pension or state income plus proof of at least another 10,000 euros income a year + I think another 1500 a year for each dependent - and that's over & above the pension - so not a 'frugal' amount

and of course you belong here - it's for people wanting to move here too - many of us came for advice before we moved & stuck around to pass on our help to people like you

please stick around & please keep posting - let us know what you find out about requirements - if we had more US citizens here who had been through the resident visa process, then we'd be able to offer more concrete advice to future posters

besides - you're part of the family now

[Jaxx]

Hi there,

We retired to Spain in January, it was the best thing we have ever done!
We have met some wonderful people and now have a large circle of friends with whom we have a fantastic social life.

We meet for lunch either in restaurants or each others homes,we have coffee mornings, beach get togethers and also fantastic house parties.

We have been busy sorting out our villa and also the garden( 6 acres) so there is always something to do.

Friends in the UK ask us if we get bored! no way, there is always something to do and with the better weather and such a large country to explore so i don't think that will ever happen!

Have not even had time to read a book since we arrived here!