Moving from UK to Santa Margarita

[princess peach]

Hi again,friend of jonnyb

If you cut straight through the other estates that is and not head down the motorway

Yes,you would need to cut thru the other estates otherwise you could end up going all the way round the houses to get to the other side if you understand what i mean.

I doubt very much you will find any work in La linea,although it is practically opposite Gib,there are not many english speaking people working there,and the spanish people really dont speak much english there.

there are a few kite surfers and surfers along the beaches,but not many,only the odd few.much better surfing conditions in Tarifa.

scooters are the best way to get around,at the moment the spanish border guards have been striking for a pay rise,and the ques to get out of Gib have somedays been 3 hours,not what you need when you finish work .
If you are on a moto,you just push thru and can be out in 5 mins.so yes motos are the best option.Also free parking everywhere for them.Parking your car is difficult,there is a car park near la linea bus station which charges 1.50(euros)per day,but you have to be in there by 7.30- 8.00am otherwise you wont get parked.Yes the border is open constantly all day every day,so no worries about getting locked in Gib and not getting home!

[Jonnyb]

truly invaluable advice from both of you, thankyou very much indeed!

I was thinking about putting posts in each section as i've got so many questions...really sorry to hit you with all this, but i'll be cheeky and ask a few more, again thanks for being so helpful

Food - I read there is a local market in La Linea once a week, or something like that in Santa Margarita, this sounds interesting, we really want to sample as much local cuisine as possible, and although we will seek out some good restaurants in our area (some advice on names would be wonderful) we were wondering when the markets were on as we are all big seafood lovers, so locally caught fish sounds pretty exciting to me - is the food generally good in Gib as well? much the same as the la linea area i assume?

Spanish Lessons - I am undertaking some at the moment, well just started but I want to continue that over in Spain, would anyone know of a good spanish tutor? I see in gib they seem to speak a half concocted spanish/english/italian kind of blend, which sounds odd to me (not big on history, i'm sure the reason is valid) so ideally looking for standard spanish lessons...any advice would be great!

As i've said before, thanks for everyone that is answering my essays, when we come over, we should all have a barbeque together! (with fish!)

[princess peach]

O.K!
well,there is a big market on every weds on the outskirts of La linea.doesnt sell fish tho.
The best fish eateries are found as you go the back way from santa margarita thru Atunara(a fishing port)and a rough area too)towards Gib,
There is an indoor fish market on everyday(i think)in La Linea,you will not get fish at the weds outdoor market,only clothes sweets plants ,jewellery etc
the food is very expensive in Gib as it caters for the tourists,i never bother going into Gib as i dont like to give them my money!

Spanish lessons - i do not know of any tutors,but im sure you will eb able to find some when you get here..

I see in gib they seem to speak a half concocted spanish/english/italian kind of blend,

well,you are quite right...they speak Gib berish they think they are spanish and english and mix up the sentences to suit..half in english half in sort of spanish.You will make your own mind up about the Gibbos,im not making any comment
I will keep an eye out for any tutors advertising lessons..there are a couple of places which teach private spanish,my son went to one,they are excellent...around 15 euros an hour,block bookings etc..they are in the town.
keep firing the questions away...im more than happy to help you out.

[frog]

ha ha gib berish,is that the language used by some members of this site?

by the way jonny and friends,i dont like fish,can i have a rib-eye instead

sorry i butted in, carry on princess

[Jonnyb]

Yep you can have as much Rib-Eye as you want!

[princess peach]

frog wrote

ha ha gib berish,is that the language used by some members of this site?

yes frog,it most certainly is.

sorry i butted in, carry on princess

thats quite alright Frog,if you feel the need to say you want rib eye not fish,thats fine with me (mmm..thought frogs ate flies )

[Jonnyb]

Hey Guys,

Next question!!!!

We are all moving to Santa Margarita with no furniture.
Are there any good cheap furniture stores in the area?

[princess peach]

Hi again,johnnyb!
I didnt bring any furniture with me from UK,I bought what i wanted when i got here.
The furniture(in my opinion)is like going back to the 70s in the cheap furniture shops,they love dark wood and big units.
I paid a lot of money for my furniture,but it was what i wanted so i didnt mind.
The best bet for you,is a trip upto IKEA,cheap cheerful and modern..and not far to go...
The local shops usually deliver for free.
If you need things like washing machines etc,i would personally stay away from places like carrefour,and pay a few extra euros and shop in the local smaller shops in la linea town.you get far better customer service if something should go wrong.There is a great electrical shop in La linea and the guy speaks perfect english,he also delivers for free.

[Jonnyb]

IKEA - I like the sound of that! Where abouts it that located then?

Thanks for all your help, you have really helped us and relaxed us about the move!!! (I cant wait)

[princess peach]

Its right near Malaga airport..
hang on i will get you the link!

[princess peach]

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... ame=malaga

there you go,Its really easy to get to,you wont have any problems.

[Jonnyb]

Thanks, How long does it take to drive there then?

[princess peach]

well,it depends how fast you go and if you take the toll roads or the road thru Marbella
I would say it takes about 45 mins via toll roads(12 euros ish)
via Marbella there are a lot of road works at present and when people start and finish work,can be a total nightmare.so cant really give you a time for that route

[Colinm]

just on the purchasing furniture - my experience has been that the shops only have a 'show stock' and you have to wait for delivery (maybe 2/3 weeks, maybe 2/3 months!).
Ikea u can just load and go (then assemble and curse!).

[Jonnyb]

Lol yes you are correct, I don't really want to be waiting weeks for a bed!
IKEA will be fine and yes i will curse!!!!!!!

Thanks for the feed back.

[karandjon]

...Plus Ikea will have the wider beds, that the spanish shops dont seem to stock! (I can reccommend the Sultan Hasselbak from Ikea)-veryyy comfy!!

[andynicoll]

Hi - This is the friend of jonny b, i finally have my account activated, again thanks for the info from all

Community - Now I know Santa Margarita is fairly spread out and La Linea even bigger, we are obviously 4 english people coming over and it would be nice to get to know locals (when we eventually start speaking understandable spanish) but to start with any interraction with fellow english is quite important, now clearly Gib will help in that matter, are the gib people quite accomodating with expats in general, or is there a bit of us and them (even though we are supposed to be the same, well kinda anyway) we won't really know till we get out there and start going to events/nights out in gib what its like in that respect, just wondering what other people felt about that + in la linea & santa margarita are there many english? i assumed there would be due to cheaper living costs across the border, and if so do you get social gatherings in certain areas within spain, such as beach events or clubs or pubs etc etc - or do the english in spain tend to head to gib and congregate in the many pubs there and head back to there houses in borders within spain - just curious thats all

Weather - look someone had to ask about this in this thread before long, and i know i probably don't need reminding! clearly its worlds apart from UK weather, as we have said, were heading down in mid-october, i expect this is still a good month, shorts t-shirt type stuff? does it get much colder as you hit Nov/Dec/Jan/Feb, I expect that depends on wind direction? (eastern winds bringing more humid, western cooler?) just curious as I know Spain, even Andalucia can vary quite a bit from region to region, I have this dream in my head that I can still wear my flip flops and shorts in Jan...hehe

[princess peach]

Hi again.
its difficult to comment on the relationship between the english and the gibraltarians as i and lots of other people have formed our own opinion.
In my opinion,the nicest ones i have come across are the ones either married to brits,or ones that have spent time in uk.
Every english person that i know,dislikes the Gibraltarian race.Im sure you will make your own mind up soon enough.I wont say anymore on this subject.
There are a lot more ex pats living in La linea now,so your best bet would be to go out round the town and meet people there.A couple of english bars there too.
There are lots of Gibraltarian ,spanish and english living in Santa Margarita.The spanish tend to have big tents put up on the beach and all the family come for a full day of BBQ and messing about.Dont know what the english and Gibraltairans do.Alot of them have homes further up the coast and disappear there for weekends,so Gib is quite empty of locals and full of holiday makers,Navy men(from the subs) and british.
Cant comment on nights out in Gib as i dont go out there,I dont like the people so dont want to socialise amongst them

For the first winter you are here you will most probably find it very warm,I was still sunbathing in Dec in my first year.I arrived in Oct.
However,i soon got used to the weather and by the following year i was freezing.Living so close to the rock it generates something called Lavante(big thick fog round the rock)this brings a lot of damp,somedays you cannot even see the rock it disappears.Very depressing in winter time.
It absolultley pours with rain during some months in the winter,so you will need to bring waterproofs and other wet gear.I got rid of all my wellies and waterproof coats before i came to spain,crikey was i in for a shock!
We also get strong winds from Morrocco,and lots of horrible sand storms.

[Jonnyb]

Hi, How do people find driving in Spain?
Its going to weird for me driving on the other side of the road

Last time a was driving on the other side of the road i forgot i was in France and decided to go around a roundabout the wrong way!!!!

[annie_d]

Wow, princess they have hasd their money's worth out of you. A bit like me from crazy red. Invaluable.