Health insurance, tax, everything else

[kevin.nicholls]

Morning all !!

Hope someone can help ... need to rethink my whole life by tomorrow morning and one option is to bring my redundancy money to Tenerife a little earlier than I'd planned to.

Would like to know, however, how much people are paying for stuff like health insurance (m 50, f 46), council taxes, community charges etc all cost these days.

Also, I've read previous posts about putting kids straight into Spanish schools and have no worries about that. But how long will that actually take to pile through all the paperwork.

Sorry if these answers are posted elsewhere, but can only find a 2008 version and I guess things have changed a bit since then.

Many thanks in advance.

[fonica]

Morning all !!

Hope someone can help ... need to rethink my whole life by tomorrow morning and one option is to bring my redundancy money to Tenerife a little earlier than I'd planned to.

Would like to know, however, how much people are paying for stuff like health insurance (m 50, f 46), council taxes, community charges etc all cost these days.

Also, I've read previous posts about putting kids straight into Spanish schools and have no worries about that. But how long will that actually take to pile through all the paperwork.

Sorry if these answers are posted elsewhere, but can only find a 2008 version and I guess things have changed a bit since then.

Many thanks in advance. Lots of questions there but if your children are over 9 years old,they will struggle in a Spanish school.Little ones are fine because they can afford to miss a years education whilst they learn the language but for older kids they miss too much whilst they learn and they are less likely to settle.You will hear many stories of older kids being unhappy in school and falling so far behind that they never catch up.Sorry to be negative but it is important that you understand the implications of what you finally decide to do. You will need to have private insurance for all the family if you are not working and paying social security in Spain so you will be looking at around 200 euros per month for minimum cover if you don't have any existing medical conditions.If you are renting a property you will need 550 euros upwards and other local taxess depend if you buy property.Good luck whatever you decide.

[timmylish]

My real worry here is that it sounds to me that whatever money you might have had available has dried up and you are trying to make a long term decision in a matter of hours. NOT a good idea!! Please do yourself a big favour and reconsider that, if possible. The nest-egg once opened will never be replenished again so, what I would be doing is rather than bringing your redundancy money over should you not be going the other way, with a nice little pot?

[kevin.nicholls]

Many thanks, Fonica. That's really helpful.

Sam is only six, so the consensus from those that have been through this is that he would cope OK.

That's just one of many reasons why this is a "now or never" moment!

Thanks again.

[casabonny]

WE came over when my daughter was 9 and she settled well and was fluent in spanish within three months.A lot depends on what you are expecting from your life here.
Do you HAVE to work ie is it imperative to you having a reasonable standard of life , or could you work as and when to supplement your funds?Are you intending buying a property or renting, do you or your partner speak Spanish ? Would you be happy with social health cover( if you dont speak Spanish you would have to factor in paying a translator at every visit ) , this health cover is genarally good but as in the Uk waiting lists are long.
The rules regarding obtaining a residencia have changed and at present are a bit vague as to the ACTUAL requirements.You would need at least an NIE and empadronmento to get the child into state school I should think.
There are lots of things to consider and up and running at a moments notice IMHO is a rather rash thing to do .Why not come and try it for 3 months while your child is on school holidays, BUT if you do do not treat it as a holiday try and live as you would be if working , normal routines etc and see how it goes.Is that an option ?
Good luck

[kevin.nicholls]

Sorry, didn't want to bore you all with the WHOLE story.

I have to decide whether to take what's on offer by tomorrow. But would not actually leave my company until September at the earliest.

Yes, I would NEED to work, eventually. The money would not last for ever. But I'm hoping it would get me through the first 12-18 months or so.

Also, we would not be selling our house in UK, so it's not a one-way ticket.

Thanks for replying.

[lapalma]

kevin,having made many trips to TENERIFE as a holiday maker and having spoken to many people about their time on the Island I have to respect them for what they have gone thru.Many have lost a lot,many have nothing but many are in employment and have cash.If I was you I would go out a buy a Euromillions ticket for tonights draw,if you win enjoy Tenerife,if you lose,dont worry buy another on Friday.All the best anyway and good luck.

[TenerifePool]

I hava a number of Spanish friends with school age children, they can generally be divided into two categories.

1. Those who send their children to private school because they think that the state school system is somewhere between awful and abysmal.

2. Those who wish they could afford to send their children to private school because they think that the state school system is somewhere between awful and abysmal.

[TIS]

Morning all !!

Hope someone can help ... need to rethink my whole life by tomorrow morning and one option is to bring my redundancy money to Tenerife a little earlier than I'd planned to.

Would like to know, however, how much people are paying for stuff like health insurance (m 50, f 46), council taxes, community charges etc all cost these days.

Also, I've read previous posts about putting kids straight into Spanish schools and have no worries about that. But how long will that actually take to pile through all the paperwork.

Sorry if these answers are posted elsewhere, but can only find a 2008 version and I guess things have changed a bit since then.

Many thanks in advance.

If you need any advice on insurance related matters then feel free to call, e-mail or facebook us for details.

In respect of your specific query for private health insurance we can provide FULL cover (general doctors, specialists, including Dental cover, hospitalisation and accident and emergency cover ), not minimal cover for 170€ per month ( as I see from the thread there is yourslef, the better half and a littel one to be considered).

Lots of us have successfully made the switch to life on teh Island, all with a different spin on what it takes and how successful or indeed worthwhile it has been.

All the best...

Added after 6 minutes:

If you need any advice on insurance related matters then feel free to call, e-mail or facebook us for details.

In respect of your specific query for private health insurance we can provide FULL cover (general doctors, specialists, including Dental cover, hospitalisation and accident and emergency cover ), not minimal cover for 170€ per month ( as I see from the thread there is yourself, the better half and a little one to be considered).

Lots of us have successfully made the switch to life on the Island, all with a different spin on what it takes and how successful or indeed worthwhile it has been.

All the best...

Sorry guys, I see the edit facility is still not owrking on the forum....