Lucy Hi…
Firstly its Murcia not Marcia!
Secondly you need to be very aware that as things stand at the moment, your Social Security checks will be subject to the USD:Euro exchange rate, and at the time of writing this the rate is very poor and frankly I don’t see it improving at all in the near future. Just three months ago, roughly when the Middle East problems kicked off 1USD would get you 0.75 Euro; the rate today is 1USD =0.675 Euro. That’s a hell of a drop in just three months. Dollar Checks will also be subject to handling fees at your Spanish bank. We have a small variable income from the US paid in USD by checks. Currently our bank charge 3 Euros for every USD check we pay in.
In other words 100 USD will get you 67,5 Euros minus bank commission. Also payment of Dollar checks is delayed; you get the rate of the day that they are paid in but you will then have to wait for a period whilst the check is cleared. In our case the waiting period is 20 working days.
I don’t know for sure but I am fairly sure that overall the cost of living here is probably on a par with the US; some things may be cheaper, some more expensive. I haven’t a clue what income you can expect from the US Social Security, but given equality in the cost of living your income is effectively going to be worth about 25%-35% less than in the USA and this could make a big hole in your financial calculations.
Regarding the other matters you mention, your best bet would be to contact your nearest Spanish Embassy, particularly in respect of Healthcare and Social Security.
Hope some of this helps…
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