So much to think about
Moving houses comes with many challenges, you probably moved at least once in your life to know that there will always be something that you didn't think about at first or unexpected costs/issues appear at some point. I know this after quite some moves and even 2 international ones. Even though my international moves were both quite rushed and without a solid plan/idea of how things would turn out after arrival, I have learned quite rapidly that stuff is just stuff and not that important.
I learned how to say goodbye to belongings much quicker than the usual person and I also learned to have faith in the process and feel that everything will unfold exactly as it should. I can safely say that in the past years, I even learned to have faith that everything will now unfold exactly as I want because this time the move is much more organized and by actual choice, while the previous two were done by picking the best options available which is something totally different.
I would not have wanted it any other way
Each and every move has brought good memories, even though some may have been rushed and were plain out stressful and probably caused us to have a few years of life shortage being exposed to extremely stressful situations which were totally out of our control. I'm very happy to say that today, we are in a totally different place mentally as well as financially and I'm super calm about the process, I'm not worried at all and I feel that it will work out exactly as we want it to.
Looking back on these other moves has taught us things we appreciated a lot as well as things we really want to avoid and are deal-breakers when finding a home. Therefore, I'm super happy that I was able to convince my boyfriend to not to try to find a new home before setting things into motion because it's simply nearly impossible unless you know some people there that help you out. To be totally honest, if I would have listened to this without being able to convince him at some point, we would have not been able to set things into motion because these real estate agencies just won't respond unless you are able to have a visit in person.
Finding the right accommodation
I always hunt for the best accommodation possible, not only regarding comfort but also price. Location matters too! Even if I say so myself, I'm quite good at these things too, it always works out. This time, it took me a few hours of comparing accommodations before I decided which one was going to be our first stay for two weeks. I don't even have to ask my boyfriend's opinion as he always agrees with whatever I pick anyway and will see where we end up in person. When booking, I honestly had no intentions to book a longer stay as I felt like we should just hurry up and find a new home within that time frame. Especially as the summer season is starting soon and many accommodations will charge premium fees or are fully booked during the summer months.
You'd think it's quite a risk leaving everything behind here, carrying a bunch of suitcases and just hoping for the best! Then I realized, a few years ago, it was already July when we left for Spain, not knowing what was waiting for us in the future, and that worked out too. So I decided to trust the process, it will work out just how it should and exactly how we want it.
Taxes started to come to mind
While currently, I pay a flat tax, which is nice, the gestor in Spain told us that if you reside before July the first, you will have to pay taxes over the full year in Spain, even if you just arrived there weeks before. This was something I decided to not worry about from the moment he told me, but now it kept popping up in my thoughts. What if we just book a few more accommodations until July so we sign a contract on the first of July the earliest? Yes, the fees per night are higher closer to July, but it will keep my taxes clear and I will not be taxed again while already paid here the first months of the year.
I did some calculations and quickly discovered that it's much cheaper to even stay in a hotel for a few weeks than paying these taxes again over Jan-July in Spain while already mostly taxed. So I booked us two different hotels for a week. Why two different ones? Because I wanted to have the option of canceling for free a few days in advance in case we did find the perfect place to live and the contract was only to be signed before July or we'd lose the option. The possibility is there you know, so I rather have the option on the spot to cancel one thing instead of losing the money.
First month, all set
Wooptiedoop, kid happy as we will have a community pool the first two weeks and not far from the beach either. What else do you need? Uhm maybe more bedrooms, that would be nice. So then my realization about WIFI came today. I was wondering if being in a hotel would be smart when my boyfriend needs to work full time from week 2. I mean it's nice and all that kid and I could walk to the beach but for him, it would mean being locked up in that same room for a week, not that great. And I also remembered staying in hotels with WIFI, where we found out it wasn't that great after all, he really needs it for work and it needs to be steady too.
I went back hunting apartments and as if the universe had been messing with it, guess what? I found a great apartment not far from the first so no town hopping for us after two weeks, and on top of that it was very much affordable! I decided to book it and pay the advance immediately. Hotel 2 got canceled and then I hoped to replace the last week in the hotel as well because that was by far the most expensive week, although it was also my favorite hotel stay to look forward to, I didn't want us to feel locked up and at least try to find an apartment. Ten minutes later, a new host caught my eye (last time this one wasn't there yet). It's a great location and even cheaper than the other two. I had to wait several hours before they confirmed but we have just received confirmation, yay!
Another "tiny" issue: check-out vs check-in times
These can differ up to 5 hours, and I realized this may not be too great with a bunch of suitcases and a 6-year-old. Soon after realization I requested an early check-in at our second host and was told they can only confirm a day before arrival. Sounds fair, it obviously depends on other people/cleaning, etc. At least now they know it would help us a lot. But why not ask the first host for a late check-out as well, just in case? It took an hour for the host to get back to me with the kindest message as well as some humor added that they blocked the day of our departure so that no other guests could book that day, giving us all the time we need with no additional cost. I was amazed by their kindness and it made me even more excited for our arrival in a few weeks.
I will now request the same thing at our second and last host that instead of early check-in, maybe lat check out is optional instead. Even if it will cost a bit more, I'm still willing to pay for the convenience, especially because today I saved us about 500 euros by re-evaluating and booking our stays for the first month.
Human kindness and excitement
I feel blessed that I only had to ask what I wished for, and I got answered by human kindness without even being charged extra. I feel extremely excited about this new adventure and I just feel that our new home will be there for us and everything will be aligned perfectly.
Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!
Previous parts of The Expat Diaries
- Catching up and saying goodbye's
- We're closing the kindergarten chapter sooner than expected
- Finding a place to live in Spain
- The countdown is real - The last times in Budapest
- Our life in 6 suitcases - sorting, selling & giving away our belongings
- Moving back to Spain very soon!
Credits
- Header Image
- The text divider is my own design, where I sometimes use images from Canva Pro or in other cases, my own images.
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