So I haven't updated the story for a while. We are now 5 weeks down the line after our move here. Some things have gone very well, others are frustrating. All I can say is thank goodness we have 18 years of the Italian experience to draw on and so some of the delays can just be put down to the way things work here.
My views so far largely boil down to a couple of things that just have to be accepted - nothing happens quickly and if you want them to then be prepared to pay considerable sums to agencies to get things done through a third party. We bought the house (thanks to Barclays who have been tremendous) - I know they make money but the fact is the people we dealt with have always been helpful and responsive.
The first issue was cold weather and a very limited electricity supply. You simply cannot run any type of heaters or hot water on the minimum supply here so after paying 170 Euros for a survey we finally got the upgraded supply and no longer fear the dreaded click as the supply overloads.
We had all the air conditioning units replaced and now enjoy balmy temperatures on the colder evenings at a very reasonable electricity usage.
The cars are proving to be one of the more frustrating issues. We finally have the appointment to start the process with an engineers inspection and the ITV this week....All of this for a car with full EU certification and just over a year old. The registration cost is quite breathtaking!
The official administration started really well, Padron register etc. There seems to be a bit of a delay with getting residencia appointments in Alicante at the moment largely due to the uncertainty amongst the Spanish authorities about the transition period for Brexit. The same seems to exist in Traffico for the car stuff but I am confident that once formal guidance has been given things will settle down again. Bottom line is that nobody should be complacent but there is a transition period and nothing will change during that period.
We came here with extremely comprehensive health insurance, commonly known as a gold plated policy, fortunately provided through my former employment. Unfortunately the cover involves a small co-payment that is not acceptable to the spanish authorities for a residencia application. Be aware! We have had to purchase a policy seperately as we are below pension age and that has added quite a sum to our transition budget.
All in all - be prepared to be frustrated and make sure you have allowed a reserve fund to cover all of the unexpected costs.
In saying that - are we glad we did it? YES - life can only get better as we start to enjoy this beautiful country and make some friends.