Cost of Living in Valencia Via COMO Consulting Spain

 

Here is my survey about life and how much it costs in Valencia. This website is relatively new but incredibly helpful for people thinking of making the move from tourist to expat. Definitely check it out if you are thinking of coming here long-term or are just curious how much it costs to live in various places in Spain.

 

Click here for my story.

Almería: Spain’s Hidden Tapa Paradise

Like I mentioned in my last post, Road to Almería, I had a great two years living there. I have always known that Spain is famous for its tapas but I had no idea that I was placed in the secret culinary mecca of Spanish Tapas.

Almost every single restaurant in Almería is a tapa restaurant. There during the mid day meal you can order the menu del dia. Which consists of a drink, first course, second course, bread, coffee or dessert for less than 10 euros! Since I am a vegetarian most of the time I was not able to enjoy the menu del dia. I always went for the tapas instead.

So, what makes Almeria’s tapas different from tapas in the rest of Spain? They are technically free! That’s right. Free. You decide what you want to drink (beer, wine, soda, tinto de verano) and your tapa comes free with the drink. The most I ever paid for a tapa there was 2.60. You can go out for a night on the town and have 3 plates of food and 3 drinks and pay less than 10 euros!  Since Almeria is on the coast, it has some of the freshest seafood you will eat in Spain, and everything costs the same.

This is a typical Almerienese tapa called migas, literally crumbs, it is made of bread crumbs that are fried together.
It is usually served with a few small fried fish and a fried pepper, this one was made with ham.

I have a few favorite restaurants there. But my most favorite just happens to be the first place my parents and I went to for lunch on the beach. It is called La Cabaña del Tío Tom (Uncle Tom’s Cabin, why? who knows…) Get there early if you want to be seated right away because there is always a line for both lunch and dinner services.

My favorite! Last time I went to Almeria to visit a friend I went with a guy who was visiting his
girlfriend in Almeria. On the way we were talking about where we wanted to go first when
we arrived....we both said Tio Tom's.

This restaurant is great because it has a massive menu that includes everything from paella, sandwiches, toasts, baked potatoes, meat (even half a chicken!) and lots of seafood. Here, there is something for everyone. And, did I mention, that the tapas are huge? When you can get half a chicken and a beer for 2.50, I think that is the definition of a good deal!

My friend Alaina and me. She is just as much a foodie as I am. She sent me a picture of a tapa she and her boyfriend
had one night....sauteed blood and onions.

My go to tapa here is called El Probe (The taste/sample). It has 1 or 2 fried peppers, french fries, a fried egg, bacon, caramelized onions, bread and ali oli sauce. For me, it is the perfect start to a meal after spending the day on the beach.

So, if you are ever in need of a beach/foodie vacation look no further than Almeria, Spain. You will not be disappointed.

Road to Almería

I’m going to take you back 3 years to when I was first applying to come to Spain. Filling out the application and having to decide on the top 3 places I would like to be placed was incredibly difficult. I thought about Salamanca which is where I studied abroad but ultimately decided to try something completely different. I wanted to live in a big city so I requested Cataluña, Andalucía and Aragon, hoping to be placed in Barcelona. In the end I consider myself very lucky not to have been in Barcelona because their language assistants didn’t get paid until January!

I remember the day I received my placement letter perfectly. All that month I spent most of my time sitting by the window waiting to see the mail man come. As soon as I saw him round the corner I would run out the door to see if he had my letter. The day it arrived I remember dropping everything to read it in the street. It was like being accepted to college all over again! It had some general information and midway through it had the address of my school written like this:

CEIP Concordia
C/Italíca S/N.
(04110) Campohermoso (Almería)

At this point I had no idea how to read a Spanish address so I didn’t know if the town was Campohermoso or Almería. The first thing I did when I got back inside was to do a Google search for Almería. You cannot imagine my excitement when I saw the little red dot pointing to the southern coast of Spain. Thoughts of becoming a beach bum began to race through my head.

I later found some very limited information on Campohermoso, turns out it is a farming town where most of Spain’s cucumbers, melons and the famous Raf tomatoes come from. Luckily, I was able to live in Almería just a 7 minute walk to the beach! It was great; I had really nice roommates, great coworkers and lived in a perfect little beach town.

Always a beautiful sunset on the beach!

Piso hunting 101: Finding your apartment/flat in Spain

Finding a place to live is stressful in your own country. But, throw in a foreign language and customs and the whole experience becomes incredibly stressful. Hopefully this guide will make it a little easier for you once you arrive to Spain.

Before I came for my first year I did some research online. In college we learned that the work for apartment is apartamento. Searching for that online led to nothing! I was really frustrated until I went back to the ever-helpful Facebook groups and found that people in Spain use the word piso. So, start your search with that word and save yourself a headache!

Location

This is a super important part to finding your apartment. Finding a good, safe location can be difficult if you don’t know anyone in the city you are moving to. Ask your bilingual coordinator when they get in touch with you where he/she and the other teachers live or where the young people live in the city. This can give you a good starting point. Also, if you can track down language assistants who have lived in the city before ask them for their recommendations. Often times, they will know someone who has a room available!

When deciding on a location make sure you visit the area during the day and at night. See how close it is to transportation (city busses/metro and train/bus station) because that will make your commute to work/travel from your city easier. Chances are you wont have a car, so make sure there is a supermarket within close walking distance. Cafes, bars, pharmacies, gyms and other stores are nice to have close by too. But, the most important thing is to make sure you feel safe in your neighborhood!

Roommates

This can be tricky in Spain as you will most likely be renting a room in a shared apartment. The thing I will say right away about roommates is don’t live with the landlord. I have heard many horror stories from people who have lived with them. They can be controlling and even limit your time in the shared areas (can you imagine not being able to go to the kitchen when you want??)

Your best bet is to find an apartment with students. They are usually around the same age and then you have immediate people to hang out with! If they live there before you move in, spend some time talking to them to see if you have things in common. (Do they smoke? Party all night? Have pets? What are they studying?) If you don’t see a connection happening then maybe think about other places. 8 months is a long time to spend with people you don’t like. If you move in before others, make sure you are there when they come to see the apartment so you can talk to them and get to know them.

Kind of like the location, it depends on what you are looking for with roommates. The one nugget of advice I can give is LIVE WITH SPANIARDS! You will inevitably speak a lot of English when you are here so this might be one of your only times to practice your language!

Apartment

I don’t have too much to say here. But there are some things you should make sure of when looking at your apartment (I wish I knew these before my 2nd year!) How much natural light is there? My second year I “lovingly” nicknamed my apartment la cueva (cave) because it had one window to the street and basically no natural night came in. TERRIBLE. It is more important than you think to have natural light in your apartment, especially in Sunny Spain!

The other thing is to try to see how much noise you can hear from the other apartments in the building. Generally in the older parts of the city the walls are thinner and you can hear more. My first year (and currently) I can hear nothing and it is wonderful! However, last year it was like everyone lived in the same apartment. To the point, that when the person in the apartment next to mine plugged in something into the wall it sounded like it was in my room! I felt like if they hit hard enough their hand would come through the wall!

Where to look

There are many websites for finding apartments in Spain. They are good to help give you an idea, but don’t agree to anything until you see it in person!

Piso Compartido is a site to find a room in a shared flat, or if you end up having to find roommates you can list the room there. This is what I have used before and it is a nice easy site with lots of traffic.

Loquo is like craigslist. Lots of options, but you need to specify which city you are in.

Idealista is another site that many people have had success with.

Easy Piso with this one you can change your search language to English.

Another good option is looking on your city’s university website. Many times they have a list of rooms available for students. Not all have this option, but its good to check!

That being said, the best way to find your apartment is to hit the road. There are many many papers on the street advertising rooms or whole apartments. Also, look up. If you find an area of the town you like there will be signs outside the windows of available apartments. This is the best way in my opinion.

Hopefully this guide will make your experience a little less stressful! Good luck and happy hunting!

Charles Schwab Bank: Easiest way to use USD abroad

One of the main worries about becoming a first time expat is how to use/transfer your dollars to use in Europe.

One of the ways many people have talked about is having a paypal.com account with your American bank and a paypal.es account with your Spanish account. To have this work you need to have a separate email address with both accounts. Personally, I think this is too much work. Maybe it’s best to save this option for when you are going home for good and need an easy way to send euros to the US.



For me, my preferred method for using my USDs abroad is with the Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking account. Long name, I know.  Schwab is actually a stock broker service so when you call to set up your account you need to make sure you ask to talk to the bank part and not the brokers. When you do set up your account they will make a brokerage account, because it’s required, but you don’t have to use it unless you want to get into the stock market.

(I think here is a good place to put that I don’t work for Schwab and didn't get paid to write this, I’m just a very happy customer)

Lets go over the reasons why Charles Schwab is awesome:

• No international fees!
• They refund all ATM fees at the end of each month, national and international.
• You can link accounts to other US banks. This makes transferring money back and forth really easy!
• No minimum balance requirements
• No fees to open or maintain your account, and even better. No hidden fees!
• AMAZING customer service. Seriously. Amazing. 24 hours a day, basically no waiting to talk to a live person and you don’t get transferred around a lot. The people are always very knowledgeable, helpful and most importantly nice! **
• Easy set up of the account and not a lot of wait time to receive your card. Also, for a $15 fee that can expedite the card.
• International calling number! I had to call from Spain and they emailed me a Spanish number to use which connected to someone in the US. Also, you can call them collect from outside the US.

There are probably many more reasons, but that’s about the basics of it. If anyone else has had experiences with Schwab (good and bad) please leave a comment!
Here is what you will need to set up your account:

1. Application
2. Social security number
3. Drivers license number

That’s it!

Here is the number to call to set up your account or for questions: 800-540-6718

Other numbers for future reference:
24 hour help line: 1-800-435-4000
International collect number: 1-317-596-4501
International direct dial number (Spain): 900-96-1285 (call from a land line phone)

**During the 2012 Olympics I ended up buying a fake ticket that cost me over $700. Schwab was able to get all my money back in just a few weeks! Super helpful! They gave me updates every few days on the progress

A Detailed guide to Mobile Phones in Spain

One of the first things you should do when arriving in Spain is to get a cell phone set up. You will need this to look for an apartment, set up private classes and call your school if you get lost on the first day.

Spanish cell phone plans are set up a little differently than they are in the United States. Most people here don’t use contracts for their phone. Pay as you go is a lot more popular and pretty much all cellphone companies have this option. Contracts are available, but are for one year or more, so it depends on how long you are staying, but pay as you go will most likely be easier for you.

There are many online phone companies that advertise to people who are studying abroad. I don’t recommend these, because you can only recharge through that company online and you wont know how good the coverage is until you get here.

Cell phone numbers in Spain start with 6 (7 is starting to appear, but is very unusual) and land line phones start with a 9. It costs a lot of money to call a land line phone from a cell phone, and depending on what internet service provider you have, it might cost a lot to call a cell phone from a land line. Many people here will give with is called a “Toque” which is when they call and let the phone ring once or twice and hang up so you can call them back.

I’m going to try to give a simple overview of the major cell companies in Spain and what their plans are. Keep in mind as you read, that things might change price wise once you get here, so this is just a guide. If you notice something that needs to be updated please leave me a comment so I can try to keep this as useful as possible.




This is the company I have, so I will start with this one. Note: even in Spain it is pronounced in English. Orange offers a variety of pay as you go plans for smart phones and regular phones.

Ballena: This is the most expensive plan for those smart phone addicts. With this you get 1GB a month for 12 euros (14.52 with tax). Calls will cost you 1 cent a minute plus 18 cents to establish the call and you get 1,000 SMS messages.

Delfin: This is the plan I have. It recently changed to not include any text messages for free. 100MB a week. Calls cost 1cent a minute and 18 cents to establish the call and tests are 1 cent each. This plan costs 2 euros a week (2.42 with tax).

Ardilla: This is the plan for those of you without a smart phone. Calls are 1 cent a minute and 18 cents to establish the call and SMS messages are 1 cent each. This plan will only cost you 1 euro a week (1.21 with tax)




Vodafone is broken down into groups and prices within the groups.

Hablar y navegar: For 8 euros a month you get 500MB, 20 minutes for calls and 20 SMS. For 12 euros a month you get 1GB, 60 minutes and 60 messages

Tarifa XS8: This is a true pay as you go plan. Calls are 8 cents a minute, SMS 8 cents a minute and 15 cents to establish the call. You don’t have to pay a monthly or weekly fee for this plan, unlike Orange’s Ardilla.

Tarifa Internacional: This is the plan for people who use their cell phone to call home. As long as you have money on your sim card your national calls will only cost you 15 cents to establish the call and 15 cents for each SMS. For international calls it depends on where you are calling check here for the full list. USA and Canada: 4.8 cents with tax and 30.3 cents to establish the call. All international SMS cost 60 cents each. With the plan you can also add 150MB of internet for 4 euros.

I have many friends who use Yoigo for their smart phones with no problems.

La del Ocho: National calls are 8 cents a minute and 15 cents a minute to establish the call. National and International SMS are 8 cents a message. This will cost you 6 euros a month. Also, you can add internet to this plan. 8 euros a month for 500MB, they also have an offer now which is half price the first month.

La del Cinco: National calls are 5 cents a minute, 15 cents to establish the call. SMS costs 10 cents national and international. Internet with this plan costs 35 cents a day with a max of 35MB a day equaling 1GB per month.




Habla Movistar: This is a good option if you find that your friends and coworkers all have movistar. 0 cents a minute calls to Movistar landlines and cell phones with a 15 cent charge to establish the call. Calls to other operators cost 25 cents a minute.

Habla Ocio: This is the “nights and weekends” option. 3 cents a minute and 15 cents to establish between 4pm-8am Monday through Friday and 24 hours Saturday and Sunday. Other calls cost 25 cents a minute.

Habla 24h: 8 cents a minute to all cell phone companies with 15 cents to establish the call.

Tarifa Internet 3: 100MB a week for 3 euros.

Habla Internacional: 1 euro a month. 30 cents to establish the call. Here is the list to see the prices by country. For USA it’s 5 cents a minute for Canada it's 85 cents a minute.

Hopefully that can help you try to decide which plan will work for you! Of course, this isn’t the complete list of phone companies, there are a lot of smaller companies as well. But, these are the main ones that you will encounter the most.

What the heck am I supposed to bring for a year abroad??

You got your acceptance letter, your visa is being processed (or if you are lucky you have it back already!), now it’s time to start thinking about what to bring.

The first and most important thing to remember is BRING HALF OF WHAT YOU THINK YOU NEED!!! I cannot stress this enough. You will inevitably buy a ton of stuff here and will want to bring it home, as well as gifts for friends and family. Spain has amazing rebajas (sales) in January and in July which you will definitely want to take advantage of. So, why fill up your suitcases with stuff you have to haul across the ocean twice?

I have done the Auxiliar gig twice. The first year I think I brought almost as much as what I brought to college my freshman year. There were some things I didn’t wear more than once and some things I didn’t wear at all. I left a ton of stuff with a friend during the summer between my two years and still ended up bringing 2 suitcases (one overweight) and a very full carry-on home. So needless to say, I have definitely learned my lesson on packing. With my knowledge and information I have gathered from other Auxiliares and study abroad students I have compiled a list of things that are must brings and things that are forgettable. Hope it helps!

Let’s start with clothes:

 People in Spain are very put together at all times. You won’t see someone running to the store in the morning for a loaf of bread in their pajamas. That being said, you won’t need to bring lots of lazy day clothes. I have one pair of sweatpants and one hoodie that I sleep in during the winter, that’s it.

Let’s talk about dress codes for teachers. I was blown away my first year here by what the teachers can get away with wearing to school. Tiny miniskirts, backless shirts, off the shoulder sweaters, leggings, short shorts and super high heels are all acceptable to wear working in an elementary school here. So, needless to say, you can basically where whatever you want.

If I had to pick one thing I wish I had brought my first year it would be a winter coat. I figured, hey I am placed in Almeria, right on the Southern Mediterranean coast. There is no winter here! I. Was. Wrong. While the temperature didn’t get incredibly cold, it was in a way more difficult that winter in Colorado because none of the buildings have heating, so there is just no escaping the cold. I ended up traveling to some cold places during the Christmas break which lead me to Mango and my 100 euro red pea coat.

Here is my list of must have clothing items:

• Winter coat: you can buy it here, but they can be expensive.
• Comfortable walking shoes: You will be traveling a lot, walking on cobble stones and other uneven surfaces, your knees will thank you if you bring good shoes.
• One nice outfit: Sometimes while traveling the religious sites have a dress code. Also, it’s good for your school’s Christmas and Easter parties, or for any random wedding/communion you get invited to. 
• Socks: They are weirdly expensive here! I have about 2 week’s worth.
• Bras: Especially if you are bigger than a D cup. Those are hard to find except at very expensive specialty stores.
• Clothes you can wear in layers: This is especially important if you are going to attempt to live without a winter coat. Spanish people (women in particular) layer their clothes a lot. Long sleeve shirt, cardigan, and a scarf. So if you want to be warm and blend in bring plenty of layers! 

Obviously, a various assortment of shirts, pants, skirts, underwear. You know the usual. BUT LESS THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED!!!

Toiletry Items:

• Deodorant: I don’t know why they think the spray stuff here works, but it doesn’t. Bring a lot of whatever brand you prefer from your home country.
• Toothpaste: Optional. Obviously they sell that here. I prefer Crest so I bring some with me.
• Contact Solution: Carrefour sometimes sells it and I have just seen it Mercadona, so it is becoming more common, but if you need a specific brand it will be expensive from the pharmacy or optics store.
•  Refillable travel bottles: They don’t really sell travel sizes here, and when they do they are stupidly expensive. Travel toothpastes are a good thing to bring as well.
• Make up: They sell it here, but it’s expensive. If you are brand specific, make sure you bring some with you.
• Sunscreen: A tiny bottle here costs double what a normal size bottle in the US costs. I always try to bring a year’s supply with me.
• Pain medicine: The ibuprofen they sell in the pharmacies here is 600mg (AKA 1.5 times the recommended dose in the US) 

Electronics/other:

• Power converter/adapters
• Locks for hostel lockers
• Some small things from your country: It’s always nice to show the students/use for gifts.
• If you are a baker: Measuring cups and spoons. They sell these at El Corte Ingles, but you will pay an arm and a leg for them.

Optional things:

• Halloween/Christmas/Valentines things: Especially if you are working with kids. It’s really nice to give them some treats from your country.
• Under clothes passport holder: I use this all the time when I am traveling just as a small purse or to keep my important stuff with me in hostels that don’t have lockers.
• Ryanair approved luggage: Buying a backpack that fits their tight requirements will save you money in the long run.
• English books: if you like to read. You can do what I do and bring a few and trade them out at hostels. Make sure you register them at BookCrossing so you can follow their world travels!

Let’s talk about what NOT to bring with you:

•  Tennis shoes that are not for the gym: I mentioned above shoes that are easy to walk in. Nothing will make you stick out like a sore thumb than tennis shoes (especially white) while in Europe. If you bring these and wear them anywhere except work outs you might as well carry a sign that says “Hi I’m not from here!”
• Really colorful clothes: This depends on how well you want to blend in. Not saying that Spaniards don’t wear color; but, they tend to wear more muted or neutral colors. I have chosen to ignore this rule because I love bright colors.
•  Workout clothes that you don’t use for that purpose: No one here leaves the house in yoga pants and a t-shirt. Basketball shorts are a no.
• Too many cultural things: The schools ask for a lot, but in my experience they don’t really care where you are from. My first year I brought maps, books, pictures, flags and lots of other things that I didn't use at all.

Hopefully this can help you pack for your year. Don’t forget to pack way less than you think you need. Trust me, it will bight you in the ass in the end if you over pack. Happy packing!

Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to my (second) blog! I am excited you are here. I let my first blog fall by the wayside and instead of picking it up again I have decided to start anew. I still feel like there are some good posts from the old one, so if you feel like reading about my first few months as an Auxiliar in Campohermoso, Spain or my travels around Europe please check it out. My Adventures in Europe

That being said let me give some information about myself. My name is Allison, I am 24 years old and I recently moved to Spain’s third biggest city after 2 years in a small beach city called Almeria. I was an auxiliar (language assistant) at the same school in Almeria for 2 years. The first year I loved it and the second year, unfortunately, I cannot say the same. So, I am happy to be in a new city with a new job! (Not to mention, with my boyfriend!)

I love to travel as much as I can, and as you can tell from the title of my blog, food is very important to me. What I want to focus on in this blog is first, giving some (hopefully) helpful information to the incoming auxiliars because, trust me, it’s a crazy process. But also I would like to share my food and travel adventures!