Shipping Options
Once you’ve received your visa you’ll have taken care of the hard part, but you still have to make the actual move. Relocating to Spain has little in common with packing up your stuff and carting it to a new house on the other side of town; in this case you’ll have an ocean to cross. The catch is that everything you take will also have to make it across the ocean, too. It’s generally agreed upon by expatriates that the best approach is to first figure out what you can leave behind, and that assessment is more personal than practical. Anything that you need and most of what you want can be found in Spain. Of course, getting rid of your worldly goods is easier said than done. You’ve undoubtedly spent years collecting the objects that fill your home. From the books that line your shelves to your salt-and-pepper shakers, everything has a history.
Still, you should probably leave the baby grand behind unless you’re a concert pianist. Large items are the most expensive to move internationally, and all of those same things can be replaced. Leaving cherished belongings behind really smarts, but it might help to know that Spain offers a wealth of opportunities to buy beautiful home furnishings that span the spectrum of design. Barcelona is a veritable workshop of one-of-a-kind fixtures envisioned by internationally applauded designers, and samplings of those showpieces are stocked in stores throughout the country. Hand-carved, older pieces also abound. If you’re looking for things that are reasonably attractive and cheap, you’ll be relieved to know that Ikea—the Swedish supermarket of home furnishings—has locations in Spain, too. In fact, you’ll probably run across the superstore’s catalog every other time you open your mailbox.
You’re probably wondering if you should take your electronics and the answer to that is a resounding maybe. Here are the basics. Spain’s uses a 220-volt electrical system, like the rest of continental Europe. You don’t have to know what that means, you just have to know that the North American system is different (it uses 60Hz) and the bottom line is that you can’t plug the hairdryer that you bought at Wal-Mart into a Spanish outlet—the plug itself won’t even fit. Yet in the case of your hairdryer you can use an adapter because they work best for small, low-draw items with no significant motors in them. Battery chargers and small CD players should also fare well with transformers. However, lugging your refrigerator to Spain and expecting an adapter to do the trick will be a colossal error.
Computers are more expensive in Spain than they are in the United States so you might want to hang on to the one you have if you can. Some U.S. desktops have a switch that transfers the rate of power and allows the computer to function in Europe with an adapter, and most laptops have extension cords that can be entirely detached and replaced with ones that fit Spanish outlets.
However, there are a couple of drawbacks. As soon as you leave U.S. soil, the warranty that came with your computer is meaningless—you can’t make good on it in a Spanish store that sells the same item and most companies won’t ship replacement pieces abroad. Likewise, you’ll have to dial internationally if you ever want to reach the help line associated with your American computer. While you’re sitting on hold for 30 minutes listening to Muzak and waiting to talk to a tech-savvy trouble-shooter, you’ll be mentally calculating what you’re paying for each minute on the phone. The keyboard is one more detail to consider. In Spain, keyboards have accents and different keys and even the layout isn’t the same. Those extra keys are vital tools that allow you to type correct Spanish sentences, so if you’ll be writing in Spanish that’s a worthwhile feature to have. However if you use your computer to surf the web, keep in touch with people on the other side of the Atlantic via email, and to write in English, a U.S. keyboard will serve you better.
The last note on electronics is only for people with Macs. You will be a rare (but growing) breed in Spain. Until recently, Spain priced Macs far higher than PCs and the discrepancy resulted in fewer Mac users. The prices have begun to drop down but most people still use PCs and you’ll have to look a little harder to find service and parts for your Apple. When I had a DSL line installed on my iBook, the technician spent three hours struggling with a job that usually takes about 20 minutes. Halfway through the ordeal he confessed that he had never even touched a Mac before and he was relying on a lot of guesswork. Although you can find what you need here, it’s not always easy.
