A bit off the subject - or perhaps it should just be under a different thread - but too appros to not share the thought -
Read a book called Driving Over Lemons for a wonderful, comical and true story about buying a cheap home in Spain.

Oooh, Ena is related to a witch?! Not a close relative, I daresay, since both she and Carmen are so simp�ticas. But inherited property in your future is super for you. About how much is 15 million pesetas in euros, anyway?

Heard of the book "Driving Over Lemons" and will look for it in my neighborhood library. Kind of a Peter Mayle in Spain saga?

Hey Sue.

Nah, not a relative at all, just a loooong story that will have to wait until I see ya in person again

15,000,000 pesetas = 90.000 Euros.

Saludos,
jer...

Well, Jer, let me know when the Bad Witch is gone and I'll go and rent it from you! I haven't given any thought about buying, but my husband, Mr. Bookman, will need convincing, he is somewhat of a tightwad, I'll need your help to convince that man, he's Scottish on both sides of his family, and he lives up to the thrifty stereotype! He has never been to Spain, but I am convinced that once he visits he will never want to leave! My son fell in love last year and can't wait to go back to school there.

Well I still have seven years yet to go and convince him!

Hey Booklady, tell him I was born in Scotland and I love Spain

Saludos,
jer...

By the way, if one wants to live in a small village inland (an hour outside of Madrid for example), "casas de pueblo" (typical village houses or apts) are very cheap.

You can get a nice place with 3 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathroom, garden, etc... for as little as 30,000 Euros if you shop around

Hell of a price, even if you can't rent it out when you are not there because it is not in a touristy beach area.

Saludos,
jer...

30,000 euros? Now we are talking turkey! Wow what an incredible price, Jer. It would definitely be more economical to buy an inexpensive place, fix it up and rent it out at an economical rate. Particularly if the town has good public transportation.

It seems from what I have read on this board that Spain is still the kind of country that one can be of modest means and live well. The reason I believe lies in the lifestyle that is less centered on "things" and more on "experience." By that I mean that it is not so important to have the latest model on the driveway, when you can still have the same experience, go to wherever you want to go, at a much lower cost with public transportation.

Thank you, Jer, you're the best!

Booklady,
To convince Mr.Bookman, retiring to spain with a US income (the exchange rate isn't going to help much-at least not now anyways) will most likely allow you to live in Spain much better than in the US. Keep in mind, that an average salary over there is less than it is here. So, although here, if you made like say 30,000 a year, well, if you're single, that's nice, but still not great, but over there, well, that's quite comfy! When I got my apt. in spain, I signed my loan and at the time I was at a job making 32,000USD and when the man at the bank converted it into pts. it was almos 7,000,000- considering my age, his eyes nearly popped out of his head!

As far as the apt/house thing.. well things especially now are quite pricey- but it also depends on the area you want to live in. A piso in the center of madrid will be obviously quite expensive (think Manhattan prices compared to surrounding areas), and as Jer pointed out, in some of the other cities or towns, well you can still get a nicely sized apt. or house for much less.

Also, a visa to retire over there isn't the same as the other poster who needed a visa to work for a co. outside of spain, but he wanted to live in spain (that's going to be complicated) Check out the NYC spanish consulate website (miami doesn't have a website- so although you'd need to process paperwork through Miami, you can at least get some information from the internet before calling) check out what they say about the different kinds of visas- to retire, you don't have to have the $75,000 a year- but you do have to prove that you have a steady income from which to live from (your retirement/pension). I don't know how much exactly... and also medical insurance...check out www.spainexpat.com there is information on this kind of stuff there also. It shouldn't be a problem.

Oh, and if the Mr. likes to travel, remind him that its sooo cheap to travel from spain to the rest of europe! That's a plus!

Hey espe3, great advice, thanks.

Booklady, unfortunately, many of the villages in which you can get a house for as little as 20,000 Euros ($) usually do not have good public transportation. Saw a place for sale in a paper here in a village about 50 minuted from Madrid (in Guadalajara) via car but the bus only gets ya within 4 KM of the town at best, the rest is up to you & yer footsies Village population for that town is 150, very mellow and dirt cheap but need a car.

Great if you have a car, bad if you do not.

Saludos,
jer....

No prob Jer!
Oh! I also forgot! To get a good idea of what you can get where, and for how much, go to www.segundamano.es
Look at the imobiliaria, you can choose different areas of spain, look into renting, buying, and often times you can even see pictures of the apt. or house that is up for sale as well as of course, how much they are!
I like to poke around there just for an idea of how things are... that may be helpful!

You may also want to consider towns in and around Segovia. While El Espinar may not be as cheap as Guadalajara, you can still get come cute places for very reasonable rates! And there is decent public transit to the city (for retirees, it�s a little more difficult during communting hours) both via bus and train!

Grac�as, Espe3, Jer and Chica for the timely and thoughtfull advice. I guess,I thought that buying a small house or a piso in a small or medium city would be a bit too expensive for a retired couple and still keep the old house here in Florida.

Saludos,
Carmen

Speaking of retiring to Spain... would you say it is better to have your pension (social security) sent to a bank in Spain or rather keep an account in US and use ATM card to withdraw? Anybody knows by how much the pensions from abroad get taxed?
Also, how about a health insurance for a retired person? How do you arrange for that? I read on one of the expat sites (can't remember which one now... ) and it makes sense, that the insurance companies do not insure older folks... so what does a retired American do for health insurance in Spain? Plus, if you dont anticipate returning to US, would you cancel your Medicare? Thanks for any help!

Ola:
As for the pension/SSI: where you should keep it depends on how long you are staying in Spain. If you're a part-of-the-year person it's probably best to do the ATM route, to avoid all the currency conversion ripoffs.

There are ING bank accounts that can handle more than one currency, but they come with all those fees!

And as for health insurance, my husband is 62, and he had no problem getting Sanitas insurance last year at an amazingly good price. Nevertheless, we're getting all our "work" done here before we go, while we still have US health benefits. Because one never does know, do one?

The Spanish health system, for the most part, makes our vaunted USA system look like the monstrous rip-off it is. Even when you're "self-pay," the price for very good care is amazingly reasonable. (I believe this is one reason they make it hard for Americans to emigrate. If word got out, they'd be overrun with guiris!)

Good luck, and don't be sucked into buying some soulless concrete subdivision surrounded by English speaking yobs!

Rebekah

Rebekah, thank you for your reply! Actually I am looking into the retirement situation for my mom who will be moving out of US with me.
Do you, by a chance, know how often does a retired US citizen need to visit US? Are those regular visits mandatory?
Thanks again for all the info!