#1- obtaining a bank account and figuring
out the whole money transfer thing.
We were specifically told to see a banker at Laboral
by our friend. For the first
time the language barrier was kind of a problem. Luckily a young bank clerk came to the rescue with some assistance in English. I think we went in 3-4x before it was
all squared away. The banker told us that the 10K
cashier’s check we brought from the US would take 30 days to process. (It ended up taking till mid october before this money actually showed up in our account.) This was not what we expected. We got some bad advice from our bank back in the US about the best way to transfer money.
We have been paying through the nose, $45 bucks for every electronic transfer, not to exceed
$1000. We are still
learning the ropes, but we found a much better way to do our own
transfers from here on out with a “safe pass” from our bank in the US (it sure would have been great it they would have recommended that instead of a cashiers check). We can electronically transfer up to 10k for the same price. If we were to do it again we’d bring
several thousand in cash to have upon arrival and bring the Safe Pass with us. We only had about $600 in EU and about 300US.
#2 Apartamento
hunting- We scoured Fotacasa and other websites for months prior to our
arrival. Any replies were “too
early, check back the month before you arrive”, or more often then not, no
reply at all. We also saw the scams
“send me a check for xxx and I’ll send you the key, “I live in London, am
British citizen…”
I often wonder who falls for those scams. Thank goodness we had the luxury to
stay where we are as long as need be.
Drew was more motivated than I to pursue a new place. We
have the forested Mt Ulia behind us for afternoon dog walks, the beach 5 min.
walk away. But, I saw Drew’s point, we don't have much space to
organize our stuff, a minimally outfitted kitchen, and it will be pretty tight
when our friends start arriving. It is perfect for a vacation, but not for a
year. When we saw an online posting on Fotocasa, I decided that instead of
doing the e-mail thing, we should just walk straight away to see the agent.
Luckily she spoke English (didn’t want any misunderstandings)…literally, within
an hour we were whisked away by a driver and real estate agent, and viewing the
new apt. It felt a bit
overwhelming, but it also felt more like they were running a tight ship rather
than trying to be manipulative. We
thought...we talked...and then later that day we went to the office and STARTED
negotiations. We learned that the
agent’s fee at this agency was 12% of the rent, plus 21% tax on that 12%. We only need the apt for 10 months but
we still have to pay the agent fee for the year (company policy we were told). We saw the listing was 50EU cheaper on
line than the agent told us. She
said it was a mistake, but we could make the offer to the owner. He came back wanting date modifications
and more money for the summertime (high tourist season). Drew was off at work, so after a bit of
texting with him; He assured me,“I trust your judgment,” so I went ahead and
offered to pay the lower rent all in advance for the year, plus a little extra
for the last month. While all this
went on, I became aware that there were 2 more calls, and arrangements being
made to show the apt. It was all
in Spanish (the agent wasn’t aware that I understood any Spanish at that point). It really is a “sellers” market
here. I was told to go out and
have a coffee and come back to find out if he would accept the offer. I thought he would not…so I was really
surprised and happy to be told “YES.”
We will be on the 3rd floor (up 53 steps
with no elevator!)…no need for a gym membership! The place is only 50 sq
meters, but comfortably furnished with 2 bedrooms, decent kitchen (with clothes
washing machine), living room with TV (which has become essential for helping
with our Spanish comprehension), and a tiny balcony off the dining room. I’m hoping it will be light enough to
keep out the winter rain blues.
One very interesting feature is the building has a central
courtyard. In other words, it’s
like a square donut 4 floors tall.
The center is covered with clear roofing material to let the light in,
but not the rain. There are
laundry lines strung across this courtyard on every floor, on pulleys…so you
just hover out this open window in the apt to clip your laundry to the
line. Of course I’m thinking…what
if you drop a sock. The agent told
me the lady on the first floor will put it by the mailbox in the lobby!
# 3- looking at
language schools- Walking home from the real estate office the first day,
we stumbled upon several language schools. After more internet research, and sifting through
recommendations I decided to go with my gut and go with the first place I
stumbled upon. I poked my head in
a second time and ended up having a spontaneous interview with the program
director (yes in Spanish…glad I had no time to get nervous for that one) and
did a level test (take home-no cheating!). I decided to do a 3 week, 20 hour per week, intensive course, and then
hopefully 2x per week (3hrs) for as long as I think it is useful. They will also arrange for me to
connect with a Spanish student who wants to learn English as a courtesy. Small classes, flexible..perfect. Drew is going to do the same but will
start as a brand new beginner. He
is very motivated. We have been
using the free online Duolingo website for the last couple months to wet our
toes in Spanish.
One more cool thing-
We had ordered the Menu del dia, which included meal, drink and dessert for 6EU. When the waiter told me my dessert
choices, I was clueless. The lady
at the next table cleared her throat to get my attention and flashed an image of
a carrot at me on her cell phone!
Gosh, I love the way people jump in to help at every opportunity! (Carrot cake was the dessert). Before long we were at one table, they
insisted on buying us another round of wine, and then insisted on covering our
full bill! We animatedly talked in Spanish for 2 hours. That makes it sound like I really knew
what I was doing, but the fact of the matter was that they worked hard to help
me understand and we all had a great time! They were vacationing here, and were from Madrid; we now
have an open invitation to visit them and their cute mop dog “Ringo.” This
simple satisfying interaction helped me gain confidence that by remaining open
to the possibilities, and with a small amount of effort, it was going to be
really fulfilling year with many a new friendships to be had.
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