August 2026

Dogs in Restaurants, Shops and Beaches: What Spain’s Law Allows

Watch two restaurant terraces on the same village street for an afternoon and you'll see it. One server greets a dog with a water bowl already in hand, the next points at a non-existent sign and shrugs. Both reactions are common and both come from the same source. A law that changed the rules in 2023 without notifying the businesses affected by it. That inconsistency is the whole story of dogs in shops, restaurants and beaches in Spain. This post will save you an awkward moment or two once you're settled in Spain.

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Home Security Systems In Spain: How To Avoid Getting Fined

There's a lot more to consider with home security systems in Spain than in the US. Home security systems in Spain are common in new home construction. Expats who buy an existing home usually install a system if it doesn't already have one.

There are many professional firms that you can purchase systems from, but if you're thinking about doing it yourself, it's not as simple as just ordering some cameras or a video doorbell, installing them wherever you want, and forgetting about it. Real planning is required to make sure you don't run afoul of Spain's privacy laws.

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Relocating To The EU? Save Money On Airfare

Going back and forth to the EU to plan for a move is a significant part of relocation costs. We've tried to plan our move related trips to coincide with vacation trips to save money on airfare. While airfare to Europe has never been cheap, prices keep rising due to all of the current things going on in the world.

One day while getting ready to book a flight, I accidentally reversed the airport codes on the website, going from Spain to the US and back to Spain. The surprise? The exact same transatlantic flight can cost noticeably less if the round trip starts in Europe instead of the US. Same route, same plane, even the same airline — different price depending on which end of the ocean the ticket originates.

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Hard Water In The Costa Blanca: The Hidden Cost

If you've never given a second thought to the water coming out of your tap, the Costa Blanca will change that. Hard water in the Costa Blanca region is a given since a large part of it sits on limestone bedrock. As water travels through it, it picks up dissolved calcium and magnesium along the way. The result is what's called hard water. It's one of those small daily-life differences that catches a lot of newcomers off guard.

You'll find more about the basics of what hard water is and how it shows up on your utility bill on our Utilities page. Here we talk about what it means in day to day life and what to check before you buy a home.

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Gardening In The Costa Blanca

Here in Portland the challenge with gardening is too much rain and not enough sun. Gardening in the Costa Blanca flips that completely.

Over 300 sunny days a year, summer highs that sit in the 30s C (80s F) for weeks at a time and barely 500mm (19 in) of rain a year, most of it arriving in short autumn downpours rather than a gentle drizzle.

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