Living in Seville, Spain

Welcome to my living in Sevilla section, dedicated to those of you who have sent me many questions about some of the practicalities of living in the city. Some of this information is a result of my experiences while a lot comes from others who have emailed me some helpful tips. This section covers some of the basics, but you'll likely find a few other sections to be of help. I'd recommend taking a look at the money, mobiles phones, internet, move to Seville and conversions sections. This section was just launched so soon I'll be adding some more information and links. I always welcome input from any of you out there, especially those who have made the move and would like to share a little of their knowledge with the rest of us! Above is the kitchen of our second apartment as we moved in.

Finding an Apartment ¦ Apartment Vocabulary ¦ Neighbors, roommates and families

Opening a Bank Account ¦ Finding Health Insurance ¦ Utilities ¦ Telephone

Internet: Getting connected ¦ Cost of Living in Seville ¦ Bilingual Schools

• Hostal La Montoreña (Santa Cruz) - prices start at 20€ per night for a single in the off-season. Some of the rooms have been recently renovated. The hostal also offers a few small studio apartments for the price of a double room in many hostals.
• Hostal Catedral (Santa Cruz) - prices start at 25€ per night for a single in the off-season.
• Huespedes Arguelles (c/Alhondiga) - prices start at 20€ per night for a single in the off-season.
• Youth Hostal (c/Isaac Peral) - further from the center but clean and modern.
• Private Youth Hostals (Center) - recent additions include Sevilla Urbany and Oasis Hostal. There is a third on Avda Menedez Pelayo. Cheapest options are sharing rooms.

Below are some of the common words or phrases used in apartment listings you'll find online or in classified ads.

Once you are in and settled you want to make sure the transition is smooth and that you have a good relationship with your nieghbors, roomates or host family. I think it's more fun to point out how to make them mad. That way you learn what not to do. As everyone is a bit different that also keeps me from having to mention all of the things you should do. Most of these you never want to do, while others you need to learn your boundaries first and judge the people around you. It may be ok to do some of the things I've listed below, especially on the host family list. Still, you need to be a good judge of when and if it is appropriate to ask. Making assumptions about what is ok is, well, ok. But be careful about big of an assumption you may make. When in doubt don't be afriad to ask.

How to make your neighbors mad…

• Use the patio or common areas to store your bike, dirty shoes or items you can’t fit in your apartment.
• Hang out in the patio, sunbathing or reading a book. Hang out on the community part of the roof where they dry their laundry. Do this during the day as people come up to hang their laundry.
• Invite people over for drinks or a party. Do this more than once. Do this during the evening after 10pm.
• Leave the door to the building open in the afternoon and at night.
• Leave your laundry hanging on the roof for a few days because you don’t have time to bring it down.
• Play loud music. Do this in the morning or late at night.
• When you don’t have a balcony don’t worry, sit in the window and drink your beer.
• Don’t say good morning or good afternoon when you pass by your neighbors in the building.
• Decide on your own what to place in community areas - lay out your plants, perhaps some decorations. Don't ask anyone about this, just start with your own ideas!

How to make your roommates mad…

• Invite people over to dinner or for drinks. Do this more than once. Make having visitors a regular thing.
• Have a friend or family member come stay with you for an extended period of time. Assume this is ok and do not ask your roomates, and certainly don't let them know they plan to stay for a long time.
• Take long showers and use up the hot water.
• Make a lot of phone calls. Make them to mobile phones. Then insist that the bill be divided equally
• Monopolize the fridge space, get everything that will possibly fit in there.
• Leave the lights on in the room you are not using.

How to make your host family mad…

• Come home very late at night on most nights. Use the kitchen or make noise.
• Complain about the food, or make a lot of special diet requests. Don’t be flexible about what, when and how you eat. Don’t take into account that special needs for your meals may mean a bigger change in the routine of your hosts than you think: they may have to learn new cooking methods, go to a different store 10 minutes outside of the neighborhood to pick up an ingredient.
• Ask to use the fridge to store your own food.
• Don’t show up for meals. Give little notice when you won’t be home for meals.
• Go on a trip without advising your family.
• Receive a lot of phone calls at the home. Also make a lot of phone calls from their home line. Get a mobile phone so you don’t bother them!
• Leave the lights on in the room you are not using.
• Invite people over to study or to hang out.
• Act as if you have a right to certain things because you pay for staying in their house. You pay for lodging, meals, electricity, laundry and cleaning up after you. You don’t pay so you can dictate every detail of your meals, use the television, phone and all of the common areas of the house.
• Bring home guests of the opposite sex, especially to spend the night.
  

Why should you open a bank account in Sevilla? If you are living here for a year or longer there are many reasons to consider doing so, especially if you plan to get your own apartment and handle your own utilities. Some of the things a bank account will help you with:

• Mobile phones - you can recharge your mobile phone at any ATM, which you cannot do with a Visa or ATM card from outside of Spain in most cases. You can also get a contract phone instead of pre paid or tarjeta, phone, which will be cheaper in the long run. Some offices for Vodafone, Amena and Telefonica may tell you that you need a NIF (like a social security number), but other offices will let you set up a contract using your passport number.
• Utilities - some practically require that you have a bank account, and if not setting up an automatic draft from your account is much easier than going to the bank or a central office during set hours, waiting in line and paying cash.
• Health Insurance - almost every company covering foreigners requires a bank draft for health insurance and will not make other arrangements.
• Bank fees - avoid being charged the transaction fee from your bank back home every time you take out money.
• Safety- keeping your money in a bank instead of a shoe box in your house is always safer. Also, many people withdraw up to their limit from their home bank account to limit the effect of the transaction fee (smart), but have to carry that cash back home with them (sometimes risky)
• Getting paid - whether you're working legal or not it's always good to have a bank account where your employer or the person paying you for contract work can make a transfer from their bank. Helps with the safety issue mentioned above as you don't have to carry a large sum of money home with you.

Opening a bank account in Sevilla (or Spain) is very simple. You will need to open a cuenta no-residente, or a non-resident account. Once you become a resident you can quickly change it over to a resident account, generally with no charges. They require a picture ID and most will accept a driver's license from home although a passport will make it a little easier. Some banks have different charges for non-resident accounts while others offer the same services (and fees) regardless of whether you are a resident or not. Cajas, much like credit unions in the U.S., offer cheaper fees but may charge you for other things when opening a non-resident account. I took into account not only the fees but also the banks network of ATM's or cajeros automaticos, to avoid fees for withdrawing from machines outside of my banks network. All offered online banking at no charge. The comparison below is a sample of some of the banks in Sevilla I looked at in the summer of 2004. Charges may change some over time and options for different types of cards may be available and will likely cost more. I looked at three fees for my comparison:

• maintenance - charged monthly or every 6 months
• card - charged annually and you may have your choice of cards with different fees
• per transaction - some banks will charge you for every movimiento or transaction. Others do not, or give you a certain amount per month free

So who did I choose? I ended up with La Caixa because of their network of ATMs, low card fee and no per transaction cost. Also I liked the service - the fellow at the local branch was the only one to tell me that they would like to have me as a customer. Cajasol, which was once El Monte and Caja San Fernando (the two have merged) offers by far the largest network of ATMs in the city and likely in all of Andalucia. This is certainly convenient. Depending on what you need another bank may be better for you, and as always if you have something to add or know of a better deal email me!

Finding Health Insurance in Spain Seguro médico

contributed by Laura Cohen

When I quit my job in the U.S. to move to Spain, I wanted to live la vida loca and not pay for health insurance. The company that I worked for offered Cobra coverage, but for around $350 per month, which I did not want to pay. However my mother told me “if you get cancer they´ll take our house” and guilt tripped me into making the outrageous Cobra payments. Luckily, I haven´t gotten sick here, so I haven´t needed to go to the ER, the only coverage that my Cobra provides. Tired of spending more on unused health care than on rent, I decided to look into Spanish healthcare providers.

I chose Sanitas, because it costs about 55€ per month, has a huge network of doctors in Spain, and provides 100% emergency coverage outside of Spain. The plan I chose is called the SANITAS MULTI. It gives me access to a network of 20,000 primary care doctors and specialists in Spain, assures a private room if I am hospitalized, and covers basic dental care. With this plan I don´t have to deal with sending in reimbursement forms or paying for anything upfront – instead they just give you a swipe card to use at office visits. They also have a version of this plan designed specifically for foreigners, which links you to their network of English-speaking doctors throughout Andalucia and the Costa del Sol. If you might have a hard time explaining what hurts in Spanish, its probably worth the slight extra cost. Check out the different levels of coverage at their website, available in various languages. To apply, I just filled out a few simple health forms on the website. You do need a bank account to open a policy since Sanitas draws the payments straight from your account, so make sure to get that done first. Their customer service via email is excellent - they have answered every email I have sent them within 24 hours. And, if you would rather talk with an agent in person, they have an office on Avenida San Francisco Javier, near Nervión Plaza.

The following companies provide insurance that will cover you both in Spain and likely your home country, depending on where your from. Plans differ and provider networks in and away from Spain should be checked. In almost all cases (when living in Spain) these insurance plans will be cheaper than ones in the U.S. and offer better coverage for your basic needs here.

Mapfre
Sanitas
Asisa

A note from Jeff: when traveling back to your home country, or better said, to the U.S., please do consider contracting health insurance. I have traveled back to the U.S. without anything on many occasions and have come and gone without problems. Until this past summer, where just before a long trip we bought medical travel insurance for two people for about 530 Euros. This covered us for 3 months. Within the first 2 weeks I found myself visiting the emergency room on 3 nights, and then in the hospital for 4 days. The total bill would have been about $10,000, but instead I ended up paying about $200 for out of pocket expenses.

The following are who you'll likely deal with (in some cases "have to" as they are national) for your utilities. More choices are becoming available as the market is a little less regulated. If you are renting the typical procedure is to keep the bill in the name of your landlord and set-up a bank draft from your bank account to pay the bill every two months for some, while other utilities have now moved to charging you once a month.

For any of these services keep in mind the phrases lectura estimada (estimated reading) and lectura real (a true / real reading) when it comes to your billing. While technically your gas, water or electric meters should be read by a technician at least once every two months, in some cases many months can go by before someone reads your meter. Why is this important? You can coast along for several months paying very little for gas or electric. You'll think you are doing great at controlling costs! Then many months later receive a bill for hundreds of Euros after they do a real reading o your meter. So check your bill and if several billing cycles go by with lectura estimada, then call and ask them to come to a real meter reading so you don't get an unwelcome surprise.

ENDESA - National electric company
EMASESA - city water
Gas Andalucia - city gas. If you use containers of gas it will be another vendor.

Ahhh...Telefonica. If you've experienced Time Warner in the U.S. you may have an idea of what it's like to deal with them. As I write this I am on day 49 waiting for my wireless router modem, but that's an internet subject. Since I first wrote this they have become much quicker about getting your modem and service connected, especially if you sign up at the Telefonica store in Plaza Nueva. There is something about having a physical person accountable for your order which makes for a much quicker service.

I must say they are a little better with straight telephone service and you can now choose your local and long distance carriers which helps. The other companies still have to lease the lines from Telefonica, but they manage to compete on the rates and do better in many cases. The way they compete is through Telefonica's marketing permission, i.e.: Telefonica tolerates promotions by their competitors which undercut their own prices for a period of time. Then some months or a year later Telefonica offers a promotion themselves to remain competitive. The main providers or competitors are currently Orange, Tele2, Ono, and Vodafone.

So what to expect with Telefonica? Generally about 70€ for connection or set up, and then around 25€ per month. The basic fee for the landline is between 13 - 17 Euros, plus taxes and other little charges they think up. Promotions run often and at times you can get free installation. Count on 10-15 days to get your phone installed (a big improvement over the 3-6 month wait back in 1989). Local calls are not free, however, so expect between 0,02 - 0,06€ per minute depending on your carrier. Flat rate plans are almost always available with these companies where you can pay one fee per month with unlimited local calls - check the below section on internet to see some of the bundled plans which will save you money by offering all local and/or national calls free. Long distance calling plans are available for cheaper rates to the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Expect anywhere from 0,06 - 0,35 per minute depending on who and what plan you choose. Tele2 offers plans for local, national and and international calling - note there are connection fees for the calls which is the case with many companies. It's often just a few centimos and then there is a per minute charge.

• Connection speed - 512K
• USB modem - I now have separately purchased a wireless modem-router, which also came with a netowrk card.
• 3 line filters - obligatory if you are going to use your phone while connected.
• Email accounts - 5, each with a 25 MB mailbox
• Web space - 10MB web space, fairly useless

• Connection speed - 3MB and up to 10MB in certain areas
• Modem-router - Wireless "g" capable.
• Email accounts - 5, each with a 25 MB mailbox
• Web space - again, fairly useless

Cost of living is where I may get myself into some trouble. I lead a life different from yours, and you different from the next person and so on and so on. Every time I try to estimate the amount one may spend on food someone comes along convinced they can live off a pot of soup for 2 weeks, or spend 100 Euros on food for an entire month. I don't doubt that a few of you could, and I'll hold my judgment (and my tongue) on whether or not that's living happily. It's just that I don't live that way. I try to save money but sometimes I blow off my budget, too. I'll list what I think is reasonable below, based on my and other's experience. For rent I have left that open depending on whether you live with roommates, number of bedrooms and certain other situations. All other expenses are assuming you are paying the full amount and can vary based on consumption, how many people you share an aprtment with and the providers you choose.

Here are some other costs for things you may consider or need during the month

If you plan to relocate with children you can find plenty of online informtion about bilingual schools in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and the Costa del Sol. It seems that same information is harder to come by for Sevilla. Below is a short list of schools for which offer bilingual education (classes taught in half days of English and Spanish) for all ages (K - 12). As I have more information I will add to this section.

Highlands School
: 34 955 990 150
Outside of the city center in a suburb.

Europa International School
: 34 954 714 709
email: euroami@arrakis.es
Outside of the city center in a suburb.

St. Francisco de Paula School
: 34 954 211 151
City center school just off Calle Imagen.