26 August 2021 · Packing Up and Landing Smooth · Spain
Settling Down in Valencia: First-30-Days Guide
Packing Up and Landing Smooth in Spain’s most liveable city
“The day you taste your first horchata on Calle de la Paz and realise the barista already knows your name is the day Valencia stops being a postcard and starts being home.”
—My diary, move-in week, 2018
Hola — I’m Irene, a relocation coach who has shepherded more than 200 households through Spain’s paperwork maze. Valencia is hands-down the easiest large Spanish city to love, yet it can still overwhelm newcomers with acronyms (NIE, TIE, EMT, AMT… ¡basta!).
Use this 2,500-word playbook as your “pocket coach” for the first 30 days. I’ll flag what you must do, what can wait, and how to stretch euros without living on supermarket tortilla.
1. Pre-Move Preparation Checklist
Most frustrations I hear from clients trace back to things that could have been handled before boarding the plane. Spend two focused evenings on the checklist below and you’ll shave a full week off your bureaucratic sprint.
1.1 Paperwork to Tackle From Home
| Item | Why It Matters | Coach Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Long-stay visa | Unless you’re EU/EEA, you need a national visa in passport to apply for residency | Verify consulate appointment slots six weeks out; they vanish fast in summer. |
| NIE pre-application | Your Número de Identidad de Extranjero is the ID number for taxes, contracts, everything | Some consulates let you apply during visa pick-up—huge time saver. |
| Private health insurance | Required for non-EU residents (and more comprehensive than public coverage in year one) | Spanish insurers love paper originals; ask them to DHL policy docs. |
| Apostilled documents | Marriage certs, birth certs, academic records if you’re studying | Spain rejects flimsy scans—order certified copies, apostille, and toss into carry-on. |
Traveling with pets? Grab our Global Nomads with Pets guide to make sure Fido’s microchip and EU pet passport are squared away. The Valencia airport vet is lovely, but she still follows the rule book.
1.2 What to Pack (Beyond the Flip-Flops)
• Digital folder on your phone: PDF copies of every document, translated and labelled (e.g., “Passport-bio.pdf”).
• Physical originals in a slim accordion file: Yes, old-school, but Spanish clerks still stamp paper.
• Universal power strip: Spain uses Type-F sockets. One good strip = five gadgets happy.
• VPN subscription: Banking apps sometimes lock out non-Spanish IP addresses.
• Basic Spanish phrases written phonetically: “¿Dónde está la oficina de extranjería?” will become your refrain.
Pull-quote:
“In Spain the oficina loves paper, hates staples, and closes early on Fridays. Accept this and your cortisol levels will halve.”
1.3 Money & Finance Housekeeping
- Open a euro-denominated multi-currency account (Wise, Revolut, N26) for fee-free ATM withdrawals on day one.
- Inform your home bank you’ll be in Spain—fraud alerts can freeze cards mid-tapas.
- Budget the ‘Spanish deposit double-whammy’: first month’s rent + one-month deposit + sometimes agency fee (another month).
2. Arrival-Week Must-Dos (Days 1–7)
Welcome to Manises Airport. Smell that blend of orange blossom and jet fuel? Let’s get through the crucial first week, when timing is everything.
2.1 Day 1: SIM, Metro Card, and a Walk
-
SIM Card
Vodafone, Orange, and Movistar kiosks in Arrivals sell tourist SIMs, but head to Lowi or MásMóvil in the city for cheaper monthly plans. Bring passport. -
Mobilis Card
Buy a reloadable Metro/Bus card from the machine before boarding the metro into town (€7.20 for ten rides in Zone A). -
Neighbourhood Recon Stroll
Jet-lagged? Skip a nap and walk your barrio between 17:30 and 20:00—shops reopen, terraces buzz, and you’ll see which cafés have good Wi-Fi vs. just good Instagram lighting.
2.2 Day 2–3: The Holy Trinity—NIE, Empadronamiento, Bank
-
NIE/TIE Fingerprinting Appointment
• Book online: sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es → Cita previa
• Bring: passport, visa, EX-17 form, two tasa payment receipts (€16), photo.
• Coach warning: slots open Thursdays at 9:00; hit refresh like you’re sniping concert tickets. -
Empadronamiento (Town Hall Registration)
• Location: Calle Amadeo de Saboya 11 (get there 30 min before opening).
• Bring: passport + rental contract (with landlord’s DNI).
• Why bother? You’ll need the certificate for school enrolment, healthcare card, and practically every other admin step. -
Spanish Bank Account
• Santander, CaixaBank, BBVA dominate but charge monthly fees. ING Direct Nómina is free if you deposit income.
• Required docs: passport, NIE (or proof of appointment), proof of address (hello, Empadronamiento!).
Got UK on your horizon next? Bookmark our driving in the UK on a foreign license guide now while the bureaucracy mindset is fresh.
2.3 Day 4–7: Healthcare, Housing Fine-Tuning & Social Setup
• Public Health Card (SIP)
After you have your Empadronamiento, swing by the local health centre with passport + padron certificate.
• Finalise Long-Term Housing
Short-term Airbnb > 30 days? Great. Use week one to view in-person rentals. Spanish landlords rarely sign with people they haven’t met. Facebook groups Valencia Apartments and Idealista rule the market.
• Coworking & Community
Tour Wayco Ruzafa or Vortex Playa; both offer free day passes for newcomers. Wednesday language exchanges at Café de las Horas are legendary.
3. Budgeting Tips for the First Month
Let’s talk numbers. Valencia sits in that sweet spot: 20 % cheaper than Madrid, 35 % cheaper than Barcelona, yet offering big-city perks.
| Expense | Cost Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Studio/1-bed flat | €650–€850 (city centre) / €500 (suburbs) | Prices include community fees, exclude utilities |
| Deposit + agency fee | 2–3× monthly rent | Negotiate agency fee down; many accept 50 % |
| Utilities (electricity, gas, water) | €80–€120 | Air-con spikes July-Aug |
| Groceries | €180–€240 per person | Mercadona is king, Consum more ethical, still cheap |
| Eating out | Menu del Día €11 | Splurge paella on beach ~€18 pp |
| Monthly transport | €35 | Ten-trip Bonometro x3 + occasional Cabify |
| Mobile plan | €15 | 20 GB data Lowi plan |
| Healthcare (private) | €55 (+€0 copay) | Once on public system, cost = €0 |
3.1 My “15 % Cushion Rule”
Add 15 % to every estimate for the first month. Why?
• Mis-timed deposit refunds
• IKEA runs (they’ll happen)
• Extra tapas because you made friends faster than planned
3.2 Best Card Combos to Avoid Fees
• Curve + Wise for foreign currency → euro.
• BBVA Aqua Débito for local payments (no embossed numbers means pickpockets can’t memorise).
4. Tools and Local Resources
4.1 Essential Apps
• EMT Valencia – Real-time bus arrivals, pay with NFC.
• Metrovalencia – Route planner, checks zone prices.
• Cabify – Safer than random taxis at 02:00.
• Glovo & JustEat – Food delivery for that Ikea-assembly exhaustion.
• Cita Previa Extranjería – Third-party app that pings when appointments open.
4.2 Government & Admin Sites
- sede.fnmt.gob.es – Request digital certificate; makes future paperwork 70 % faster.
- www.gva.es – Regional portal for driving licence exchange, social services.
- Agència Tributària – National tax site; bookmark for VAT rebate forms.
4.3 People & Places That Fast-Track Integration
• Valencia International Meetup (VIM) – 12 k members, weekly events.
• SpeakySpanish.es – Conversation groups in Turia Gardens, donation-based.
• The American Book Center – Carrer de Guillem de Castro, lifesaver for English titles.
Coach confession: The para llevar counter at Dulce de Leche Boutique kept me caffeinated through my own TIE renewal. Their carrot cake can heal bureaucratic wounds.
4.4 Emergency & Health Numbers
• 112 – All emergencies (English available).
• 061 – Health emergencies.
• Lost passport – U.S. Consulate in Barcelona (+34 932 802 227) covers Valencia too.
5. Your First 30-Day Timeline At a Glance
| Week | Focus | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (Pre-move) | Visas, insurance, apostilles | Green light to fly |
| 1 | SIM, NIE appointment booked, Empadronamiento, bank | Officially “in the system” |
| 2 | House hunting, SIP card, digital certificate | Foundations set |
| 3 | Furniture buys, language classes, social groups | Lifestyle shaping |
| 4 | Collect TIE card, sign long-term lease, celebrate at La Pepica | You’re a Valencian resident—¡enhorabuena! |
6. Frequently Asked “But What If…?”
What if I miss my NIE fingerprint appointment?
Reschedule online; new slots appear weekly. You’ll get a 90-day grace period as long as you keep proof of attempts.
Do I need to exchange my foreign driving licence?
EU licences are recognised. Non-EU? Exchange within six months of residency. The DGT in Valencia (C/ Misser Mascó, 4) is friendly but books out months in advance.
Is English enough to survive?
Yes—for survival. No—for friendships. Aim for A2 Spanish by month three; locals open up exponentially.
7. A Personal Anecdote to Reassure You
I once accompanied a Canadian family who landed with four suitcases, two teenagers, and zero Spanish.
Day 2 their Airbnb internet died; Day 3 the landlord wanted cash that day; Day 4 the daughter’s peanut allergy meds ran out.
Because they’d pre-scanned meds prescriptions, set up Wise, and joined an expat WhatsApp group we recommended, each “crisis” resolved within hours.
Thirty days later the teens were skateboarding under Torres de Serranos and the parents were debating whether to buy or keep renting. Preparation + community = calm.
8. The BorderPilot Edge
All of the above can be DIYed, but why juggle NIE bookings, rental maps and cost spreadsheets in ten browser tabs?
BorderPilot’s algorithm crunches your family size, visa type and budget to spit out a customised relocation sequence—complete with reminders before each Spanish holiday shuts offices (looking at you, Las Fallas week).
9. Next Steps
If Valencia already feels a notch closer after this read, let’s keep the momentum.
Head over to BorderPilot and create your free relocation plan—I’ll see you inside the dashboard with more Valencia-specific hacks tailored to your timeline.
¡Nos vemos pronto en la ciudad del Turia!