Nextbiteoflife Expats In Spain
Nextbiteoflife Expats In Spain
We are Federico and Kemkem, ex-pats in Spain. We retired early, selling most of our stuff and moving from the U.S in 2013. We moved to the island of Malta where we lived for almost two years.
We are currently ex-pats in Valencia Spain and we call it home. We share tips and vital information on living in Spain, and more specifically Valencia, our third and final destination in Spain. We had previously lived in Malaga, and then Seville.
Have you been dreaming of life in Spain? Subscribe and you'll be on your way. We're excited that you found us.
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Enjoyed your video and subscribed. Considering relocating to Spain.
from Paella Shack by London Paella School Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for watching it.☺️
Good info, thanks for the video! I was considering repurchasing electronic items like phone, computer, tv, blow dryer, dryer etc and now with the info you provided it's good confirmation.
Glad it helped. Don’t do it!😅
❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you for this - really enjoyed watching. I’m from London and thinking of moving abroad with my family and it’s between Portugal and Spain. I love Spain and feel we’d be fine as a mixed family. I may go Valencia for a holiday even this summer. The only issue I have is that in Portugal black folks seem more integrated into society and it feels more likely that you would see someone black in a job that’s not a street vendor. This matters to me as I do not want my kids specifically to grow up seeing those kind of indifferences. So thinking more for them rather than myself. No offence intended to anyone Spanish. I love your country 👍🏾
Thanks for watching. You can’t really go wrong with either. I had researched the same thing before choosing Spain. You would be fine. You should definitely come and check out the city, there are more and more of us every day. Valencia has more digital nomads and you will see professional people from all walks but as far. As for job representation, most faces you see are Spanish and some Asian in working jobs. Few street vendors of any color. Perhaps at the beach sometimes. If you need a job, forget about it. You have to be a remote worker. At least that is what I see. Good luck👍🏾
@@nextbiteoflife thank you, great channel and apologies for the grammatical errors. In fact I may edit and fix that now 😁. Hopefully I will visit Valencia this summer. I’ve been Alicante but was a long, long time ago. All the best
Beautiful bag.
Thank you.
Hi! Thank you so much for the video! My family is applying for the Non lucrative visa in Spain. I know we need to have private health insurance prior to getting to Spain. But I had cancer and have health issues. Does that mean I cannot come into Spain and get a visa if I am denied?
Hi Jennifer! I know there are insurance companies that will insure you with prior health issues (the caveat being that they won't cover that particular condition or treatment for the first year), but after the first year, you can buy into the public health system which is on a sliding basis based on age (from 67/mth- 350/mth) so I think it's possible. If you send me a private email through the contact tab, I can give you the name of an insurance guy who can help :-). Hope this helps.
Its good to visit places before moving there.
It is. He’s lucky because it worked out for him. Two years later, he’s still loving it.
Great video and nice to see you answering questions, you said you were in a five year visa, can you share witch one, because the premiums I seen from other videos seems to be a lot higher then yours for private insurance, and how long you need to live there to get residence ? Regards
Thanks, Dennis! I have a 5-year residency because my husband is an EU citizen. It wouldn't make a difference though with regards to private insurance. You need the zero copay plan when you do the paperwork but the years you don't you can switch to one with a copay. Now, we have one with a 6 euro copay for pretty much everything and pay 200.30 per month (in addition to being on the public system). For the zero copay, I believe it's 300/month for our age group. Once you have your visa, you need to register within three months here. Thanks for watching :-).
@@nextbiteoflife thank you 💚
Looks very nice mam....All your content is very good...
Thank you :-)
Very nice content
Thanks for watching it 🙂
Absolutely right
Very informative video.
Thanks for listening 🙂.
As a spaniard I can say that Valencia is the new Barcelona, tourists and expats must visit , good weather , good people , very safe city , and now is the music capital of Spain ( jazz, rock , pop music )very cultural and very well connected to other european capitals .
Hello, I do agree with you on this, even though it makes me a bit sad. I like Barcelona well enough but find it too chaotic. There's been an uptick in more theft (phones, bags, etc) since the lockdown ended and I hope it calms down a bit. I have also been surprised by the amount and variety of music available. That is exciting. I guess nothing can stay a hidden gem for long. Thanks so much for your input.😊
Looks beautiful. I love the color and flowers 🌺
Thank you so much 😊. I am loving it 😍.
I am a Black man in my early 40s and was thinking of moving here. I was wondering what the Black community is like there.
Hi there! If there’s one, I don’t know about it. What l see are more groups of people where the common interest is something, like sports, tennis, backgammon, or food. I know there’s one in Madrid (women) and Lisbon but not here. Sorry for the late response but we’ve been traveling 😊.
@@nextbiteoflife thanks so much :)
Answering the phone with ´Tell me´ is rude and unprofessional, no matter, what country you are in. The chatting with customers long past any actual work being done is SO common. This has even happened at San tan der bank in Palma de Mallorca when I was waiting to speak to an adviser. She had a male customer and it was clear no work was being done and she just deliberately carried on chatting about this, that, and the other with him, even though he had gotten up from his chair and was ready to leave. This carried on for a good ten minutes while a queue of people including elderly people waited. Basically, she just wanted a break and to use up the time before the branch closed (normal closing time being 2pm on weekdays and closed on weekends!) so she could deal with less customers and then go home! Same thing happened to me at a pharmacy in Palma de Mallorca during covid!
Yeah, it is one of the most frustrating things ever, and it gets worse. They just don't care. Sometimes, I think it's because they get paid very little, sometimes l think they enjoy the power. My husband keeps getting frustrated even after all these years and speaks up all the time and they just ignore him. I told him he would end up getting a heart attack if he doesn't chill. You gotta take the good with the bad. When I used to work in the pharmacy back in the States, my old partner invested in a cell jammer and would cut off all calls all the time. Sick people don't want to hear about idiotic things :-).
I feel the same way as your husband. It is completely unacceptable and thoroughly unprofessional behaviour. Yes, it´s about doing less work, treating the workplace like somewhere they just have to be present at for enough to get paid enough to be able to pay rent and bills. They don´t care whether they are working or not and would prefer to work as little as possible while still getting paid. The power thing, yes. That too. Making the next customer wait because they can, while enjoying themselves having a long chat while getting paid. This is a big part of why Spain is not progressing. Lack of ambition, work ethic, apathy, complacency, and huge lack of respect for both others and for self. When a society believes that respect is as something optional or unnecessary, and respectful and professional behaviour is not taught by most parents, schools, or employers, we can expect that society to take a nose dive. People come to Spain mainly because of (and ofcourse there are lots of other reasons such as culture, food, etc) 1) lower cost of living and 2) weather, just like I did. People leave when they are treated poorly and disrespected, just like I did. Greetings from London. @@nextbiteoflife
Regarding pay, I don´t think it is that to be honest. There are many countries of the world, where people get paid far less, but they make much more effort and want to do to a good job at a high standard and meet professional standards of conduct in the workplace because they know it reflects both on their company and on them. Not so in Spain for the most part! Most parents in Spain do not teach their kids that they should be considerate of others, consider the impact of their actions and behaviour on others, that they should always strive to do their best, to work hard and do the best job they can and to care about being efficient, being effective, making sure their work is of a high quality and standard etc. etc. Ofcourse some parents do, but they are in the minority in Spain and public schools also do not teach these things and most employers also look the other way so they can keep paying employees less, spend almost nothing on training employees, and can keep taking the profits. I´ve found that in Spain, the most polite and courteous people you can find are supermarket workers. I have had the odd supermarket worker be unhelpful, but for the most part, they are humble and helpful and kind. However, in almost all other shops, hotels, other establishments, services, etc. this is often not the case in my experience, except for 5 star hotels which do provide more training and where staff will actually face consequences if they behave in an unprofessional manner, because ofcourse the hotel does not want to lose its well-off high spending customers. @@nextbiteoflife
@@LaChicaconSuerte-1111 I'll have to pay more attention I think :-). I am usually in my own world and after so many years of dealing with customers, I have my own shield of sorts. Thanks for the eye-opening input.
@@LaChicaconSuerte-1111 I'm curious. Isn't the cost of living so much higher in London? Was it worth the tradeoff? I do agree that people leave when treated badly, but since I can only speak as an American, we are so spoiled the other way (too much attention and help) that it's hard for people to adjust to the fact that they are not number one :-).
I don´t know, honestly, when I first saw this station, I thought the appearance looked very fascist.
I love the fact that everybody is not the same and sees something different. It would be boring otherwise :-). I never got that vibe but I wonder if others feel the same as you do.
Yeah, I honestly didn´t expect to have that response when I saw it. I first saw it on video about a month ago and then I went there myself around three weeks ago and saw the station and went into it, but it was absolutely full of scaffolding as I guess it is being renovated. I don´t think it is ugly, but as I say, to me, there is something fascist about the style and symbols. I remember talking about Vienna´s architecture with a German friend when we were both living there and working for the same company and I said that Vienna was very pretty and the architecture was nice and very ornate and neat, but somehow very cold and aloof and then she laughed and said, well, it´s actually very Nazi! I was really surprised, especially as she is German, but then I realized that it does have that kind of a vibe. I lived in Vienna for three years and it truly felt lacking in a soul. It has everything and it´s pretty and usually quite safe and very organized, but devoid of a soul and literally not one spontaneous thing happened in my three years of living there. I don´t regret living there as it was an interesting experience, but I don´t think I´ve ever lived in any other city that just had no soul and where I felt so dead as I did there. @@nextbiteoflife
Is her name Allison or Karen ?
That was her name when I interviewed her. Perhaps you can write her to double check via her site? Thanks.
Thank you so much. Probably the best video on KZread about the difference in insurance and healthcare from US to Spain. BTW, is your insurance private or public in Spain? Do many clinics speak English?
Awwhh… thank you so much. It is so good to hear that. I kind of stopped because it seemed people were looking for flashy videos. Our insurance is private. We have been here long enough to be able to buy into the public health care system which runs from 65-350 euros per month more or less depending on age. We , however like the private because we like the clinic and have found English speaking doctors there. There are more places now where you find English speakers in the public sections, but it’s not the usual. Thanks again for making my day.
Thank you for the information. Good job
Thank you so much for watching it. I appreciate it :-).
I love the laid back, informative interview! Great job.
Thanks so much. I was so natural. I didn't do any edits :-)
Thank you for sharing! Adding this areas to my list to check it out!
Good to hear. We were really disappointed at first that we couldn't afford it by the time we were looking :-). I hope you're well.
@@nextbiteoflife Yes, we are great and counting days to move to Valencia. Hopefully in two or three years. We'll be there in July, next month to check out some neighborhoods, make a expenses comparison with Portland Oregon and meet my niece newborn baby.
I just came across your video and immediatley subscribed. Your content is great, it makes me want to visit Valencia. The expats that you have interviewed all seem like good people. Is there an expat or Facebook group that I can get acquainted with prior to my visit next year?
I’m curious to know what was Shakira’s shortlist of countries to move? Great interview, sorry I may have missed it🙏🏾
Hi, I will ask her and get back to you. Thanks.
I've been watching the Netflix show Valeria and the show takes place in Madrid. As an American what I love is the walkable cities, high speed trains, beautiful parks and gardens, amazing architecture and culture. Spain has so many good qualities.
I agree with you. There is so much to love about Spain. You're the third person to mention that show to me, I have to see if l can find it. I canceled my Netflix after about 17 years a few weeks ago and l don't miss it. We use our car so rarely, just to start it to make sure the battery doesn't die, which it has several times before. I like having the park three minutes walk from us, and we use the high-speed train as often as we can. The safety factor is also huge. I love it for so many things. No going back for us.
Please share your gas and electricity providers and plans!
Hi Edgar, please write me at the email address on the contact tab and l will gladly share. I don’t like to share names publicly so if things ever turn sour, l won’t have to go hunting for it☺️.
So happy to know that you feel so good in my city... in our city! Greetings from your neighbour.
Your city, your home, has been very kind to so many foreigners, very welcoming. You should be proud. I know so many who feel the same way. Muchas gracias por su hospitalidad 😚.
I love your show. You provide a lot of information about Valencia!
Awwwhhh... Thanks so much Monica! I really appreciate it 🙂.
@@nextbiteoflifeI had the chance to study abroad in Spain in 2016 for 5 months and had the time of my life. Im an African American male that lives in the U.S and wants to move to Spain in the future. Its no seceret that racism is here, but whats your perspective of how it is in Valencia given the most recent report of the racism in Laliga?
@@KingMK31 I think one would have to have their head buried in the sand to think everywhere is 100% free of racism. I still maintain that I have yet to feel this in my everyday life here (I couldn't say the same about the States). Football fans are a different breed altogether, to be honest. As someone who lives with a soccer nut and watches a crapload of games (more than I care to :-) ); that odious behavior happens across the countries, this just got more press. The leagues do what they can. They expel the idiots, punish a whole section if no one snitches, etc. In the end, it's all about their team and those asswipes would do anything to win.
hi valencia has 11 lines, not six
Hi Art. Thanks for the comment. We were referring to the ones that run within the city only, not including the regional trains. You are right :-).
Nobody asked but I'm gonna give some context incase anybody is interested. This line was started way back in 2006 (and had been planned even sooner), it was originally called line 2 and would run from Tavermes Blanques (on the North of the city) to Natzaret (South) and would run underground through all the center of the city, with stations under the Serrans Towers and the Central Market (which was built but never used and remains as a ghost station). Tunneling under the center was too expensive and during the 2008 crisis the line was left abandoned. After the regional government changed they began to work on the line again, but only on the southern part, so finally in 2020 it opened, but for some people the line is unfinished since it lack the northern part. The truth is there's no plans to work on that part since there's no money for it. It's been renamed to line 10 since in 2015 line 1 was split in two so one of the parts became line 2. It's fully a tram line, with the particularity that has a section underground, but that still doesn't make it a true metro (but that in Valencia doesn't really matter, since both work the same way). And as a side note, there's plans to enlarge the line to the city port thus joining line 6,since as of now, the line is isolated from the rest of the lines.
Haha! You made me laugh with your declaration. I sometimes start off like that too 🤣. Thanks so much for the thorough explanation. I remember them talking about it coming from Serrano Towers and Central Market and l was surprised when it didn't, especially because l was told that the station under Central market was already there. It's a shame that it will not be complete as originally planned but joining the 6 would be a good consolation prize. Muchas gracias por la explanación 🙂.
@@nextbiteoflife Yeah, there's some ideas to use the Central Market station for a future line 3 ampliation, but it's a shame we will probably never see this line completed, it would've been amazing to go from the Serrans Towers, to the Central Market and to the City of Arts and Ciences all with thr same line, but at least in the future we may go from the center to the CaC and to the beach which is nice. Good video!
@@josumds1896 Thanks Josu. Yes, I had been looking forward to being just a few metro stops from the towers. Oh well :-). The beach would be nice so l can't wait for that.
There was so much discussed but no mention of health care costs at retirement age. We are fans of yours and have listened to you for years from Montreal. Now we have finally arrived in Spain for a good long vacation and all our hopes about liking it have been fulfilled. You are a pharmacist by training and have been in Valencia for 5 years. What do you think of health care insurance there? We live with Canada public health care here. We are worried to give it up and I am 70 with no major health issues. I would appreciate your thoughts on this! Thanks in advance. Mary in Madrid
Hi Mary, you must have somehow missed the health insurance video. Here is the link kzread.info/dash/bejne/mW2G08isZLWvpKg.html l do also put it on the cost of living videos. I'm not yet able to collect social security yet so l don't talk about that. I, however, have several friends that are in your age group, and most seem to give up paying the premium monthly because they have no plans of moving back. In any case, if they ever need it, they would restart and pay the "fine". There are also a lot of "combos" as l call them. After a year, you can join the public health care system (costs range from 67-200 euros l believe) and there are people that still keep their private and add on the public because the two premiums combined are still cheaper than it would cost in the states. It's overkill, but after the trauma from there, it's understandable. I'm glad you like Madrid. It's a fabulous city for sure :-).
hi Kemkem, just subscribed to your channel last nite as i am starting my research for my late 2023 move to Spain--probably Valencia as it most resembles los angeles in weather...l don't do cold!! i really enjoyed your interview with Lee.... he seemed to be soooo happy with his choice of Valencia. so good to hear that the Spanish consulate in los Angeles is one of the better/most helpful. i am a TexMex American and just retired in 2021 and left los angeles because i could not afford to live the way i wanted to money wise in los angeles... so i moved to a small rural town in New Mexico where i can live on my social security monthly check of just under $2000 monthly and have savings for odds/ends/leisure. i do have a couple of questions that maybe you and/or Lee can help me with..... 1. i've been all over the internets and done tons of google searches and still can't find a simple answer for the following: i am 72 years old and as i mentioned, i live on social security---just pennies under $2000.00 monthly and if need be i have a savings account: is $2000 monthly a good income for a single person to live on??? i believe that lee stated that his "total monthly" expenses were $1800 a month. also, if you all receive social security.... does the Spanish Government tax your social security checks if it is the only "income" you have? as you stated Kemkem, i am also long winded....! thanks for the great videos. richard
Hi Richard, I'm not sure why KZread chose to spam your comment, but it just happened to catch my eye as l was about to close the tab :-). Haha! another ex Angeleno like us. Love it. I will try and answer your questions. 1) YEP! You can live on 2000 dollars per month as a single person, shoot, we're two with two dogs and live for less than that. Lee's chunk is rent (hopefully you took a look at his apartment and saw the cost) but he lives smack dab in the center popular with expats. Live 15-20 minutes walk from there and you can knock off quite bit with proper research. A lot of locals don't make that much monthly. 2) Short answer is yes, you do get taxed. Long answer is that you will probably end up paying zero after your allowed deductions for your age group. Yes, L.A is definitely one of the better ones, at least for now. He is still loving it by the way, and has more friends than l do even...hahaha! Take care.
@@nextbiteoflife thanks for your reply and information.... at the end of the day i have decided to talk to a tax person familiar with the Spanish tax code/etc. did you all use someone that you would recommend? i really enjoy your interviews with new expats.
@@richardcadena7746 Thanks, Richard. It's a good idea to talk to a professional. Unfortunately, no recommendations from this side. It's something l will pay more attention to in the next year and a half more than likely as it would affect me more :-).
Could you share what Expat Service he used that help him obtain his visa as well as help him get an apartment?
Hi Daniel, could you write me via the contact email here. I always hate mentioning the names of companies etc. and if things go sour have to go hunting fo them to remove :-), only the ones l truly use and still love are here. Thanks
Lee you were great, and for everyone reading this, I’m his genius sister 😂❤
Haha! Hello, genius sister, you deserve a pat on the back for that push!🤣
Nice apartment! Thank you for sharing and a special thanks to Lee for allowing us to tour his home.
Thanks for watching it :-). Totally appreciate it, and yes, thanks, Lee.
𝕡𝐫ｏ𝕄ｏ𝔰𝓶
great video KemKem...i will be in Valencia this Friday for a week. I am scouting out Spain and I am currently in Madird and will be catching the train there. I am looking forward to seeing what Valencia has to offer.
Thank you for watching it! Awesome that you'll be visiting. I hope you enjoy it and find something to your liking. I like Madrid a lot too and the best part is that it's not so far. Whereabouts are you staying?
@@nextbiteoflife Carrer San Ignacio de Loyola, not sure where that is, but the host tells me that it's a 5 minute car ride from the train station.I would like to buy you a drink when I arrive.
@@GlobalTravels I used to live about a five-minute walk from that street, and is one of my favorite areas in the city. Haha! A drink sounds good, contact me via the contact tab and we can hopefully arrange something 🙂.
@@nextbiteoflife - will absolutely do that...thanks
KemKem...so sorry I didn't get to connect with you. Just got back from 3 weeks in Spain. Spent 1 week in Valencia, I week in Barcelona and I week in Madrid. Loved them all for different reasons. Good food, wonderful people, wonderful architecture, great weather. I would cross Madrid off my list to live. I have posted a few videos about my experience on my channel.
No worries Simona. As long as you had a good time. Wow! Madrid over Barcelona uh! Must be the beach that's the deciding factor. I will check out your channel 🙂
@@nextbiteoflife Barcelona was my fav but Valencia was a close close 2nd. Madrid was too crowded.
@@Simona_midulcevida I like the vibe in Madrid much better and is my go-to of the two, but you really can't go wrong can you? You ladies looked like you were having so much fun :-). Cool!
@@Simona_midulcevida barcelona is the most dangerous city in spain due to ileal inmigration, trust me... you dont want to live there.
por desgracia en españa, primero hacemos las obras arquitectonicas y luego pedimos el permiso que por supuesto tiene su multa o sancion, la denuncia es practicamente igual que el precio de de los permisos, porque el coste de derribo es superior a la sancion y al coste de los permisos. esto es españa.
We've enjoyed watching your videos, specially this one. It was a great interview and very helpful information. This gentleman transmitted such joy and kindness over the tube that it hit my heart and I felt emotional hearing him say how happy he was at having made the decision to move there. My husband and I visited for the first time a few months ago and love everything about the city. We're planning on visiting again in the future and hope to have a chance to meet you in person. Best wishes,
Thanks for watching it Jackie, I appreciate it. I agree with you about his joy and kindness and I'm glad it came through in the interview. He is definitely happy. It's fantastic to hear you had a good time, for sure..hit us up when you arrive and hopefully we can meet and chat :-).
I enjoyed this interview. This is exactly where I want to be in a few years. I’m curious about how the language learning is going and what some of the biggest challenges/obstacles have been. Maybe I’m nosy but I would have liked to know what he did before retiring since he seems much younger than traditional retirement age. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Stefanos. You're definitely aspiring to do something awesome. Can't believe l forgot to ask him that. The thing is though that now it seems if you live in the city center especially, you can get away with no Spanish at all, l will follow up with him. I know he was looking into classes. Haha! He will definitely thank you. He looks young, doesn't he? but he is definitely retirement age haha!!! He told me what he did, but l forget now but will ask him.
@@nextbiteoflife Awesome! Thanks again 👏🏾
KemKem! Was wondering why I wasn't getting notifications for this channel. So glad to see new content from you! Great interview; looking forward to seeing Lee's apartment. Retirement can't get here fast enough!
Thanks, Sandra. Life just got busy and l haven't had a chance to do much. I was mostly busy learning to draw and putting together a children's book 🙂found here under a pen name. amzn.to/3fGi4jC , btw...his apartment tour is up and you should be able to see it on the channel.
@@nextbiteoflife re: your book! How cool!! Did you do the artwork on the book?
@@angieoh2 Yes l did :-). Online art classes that are still ongoing, but l'm very happy with the outcome.
Thanks to you and Lee for sharing his experiences in Spain. I was glad to hear he tried other countries before he settled on Spain. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Thanks for listening Rochelle. Yeah..you gotta narrow it down and just do it 🙂.
Thank you for sharing 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Thank you for watching it 🙂
Thanks 😊
Thank you!
Another reason not to live in the city center (noise being the other big reason). The average after-tax monthly salary in Valencia is about 1,500€. These type of properties are essentially targetting non-Spaniards. The worst part is that a lot of them require proof of income from Spanish sources. So even if you are a digital nomad or have significant assets outside the country they won´t accept it. 🤷
Haha! His place is pretty quiet, at least when we were there. The sucky part is that it is definitely driving out the locals. Yeah, we have started the slippery slopes that are occurring in places like Barcelona, Prague, etc. and there is no cure.
@@nextbiteoflife Did you find this place through an agent? I will need to move soon and need to look at properties.
@@madhavyu He used an agent, l think a relocation agent.
I'd love to hear how it feels being black in valencia!
I think she touched on it in this interview a bit. Stay tuned, upcoming is an interview with a black man in Valencia 🙂.
Great Information,next year I am working on renting a place in Valencia for 1month what is a good location
Thanks, Solonge 🙂. Carmen and Russafa are very popular to stay in and will have you in the middle of everything.
Great interview, your guest seems so relaxed and happy to have escaped the USA rat race...very inspiring.
Thanks, Florence. Kris is exactly as you describe and he is still loving Spain :-).