[Guest]

Hello,

We are a couple (Claire 30 from UK, Danny 36 from Ireland) moving to Tordera. I have a job based in Tordera that I start in June and Danny will look for work once we start iving there.

We want to live in and around the area of Tordera so are also considering Palafolls and Santa Susanna.

We are looking primarily for advise on where to find long term lets with a private landlord that have a minimum of 3 bedrooms,2 bathroom, terrace and ideally a swimming pool.

Can anybody tell us where to look for private lets as we would like to remove the agency fee from our relocation process. Alternatively if anybody can recommend a trustworthy letting agency that would also be good.

We have to this point been looking on fotocasa, idealista, segundamanos and alquiler.

We have a hundred different questions we would like to ask but finding somewhere to live is the most important.

We only found out 3 days ago that we are moving and only have 5 weeks to achieve this.

So it's all a tad hectic at the moment.

All advice will be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

Claire and Danny

 

[AnnaH]

Hi Clair, I'm a bit curious how everything worked out with your long term lets? I'm considering moving to Todera as well and it would be great if you could give me some valuable advice. I'm 29 and I will work in Todera. Thanks in advance. BR, Anna

 

[Guest]

Hi Clair, I'm a bit curious how everything worked out with your long term lets? I'm considering moving to Todera as well and it would be great if you could give me some valuable advice. I'm 29 and I will work in Todera. Thanks in advance. BR, Anna

I would be more than happy to help you in any way I can.

Can you be specific about what advice you need ?

 

[AnnaH]

I'm going on my third and final interview in a couple of weeks. If everything works smoothly and the salary range is acceptable from my end I will start working in January. I would love to know if you like the city and where the best living location is (from your point of view). My other half lives in Marbella so I just need a smaller flat to start with. Did you consider to live in Barcelona at any point? I'm a bit worried that Tordera is too small. Thanks

 

[Guest]

I'm going on my third and final interview in a couple of weeks. If everything works smoothly and the salary range is acceptable from my end I will start working in January. I would love to know if you like the city and where the best living location is (from your point of view). My other half lives in Marbella so I just need a smaller flat to start with. Did you consider to live in Barcelona at any point? I'm a bit worried that Tordera is too small. Thanks

Tordera is not the best place to live. It is a tiny town with not much going on. We ended up living in Palafolls but we find it too small and it has too many families with young children.

We are currently moving to Blanes, which is closer to the coast and still a very short commute to work. Blanes is a coastal town and as such it does have it's tourist periods. Maybe from early June to late September is tourist season. It has an old town (where the locals live) and a new town (where the tourists stay). We are moving to the old town.

We did think about living in Barcelona city centre but the commute is too much. It will add an extra 2-3 hours to your day which is just too much. We would rather sacrifice Barcelona city centre for an extra 3 hours a day to ourselves.

So until you decide where to live long term, we would advise Blanes rather than Tordera or Palafolls. If after 6 months you don't like it then you can always go for Barcelona city centre. If you MUST have something going on every night then Barcelona city centre is the place to be. But if you can chill out and kick back in local bars and cafes then Blanes would be the option.

Either way, I would be happy to help you more (if i can) as and when you decide what to do.

Maybe personal email is the way forward as this is quite a public space to be chatting on. I'm not sure if we can share email address's on this forum though.

 

[AnnaH]

I've been looking at Blanes as well. How far is it from Blanes to Tordera approximately? Do you need a car or is it easy to go by bus? I've been working in pretty big cities earlier so I'm a bit concerned about feeling restless in a tiny town. Anyhow, I travel alot in my job so maybe it could be nice to relax a bit... Ehm. As you also mentioned, I rather live near work than Barcelona centre. But to be honest I thought it was roughly 45 minutes between the cities?

How did you find your place in Blanes? I'm just scrolling different web sites...

I just became a member of this forum but isn't there any possibility to send private messages?

I'm really greatful for your inputs by they way... Apparently there aren't that many who knows much about Tordera.

 

[Guest]

I've been looking at Blanes as well. How far is it from Blanes to Tordera approximately? Do you need a car or is it easy to go by bus? I've been working in pretty big cities earlier so I'm a bit concerned about feeling restless in a tiny town. Anyhow, I travel alot in my job so maybe it could be nice to relax a bit... Ehm. As you also mentioned, I rather live near work than Barcelona centre. But to be honest I thought it was roughly 45 minutes between the cities?

How did you find your place in Blanes? I'm just scrolling different web sites...

I just became a member of this forum but isn't there any possibility to send private messages?

I'm really greatful for your inputs by they way... Apparently there aren't that many who knows much about Tordera.

/SNIP/

I'd rather not share any of my personal details on a public forum .

 

[xabiaxica]

/SNIP/

I'd rather not share any of my personal details on a public forum .

in that case I've snipped your e-mail address to save you getting mercilessly spammed

it's against forum rules, anyway


only 5 good posts needed to activate the PM facility - she's nearly there......

 

[Guest]

in that case I've snipped your e-mail address to save you getting mercilessly spammed

it's against forum rules, anyway


only 5 good posts needed to activate the PM facility - she's nearly there......

Ha ha. Nice one. I wasn't sure if we could share emails.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I've been looking at Blanes as well. How far is it from Blanes to Tordera approximately? Do you need a car or is it easy to go by bus? I've been working in pretty big cities earlier so I'm a bit concerned about feeling restless in a tiny town. Anyhow, I travel alot in my job so maybe it could be nice to relax a bit... Ehm. As you also mentioned, I rather live near work than Barcelona centre. But to be honest I thought it was roughly 45 minutes between the cities?

How did you find your place in Blanes? I'm just scrolling different web sites...

I just became a member of this forum but isn't there any possibility to send private messages?

I'm really greatful for your inputs by they way... Apparently there aren't that many who knows much about Tordera.

It seems we can send private messages once you have posted 5 or more times.

Any advice I give you is from my experience so don't take it as gospel. For example, I would only live here if I had the use of a car. The public transport is not for me but depending on where you are working and what time you start then you might find a bus route that suits.

It's about 6 miles from Blanes to Tordera. Blanes is a good seized town but it's no city. It's (blanes) a nice transition from city to town rather than Palafolls or Tordera would be.

The best advice I can give you is to decide where you want to live. This in my experience is the biggest problem to solve. Once you have made that decision then everything else can fall into place. Again, we made the decision to live in Palafolls but are now moving to Blanes after only 6 months. We have sussed that it's big enough for us (for now anyway) and we can always move again in the future if we want. But nail down where you want to live first and then arrange everything from there. This is the soundest advice I can give you.

Re travel time to and from Barcelona - It really depends where you live in Barcelona. For example, many (nearly all) of my colleagues live in Barcelona and travel to Tordera daily. The bus journey itself is about 50-60 minutes one way but it can take some of them 20-30 minutes to get to the bus that leaves Barcelona to Tordera. That is why I say it's between 2-3 hours total travel each day.

But if you are driving from Barcelona then maybe allowing 1 hour each way is reasonable but you can never be sure with rush hour traffic.

These are the best sites for finding accommodation but I would advise you to only look for private lets. The agencies here will charge you a months rent as a fee and they provide NO customer service at all. Money down the drain. We used an agent when we moved here but got our new place on our own. I'd be happy to help you if I can to interact with private owners.

idealista.com — casas y pisos, alquiler y venta. anuncios gratis

Pisos en alquiler en España, Madrid y Barcelona - Enalquiler.com

http://www.segundamano.es/

yaencontre.com: pisos Madrid, pisos Barcelona, pisos alquiler, casas de compra, venta, alquiler y obra nueva

fotocasa.es - venta pisos, alquiler pisos, pisos madrid, pisos barcelona, pisos valencia

Two more posts and you can send me a private message.

Happy hunting !!

 

[Lisa&Jenk]

Hi everyone, myself and my partner might be moving to Tordera. I've just been reading through your posts, which have been the most useful resources so far in my research of the area! So thanks for that!

Was just wondering how you have all been getting on so far out there (the people that have already moved out there I mean) - and also, if you could give me a little idea on living costs, things to do, etc.

We're a couple in our mid-to-late-20's, but we're not looking for a place filled with bars/clubs/pubs. Also, Im trying to figure out what a decent wage is!

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance. Jenk

 

[Megsmum]

Hi everyone, myself and my partner might be moving to Tordera. I've just been reading through your posts, which have been the most useful resources so far in my research of the area! So thanks for that!

Was just wondering how you have all been getting on so far out there (the people that have already moved out there I mean) - and also, if you could give me a little idea on living costs, things to do, etc.

We're a couple in our mid-to-late-20's, but we're not looking for a place filled with bars/clubs/pubs. Also, Im trying to figure out what a decent wage is!

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance. Jenk

Hi
welcome

i would suggest that you start your own thread to ensure the best responses as this particular thread seems quite old.
Moving on

Living Costs

How longs a bit of string. We are moving next year and have based living costs in Spain as they are here. I suspect some things will be cheaper but you cannot know that until you are actually there. Others may feel different, but some on here may need 20K to live on some others need 13K or even less

Decent wage

Well that depends on your job, presumably you have a job to come to.. although I am not yet in Spain.. there is high unemployment in Spain particularly in your age group. Do you speak spanish...

As for the area I have not got a clue but i am sure others will.

Best wishes
Cambio

 

[xabiaxica]

Hi
welcome

i would suggest that you start your own thread to ensure the best responses as this particular thread seems quite old.
Moving on

Living Costs

How longs a bit of string. We are moving next year and have based living costs in Spain as they are here. I suspect some things will be cheaper but you cannot know that until you are actually there. Others may feel different, but some on here may need 20K to live on some others need 13K or even less

Decent wage

Well that depends on your job, presumably you have a job to come to.. although I am not yet in Spain.. there is high unemployment in Spain particularly in your age group. Do you speak spanish...

As for the area I have not got a clue but i am sure others will.

Best wishes
Cambio

while a new thread might seem like a plan, often when someone posts on an old thread, the original posters on that thread gets an e-mail alert (if that's how they have their settings) & come back & post

Danny& Claire are still around, so maybe they'll chip in

yes, Lisa&Jenk - cambio makes good points

cost of living is something hotly discussed here - & some of us (me with 2 teenagers living in an expensive area) reckon it's not much different to the UK, whereas others will say it's considerably cheaper - it really does depend on what you want out of life too

as a rule of thumb though, if you can't live on it in the UK, you won't be much better off here

since you are trying to work out what a decent wage is - are you applying for jobs or do you already have a job offer?

 

[Megsmum]

while a new thread might seem like a plan, often when someone posts on an old thread, the original posters on that thread gets an e-mail alert (if that's how they have their settings) & come back & post

Danny& Claire are still around, so maybe they'll chip in

yes, Lisa&Jenk - cambio makes good points

cost of living is something hotly discussed here - & some of us (me with 2 teenagers living in an expensive area) reckon it's not much different to the UK, whereas others will say it's considerably cheaper - it really does depend on what you want out of life too

as a rule of thumb though, if you can't live on it in the UK, you won't be much better off here

since you are trying to work out what a decent wage is - are you applying for jobs or do you already have a job offer?

xabiachica - sorry :sorry::sorry:

I stand corrected...and agree with all the above

 

[jojo]

Hi everyone, myself and my partner might be moving to Tordera. I've just been reading through your posts, which have been the most useful resources so far in my research of the area! So thanks for that!

Was just wondering how you have all been getting on so far out there (the people that have already moved out there I mean) - and also, if you could give me a little idea on living costs, things to do, etc.

We're a couple in our mid-to-late-20's, but we're not looking for a place filled with bars/clubs/pubs. Also, Im trying to figure out what a decent wage is!

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance. Jenk

Nows not a good time. Spain and its people are struggling
if you have steady work and security where you are now, then you should hang on to it. Maybe do some fact finding visits and get a feel for the cost of living, the area, jobs etc...

Jo xxx

 

[jojo]

Hi
welcome

i would suggest that you start your own thread to ensure the best responses as this particular thread seems quite old.
Moving on

Living Costs

How longs a bit of string. We are moving next year and have based living costs in Spain as they are here. I suspect some things will be cheaper but you cannot know that until you are actually there. Others may feel different, but some on here may need 20K to live on some others need 13K or even less

Decent wage

Well that depends on your job, presumably you have a job to come to.. although I am not yet in Spain.. there is high unemployment in Spain particularly in your age group. Do you speak spanish...

As for the area I have not got a clue but i am sure others will.

Best wishes
Cambio

Good points. Barcelona is an expensive area, you will also need to have contracted employment/proof of income and healthcare before you can become a resident

Jo xxx

 

[Lisa&Jenk]

Hi Everyone!

Good points. Barcelona is an expensive area, you will also need to have contracted employment/proof of income and healthcare before you can become a resident

Jo xxx

Hello everyone! Thanks for all of your replies! My partner has an interview for a position out there with a starting salary of €31,000. I've done a few spanish tax calculators online that seem to suggest that after tax deductions we will be left with around €2000 per month (we have no kids or other dependants).

Neither of us speak Spanish and my partner's potential job is OK with that as long as begin learning when we arrive. I'm a personal trainer, so I will definitely need to learn the lingo. I may look into a Teaching English as a Foreign Language course.

In terms of living costs - we would definitely rather pay out more than be in a cramped environment. Houses seem quite difficult to find (in our budget) so we're hoping spanish apartment are well soundproofed! I know I sound like a miserable old man but we've just had bad experiences in apartment blocks.

Can you guys think of anything I should really be aware of when trying to plan the big move?

Many thanks!

 

[Lisa&Jenk]

Hi!

I wasn't sure if everyone would receive a notification to my last post as I replied to one person's reply, so here it is in the main thread (I hope).

Hello everyone! Thanks for all of your replies! My partner has an interview for a position out there with a starting salary of €31,000. I've done a few spanish tax calculators online that seem to suggest that after tax deductions we will be left with around €2000 per month (we have no kids or other dependants).

Neither of us speak Spanish and my partner's potential job is OK with that as long as begin learning when we arrive. I'm a personal trainer, so I will definitely need to learn the lingo. I may look into a Teaching English as a Foreign Language course.

In terms of living costs - we would definitely rather pay out more than be in a cramped environment. Houses seem quite difficult to find (in our budget) so we're hoping spanish apartment are well soundproofed! I know I sound like a miserable old man but we've just had bad experiences in apartment blocks.

Can you guys think of anything I should really be aware of when trying to plan the big move?

Many thanks!

 

[Guest]

Hi everyone, myself and my partner might be moving to Tordera. I've just been reading through your posts, which have been the most useful resources so far in my research of the area! So thanks for that!

Was just wondering how you have all been getting on so far out there (the people that have already moved out there I mean) - and also, if you could give me a little idea on living costs, things to do, etc.

We're a couple in our mid-to-late-20's, but we're not looking for a place filled with bars/clubs/pubs. Also, Im trying to figure out what a decent wage is!

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks in advance. Jenk

Howdy,

Tordera is a very small and quite remote town. Not a lot going on AT ALL. Do you HAVE to move there or are surrounding areas an option ?

Cost of living varies depending on your lifestyle. Obvious I know. So to give you an idea.....

2 bed flat is €400-€550. 3 bed house €750-€1,000.

Monthly costs like electricity, gas, water, waste disposal and so on is about €100-€150.

Internet €30-€40 per month.

Bottle of beer is €1.50 and a pack of cigs is €4.

Annual car insurance is about €300-€350. Taxis are crazy expensive.

There is nothing to do in Tordera. That's only my opinion of course. It's a one horse town and they forgot to put the horse there too.

A decent wage would be about €1,600-€2,400 NET.

If you asked me for one piece of advice only ?????? Learn Spanish ASAP. If you know you are definitely coming then I'd suggest starting lessons straight away. You are lost (F^*ked) here without it. It'll be very very hard for you to get by without even the basics. I find the locals fairly xenophobic but it would be unfair to tar all with the same brush. Having the ability to interact will help with this. I think.

I found Rosetta Stone quite good (everybody will advise you on their own preferred method for learning) but make sure you don't buy the South American by mistake. They frequently do a deal online for all 5 levels for about £285 I think. It's well worth it. It will whet your appetite and it's not that expensive in comparison to private lessons especially as the 2 of you can do it.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you may have. We moved here earlier this year (myself and my girlfriend) and lived in Palafolls but have moved to Blanes as it was too small in Palafolls and we felt Tordera was too small too. It's only a 10-15 minute drive from Blanes to Tordera.

 

[Lisa&Jenk]

Hey

Howdy,

Tordera is a very small and quite remote town. Not a lot going on AT ALL. Do you HAVE to move there or are surrounding areas an option ?

Cost of living varies depending on your lifestyle. Obvious I know. So to give you an idea.....

2 bed flat is €400-€550. 3 bed house €750-€1,000.

Monthly costs like electricity, gas, water, waste disposal and so on is about €100-€150.

Internet €30-€40 per month.

Bottle of beer is €1.50 and a pack of cigs is €4.

Annual car insurance is about €300-€350. Taxis are crazy expensive.

There is nothing to do in Tordera. That's only my opinion of course. It's a one horse town and they forgot to put the horse there too.

A decent wage would be about €1,600-€2,400 NET.

If you asked me for one piece of advice only ?????? Learn Spanish ASAP. If you know you are definitely coming then I'd suggest starting lessons straight away. You are lost (F^*ked) here without it. It'll be very very hard for you to get by without even the basics. I find the locals fairly xenophobic but it would be unfair to tar all with the same brush. Having the ability to interact will help with this. I think.

I found Rosetta Stone quite good (everybody will advise you on their own preferred method for learning) but make sure you don't buy the South American by mistake. They frequently do a deal online for all 5 levels for about £285 I think. It's well worth it. It will whet your appetite and it's not that expensive in comparison to private lessons especially as the 2 of you can do it.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions you may have. We moved here earlier this year (myself and my girlfriend) and lived in Palafolls but have moved to Blanes as it was too small in Palafolls and we felt Tordera was too small too. It's only a 10-15 minute drive from Blanes to Tordera.

Hi Danny&Claire,

Thanks for your reply and all the info!

We dont HAVE to live in Tordera, but we definitely don't want to be around the whole club/pub thing. We just want a house/villa thats in a safe, decent location. As I mentioned, my partner will be starting on €31k (before taxes) which I think works out at around €2000 per month (which is right in the middle of what you said is a good salary) so we should be ok. Apparently we won't know if she's got the job until after xmas, so we're both going to get back into our Spanish-learning during the holidays. We have the entire Rosetta Stone packs already! It's been tricky because Lisa has been interviewed for jobs in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, and America, so we've never known which language to start on. She has a very strong chance of getting the Tordera one though, and I think she'll actually be offered it. In terms of learning the language though, how long do you think it takes to pick it up at a respectable level? You said they may be quite Xenophobic (which slightly worries me) so I'm sure it would be hard to interact (and improve our Spanish) if no-one wants to talk to us haha. How has your Spanish progressed since you've been there? And, if you don't mind me asking, what do you and your partner do for work out there? I'm looking into teaching English. Seems to be a lot of international language school so it could be a good whilst we're learning the lingo and looking for a more suitable job. I suppose the biggest question I have really is, do you actually LIKE living there? There's absolutely no way we will want to return to the UK. We moved to Australia a few years ago but had to come back because of Visa issues, and it was horrible!

Thanks again for your reply, really appreciate it.

Jenk