Poinsettias
adorning a Spanish home
Spanish
Wills
We
have been receiving a number of queries recently about
the content of Spanish Wills. There is new legislation
from the European Union. Until now it was the inheritance
law of nationality that applied. So for example, if
you are British your will currently follows British
inheritance law. From 2015 the contents of your will
shall be determined by the inheritance laws of the country
you live in. There will still be an option of choosing
your inheritance law of nationality if you prefer, but
this will need to be stated on the will itself.
We have been asked if this means that foreigners who
have already made a will in Spain will need to make
another one. Our inheritance department have advised
us that you should not consider making a new will for
this reason just yet. There is some uncertainty around
the legislation and we are currently checking this with
the European Union. We will let you know as soon as
we have clarification whether there is any need to make
a new will.
'Abuelos'
take the strain
One
reason often given by people for moving to Spain is
the value that Spanish people place on the family. It
can be frustrating at times for those trying to make
their way in, but you can't fault the principle that
as a family you stand together. In this article we hear
about the 'abuelos', the grandparents who are
keeping the infrastructure of Spain running- They are
continuing to support their families long after they
should have been in front of the fire with the pipe
and slippers. Perhaps being needed is no bad thing:
www.presseurop.eu
Who's
the best?
At
speaking in English? Well hopefully the British should
do pretty well on this survey. However, if we are talking
about other nationalities, the Swedish should
give themselves a pat on the back. They have been selected
as the best non-native English speakers, according to
Education First's English Proficiency Index 2012.
In second place was Denmark, followed by the
Netherlands in third. Spain was 18th only making
the category of 'moderate proficiency'.
To have a look yourself:
www.ef.co.com
It's
another poll
It's
always interesting to find out if your views reflect
those of other people. This latest poll asked, 'what
is the biggest concern for expats living abroad?'.
It should be noted that it doesn't specify which country
you might have moved to but seeing as it's on 'EyeonSpain'
we can assume that most respondents had Spain in mind
when they completed it. The results:
1st place = bureaucracy
2nd place = health concerns
3rd place = language barriers
Sounds familiar.
You can read the other posts or even email your suggestions
to us and we will print them in the next newsletter.
What is your biggest concern?
www.eyeonspain.com
Some
good news for Spain
It's
a sad fact that good news for one person can mean bad
news for someone else. In this case it's Belgium that
would seem to be losing out on the Ford production
line and Valencia that's due to benefit:
www.thinkspain.com
www.presseurop.eu
Not
Spain but still very interesting
During
my searches for items for this newsletter I do occasionally
find an article of interest that has nothing
specifically to do with Spain. Such is this, but I just
love the idea so much that I thought you might be interested
to read about it too. We get fed up of being inundated
with marketing that simply tells us how wonderful everything
is. Not only is it wrong but it's boring too.
Now one hotel is actually making a profit from taking
exactly that view. They openly advertise themselves
as the worst hotel in the world. And guess what? People
want to stay there! It's in Amsterdam but maybe there
is a message in this story for all of us:
www.worldcrunch.com
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Abaco
Update - Last chance saloon!
No,
it isn't the name of a new spaghetti western being filmed
in Almería (although there have been some good ones).
It's our way of warning anyone who has received a letter
from the Spanish tax authority (Abaco clients
can relax at this point) and have not yet put their
tax affairs in order.
Please remember: Non resident
property owner tax deadline December 31st 2012.
Read more about the letters by clicking here.
Giving
some hope
If
you would like to read a thumbs up for Spain you should
try this Channel 4 article. It points out just why
Spain is a completely different case to Greece and,
is extremely positive about the country. Yippeee!
www.channel4.com
and there's more:
www.presseurop.eu
Reasons
to be cheerful about Spain
However worrying the economy might be at the moment,
there are many things to be positive about in Spain.
We liked this little video on You tube which includes
a number of slickly presented 'reasons to be cheerful'
about Spain. You might agree with all of them, I've
left out some of the more controversial:
- incomes for tourism grew by 14% in 2011
- last year 57 million tourists visited Spain
- exports have increased by 18% between 2009
and 2011
- Spain lead the extension of the Panama canal
- Spain constructed the first high speed train
in the middle east
- Spain constructed desalination plants in Adelaide
and the desert of Atacama
- Spain is developing a vaccine against Alzheimers
- 12% of Spain's energy consumption is renewable
- Spain comes out as the top country for solar energy
installations
- Spain is a big player in the world of fashion with
Zara and Mango, popular around the world
- It has the third highest life expectancy for men and
second highest for women
- Spain boasts the highest number of organ donations
in the world
www.youtube.com
What
will be, will be at Corvera
It
looked like the wind was blowing a little more favourably
in Corvera's direction:
www.theleader.info
However, we know how quickly that can change:
www.murciatoday.com
Tumbit gives us some 'illusive' dates for our
diary. Some important opening ceremonies to come - but
in which year will they be?
www.tumbit.com
Bardem
is a Bond baddy
They
say that playing the bad guy is the most enjoyable role
for an actor. In the latest Bond movie it's Spanish
actor Javier Bardem who gets the opportunity.
The latest 007 'Skyfall' has Daniel Craig as the charismatic
spy again and Bardem as 'Silva' the blond-haired baddy.
For a little more background on how Bardem came to have
the role:
www.expatica.com
Where
to go this winter
Chances
are that if you like Spain you're not overly keen to
take a winter holiday in a snow-clad destination. However,
this article from National Geographic Traveller includes
Granada in it list of Top 10 Winter Towns. Have
you been to any?:
www.nationalgeographic.com
And
yet another survey
This
time from HSBC. In 2012 over 5,000 expats answered questions
relating to finances, quality of life and what it's
like to raise children abroad. Overall in the 'experience'
category Spain came out 3rd. It didn't do so well in
the economics category coming in at 22nd out
of the 30 major destinations, bringing its overall rating
down to 13th overall.
It's the easygoing lifestyle, the weather and the food
that keeps Spain buoyant in spite of everything.
If you'd like to find out more about what they were
saying about moving to Spain:
www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com
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