anyone living in Spain
Discussion
Depends want you want, sun sea and sand, a big town, a quiet life in the country, Spain has it all. I'm lucky enough to be married to a Spaniard and we have relations and friends dotted all around the main land Spain and the island groups.
My personal favourite is San Sebestian (Donestia) in the Basque Country, a smashing city built around an enclosed bay, that retains a lot of the old city and within that the best tapas bars in Spain. The climate is not as extreme as Southern or mid Spain, but still far better than good old Blighty.
Barcelona comes a good second, Spains most dynamic city, young lively, some truely stunning architecture, great bars and restaurants and again next to the sea. Unfortunately its popularity with Europeans including Brits means that property prices are some of the highest in Spain.
Across the water you have Palma de Marjorca, one of Spains hidden gems as the island gets associated with the package holiday companies that have their resorts to hte south of the island meaning that the city gets over looked.
It retains a lot of orginal buildings which make for some very impressive flats or if you can afford it an entire 5 storey block with an internal court yard to trap the sunlight, probably dating back 300 years or more. A quieter town but caters for some very wealthy Majorcan families and the jet set brigade who drive their boats into the numerous marinas the city has to offer.
Valencia will be the next Spanish city to be 'discovered'.
I know of a lot of friends who are all considering a move out to Spain, sick to death with the way the UK is becoming.
It will be a total lifestyle change, its more laid back generally, and depending where you are things do not always go as fast as you would like them too, but learn the language and you'll be made to feel welcome.
Cheers
PC
My personal favourite is San Sebestian (Donestia) in the Basque Country, a smashing city built around an enclosed bay, that retains a lot of the old city and within that the best tapas bars in Spain. The climate is not as extreme as Southern or mid Spain, but still far better than good old Blighty.
Barcelona comes a good second, Spains most dynamic city, young lively, some truely stunning architecture, great bars and restaurants and again next to the sea. Unfortunately its popularity with Europeans including Brits means that property prices are some of the highest in Spain.
Across the water you have Palma de Marjorca, one of Spains hidden gems as the island gets associated with the package holiday companies that have their resorts to hte south of the island meaning that the city gets over looked.
It retains a lot of orginal buildings which make for some very impressive flats or if you can afford it an entire 5 storey block with an internal court yard to trap the sunlight, probably dating back 300 years or more. A quieter town but caters for some very wealthy Majorcan families and the jet set brigade who drive their boats into the numerous marinas the city has to offer.
Valencia will be the next Spanish city to be 'discovered'.
I know of a lot of friends who are all considering a move out to Spain, sick to death with the way the UK is becoming.
It will be a total lifestyle change, its more laid back generally, and depending where you are things do not always go as fast as you would like them too, but learn the language and you'll be made to feel welcome.
Cheers
PC
Mum's been thinkning on and off for a while of fleeing this country and retiring there; in the hills half an hour from Alicante, (sorry my geography is pretty ropey so can't say where..)
Anyone have good advice/urls to check out re buying a property to live in, (rather than to rent to holidaymakers)? Needs to be within say 20 minutes to half an hour of the ex pat community, but preferably not within it. One thing she is looking for is peace and quiet..
Oh, and anyway of getting my car there for a shortish break? Ferry to and from where?
Anyone have good advice/urls to check out re buying a property to live in, (rather than to rent to holidaymakers)? Needs to be within say 20 minutes to half an hour of the ex pat community, but preferably not within it. One thing she is looking for is peace and quiet..
Oh, and anyway of getting my car there for a shortish break? Ferry to and from where?
Agree with everything that Felix has said, and can add the following:
Palma de Majorca is running capacity with Germans, BEWARE!!! (nothing wrong with Germans per se, just that when there are too many around, and being a little mili about it, it can be tiresome). Lovely place though. A friend has a holiday apartment there.
Barcelona really has a lot to offer. Fantastic location, with access to all you need. Loads of Brits and other Europeans but not a bad place. Never stayed there other than a visit so don't know what its like for living, but I can imagine it would be great.
Valencia!! Yes, definitely on the list of worthwhile investments. There is a big exhibition centre there that caters for all and is very busy. Next to the seaside so it has a lot of appeal. Valencia, together with another place just outside of Madrid (can't say where coz I just bought some land there for piss cheap to be developed on
) is looking like having a bright future.
Madrid is a nice city to live in too. The climate can be a little too hot in the summer though, but that is not a problem as you can escape to one of the many great coasts. Mainly apartments though, not so many detached houses around Madrid. We're in Arturo Soria, which is nicely close to Castellena. All apartment blocks from one end to the other. Have problems with gypsies here too.
Marbella/Puerto Banus: fantastic place to live, gets quiet in the winter, which is even better. Lots of English folks around if you need them, and space to move around when you don't. A friend owns a club in P. Banus bay and is making a LOT of money. Recently though, I've noticed a lot of construction and commercial activity going on, with lots of younger, "cheaper"(for want of a MUCH better word) type tourists, which has brought the class down a little. Property prices here volatile. But the region is largely undiscovered and places nearby with masses of land can be bought for cheap.
BUT, not everything is great though. Got back a few days ago from Marbella and the water in our place has stopped running, its been a bastard to get working again and I had to leave before it was properly sorted. Mosquitos are hard bastards over there too, had many battles with these little bastards and I can tell you they could win oscars for their "play dead" acts!
They don't have a lot of dealers experienced with an array of performance cars (they love their euroboxes) and in the major cities (esp Madrid) they drive and park like arseholes. Any nice car there should be saved for one of the retreats rather than the city proper. You WILL pick up a parking dent, it's as guaranteed as death, and taxes
They are generally a little relaxed in their efforts so things like plumbers, electricity, telephone etc are a little slow to get things mended when they break. It's basically around 10-15 years behind in some things, which can be a great money making and investment opportunity.
Euro Interest rates are something like 3.5%(?) at the moment.
BTW crime has been on the increase there recently too.
I travel to and fro so I can pick up some property details if anyone wants, just for sample. Lots of property at present to be bought off plan at a decent reduction. Can get some for Marbella/Puerto also, but will have to be in the summer now, unless I go sooner.
Palma de Majorca is running capacity with Germans, BEWARE!!! (nothing wrong with Germans per se, just that when there are too many around, and being a little mili about it, it can be tiresome). Lovely place though. A friend has a holiday apartment there.
Barcelona really has a lot to offer. Fantastic location, with access to all you need. Loads of Brits and other Europeans but not a bad place. Never stayed there other than a visit so don't know what its like for living, but I can imagine it would be great.
Valencia!! Yes, definitely on the list of worthwhile investments. There is a big exhibition centre there that caters for all and is very busy. Next to the seaside so it has a lot of appeal. Valencia, together with another place just outside of Madrid (can't say where coz I just bought some land there for piss cheap to be developed on
) is looking like having a bright future. Madrid is a nice city to live in too. The climate can be a little too hot in the summer though, but that is not a problem as you can escape to one of the many great coasts. Mainly apartments though, not so many detached houses around Madrid. We're in Arturo Soria, which is nicely close to Castellena. All apartment blocks from one end to the other. Have problems with gypsies here too.
Marbella/Puerto Banus: fantastic place to live, gets quiet in the winter, which is even better. Lots of English folks around if you need them, and space to move around when you don't. A friend owns a club in P. Banus bay and is making a LOT of money. Recently though, I've noticed a lot of construction and commercial activity going on, with lots of younger, "cheaper"(for want of a MUCH better word) type tourists, which has brought the class down a little. Property prices here volatile. But the region is largely undiscovered and places nearby with masses of land can be bought for cheap.
BUT, not everything is great though. Got back a few days ago from Marbella and the water in our place has stopped running, its been a bastard to get working again and I had to leave before it was properly sorted. Mosquitos are hard bastards over there too, had many battles with these little bastards and I can tell you they could win oscars for their "play dead" acts!
They don't have a lot of dealers experienced with an array of performance cars (they love their euroboxes) and in the major cities (esp Madrid) they drive and park like arseholes. Any nice car there should be saved for one of the retreats rather than the city proper. You WILL pick up a parking dent, it's as guaranteed as death, and taxes
They are generally a little relaxed in their efforts so things like plumbers, electricity, telephone etc are a little slow to get things mended when they break. It's basically around 10-15 years behind in some things, which can be a great money making and investment opportunity.
Euro Interest rates are something like 3.5%(?) at the moment.
BTW crime has been on the increase there recently too.
I travel to and fro so I can pick up some property details if anyone wants, just for sample. Lots of property at present to be bought off plan at a decent reduction. Can get some for Marbella/Puerto also, but will have to be in the summer now, unless I go sooner.
my dad has retired near alicante ; la manga. very nice
whole salmon £7.
also try
www.parkersinternational.co.uk
they're based in worcester (near brum)
whole salmon £7.
also try
www.parkersinternational.co.uk
they're based in worcester (near brum)
ninja_eli said:
Madrid is a nice city to live in too. The climate can be a little too hot in the summer though, but that is not a problem as you can escape to one of the many great coasts. Mainly apartments though, not so many detached houses around Madrid. We're in Arturo Soria, which is nicely close to Castellena. All apartment blocks from one end to the other. Have problems with gypsies here too.
We lived on the Castellana two doors down from Estadio Bernabeu for ten years. Madrid wasn't a bad place to go back to for holidays when I was a teenager
My father's family is Gibraltarian and I'm intending to move/retire to that area of Spain.
My g/f & I have been considering this for a while, but haven't quite got the bottle to do it yet. Not too sure where to go in Spain as we haven't been there, only Mallorca a couple of times. A friend of hers lives in Mallorca after running a bar on the mainland. Says she wouldn't go back to the mainland, the island is much better. I believe we will get there but need to know much more about where to be, chances of work, health service, possibilities for education if we have kids, etc etc. Keep watching "Place in the Sun" that only adds fuel to the idea. My g/f suffered from Reynaud's which mean extreme pain in the slightest cold but she's had an op which has stopped that so the rush isn't on now but I see house prices rocketting out there.
Any advice on here greatly appreciated.
Any advice on here greatly appreciated.
Speaking as someone who's been living abroad now for 8 years (South of France) I think you need to understand yourself what you want.
What I mean is generally speaking the further south you get in Europe (Spain,France,Italy,Greece) the more layed back life gets. Now this means several things:
You don't stress as much. You HAVE to take things very slowly - this on the whole means you don't stress, but coming from the UK many people find this stressful in its self. You have to be very honest with yourself about his point - the service industry is sooo bad - things take ages to order, they get the wrong thing, then they charge you for it. They not interested in your money - they're doing you a favour! It can get very frustrating when you're used to the consumer orientated culture. Its not the same. When I mean the service industry I mean buying/servicing anything for your house, car, insurance, shopping, everyday stuff.
So many people over look this point and its really key to enjoying life in these sort of regions. And as mentioned before - everyone drives a bit crazy and expect lots of parking dents.
I think also you need to decide if you want some English speaking people around you. As much as I would like to immerse mysle fin the French culture, its REALLY nice to have some English mates living here aswell. There are definite culture clashes and its nice to have the choice. So when deciding on location think about this a bit.
Of course there are many plus points on the whole I much prefer living here than the UK (perfect weather, pool in the garden, skiing, outdoor life, long lunches, long long summers, and no stress at work).If you're a couple you need to consider things like schooling for the kids, and health system - luckly the later here is very good.
All IMHO of course
>> Edited by bosshog on Tuesday 28th January 11:40
What I mean is generally speaking the further south you get in Europe (Spain,France,Italy,Greece) the more layed back life gets. Now this means several things:
You don't stress as much. You HAVE to take things very slowly - this on the whole means you don't stress, but coming from the UK many people find this stressful in its self. You have to be very honest with yourself about his point - the service industry is sooo bad - things take ages to order, they get the wrong thing, then they charge you for it. They not interested in your money - they're doing you a favour! It can get very frustrating when you're used to the consumer orientated culture. Its not the same. When I mean the service industry I mean buying/servicing anything for your house, car, insurance, shopping, everyday stuff.
So many people over look this point and its really key to enjoying life in these sort of regions. And as mentioned before - everyone drives a bit crazy and expect lots of parking dents.
I think also you need to decide if you want some English speaking people around you. As much as I would like to immerse mysle fin the French culture, its REALLY nice to have some English mates living here aswell. There are definite culture clashes and its nice to have the choice. So when deciding on location think about this a bit.
Of course there are many plus points on the whole I much prefer living here than the UK (perfect weather, pool in the garden, skiing, outdoor life, long lunches, long long summers, and no stress at work).If you're a couple you need to consider things like schooling for the kids, and health system - luckly the later here is very good.
All IMHO of course
>> Edited by bosshog on Tuesday 28th January 11:40
On a realated subject (not intended to be a threadjack - apols in advance)...
But what do you folks do for work over there?
I'm a Graphic Designer (32 years young) and plan to travel Europe in a couple of years and perhaps find myself a place to live.
It's just I can't imagine there being much demand for designers in the nice places such as rural France.
But what do you folks do for work over there?
I'm a Graphic Designer (32 years young) and plan to travel Europe in a couple of years and perhaps find myself a place to live.
It's just I can't imagine there being much demand for designers in the nice places such as rural France.
For ourselves, we simply want to get some space and somewhere without (preferably) scameras, and somewhere for her to prat about on the ponies. we lived a year in N France, which climate wise is little diferent to UK but very crowded, i spoke nil French at the start, but conversational at the end, simply because there was no english spoken outside the home and i loved it! now however with few relatives to stop here for, and some equity to be had, and given the parallels with Zimbabwe that we see every day on TV etc time to think about change, but where in Spain eh?, and yes, we wil still be looking for work though need'ent be with or amongst other brits, i resent the way foreigners stick together in UK, and i most certainly do not wish to re-create any part of england in someone elses country
>> Edited by rich 36 on Tuesday 28th January 13:29
>> Edited by rich 36 on Tuesday 28th January 13:29
rich 36 said: For ourselves, we simply want to get some space and somewhere without (preferably) scameras, and somewhere for her to prat about on the ponies. we lived a year in N France, which climate wise is little diferent to UK but very crowded, i spoke nil French at the start, but conversational at the end, simply because there was no english spoken outside the home and i loved it! now however with few relatives to stop here for, and some equity to be had, and given the parallels with Zimbabwe that we see every day on TV etc time to think about change, but where in Spain eh?, and yes, we wil still be looking for work though need'ent be with or amongst other brits, i resent the way foreigners stick together in UK, and i most certainly do not wish to re-create any part of england in someone elses country
>> Edited by rich 36 on Tuesday 28th January 13:29
Try Extremadura, the least explored region of Spain, which has arguably some of the best unspoilt landscape on offer. One of our close friends comes from the region and is fiercely pround of all the region has to offer.
PC
bobfrance said: On a realated subject (not intended to be a threadjack - apols in advance)...
But what do you folks do for work over there?
I'm a Graphic Designer (32 years young) and plan to travel Europe in a couple of years and perhaps find myself a place to live.
It's just I can't imagine there being much demand for designers in the nice places such as rural France.
I live on the Riviera, so there's lots of varied stuff down here.
I'm in IT myself in Sophia Antipolis.
Bosshog,what is the weather like down there today,
just walked/swam the hounds, changed clothes cup of tea etc, howling maelstrom type scenario outside here in UK
Nice car by the way, but don't stand with your back to the sun next time, or you get a silhouette of you head in the foreground again!
>> Edited by rich 36 on Tuesday 28th January 15:02
just walked/swam the hounds, changed clothes cup of tea etc, howling maelstrom type scenario outside here in UK
Nice car by the way, but don't stand with your back to the sun next time, or you get a silhouette of you head in the foreground again!
>> Edited by rich 36 on Tuesday 28th January 15:02
Blue skies, and its quite warm today - I had my afternoon cafe in my t-shirt, though its a bit chilly in the shade.
Ha! yes I do have a big head don't I..
Oopps better change my profile, don't have that car anymore....
>> Edited by bosshog on Tuesday 28th January 15:31
Nice car by the way, but don't stand with your back to the sun next time, or you get a silhouette of you head in the foreground again!
Ha! yes I do have a big head don't I.. Oopps better change my profile, don't have that car anymore....
>> Edited by bosshog on Tuesday 28th January 15:31
bosshog said: You don't stress as much. You HAVE to take things very slowly - this on the whole means you don't stress, but coming from the UK many people find this stressful in its self. You have to be very honest with yourself about his point - the service industry is sooo bad - things take ages to order, they get the wrong thing, then they charge you for it. They not interested in your money - they're doing you a favour! It can get very frustrating when you're used to the consumer orientated culture. Its not the same. When I mean the service industry I mean buying/servicing anything for your house, car, insurance, shopping, everyday stuff.
Got agree with you there. I'm trying to set up in Malta at the moment and the banking system is driving me up the wall (especially when I use First Direct in the UK – very efficient IMHO). Thing is they're being all very laid back about the problems I'm having (mistakes their making) and the more I see them being laid back the more I think they're not taking me seriously and the more frustrated I get until it gets to the stage where I'm beetroot red in the face jumping up and down screaming at them and waving bits of paper around and there just standing there with blank faces thinking "What a strange man...". Oh well, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.
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