Moving to Spain from the UK

[essextim]

Hi there- 2 of us are moving out to Spain and are in the process of selling our house. We are coming out to rent 1st in order to find a place to buy. However we are not sure whether to get rid of the furniture or store it here and then move it across.

Any ideas?

Is there anything that you would recommend moving out or anything that you wouldnt.

Are white goods or other furniture the same price or cheaper than in the Uk?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[lola2]

I would not bother having furniture shipped out here unless, of course, it is very expensive or you have antiques etc. Most rented properties are usually furnished. We bought everything brand new when we purchased our house (after renting for a year) and it was nice to have brand new furniture. White goods are reasonably priced here. You should ask people to recommend furniture stores etc in the area you will be buying.

[stellastaff]

We bought a 7.5 tonne lorry which my husband can drive on his car licence. We brought everything-incl a kitchen sink and complete fitted kitchen!, 2 motorbikes etc. Once we had unloaded into our new home we sold on the lorry for loads more than we paid for it-hence we recovered all our travelling costs too. Now we are going back to uk we are getting a removal company to do it for us because it is so much cheaper to go Spain to UK than the other way round. We did get quotes in Uk but said no way! This time the costs to return are all but halved!

[pdellis]

We bought over our King size bed, a dining table, chairs & sideboards.

Everything else was either sold, dumped or given away. You can more than satisfy most furniture needs here & we found white goods to be reasonably priced and of good quality.

Wherever you decide to eventually buy, I am sure you will find people willing to point you in the right direction & give you the benefit of their own experiences

[mijas-lady]

hi When we sold our house in UK hubby said sell the stuff- no I had collected and picked it all so went into storage! 2 years later I had to admit what I loved in Uk would look sooooooooooo different here and was all sent to auction Only bring special items and start again

[Mixter]

Now we are going back to uk we are getting a removal company to do it for us because it is so much cheaper to go Spain to UK than the other way round. We did get quotes in Uk but said no way! This time the costs to return are all but halved!

Is this a planned thing, as in you were always going to move back for some reason - or have you not liked living in Spain?

[Robbbo57]

Travel light.......really light....seriously light.....it's only Spain.......there are shops here and everything........unless you are really attached to items of furniture - leave them....is this a new life or what? Travel.....see as many different areas as you can...enjoy....this is a marvellous country...spend at least two years touring around..don't neglect the north..it is stunning........get the feel.......it's a huge commitment....you don't want to turn into one of those expat whingers on the CDS, now do you........

[stellastaff]

Is this a planned thing, as in you were always going to move back for some reason - or have you not liked living in Spain?

Unfortunately it is planned. My Father-in-law is very poorly in UK and we need to go back to be with him. We have vowed, however, that once the children have all left home we will return...!

My parents are here so we will still be visiting loads which has softened the blow a little!

[Heston]

I brought everyrhing in fact my husband had to drive over twice..I so regret it now and after two years I still have things in Boxes, realise that some of my stuff was actually naff and dosnt look right in Spain and as we are rennovating our property I now have a lovely new lounge and a tatty old sofa. I would always advise treat yourself to new things and ask others for shope sthey can recommend.
Rapid muebles is great bit like MFI but better quality most of the stuff is flat packed so lots of swearing and arguing when putting together but nice results and they have plenty of shops dotted around.

[alaninspain]

Ship only the small and personal things you can not bear to part with. The cost of bringing bulky furniture to Spain is more than buying the equivalent here.

[katy]

I agree with Alan , unless its something you have inherited that you can't bear to part with. Would probably think about bringing sofas as the cheap here are awful and the expensive may look good but not very comfortable. Not a great choice either.

[Dealer]

I bought a large round ornate American Oak table that weighs a ton and has six ornately craved chairs for €60 from an American who shipped it over here as he thought that you could not buy furniture here in Spain. He wanted to get rid of it as he has no room to put it up and his apartment was furnished anyway.
When I removed the packing I found the shipping invoice it was for $250 this guy has a PHD and one of the best in his field (oil field design) but no common sense at all.
When my job here ends and I leave Spain in about a year I will be selling it as it's one nice piece of furniture.

[Shukran]

Apart from the usual personal stuff and kitchenware we brought our 2 year old 3 piece suite, newish washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher, a very good (expensive) spare double bed and 2 old freezers for the garage. We also had a brand new bed delivered to our removers just before we left. What we should have left behind was a bedroom wardrobe and matching drawers. There were only a couple of years old but we had an accident whilst moving them from one rented property to another and they ended up in considerably more than 4 pieces! I wished we'd left our dining room table and chairs behind now because I've seen nicer over here, but don't regret bringing the other furniture at all. After paying the removal bill we couldn't have replaced half of what we brought over. Now, if money were no object....?