Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Your mortgage letter is about to get worse. You can still beat it.

Jun 16, 2026

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3 min read

Your mortgage letter is about to get worse. You can still beat it.

The ECB hiked on the 11th, and fixing before your revision is cheaper than you think.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Five strikes in, the Costa's safety net is wearing thin

Jun 15, 2026

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4 min read

Five strikes in, the Costa's safety net is wearing thin

What the fifth doctors' walkout says about the care you're counting on. Even if you have private coverage.

Andrew Lawrence

Lifestyle

What part of life in Spain defeated you at month six but is easy now?

Jun 12, 2026

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3 min read

What part of life in Spain defeated you at month six but is easy now?

What that quiet shift of competence is worth if you're deciding whether to stay and build here.

Andrew Lawrence

Service Providers

Málaga's Jobs Boom Is Real. It's Also Smaller Than Last Year's.

Jun 11, 2026

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3 min read

Málaga's Jobs Boom Is Real. It's Also Smaller Than Last Year's.

We pulled the SEPE data ourselves. The number that matters isn't the one in the papers.

Andrew Lawrence

Service Providers

Your gestor says handing over your digital certificate is fine. Spain disagrees.

Jun 10, 2026

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3 min read

Your gestor says handing over your digital certificate is fine. Spain disagrees.

Providers will say it's not illegal, and nobody's charged for it. Both true, but beside the point. Here's who ends up liable.

Andrew Lawrence

Driving

Málaga's low-emission zone touts the cars it can fine, not the better air it promised.

Jun 9, 2026

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2 min read

Málaga's low-emission zone touts the cars it can fine, not the better air it promised.

€12 million in fines, nitrogen dioxide down one microgram. Look up your own street.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

The national rental register is dead. Your obligations are not.

Jun 8, 2026

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2 min read

The national rental register is dead. Your obligations are not.

Abolished in Madrid, intensified in Andalucía, which is readying €600,000 fines.

Andrew Lawrence

Lifestyle

When did the Costa stop being where you were staying and become home?

Jun 5, 2026

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3 min read

When did the Costa stop being where you were staying and become home?

162 nationalities later, the case for building a life here, not just having one, only gets stronger.

Andrew Lawrence

Service Providers

How to find a gestor, doctor, or lawyer who is actually any good.

Jun 4, 2026

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3 min read

How to find a gestor, doctor, or lawyer who is actually any good.

The Facebook group tells you who posts the most, not who is competent. Here is the difference.

Andrew Lawrence

Service Providers

You are entitled to free healthcare here. So why would you pay twice?

Jun 3, 2026

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3 min read

You are entitled to free healthcare here. So why would you pay twice?

Thousands of S1 holders pay private for a reason that has nothing to do with medicine.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Everyone says rates are falling. Your mortgage letter says otherwise.

Jun 2, 2026

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3 min read

Everyone says rates are falling. Your mortgage letter says otherwise.

Euribor is up €60 a month on last year. The annual revision is landing now.

Andrew Lawrence

Real Estate

You are afraid of the wrong part of dying in Spain (well, the bureaucratic part, at least).

Jun 1, 2026

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3 min read

You are afraid of the wrong part of dying in Spain (well, the bureaucratic part, at least).

The inheritance tax is mostly gone here (Andalucia). The mess it leaves without a will is not.

Andrew Lawrence

Remote Work

We are still here. Here is why the arithmetic holds.

May 29, 2026

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3 min read

We are still here. Here is why the arithmetic holds.

Cost, weather, community, pace — the actual variables, not the brochure version.

Andrew Lawrence

Malaga

Before You Book Summer Train Travel, Read This

May 28, 2026

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5 min read

Before You Book Summer Train Travel, Read This

Three separate situations, one week, all reported as one story. They are not.

Andrew Lawrence

Infrastructure

They Said It Was Happening. Here's What Actually Did.

May 27, 2026

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5 min read

They Said It Was Happening. Here's What Actually Did.

We built a permanent tracker for those News Headlines, so you can read any new announcement through the right lens.

Andrew Lawrence

Driving

The Madrid ZBE Ruling Is Not Good News for Drivers. Read It Again.

May 26, 2026

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4 min read

The Madrid ZBE Ruling Is Not Good News for Drivers. Read It Again.

What Spain's Supreme Court found in Madrid, and why it matters six months before Malaga's Phase 2.

Andrew Lawrence

Employment

This regularisation window isn't just for your cleaner. It's for you.

May 25, 2026

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3 min read

This regularisation window isn't just for your cleaner. It's for you.

The employer's side of June 30 — and what changes after it, whether you act or not.

Andrew Lawrence

Infrastructure

Three Countries Tried to Suspend EES This Spring. Only One Got Away With It.

May 22, 2026

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4 min read

Three Countries Tried to Suspend EES This Spring. Only One Got Away With It.

Greece suspended EES. Brussels blocked Italy and Portugal. Spain has said nothing.

Andrew Lawrence

Lifestyle

The national headlines aren't where the Costa is changing. Your building is.

May 21, 2026

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5 min read

The national headlines aren't where the Costa is changing. Your building is.

A law change in April 2025 already shifted the default. What you can do next depends on your housing type.

Andrew Lawrence

Real Estate

What the PP-Vox pact will demand on residency, and why most of you can stop worrying.

May 20, 2026

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4 min read

What the PP-Vox pact will demand on residency, and why most of you can stop worrying.

Ten years of padrón for protected housing, five for social rental. Three legal walls in front of them.

Andrew Lawrence

family

Andalucía expanded its rental tax deduction. Most of you don't qualify directly. Here's what you do.

May 19, 2026

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5 min read

Andalucía expanded its rental tax deduction. Most of you don't qualify directly. Here's what you do.

And the cross-check landlords should know about before their tenants file Renta 2026.

Andrew Lawrence

Costs

Málaga is about to make it harder to turn shops into flats

May 18, 2026

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3 min read

Málaga is about to make it harder to turn shops into flats

Owners: ~4 months on the permit. Buyers: a two-question viewing checklist. Renters: a stronger case for the five-year lease.

Andrew Lawrence

Governance

Spain Has a Constitutional Quiet Day. Three Things to Do With Yours.

May 15, 2026

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3 min read

Spain Has a Constitutional Quiet Day. Three Things to Do With Yours.

Saturday is yours by Article 53. The 2027 vote paperwork starts at your ayuntamiento.

Andrew Lawrence

Deadlines

Galicia Ended Its Doctor Strike. Andalucía Is Choosing Not To.

May 14, 2026

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5 min read

Galicia Ended Its Doctor Strike. Andalucía Is Choosing Not To.

Galicia just changed the maths. Round 4 starts here on Monday. Andalucía's silence is the news.

Andrew Lawrence

Governance

In Monday's Andalucía Debate, the Silences Were the Policies

May 13, 2026

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4 min read

In Monday's Andalucía Debate, the Silences Were the Policies

Padrón scrutiny, the ITP property tax, and contracts behind Moreno's healthcare framing.

Andrew Lawrence

Andrew Lawrence

Your mortgage letter is about to get worse. You can still beat it.

Five strikes in, the Costa's safety net is wearing thin

What part of life in Spain defeated you at month six but is easy now?

Málaga's Jobs Boom Is Real. It's Also Smaller Than Last Year's.

Your gestor says handing over your digital certificate is fine. Spain disagrees.

Málaga's low-emission zone touts the cars it can fine, not the better air it promised.

The national rental register is dead. Your obligations are not.

When did the Costa stop being where you were staying and become home?

How to find a gestor, doctor, or lawyer who is actually any good.

You are entitled to free healthcare here. So why would you pay twice?

Everyone says rates are falling. Your mortgage letter says otherwise.

You are afraid of the wrong part of dying in Spain (well, the bureaucratic part, at least).

We are still here. Here is why the arithmetic holds.

Before You Book Summer Train Travel, Read This

They Said It Was Happening. Here's What Actually Did.

The Madrid ZBE Ruling Is Not Good News for Drivers. Read It Again.

This regularisation window isn't just for your cleaner. It's for you.

Three Countries Tried to Suspend EES This Spring. Only One Got Away With It.

The national headlines aren't where the Costa is changing. Your building is.

What the PP-Vox pact will demand on residency, and why most of you can stop worrying.

Andalucía expanded its rental tax deduction. Most of you don't qualify directly. Here's what you do.

Málaga is about to make it harder to turn shops into flats

Spain Has a Constitutional Quiet Day. Three Things to Do With Yours.

Galicia Ended Its Doctor Strike. Andalucía Is Choosing Not To.

In Monday's Andalucía Debate, the Silences Were the Policies

Waypoint Sur