2 bring or not 2 bring

[pmb]

Question for residents (ie not those including me who have sufficient posts to be labelled as resident) If you were to move again to Andalucia what personal items would you take and what wouldn't you? Looking in my shed,loft,garage and house it's surprising the stuff you acquire!

[Miggy]

Would bring my precious laptop and leave my ex-wife behind...

[dido72]

We have just rented a furnished house so are travelling light, just bringing clothes, bedding, a few kitchen things, some toys for the kids and some other kids items such as stair gates and buggies etc.

The rest of our stuff is going into storage and we will ship it out as and when we buy a house. We got a discount for paying for storage for a year in advance which was much cheaper than shipping out our worldy goods and then shipping them back again if things don't work out for us.

[masterob]

Brought everything out except washing machine and cooker (both part of fitted kitchen). Why did we bring them out? It was reassuring to have familiar things around us when moving to a new country, a new lifestyle and, of course, a new home. Was it the right thing to do? It was for us, and yes, would do so again.

[teralin]

I think a lot depends on the lifestyle that you envisage for yourselves. We had a house built in the campo and wanted to do a lot of the finishing work, landscaping etc ourselves. We built a garage to take all of the useful stuff that Mr Teralin didn't want to leave behind eg cement mixer, power tools, garden tools and lots of other stuff. This has meant that we have been able to do lots of the work ourselves which is a good thing for us although I realise not everyone comes to spain to work. The cost of the total removal was insignificant compared to the benefit of having those things here in Spain.

When it comes to furniture, that is a different story. A lot of British furniture just doesn't look right in Spanish houses. I have been in many Expats houses where they have furnished it "just like home in the UK" and it looks and feels wrong. Take a long and careful look at your stuff and try to realistically see it in your Spanish property before you go to the expense of having it shipped here.

[BENIDORM]

Having moved 'backwards and forwards' Uk/Spain numerous times, we always give priority to our pictures and paintings, first job on arrival is placing them on the walls, we then have the visual items that make us feel 'at home'...
....And the most important thing to bring is....'Loads of Money'.....you are going to need it !..

[MrsP]

We arrived with 2 suitcases
We wanted a fresh start and sold everything or gave it to the kids.
Would do the same again.

[swerve]

I hope as benidorm says them suitcases were full of money

[MrsP]

We wish, nope only clothes and personal bits.

[Alan-LaCala]

It is very much a personal thing as to what you bring and what you leave behind.

We had accumulated a lot of possessions over the years, especially ornaments, knick-knacks and books. In respect of furniture, we discussed what we felt would suit spanish style and the property we had bought and in fact did not bring a lot of furniture.

We culled the ornaments, knick-knacks, books, CD's but even then we brought out 20 cubic metres of stuff.

While that is a lot we both still find ourselves saying (nearly 2 years down line) that we wish we had brought such and such with us.

Alan

[Trooperman]

Two things to bring..........your brains and a modicum of the Spanish language.
If you "leave your brains at the airport" (as others have described it) you will be vulnerable, same as you will be if you have no idea what people are trying to sell you.

........unfortunately I speak from experience.......


.........but I survived.

[katy]

We bought a dining set because it was much loved and went with the decor of our first house, then we moved inland to a cortijo and it looked stupid so we sold it. Still have a Georgian bookcase/bureau but it is tucked out of sight down a corridor. So we shouldn't have bothered. I wish we had brought all the garden furniture (more expensive here), garden tools etc. I would also consider bringing sofas/armchairs as there is not so much choice here, it either looks naff or looks great and is uncomfortable. Like Alan we brought all the ornaments etc and still have a few boxes never unpacked after 4 moves (not so many window ledges here!)

[Free at Last]

We thought we wouldn't have much to bring as we weren't taking any furniture (apart from one antique occasional table and a set of patio furniture). We had owned our house in Spain for 4 years before moving so it was already furnished, and as others have said I don't think much English furniture looks right in Spanish houses. However we still ended up with 63 boxes full - clothes, books, my two large dolls' houses and all their contents, the OH's two hi fi's, carryiing cases full of vinyl albums (which have hardly been out of the cases since we got here), tools, etc. That was after we had made numerous trips to the local tip, done a car boot sale, etc to get rid of stuff we no longer wanted - where on earth does it all come from? The person who bought our house took all the furniture and white goods as well which saved us having to try to sell them separately.

[j4mes]

i brought everything over with me, furniture, hoovers, knick knacks, pictures, tvs videos, dvd players etc......

It costs me 2500 gbp to have the lot removed and shipped here......I've then been spending 75 euros per month to store it because all bar 6 months I have rented either furnished or part furnished properties!!....I have been here for 2 years so have paid 75 euros per month for 18 months to store the stuff!!

2500 gbp to ship, and so far 1350 euros to store it.......I shall probably take on the place I am in for another year, so another 900 euros in storage....

So after all of this, my advice would be to bring only that which has sentimental value, leave the rest!.....

[Dealer]

So after all of this, my advice would be to bring only that which has sentimental value, leave the rest!.....

Excellent advice and more people should listen.

I bought a six seater round solid oak table from a geezer who moved over onto our project from America and he shipped loads of stuff including the table and chairs because he was told that you could not buy furniture here in Spain. Two things that's the truth and the geezer has a PHD!
I bought it for 70 Euros and the shipping alone cost 250 USD.

[masterob]

So after all of this, my advice would be to bring only that which has sentimental value, leave the rest!.....

Fair advice if you plan to rent furnished accommodation but can´t help wondering why you are still renting after 2 years and intend continuing to do so?

[j4mes]

So after all of this, my advice would be to bring only that which has sentimental value, leave the rest!.....

Fair advice if you plan to rent furnished accommodation but can´t help wondering why you are still renting after 2 years and intend continuing to do so?

it's a fair question....Firstly i think whether you intend to rent furnished OR unfurnished, unless you have really expensive items of furniture (in which case it pays to store it) most of what you bring could be replaced when you get here, for not a lot more once you take into account that you may have to store it and shift it several times etc.....Had we gone straight into unfurnished and stayed there I may be of a different opinion...That said EVERYONE i know here arrived, moved into thier first foothold, then have moved at least once since....

Also re the renting....Initially took a 6 month lease on an unfurnished "duplex penthouse"...Took it because it was the best space available at the time in the location we needed....It wasn't ideal as it didn't have a garden for the kids or dog....so in this time we sought a villa to rent....which we then took an 11 month lease on... In this time we viewed many villas, all of which i personally thought were overpriced requiring too much work (and to think 12% ish was going to be spent in costs, we want to get it right, theres not the option of buying then deciding in 12 months we want to move).....

We did find a place....offered...this was accepted. We paid an initial deposit and whilst arranging our mortgage the seller pulled out got the deposit back.....

Now I have taken another 11 month rental on another villa (which we have been in for 9 months)...The villa is ideal (there is an option to buy, but at €750k (ish)) I am in no rush and nor are they so it works, hence I will take another 11 month contract)......

Also, whilst many retired people may be able to come here and buy within the first 12-24 months, I came with a young family and a start up business. In this scenario things need to be taken more cautiously.....If the business continues to do well, maybe i'll buy the one im in, if it slows down I would regret spending so much on a house. (I did afterall come her for a better quality of life and dont want to be pressured each month to pay the bills....left that in the uk!)....It's been going for 18 months and is continuing to grow so all signs are good, however things are working well as they are re the renting so in no rush to change!!

That said, I am always on the lookout for a property to buy but as with many, because I am in a comfortable position I can afford to view, make low offers and have them rejected, with a view that one may well accept and I will have secured a deal!

[masterob]

j4mes. Fair points! I can see where you are coming from now. On reflection, I think that my question might have seemed a bit intrusive, sorry about that and glad you did not take offence!

[j4mes]

not intrusive at all, and i think asking the question and my subsequent response is very beneficial for others reading the forums considering or planning a move here....

Also, I think its worth pointing out that whilst 2 years is a long time, it has passed with what feels like a heartbeat!

[Troglodyfae]

Like Alan we brought all the ornaments etc and still have a few boxes never unpacked after 4 moves (not so many window ledges here!)

You know that is one of my biggest bugbears here. I have finally unpacked the majority of our ornaments, and trust me I am not big on this sort of thing but I have a small collection of treasured pieces which I doubt are of any monetary value, purely sentimental. However places to put them seem to be at a minimum, I have cabinets, dressers, shelves etc and at least 6 window ledges which is pretty good going in a cave. Major problem being is that the shutters open inwards, so that negates any reasonable use of the window ledges. I have yet to work this one out but I have only been here 8 years so I maybe have some time to go before the solution becomes clear