Moving to Spain

[reefknot]

Amazing thank you all so much.
I think I have sorted the living there out as we are going on a non lucrative Visa. The plan is to be there for 10 months and be home for July and August/or be on boat. I can rent amazing property if I do this and Im not sure whether I even want to permanently settle there and if so where. We love to Ski so I was first heading to the Motril area first. We have just retired and although a early retirement I am well aware we only have a few years to pack this adventure in. I also want to be near sun and snow as both my grown up kids love both and I will get to seem them. Renting our property in the UK till we know what we are doing.
So although I have paid Vat in UK for my yacht, if I tool her abroad I would have to pay again. She is a 1997 Moody in amazing condition/with everything done in the last 2 years (some by us some by previous owner) so I don't want to sell her.

Ampura Brava near the Pyrenees and a safe marina.

 

[colind3782]

Amazing thank you all so much.
I think I have sorted the living there out as we are going on a non lucrative Visa. The plan is to be there for 10 months and be home for July and August/or be on boat. I can rent amazing property if I do this and Im not sure whether I even want to permanently settle there and if so where. We love to Ski so I was first heading to the Motril area first. We have just retired and although a early retirement I am well aware we only have a few years to pack this adventure in. I also want to be near sun and snow as both my grown up kids love both and I will get to seem them. Renting our property in the UK till we know what we are doing.
So although I have paid Vat in UK for my yacht, if I tool her abroad I would have to pay again. She is a 1997 Moody in amazing condition/with everything done in the last 2 years (some by us some by previous owner) so I don't want to sell her.

As reefknot has alluded, Ampuriabrava/Empuriabrava is the largest purpose built marina in Europe and is about a 2 hour drive from a few small ski resorts with Andorra in easy travelling distance. I've been going there for more than 30 years and we have kept the boat there for the last 10. Berths are not particularly cheap in the main marina but there are usually private moorings available if you're lucky. If you have any questions about that area, let me know.

 

[steveallan]

Amazing thank you all so much.
I think I have sorted the living there out as we are going on a non lucrative Visa. The plan is to be there for 10 months and be home for July and August/or be on boat. I can rent amazing property if I do this and Im not sure whether I even want to permanently settle there and if so where. We love to Ski so I was first heading to the Motril area first. We have just retired and although a early retirement I am well aware we only have a few years to pack this adventure in. I also want to be near sun and snow as both my grown up kids love both and I will get to seem them. Renting our property in the UK till we know what we are doing.
So although I have paid Vat in UK for my yacht, if I tool her abroad I would have to pay again. She is a 1997 Moody in amazing condition/with everything done in the last 2 years (some by us some by previous owner) so I don't want to sell her.

Motril is. Ok a bit isolated yacht club may have a berth available for the winter. About 1hr by car to Sierra Nevada.
Adra will definitely have berths available but scruffy and very quiet.
Almerimar should have have berths very popular with expats sailers and golfers.
We spent the last five winters there mainly because of the skiing at Sierra Nevada about 1hr 45mins by car.
Proberbly the best skiing in Spain long season and lots of snow making equipment. Quite high and exposed so weather can be a problem.
Season ticket for 70 years plus is about 20 euros.

 

[cimota]

? I'm moving to Almeria from Northern Ireland next month so maybe see you there. Really having trouble deciding whether to go for Almerimar (the cheapest marina on the costa del sol) or Aguadulce (not quite as cheap but also with much more character)

 

[Sea Devil]

? I'm moving to Almeria from Northern Ireland next month so maybe see you there. Really having trouble deciding whether to go for Almerimar (the cheapest marina on the costa del sol) or Aguadulce (not quite as cheap but also with much more character)

I have always loved being in Almirimar which is the best cheap marina in Almeria (there are a couple of others) Almirimar has an excellent boat yard, sailmakers, engineers and chandlers.. I really like the place and have wintered there decades ago and in more recent years on our way from Gib each summer for our summer cruise south we would stop there for a few days - I much prefer it to Aguadulce... Try Almirimar first

 

[Beneteau381]

I have always loved being in Almirimar which is the best cheap marina in Almeria (there are a couple of others) Almirimar has an excellent boat yard, sailmakers, engineers and chandlers.. I really like the place and have wintered there decades ago and in more recent years on our way from Gib each summer for our summer cruise south we would stop there for a few days - I much prefer it to Aguadulce... Try Almirimar first

The prices have gone up substantially according to my mates who arrived there a few weeks ago on way to Palma

 

[Paddy Fields]

As reefknot has alluded, Ampuriabrava/Empuriabrava is the largest purpose built marina in Europe and is about a 2 hour drive from a few small ski resorts with Andorra in easy travelling distance. I've been going there for more than 30 years and we have kept the boat there for the last 10. Berths are not particularly cheap in the main marina but there are usually private moorings available if you're lucky. If you have any questions about that area, let me know.

Hi Colin

Since doing a brief sailing holiday around Costa Brava a few years ago, Ive been eyeing up properties around Costa Brava. Do you live on dry land in Emuriabrava, or on a boat there?

If on a boat - the coast around Barcelona and out along Costa Brava has a spattering of marinas along it. What attracted to Emuriabrava?
If on dry land - well kind of the same question - why not a more traditional village/town?

Cheers

Dan

 

[colind3782]

Hi Colin

Since doing a brief sailing holiday around Costa Brava a few years ago, Ive been eyeing up properties around Costa Brava. Do you live on dry land in Emuriabrava, or on a boat there?

If on a boat - the coast around Barcelona and out along Costa Brava has a spattering of marinas along it. What attracted to Emuriabrava?
If on dry land - well kind of the same question - why not a more traditional village/town?

Cheers

Dan

Long story but here's the short version. I still work in the UK but we spend a little over 25% of our time in Empuriabrava and we live on the boat there. For most of my adult life I have been involved in skydiving and Empuriabrava has/had the biggest skydiving centre in Europe (in the world at one point) so I was spending a lot of my time there jumping and I have many friends there. We looked at buying property to save on hotel costs but we couldn't find anything to suit (cheap enough!) That's when we thought of a boat as I come from a seafaring family and have always been around water.

Not many of the coastal marinas on the Costa Brava are the traditional village but go a little further inland and you will find them, Castillo d'Empuries is medieval and the area has a lot of history. As for the town, lots of great restaurants and activity. I could easily be there for three wekas and not eat in the same place twice. Next door is Santa Margarita which has cheaper moorings but not as much going on. At the top of the bay is Roses which is a sizeable town with a large marina. Lots of Calas (bays) around Cap de Creus to anchor for lunch etc. It does get windy from the north when the Tramontana blows but the sea is usually calm. When the southerlies blow it can create a significant sea state.

Hope that helped a bit but don't hesitate to ask!

 

[westernman]

It does get windy from the north when the Tramontana blows but the sea is usually calm.
When the southerlies blow it can create a significant sea state.

As can be seen below. This is a small bay in the same bay as Empuriabrava (Roses bay), about 7 nm to the south of Empuriabrava.

Tempête Gloria: des vagues géantes surplombent les falaises en Catalogne

 

[Paddy Fields]

Not many of the coastal marinas on the Costa Brava are the traditional village but go a little further inland and you will find them, Castillo d'Empuries is medieval and the area has a lot of history. As for the town, lots of great restaurants and activity. I could easily be there for three wekas and not eat in the same place twice. Next door is Santa Margarita which has cheaper moorings but not as much going on. At the top of the bay is Roses which is a sizeable town with a large marina. Lots of Calas (bays) around Cap de Creus to anchor for lunch etc.

Sounds lovely! Definitely deserves investigation We stayed in palmos and pallafugell, and were blown away by the variety of those places.

As you know, the housing market in the UK has gone crazy - probably the double wammy of Brexit plus the pandemic. Do you have a sense of what the housing market is doing across there?

I would have assumed that the pandemic would have caused a mass exodus from places like Barcelona to places like the Costa Brava. However a quick search on idealista.com for Empuriabrava brings up 1,443 properties on the market for sale, which seems a lot!

https://www.idealista.com/en/venta-viviendas/empuriabrava-girona/

 

[colind3782]

I don't pay a great deal of attention to the housing market as we live on the boat but you can't dust for estate agents in Empuriabrava and I suspect that a lot of those properties are listed with several agents. Some areas are cheaper than others though! There is a Facebook group called I love Empuriabrava which is mostly a picturesque photo album but many agents promote themselves on it too. If you do pay a visit and we're in town, I'm very happy to meet for a beer and have a chat about it.

 

[Paddy Fields]

I don't pay a great deal of attention to the housing market as we live on the boat but you can't dust for estate agents in Empuriabrava and I suspect that a lot of those properties are listed with several agents. Some areas are cheaper than others though! There is a Facebook group called I love Empuriabrava which is mostly a picturesque photo album but many agents promote themselves on it too. If you do pay a visit and we're in town, I'm very happy to meet for a beer and have a chat about it.

I didn't look at all the price brackets, but in the segment I was interested in, there didn't seem to be any double listings. Once you narrow things down, there are not a ridiculous number of properties. Maybe its also holiday homes/rentals that people also would sell if the price is right.

Has there been much of an exodus of Brits post Brexit?

Thanks for the offer of meet.

 

[colind3782]

I didn't look at all the price brackets, but in the segment I was interested in, there didn't seem to be any double listings. Once you narrow things down, there are not a ridiculous number of properties. Maybe its also holiday homes/rentals that people also would sell if the price is right.

Has there been much of an exodus of Brits post Brexit?

Thanks for the offer of meet.

Not so many Brits as it's mostly French and Germans that go there. It was built by Germans and it's only 30km from France. It's quite diverse as can be seen by the number of different languages on the restaurant menus!

 

[Nina Lucia]

Sounds like you've already done your homework but think carefully, it will be an expensive move and there must be good reasons why many expats are moving back home from Spain. I would be inclined go initially as a visitor to see if you like the reality, you don't need to pay tax on the boat as long as it's not in EU for more than 18 months at a stretch (overnight in Morocco resets the clock) but of course you will personally be limited to 90/180 so, 6 months p.a.

I just wander, if is going to international waters only, resets the clock for the boat?
Do you have to go to non EU country like Marocco, or it’s just enough to sign out of Spain or Greece for example, then sail in to international waters, reset the clock and come back to same port in EU and start another 18 months again?

 

[Contest1]

Hello all,
This is the very start of my planing this adventure and I apologise for my lack of knowledge. We are planning to move to Spain coast next feb. We don't have anywhere special in mind it more going to be renting here for a year and then onto the next adventure. Can you help me with the following questions. We have a 31ft Sailing boat. We don't intend to live on much but would like to know if that is possible.
1. Can you get annual berthing
2. Do you have to have a license to sail in over a certain size in Spain
3. Can you live on board in any of the marinas
4. Anyone know the average cost of a mooring.
5. Questions I should be asking but don't have the knowledge to know I should be asking

Any help would be much appreciated

Marina de las Dunas
GUARDAMAR del Segura.
Alicante provence.
No swell ever, annual berths, good town of Guardamar 3km. Set in Park lands. Wi Fi very unreliable but my cell phone does all I need including Netflix.
Draft restrictions 2 Mt's. No liveaboard community but always people around. Great harbour restaurant, 365 days. Town shops open all year. Great safe place. I'm here 6 years and feel at home. Very Spanish so it helps to have an interest in the language and culture

 

[Travelling Westerly]

It's possible she won't receive it, as that was her first post, and she maybe won't have pm privileges yet, so maybe post the information.

And someone else might learn something from your post

 

[Graham376]

I just wander, if is going to international waters only, resets the clock for the boat?
Do you have to go to non EU country like Marocco, or it’s just enough to sign out of Spain or Greece for example, then sail in to international waters, reset the clock and come back to same port in EU and start another 18 months again?

I don't know if signing out and appearing to have left or, sailing 12 miles out will work or whether proof such as a marina receipt outside EU will be requested if pulled. It may take a normal year (no covid restrictions) or so of sailing to suss out the loopholes.

 

[westernman]

I don't know if signing out and appearing to have left or, sailing 12 miles out will work or whether proof such as a marina receipt outside EU will be requested if pulled. It may take a normal year (no covid restrictions) or so of sailing to suss out the loopholes.

Surely all of this existed before with most super yachts not being VAT paid.
So all of this should already be known.

Who on here has a non-VAT paid super yacht in the Med?

 

[nortada]

Surely all of this existed before with most super yachts not being VAT paid.
So all of this should already be known.

Who on here has a non-VAT paid super yacht in the Med?

who hasn’t?

 

[billskip]

Surely all of this existed before with most super yachts not being VAT paid.
So all of this should already be known.

Who on here has a non-VAT paid super yacht in the Med?

Aren't they registered as businesses?