The law wont have any implication on your opportunities to settle in Spain if you have a job, start a business in Spain or retire to the Costa Blanca shores with your pension, but it is a reminder to plan your new life carefully in advance.

New Laws For Moving To Spain
The Spanish government has introduced new rules for EU-citizens wanting to fulfill their dreams of moving to Spain. Do not be intimidated, in most cases these new rules wont interfere with your plans for a new life in the Spanish sunshine at all. You just need to be aware of them.

Here are the new basic requirements for EU citizens moving to Spain permanently (more than 3months):

• Proof that you have a job (job contract or similar)
• Proof that you are registered as self employed
• …or if you do not work:
• Proof that you have healthcare (private or public from your home country)
• Proof that you sufficient means to support yourself (and your family)

Non-workers may have a pension, money in the bank or otherwise have enough assets to be able to support themselves and their family.

The new law (Spanish Order 1490 of 9 July 2012) has been put into place to ensure Spain isnt burdened by people moving to the country without any way of supporting themselves. It may seem a bit harsh, but basically it all just means you cant move to Spain and go straight on benefits or other forms of social support – the country simply cant afford it.

Moving to Spain – Finding Jobs in Javea
Moving to Spain has not as such become more difficult with the new laws, but they do underline the fact that living in the sunshine isnt just one long holiday – unless you bring enough funds to take the rest of your life off.

You need ways of supporting yourself and your family. If you have money in the bank, huge assets or bring a pension with you, that is obviously cared for in advance. However, if you are reliant on finding a job to support your family whilst living in Spain, it is definitely something that needs careful research and planning.

At the moment regular full time jobs are not impossible to find in Jávea or indeed on the Costa Blanca as a whole, but in general they are few and far between, often in the tourist sector, sporting fairly long hours and low pay.

The typical jobs becoming available in Jávea are bar jobs, restaurant gigs as chef or waitress or various sales jobs. The odd office job, secretary position or admin type work pops up but its rare. Most service jobs require at least conversational Spanish along with English – other languages on top of that being a big plus as the local tourism industry in Jávea caters to Germans, Dutch, Scandinavians, Russians and many others as well.

Finding a job in Jávea can be difficult, but in principle you have 3 months to do so before needing to apply for residency in Spain. It is highly recommended however that you secure a job prior to uprooting permanently and moving to Jávea. Taking a trip to Jávea for a week or two as a working holiday handing out your CV, looking for businesses hiring and talking to potential employers is a potential way forward. Another option is to research on facebook by joining groups such as “Javea Connect“, “Costa Blanca Jobs” and “Dream Job Directory Spain“.

Starting A New Business In Jávea
Another option is to create your own stream of income in Spain by starting a business. The easiest thing is to register as an autonomo, a self employed kind of registration, and set up based on that. If you have any useful trade or skills that obviously makes it a lot easier.

A carpenter, plumber, electrician, hairdresser, healer, mechanic or similar can probably set up shop and tab into the expat market even without the language skills required for a job – but do your research in advance, some areas will be overcrowded with businesses of a certain profession and lacking others.

If you have no skills theres still options to be creative and start a new type of business. In Jávea we have seen nice new initiatives open up such as an electric cigarette distribution business, a fish spa, various internet ventures, kayak rentals on the beach and many more. Again it takes planning, researching and funding but it is possible. Finally, several autonomos in Javea make a living running bars, cleaning or doing gardening – the competition is most likely cut throat and do not expect the millions to roll in anytime soon but with the right setup it might be enough to support you.

Move To Spain – You Wont Regret It!
Despite the obstacles moving to Spain is still a wonderful choice for you and your family. The Spanish lifestyle, the charming villages, the funny fiestas and the lovely beaches – you are bound to get a smile on your face even in hard times.

Just make sure you keep an eye on the new laws for immigrating to Spain and not least: Have a clear plan for your future sustainable livelihood once you get here. Jávea and the surrounding areas still has plenty of opportunities to be explored but it may take a bit more digging than it used to during the boom years.

Jávea has a healthy mixture of supermarkets with different features and prices. You will most likely find one that suits you.

Missing home? English Supermarkets in Jávea
Craving that cottage pie, English sausages or maybe a few Scottish eggs? Plenty of Supermarkets and stores are catering specifically to British expats and tourists.

The main English supermarket in Jávea is Iceland. The chain store by Overseas.es is an expansion upon the Iceland stores you may know from England in so far as the Spanish versions are carrying a full range of stock with the non-frozen articles taking up more than half the floor space. Iceland in Jávea is expensive and having primarily imported foods on offer you wont get the blessings of fresh food and Spanish specialties in there. You will however be treated to all the brands you are used to from England. Iceland is found right in the middle between the Port, the old town and the Arenal – just take a drive down the main road connecting the 3 parts of town.

Whilst Iceland is by far the biggest English supermarket in Jávea there are several smaller ones equally featuring imported brands from the UK and Northern Europe. One of the best ones is Keith & Lynns on the road up towards Cabo De La Nao, which features homemade bread and cakes, a secondhand book exchange of English books etc.

In general, you pay extra for imported brands in the English stores, but if your Spanish is limited or you have special needs to cater for, the options are plentiful and if used to Northern European prices you wont be shocked by the final bill.

German Supermarkets in Javea
Jávea has a rather large German population of expats and they are well catered for with no less than 3 dedicated supermarkets.

The 2 German discount Supermarket chains Liedl and Aldi both have stores in Jávea featuring more or less exactly the same stock as is carried all over Europe by them. The prices are competitive even in comparison with the cheapest Spanish supermarkets. Whilst Liedl and Aldi in Javea both have German origins and plenty of stock targeted at Germans, their cross-European focus means you can easily go in there and pick up British brands too at a very affordable price.

The third German supermarket is more of a specialty store called Aleman, located by Jávea Park. The shop is fairly tiny but full to the brim with German food such as curry heerings, remoulade, salty liquorice and brown flat-bread. Obviously, given the similarity in taste between Germany and Scandinavia, tourists from Denmark, Sweden or Norway will most likely find plenty of items from home as well.

Balkan Supermarket in Javea
In the more specialised end of the market theres a small but well stocked Balkan supermarket on the main road from the Javea port to the historic center.

The Bulgarian/Romanian supermarket carries a wide range of Eastern European specialties at quite reasonable prices.

Spanish Supermarkets in Jávea
You are on holiday in Spain. Why not try some of the specialties the Spanish supermarkets have to offer? Ranging from giant hams over spicy sauces to fresh baked bread.

Supermercadona is the big mainstream supermarket with a huge and varied stock. They are not the cheapest but they carry largely anything the heart desires. You can find Supermercadona just below Javea old town by the big car park and on the main road leading to the Arenal.

The Mas Y Mas shops you see scattered all over the place are simply the kiosk versions of Supermercadona from the same company. Mas Y Mas has less of a choice on the shelves, the prices are higher and the shops are smaller – but they serve their purpose as little convenience stores that will usually be within walking distance.

For more specialized Spanish food shopping you can venture into Supercor, which is rather expensive but has loads of extra delicious things on the shelves. Another option of course is the indoor market in Javea old town, whilst not a supermarket you can do most of your food shopping there and get a real treat of fresh fish, meat, vegetables and bread directly from the producers round Xábia.

But, it can be scary as well – what is the right area for you, are there any good schools for the kids in the area and what about all the formalities? In general moving to Spain is incredibly simple, particularly if relocating here from a country within the EU. Find yourself the house of your dreams, rent or buy it, get the removals truck on the road and start enjoying your new life in the Spanish sun. However, renting or buying a property abroad can be one of the more troublesome parts and Spain is not entirely rid of the con-men and scammers that used to plague the Costa Blanca and Costa Del Sol in vast numbers. The outright scams are rare these days, but it is still advisable to take basic precautions when investing your heard earned money and committing an part as integral as your home to the partnership of an estate agent or rental agent.

Finding The Perfect Jávea Rental Home
Taste in houses and homes is obviously individual, pick by your preference of course. But take a few steps to ensure the agent you are dealing with is legitimate, professional and easy to work with. In these Facebook days it is relatively easy to weed out the black sheep by simply utilizing the knowledge of people from the area you are planning to move to. For the Javea area, join the Facebook group “Javea Connect” (same with for instance the groups “Moraira and surrounding areas“, “Denia Connect” etc), ask the simple question “Has anyone used this particular rental agent? What are your experiences“. If they have never been heard of or the response is overwhelmingly negative, proceed with extreme caution or approach some of the alternative you get recommended instead.

Here´s a few things to look for and ask when approaching a Spanish rental agent about a specific property you are interested in:

• Does the agent have an actual local presence in the area of the property?
• Is the agent reputable? Ask on Facebook and search on Google
• How much does is the “agent fee”, deposit and other costs?
• Does the agent utilize a video inventory service such as Property Videos Spain ?
• Do they guarantee responsibility for electricity, water and gas bills up until the day you move in?

A couple of the points may seem unnecessary or strange, but for instance the agent taking on responsibilities for the electricity bills and other services can turn out to be quite important. It is far from uncommon that tenants flee a property without paying the last round of bills, when you then move in everything will seem fine for a couple of months or so until your water, gas or electricity is suddenly cut off due to a bill from before your time. Once that happens its very nice to be able to phone up the agent and have it sorted out immediately, rather than having to try and figure out how to pay old bills or having to fight over who is responsible for doing so.

The agent fee standard is half a months rent on top of the deposit. There may be plenty of good reasons for the agent fee to be higher or lower, if for example the agent takes on hunting down a specific type of property not in their inventory, but you need to know in advance and have a firm agreement. Firstly, the agent agreeing to handle any such situations in advance provides you the security of knowing, that any problems arising will be dealt with swiftly, but secondly a refusal to handle these matters might also give you an important hint as to what level of service you might expect in the future.

A video inventory service lends you at least three kinds of security for your rental as well. Stating the obvious but a video showing all inventory at the time on renting the property gives you solid proof of the state of the property, which is very handy for agreeing what needs improving or maintaining whilst living there, but absolutely essential when moving out, as you might otherwise get into a battle over existing damages, exactly what furniture or decorations were supposed to be there etc. Further, having a video inventory or a very detailed guided tour of the property in advance goes way beyond the traditional agent presentations with a few charming photos and some text picking up the property. Photos can be arranged, manipulated and taken at just the right angles that hides all the flaws of the property, a video tour or inventory will give you a much more lively and honest impression of the property in advance. Last but not least, simply seeing that an agent “dares” to have their properties presented via thorough video tours or inventories tells you, that they are confident in the quality of what they are selling you and honest enough to show you any downsides to the property prior to signing a contract to rent it. In the Jávea area the video service generally used by reputable agents, as mentioned above, is the Property Videos Spain.

Service Minded Spanish Rental Agents
A few more factors that may not make or break the deal, but surely shows that your agent is willing to provide a service beyond just giving you the key to the property could include answers to some of your more specialised needs – Can the agent sort out services such as telephone and internet in advance? Can they help you with a bank account in a Spanish bank before coming here? Can they recommend a school for your child?

Dont forget, things that appear too good to be true often are. An agent offering you a surprisingly low rent compared to market prices, no deposits or agent fees and a free flight to view the property might well be legitimate but should certainly be put under all the scrutiny you can master.

Fear not, your new and improved life in Javea Spain awaits if you decide to make the move. You will never regret doing so – particularly if you avoid the most obvious causes of hassle, worry and expense.

See more about  Moving To Javea

So, Stay off the drinks when driving in Spain. However, if the pub youre in holds a majority of british expats you should avoid admitting your reluctance to drive drunk. Being a british expat provides you with a certain entitlement in this sense and you should act as though youre the royally appointed ambassador with full political immunity, regardless if youre actually a gardener, a bankrupt estate agent or a plumber. As such, nipping down to the pub for your dose of 15pints of cheap lager with the other ambassadors should be a natural part of your daily routine and zig-zagging your proud right-hand-drive Rover home to the urbanisation after is a must. If youre too drunk to walk to the car or unable to locate your vehicle due to double vision, never ever admit that alcohol might play a role in your desire to take a taxi home. Instead use recommended and acceptable excuses such as:

“My Bentley has been flown to the factory in England for an oilchange”

“My private chauffeur has the week off as part of a thirdworld charity project I support”

“I do not wish to have my automobile scratched and vandalised by jolly foreigners, thus it is kept in the gated compound at night”

Of course, word on the street is that La Guardias are terribly racist and maliciously targetting poor british expats for no apparent reason. And way and behold the guardia has yet again strategically positioned themselves on the road between the urbanisations and the bulk of the pubs, waving in all obvious expats harmlessly zig-zagging along. The entirely unforeseeable razzia against drunk driving happens twice a week in the same spot, at the same time, catching the same lot and causing the same outrage. Its part of idyllic village life and if you aim to maintain any street credibility among ambassadors you should ensure getting caught at least bi-weekly. Be sure to enact little stories about your intermezzo with the law that you can boast later in the bar. For instance you should consider puking on la guardias uniforms, yelling “Manuel, Manuel, can I have a dry martini with that fine please” and if you are lucky enough to get stopped by a female guardia sexual harassment such as casual groping and invitations to intimate debates about the fine after work is absolutely essential. Dont worry. Even jolly foreigners such as the guardia have a sense of humour. If they fail to see the funny side of your stand-up comedian skills, just whack them one with your british passport. It is afterall only right that these villains with their fundamentalistic lack of respect for the empire are taught a little lesson in humility.

If you do manage to sneak past the inevitable guardia razzia, it is usually best to stop at a bar on the way for a few quick shots to regain confidence and optimise your driving skills. Subsequent problems commandeering your vehicle can be sorted by following a few simple rules of british driving in Spain:

1. Aim to keep your car exactly on the line in the middle of the road.

2. Overtaking in a RHD round corners is encouraged. Just use the horn to scare off lesser vehicles.

3. Cyclists are banned from being on the roads in Spain. Its your duty to help them understand. Violently.

4. Anyone whining about you being in their side of the road are clueless tossers, women drivers or both. Hunk the horn and put on your fog lights to finish them off.

5. If you see a car on german plates give the nazi salute and try running him off the road. It is a well known fact that all germans in Spain are intolerant fascists hiding from justice. They should be treated as such.

6. If approaching a policecar from behind, do your utmost to divert attention by acting like a lunatic before speeding past it. Dont worry, it is unlikely these foreigners can read, so they wont note down your numberplate and follow you home.

Driving in Spain isnt all fun and games as you can see. In fact, they are rather uptight about drunk driving, you might be thinking. Yes, the spanish are fiercely against such crimes and the guardia will do their utmost to hunt down any violators. Except of course on certain days when all traffic laws are suspended. If Nadal, Barcelona or any other important sportsteam has won, drunkdriving is not only allowed but obligatory. You must ensure that youre already severely drunk when the referee blows the final whistle, proceed to your vehicle immediately carrying as many bottles of booze as possible when he does. Join the caravan of cars blocking all traffic in town by doing 10km/h. Never remove your right hand from the car horn. Use your left hand to frantically wave flags and bottles of booze at everyone. Steer with your feet or just forget about direction. If on the other hand Real Madrid has just beaten Valencia or Barca the law is reverse and you get fined for being on the road at all – and whacked with truncheons on the spot if you argue or raise an eyebrow at being fined 150euros for doing 30km/h in a 40-zone.

Similarly if the local village is in the middle of their big annual fiesta, celebrating some saint that only they have heard off, driving is strictly prohibited as it might interfere with parades and the burning down of all inner-city buildings. Dispensations are happily given though if you promise to fire rockets from the driverside window whilst speeding through hordes of kids in the street. Generally, it is of the utmost importance that everyone is affected by fiestas to the fullest extend, thus the local police will take it upon themselves to block off all major roads and trafficflows for 7days before the start of the fiesta. Parking within 5kms of the fiesta is an equally hideous crime, that will be frowned upon by fireworks being let off on the windscreen and kids dancing on the roof whilst covering the remains in firecrackers. All traffic blockades are left in place for a week or 2 after the fiesta is over as a reminder of the fantastic festivities, this is a further useful practice as the next fiesta celebrating an unknown saint will usually be kicking off before the blockades are ever removed in this fashion.

Ok, I can take a hint. Ill grab a taxi home

Driving home drunk from fiestas is not allowed though, unless of course you are dressed in your parade uniform and are kindly giving all the local neighbourhood kids a lift. It further helps if youre driving a battered old Seat Ibiza, as it is common knowledge that special laws apply to Seats in general and Ibizas in particular. These precious vehicles are treated like endangered species and as such parking regulations, speed limits and dangerous driving rules do NOT apply. If in contrast your car holds a rental agency sticker, you will be chased through the streets, stripped naked in the middle of the road and have all valuables taken off you as these will per definition be a perfect match for all the instant fines you just received.

These are the laws. Written in stone and any and all violations will be fined by 150euros that goes directly into la guardias private fiesta fund.

PS: A snapshot from driving in Javea:

Göring Insurance. I drive past these people every day thinking – You really should rethink the branding bit of your marketing plan…but I dont dare to go in and tell them….

If youre an EU citizen moving from UK to Spain, Germany to Spain or any other full member of the EU is barely any hassle at all. You have the right to come here, settle down and get yourself a residencia. If youre moving to Spain from outside the EU you need to check the regulations for VISAs from you specific country but generally Spain is one of the least restrictive countries in Europe.

Laws and technicalities are of course only one side of the coin. The practical concerns such as where to stay, what schools to send the kids to, where to get a job and how you would fit into the lifestyle will usually fill up much more time than the basic legalities.

A Place To Stay In Javea
Before deciding on any specific house or location in Javea or the surrounding the area, you should take your time considering exactly why you are moving and what lifestyle you are hoping to settle into by doing so.

If you simple want to move your current life to a sunnier, cheaper and more chilled place, one of the urbanisations near the Javea Arenal will be a good choice for you. Those parts are largely expat ghettos, you have english shops readily available and the beach with all its amenities is just round the corner. Obviously, such a solution doesnt involve much integration in the actual spanish society and in theory you can fairly easily get by without ever learning any spanish beyond hola and gracias.

Javea long term rentals are plentiful in the english / expat parts of town with a huge range of spanish rental villas and downtown Javea rental apartments to choose between. The pricing is generally higher in the urbanisations and on the Arenal than in other parts of town as the offers cater almost exclusively to expats of various nationalities. Still, compared to Northern Europe rental prices in Javea are still relatively low with apartments nearby the Arenal starting at around 300euros/month for long term contracts and smaller villas in the urbanisations starting approximately at 600euros/month.

If youre in the opposite ditch and want to leave your lifestyle behind, integrate in spanish society and become a true mediterrenean citizen, you will be much better of looking at long term accomodation in Javea old town, the historic centre. Townhouses and apartment in Javea oldtown can be found at bargain prices, especially if you take a trip here first to go round looking for yourself. Living in Javea old town moves you straight into the pounding heart of a vibrant spanish village. You will find yourself woken up by crazy fiestas all through the summer, after a while you will barely bat an eyelit at the sight of bulls rampaging through the narrow streets and soon you will be having dinner outside in the narrow streets with your friends whilst yelling hola que tal at everyone passing by.

The old town solution takes alot more courage and determination, as you are the one required to change your ways to fit into the community and enjoy your stay, as opposed to life on the arenal where everything is adjusted to your unaltered desires in advance. Speaking spanish is a must and if you dont prior to your arrival you should arrange for immediate and intense schooling. There are plenty of option for learning spanish within walking distance where ever in oldtown your new casa may be located.

The third part of town, the Javea Port, is perhabs the compromise between the expat ghettos and the traditional spanish options mentioned above. The port is vibrant, has most of the shops and facilities you need and rental accomodation on the Javea port is generally cheaper than on the arenal, though not as cheap as in old town. You will find big south american communities living on the port lending extra latino vibes to the already charming area at the foot of Montgo national park.

Once you have decided which type of area you prefer for your future life in Spain, try hunting the internet for some promising looking options. All long term rental agents you encounter will be more than happy to take you on a guided tour of some of their available apartments or villas in Javea. Some rental agents will also be helpful in guiding you based on your needs and wishes, provide assistance with the formalities of the move and be able to recommend you gardeners, pool maintenance and cleaners if you require such services.

A couple of the trustworthy and serviceminded Javea long term rental agents, that I have personally had dealings with and as such feel comfortable recommending are Villamia and Renvida. There are dozens of others, so have a look around the net for more options. With a stack of promising properties in hand time has come to book a working holiday in Javea to see them all and hopefully choose one you fall in love with. Allow yourself as much time as possible to get a feel for the area and remember, the listing prices are a guidance rather carved in stone. Once you have the perfect house to build a future in, make sure you negotiate and haggle a bit to get the best possible price.

Schools In Javea
If you have kids that need to be sent to a school whilst living in Javea, there are basically two options: A dedicated expat school like the Javea International College or one of the communal spanish schools. A communal school may sound scary and intimidating, but in fact the level of education is rather high in Spain and the schools are of good quality. The communal school on the Arenal and to some extend the port school as weel, whilst spanish, are very used to non-spanish speakers entering the classes.

It obviously depends how old the kids are if its adviceable to send them into a spanish school without speaking spanish. If theyre just about to graduate its most likely a bad idea, if theyre just starting they will pick up the second language in no time.

The expat schools are said to be of brilliant quality and using more northern european teaching methods than the spanish ones. An obstacle for many would obviously be the rather excessive pricing as they are private establishments, but that should be a decision made based on your wallet and your wishes.

Getting A Job In Javea
It may sound harsh but if you are plotting to move to Javea whilst reliant on relatively quickly finding a job, reconsider or at least think very very hard about what youre doing before committing to a move.

There are jobs to be found but they are few, hard to get and generally offers very low pay. The unemployment in Spain is extremely high so you will find tough competition for every type of gig and naturally if your spanish isnt perfect and/or you dont have any experience or references locally you may find yourself being passed over by someone more qualified.

The best advice to give is to secure the job in advance. Go jobhunting whilst on extended holidays in Javea. Write from home to business owners that may have jobs matching your skills. You could be lucky but its far from easy.

Another option of course is to create the job yourself. Several people are selfemployed doing cleaning, maintaining gardens, setting up satelitte dishes or running beach bars. If you have some entrepeneural drive its perfectly possible to pave your own way like that, but do some proper research in advance and arrive with enough funds for a prolonged startup phase. Nothing moves at high speed in Spain, apart from bulls.

To be continued …