Spain is one of the most popular retirement destinations for Britons because of the lovely weather and the type of laid-back and easy-going life. In fact, according to The Standard (the London newspaper that is now becoming weekly), recent figures showed that 1,050 Britons retire there every month. They join the other 370,000 UK nationals who live in Spain, according to a conservative estimate. 
Places such as Benidorm, Torrevieja, and Jávea are popular destinations, and Brits make up anywhere between 10% and 30% of the total population there. As of November last year, the Province of Malaga has the second largest British population totalling 56,019. So, if you choose to go to any of those places, there will be plenty of English-speaking people to meet. 
 
However, if you are planning to move to Spain and don’t know the language, you would do well to enrol in a course before going there. If you are going to an area with a lot of expats, it will still be helpful to speak Spanish. Not only that, but it is not a difficult language to learn. 
 
Another very good reason for so many people to retire to Spain is the cost of living. The average for a single person is €1,500 (£1,275) a month while for a family of four it is €2,985 (£2,537). The average cost of living in Madrid is some 40% less than living in London. 
 
 
You Need An NIE Number 
 
If you want to open a bank account (which you will if you are living there) or are working there, then you need a Spanish NIE number which is issued by the police. It is a tax identification number and is also used as a general form of ID although it doesn’t contain photo ID. 
 
Wherever you are going to live in Spain you will probably want to take a lot of your possessions with you. This means that you will need a removal firm like us at Movers International to take all your furniture and other belongings to wherever you are going. 
 
However, if you don’t plan to take a lot, and only need small removals to Spain for a few items – or even a single item – then the good news is that we have a weekly service to Spain. We also have two of our own depots in Alicante and Malaga. This means that if you use our small removals to Spain service, we can also store any items for you if you are not ready to move into your new home immediately. Contact us for more details. 
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