Moving to Torre hopefully!

[Macca]

I'm looking to move to the Torrevieja area next year for the summer, was over last year for a couple of weeks and loved the place so I'm hoping to stay there a bit longer next time!

I've got a good idea of whereabouts I'd like to stay etc but if anyone has any useful info or tips it would be much appreciated, want to start the planning early so I'm not caught out later and having another 'summer' in the UK!

[Mazzer]

Hi there and welcome but first before people can give you some answers perhaps you could fill us in on what you are looking for as in, would you prefer a quiet area or busy, near to schools the sea or country near bars and shops etc, I live in Playa Flamenca and of course being biased I would not want to live anywhere else, it has everything, the sea, shops, bars, restaurants, schools, and very near to torrevieja itself. Oh and its very English. So if you are looking for quiet and more Spanish then Playa Flamenca would not be for you.

[Macca]

I'm looking for a busy area really so Playa Flamenca would be ideal for me I think, around that area anyways. I don't speak much if any spanish either but I'm learning. I'll need some work while I'm there, not sure whats available but hopefully there'll be some bar work in the commercial centre.

It's somewhere ideally I'd want to move to permanently in the future but I want to get a better idea of the place first, not ready for a permanent move yet.

I'm planning on taking my car over from the UK which I've heard is a huge headache in itself!

[Gill_Bell]

You lucky person.
Some info at Playa Flamenca guide. Holiday information for visitors to Costa Blanca, Spain

[Snapshot]

Hi there and welcome but first before people can give you some answers perhaps you could fill us in on what you are looking for as in, would you prefer a quiet area or busy, near to schools the sea or country near bars and shops etc, I live in Playa Flamenca and of course being biased I would not want to live anywhere else, it has everything, the sea, shops, bars, restaurants, schools, and very near to torrevieja itself. Oh and its very English. So if you are looking for quiet and more Spanish then Playa Flamenca would not be for you.

Hi there mazzer im not trying to have a poke at anyone but it was my understanding that far from being very english playa flamenca was all things irish i.e the irish centre of spain, now that may be wrong i am only going on something i heard on my last visit no doubt i will be corrected no offence intended to irish or otherwise. Have a nice day.............

[Chrisdee]

Hi there mazzer im not trying to have a poke at anyone but it was my understanding that far from being very english playa flamenca was all things irish i.e the irish centre of spain, now that may be wrong i am only going on something i heard on my last visit no doubt i will be corrected no offence intended to irish or otherwise. Have a nice day.............

It's not really an Irish area, it's pretty mixed really. Playa Flamenca is like a box of Bertie Bassetts liquice allsorts.

[JulieN]

The Irish people have certainly kept tourism viable here this year. I don't seem to have noticed quite so many Brits around.

[Macca]

Cheers Gill, had a nosey at that. Definately plenty about to do and see just hope there are jobs about when I get there.

[simmy]

Cheers Gill, had a nosey at that. Definately plenty about to do and see just hope there are jobs about when I get there.

If it's bar work you are after then you shouldn't have a problem, but don't expect a fortune.
If you are fetching your own car make sure you have as much MOT, Tax and insurance as possible (12 months) so if you do get pulled in you can plead tourist!!!
Oh and keep them with you when driving also your passport and driving licence and you should be OK

[Mazzer]

Hi Snapshot, I take your point about Irish people and yes I suppose a lot of the pubs in the area are owned by them but as Chrisdee said there is an ecclectic mix living here full time, German, Nordic, Irish, Scottish, English, Belgian, French, Polish, Morrocan oh and some Spanish of course, on our Urbinizacion we have all those nationalitites but my immediate neighbours are English. Macca bringing your car over will not be a problem ,when we first moved over we drove our UK car here with no problems for 6 months but we would have been fine for longer if our Tax had not run out first. As Simmy said make sure you have as long an MOT and Tax as possible oh and insurance because despite what you might be told even by reputable insurance companies here a Spanish insurance on a UK car is not worth the paper it is printed on but will cost you a fortune so don't be fooled. Finding work will very much depend on the time of year your come over, my son works in a restaurant down the center and this year it started getting busy very early around March April time as the season goes on more and more people will be looking for work so your choice might be very limited. Best to go round the bars etc on a regular basis because we found that just leaving your phone number is not enough because the jobs tend to go to the people who enquire at just the right moment. But don't expect to come over in say October and find work as then all the temporary summer staff are laid off or at best given very limited hours, the idea is to make as much money as you can over the summer months to be able to survive the winter months. If you are looking for accomodation I suggest you go to the other torrevieja site where they have a property page and if you put your requirements, price etc on there someone should be able to sort you out. Hope you enjoy your new adventure I'm sure you will, We love it here.

[JulieN]

Ditto re. the car. The Civil Guards were pulling in English registered cars on Cabo Roig roundabout again last night. One bloke who was driving an S registered Vauxhall was getting a hard time from them.

[Macca]

Hi Snapshot, I take your point about Irish people and yes I suppose a lot of the pubs in the area are owned by them but as Chrisdee said there is an ecclectic mix living here full time, German, Nordic, Irish, Scottish, English, Belgian, French, Polish, Morrocan oh and some Spanish of course, on our Urbinizacion we have all those nationalitites but my immediate neighbours are English. Macca bringing your car over will not be a problem ,when we first moved over we drove our UK car here with no problems for 6 months but we would have been fine for longer if our Tax had not run out first. As Simmy said make sure you have as long an MOT and Tax as possible oh and insurance because despite what you might be told even by reputable insurance companies here a Spanish insurance on a UK car is not worth the paper it is printed on but will cost you a fortune so don't be fooled. Finding work will very much depend on the time of year your come over, my son works in a restaurant down the center and this year it started getting busy very early around March April time as the season goes on more and more people will be looking for work so your choice might be very limited. Best to go round the bars etc on a regular basis because we found that just leaving your phone number is not enough because the jobs tend to go to the people who enquire at just the right moment. But don't expect to come over in say October and find work as then all the temporary summer staff are laid off or at best given very limited hours, the idea is to make as much money as you can over the summer months to be able to survive the winter months. If you are looking for accomodation I suggest you go to the other torrevieja site where they have a property page and if you put your requirements, price etc on there someone should be able to sort you out. Hope you enjoy your new adventure I'm sure you will, We love it here.

I'm hoping to come down in May sometime and initially stay for a few months only until September. If I take the car I have now my tax runs out at the end of July so it'll run out while I'm out there!

As for insurance I'm taking it that it's better to get insured by a UK insurance company to drive abroad?

Would I need to open a spanish bank account over there as well, for wages etc? Can anyone recommend a good bank, where you don't have to deposit a huge sum to open it?!

[simmy]

I'm hoping to come down in May sometime and initially stay for a few months only until September. If I take the car I have now my tax runs out at the end of July so it'll run out while I'm out there!

As for insurance I'm taking it that it's better to get insured by a UK insurance company to drive abroad?

Would I need to open a spanish bank account over there as well, for wages etc? Can anyone recommend a good bank, where you don't have to deposit a huge sum to open it?!

If you have no tax on your car the police if they pull you will give you a hard time. Forget trying to insure over here with an English car. Depends what type of job you get as to whether or not to open a Spanish Bank account. Most work you will find is casual so wait and see. But definitely open a Nationwide Flex Account to withdraw money from the UK at the proper bank rate with no charges (I got €126.89 on Friday) Just one more thing make sure you have breakdown cover or it could work out expensive if the worst happens.