In this YouTube video, Caroline Clinton explains the six steps that you should take when purchasing Spanish property. It takes you through the process from finding an independent lawyer to organising to pay your taxes and make a Spanish will.

With conditions for living and buying in Spain largely continuing as we know them until December 31st 2020, this is the time to decide exactly what your intentions are, if you can:

Rumour and gossip abound when it comes to what you need, to apply for residency in Spain. 

Never more so than now that Britain has left the EU. At the moment, however, you can still benefit from the special privileges of EU membership during the transition period.

In this article David Ruiz uses his unique style of writing to get the message across. Don’t delay. There will be new requirements after December 2020 and as we don’t know yet what those will be it is safest to apply for your residency now and make sure that you have what you need to stay in Spain:

The hotline is providing advice for both Spanish citizens wanting to live in the UK and for British people living in Spain. You have a choice of listening in Spanish or English on topics such as residency, healthcare, retirement pensions, social security and driving licences. There is also an option of speaking to an operator:

Why not try out the Spanish nationality test. If you did decide to swap your UK passport for a Spanish one then there are two tests that you must take. 

One is a language test and the other tests your knowledge of Spain including its geography, politics, administration, customs and history.

You can try out your knowledge with The Local’s sample questions. They have very kindly translated the questions into English. If you were to sit the actual test, it’s in Spanish of course:

The last days of February are carnival (carnaval) time in Spain. This fantastic flamboyant event is celebrated in many towns and villages with ‘peñas’ or troupes dressing up in the most amazing costumes. The detail that is put into creating these flights of fancy is truly breath taking.

Although you can see carnival processions (although it may be a little late for you this year) in most parts of the country, one you should definitely try to see is that of Águilas:

The Spanish crisp manufacturer Bonilla a la vista couldn’t understand at first why their product was suddenly featuring on social media. Then they discovered the crisps had had a cameo role in the Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’.

The distinctive tin containing the crisps features in a scene where the Kim family are eating snacks and drinking whisky. Since this unexpected marketing success, sales of the actual product have increased. That’s definitely one way of getting noticed:

Most visitors and residents of Spain recognise the attractions of the tapa. Often provided free with a drink, these tasty snacks can be bought in larger quantities and eaten as a meal. You’d certainly want to make a meal of these ten special dishes that are served in the ‘Ten temples of Spanish tapas’:

Have you changed your eating habits since you came to Spain or are you still eating your fish and chips at 1pm and roast chicken on a Sunday? In this article from The Local, they share ‘Eight steps to dining out like a local in Spain’:

Reading this newsletter you are probably already sold on Spain and don’t need anyone listing the reasons it’s the world’s greatest holiday destination. But then it’s always good to get your opinions confirmed. This article from The Telegraph was published in 2017 so some things might have changed but we still think they make some very good points when it comes to the advantages of holidaying here:

If you like red wine but don’t want to spend more than €5 a bottle then this is the article for you. It lists 15 red wines that have been given a ‘4 eyes’ rating, along with where you can buy them and a comment. A good opportunity to do some tasting and comparison of your own:

This article from Money Saver Spain provides some good advice on the use of bottled gas. It also comes as a reminder not to accept an inspection from someone who cold calls at the door:

Again from Money Saver Spain, this article provides ten useful services that you should be able to find in your local Spanish post office:

If you’re someone who prefers to leave behind the tourist towns and explore then you might be interested to read about five places in Spain that El País suggests are worth visiting. These ‘undiscovered’ areas are to be found in the regions of Aragón, Castile and León and are given a mention due to their history, beauty and some of the exclusive landmarks they offer:

Have you hear of gut microbiome? Well, apparently this community of microbes which live in the intestines play a crucial part in our body and cause behavioural changes as well as being linked to health and ageing.

You can try reading all of the article, but be aware that some of it is rather technical. If you’d rather just check out the main message – it’s that those who follow the Mediterranean diet have more healthy microbes in their gut. The research team conclude that ‘the more you can stick to a Mediterranean diet, the higher your levels of good bacteria linked to healthy ageing will be.

Sounds good to me!: