love spain

Have had a lot of negative reaction to house buying in spain there must be some people out there who have sold up in uk and love living in spain. want to hear from people who made the right decision please

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 i made the right decision but didnt need to sell up in uk but had the cash and no need to work as have pension and rental income so no probs here

think the negative feed back is from those who didnt do it properly and ended up in  right mess spending the rest of their lives running in circles 

once you decide what you actully want it is really not difficult

i certainly wont return to the uk

 

This message was last edited by stillgoin on 28/03/2012.

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 We had problems with our first house purchase (long story - still hoping we may get some of our deposit back!) but we were renting a flat when it all went wrong in May 2008 and we were enjoying our life here, so we decided to stay.  John sold his flat in London and we eventually bought a new flat in Jumilla, where we have been living since April 2009.  We are both retired so don't need to work, though we do offer free "Walkers Tours of Jumilla", which is something to keep us busy.

We love our new life here, and the only things we miss from the UK  are our families and friends.

Sue

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I quite resent being asked advice as a member of this forum, and then, because the questioner doesnt agree with the advice given, deciding I'm only offering a negative reaction.
But I'll tell you why we are in Spain anyway.

We sold up everything to come here.  We figured we couldn't do so without having that cash behind us.
And unlike those picked out of thin air by stillgoin, we did do things properly, even though that wasn't easy, considering the endless paperwork, delays, trials and tribulations involved.
This was a few years ago, before 'La Crisis' happened.

And we do like living in Spain.
But to say we love everything about living here would be to talk with our eyes firmly closed and our brains switched off.

The mañana syndrome drives many a sane immigrant mad with frustration; the delays in getting many things done amidst a range of often conflicting paperwork would drive many people to drink; the almost daily power outages always hit at the most unexpected and inconvenient times; wondering whether you will be able to finish washing your hair, or washing your clothes in the machine, before the water goes off is also a stress raiser. And then there is wondering whether our internet connection will be fast enough to allow me to send this message!

Admittedly we live in a rural community where I would assume things like power cuts, water being turned off, and internet woes are more likely to happen.

But there are other things too.
We have a house full of dogs because we cannot bear to see so many poor animals left to starve or be run over on the streets.
I know people who run catteries and donkey sanctuaries for the same reason.

Then there is the state of the Spanish economy, with so many young people unable to find work and families moving back in with their parents, because they are no longer able to afford to keep a roof over their heads.
There has just been a General Strike. And whether or not you agree with the striker's motives, it cannot be ignored that their voices are getting louder and louder as the situation becomes ever more dire.
What the eventual outcome of this will be I would rather not guess.  But things are going to get a lot worse and there will be more social tension as a result.

For these reasons and others, this is why I say that now is not a good time to sell everythng in order to purchase a property in Spain.
By all means come here and rent, enjoy your time living here, and give the country some of your money.  It surely needs it.

But I'll say again, please think carefully before giving up everything you have to come here, when you really cannot say whether or not you will regret it.

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I think at the end of the day it's what you make of a place, how you want to live your life there and if you have that bit of luck that you need for things to fall into place.

In this area of Spain (Manilva/ Duquesa) you see many expats simply leading a very British lifestyle but in the sun.  They don't speak Spanish, only venture out to English bars and only hang around with other expats.  These same expats then wonder why their kids aren't doing very well in the local school.

But if that's what they want then that's fine.  Many people choose to live in a bubble, in fact, I bet the majority of expats on the coast couldn't say exactly what the general strike in Spain was all about yesterday.  They tend to read the English newspapers and don't follow what's actually going on in Spain.

As long as you can earn a living you can lead a "bubbly" lifestyle in Spain, but in a country where unemployment is about to hit 25%, it's not particularly bubbly for the Spaniards.

We've been here for nearly eight years.  Living here has it's good and bad points but we're quite happy here.  Could we be happy somewhere else?  Probably, that's more to do with how we approach life than what a particular location can offer us.

But, I am worried for Spain in the coming years.  These are incredibly tough times for the country as a whole and many things still need to change before we see economic growth again.

I'm not sure this has really answered your initial question but my view is always the same.

A place is what you make of it.

Justin

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 AS YOU SAY JUSTIN A PLACE IS LIKE LIFE EXACTLY WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT

AFTER WEATHER HERE THE NEXT BEST THING FOR ME IS HOW MUCH MONEY I SAVE ON FOOD BOOZE FAGS RATES AND COFFEES

I KNOW MANY SAY IT IS EXPENSIVE HERE BUT OF COURSE IT DEPENDS WHERE YOU SHOP

I USE LOCAL SUPERMARKETS WHERE I SOURCE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING

I BOUGHT CHICKEN BREAST ON OFFER IN LOCAL BUTCHER YOU KNOW WHERE YOU CAN WAIT FOR HOURS WHERE THEY FIDDLE ABOUT DOING GOD KNOWS WHAT CHECKED SAINSBURYS IT IS 12 QUID A KILO???

VISIT ICELAND ONCE A MONTH FOR A FEW ODD BITS BUT ITS GENERALLY EXPENSIVE

AS FOR BAD POINTS ABOUT MY ONLY COMPLAINT IS PHONE CONNECTIONS BEING GARBLED AND THE NUMBER OF TIMES I RECIEVE WRONG NUMBER CALLS

 

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The butchers tends to be more of a place where gossip gets spread and old ladies hang out before any meat is chopped up.

Good place to relax!

Justin

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 YES AND THEY DO HAVE CHAIRS AND A COFFEE MACHINE WHAT AWFUL PRIORITIES TO HAVE TO ENDURE LOL

SAME  IN THE LOCAL COFFE SHOPS WHERE I AM KNOWN. I SIT DOWN AND MY COFFEE APPEARS AS IF BY MAGIC!

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 YES AND THEY DO HAVE CHAIRS AND A COFFEE MACHINE WHAT AWFUL PRIORITIES TO HAVE TO ENDURE LOL

SAME  IN THE LOCAL COFFEE SHOPS WHERE I AM KNOWN. I SIT DOWN AND MY COFFEE APPEARS AS IF BY MAGIC!

 

This message was last edited by stillgoin on 30/03/2012.

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We sold up in the u.k. 7 years ago when we decided to come and live in Spain - we decided that once you close that door you could be anywhere on the planet. We love living here - we have a wide social circle - we play tennis 3 times a week - I go to spanish classes twice a week (work still a work in progress - but really love learning the language). I go to the gym 3/4 times a week - go walking in the mountains - go out for days exploring the area (when we can find the time!!). etc. etc. I've had lots of medical problems which have been dealt with as well as if I'd been in the u.k. I know I do have a very positive view of life in general - and believe in making the best of every situation - and try to look for the positive and not the negative. So maybe that's the answer. It's a big beautiful world out there - whilst you've got your health - a few bob in the bank - don't have to go out to work - stop thinking about how to enjoy life - just get out there any enjoy it. Because of the World financial crisis - don't know if I'd recommend buying in Spain - properties in the u.k. are always going to be a more financially better risk. But you can still come out here and enjoy the sunshine and life a few times a year (if you are retired or financially secure) Definitely don't think I'd bring young children out here - think the opportunities are much better for them in the u.k. - more choices etc. I do think if you come here to live - you should attempt to learn as much of the language as you can - it's a sign of respect for the country and makes you feel more 'at home' here - but you don't have to suddenly 'become' spanish - we're british - most of our friends are british - we prefer british style food - but eat in spanish restaurants (great menu del dia) and great tapas. You have to be adaptable - Spain is NOT England - they might be in the EU - but they do not have the infastructure or social backups that we have in the u.k. There are +'s and -'s, you have to accept the good with the bad. Nothing in life is ever going to be perfect. But when I sit in my casa - and look out at the mountains - and enjoy the tranquility of where we live (Almeria) - we couldn't be happier anywhere else. It's all about choice - if you are not an adapable person - if you are a bit of a 'stick in the mud' - then Spain is not for you. Come here on holiday and keep your home in the u.k.

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Been here 8 years now - best move i've ever made - great lifestyle.

Casa valve went up in valve during the bubble years , now worth

what i paid for it. 

Life is what YOU make it !

Must go now, my Rioja awaits. 

 

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Ok, so I thought that I would contribute here, as not all of us have moved to Spain to retire. There is a younger (and often forgotten) generation that move out too, and if I was to give one negative point in this post, it would be that many newspapers, advertising and forums only seem to cater for people who have already retired. It doesn't bother me, but really noticeable when we moved out first.

So positives (and I'm all about been positive). My partner and I are in our very early forties. We decided to leave the UK as we were finding it depressing and with commuting hours of my job, we rarely saw each other. We believe and have experienced many many times that life is too short and sometimes you just have to go for it. That was seven months ago and after month one, we wowed that we will never go back to the UK, we love it so much here.

Couple of things to consider if you are thinking of moving here and still need to work. Don't even consider coming out if you do not have a job. I was extremely lucky to keep my job, my partner has his own business, which he restablished over here through very hard work and is doing well.

Get involved - learn the language, join clubs, do volunteering if you really want to immerse yourself in Spain. In seven months I am finding that we can get around with the lingo we have learned to date and meeting new people. Also, a reader above pointed out about the large amount of abandoned cats and dogs in Spain, I really noticed this too when I moved out, so I now volunteer at a local dog sanctuary, where apart from helping the dogs, I am meeting lovely people and also keeping fit.

Consider renting when you move out, don't be in a big rush or feel pressured to buy yet. If Spain does not work out for you, then the problems are not as big for you to return back. It seems very inticing at the moment to buy...but I would use the old adage here "try before you buy".

Finally- do your homework before you leave, I cannot stress that enough. Always have in your head that this is not a holiday, this is the future for you and your family. Things are going to happen more slowly once you are here and there will be many cultural differences. If you don't think you can overcome these and want everything to happen as it does at home - then i would not advise to move abroad at all, never mind moving to Spain.

And finally Spain is not the other side of the world, so if you are feeling nostalgic then home is not that far away really with good reasonable flights if you have a bit of flexibility.

We love it, we are healthier and happier in every sense of the world. We look forward to what every day brings to us and feel blessed that moving and living in Spain has worked out for us.

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 loving your comments, I was beginning to think I was alone in being very happy and positive here ! I also blog on eye on spain.  I have lived here for ore than 20 years and love it. Good luck to you and yours, you ahve the right attitude to succeed anywhere

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 Hi Everyone,

I read with interest all your comments and they are all from different sides of the same facet - so I am also going to throw my bit in for what it is worth.  (We sold up 10 years ago (my husbands choice not mine)  Did everything in our power to purchase safely and correctly. Still came unstuck after 4 years but that is another story.  At the time my husband wanted to go home but we fought and came through not too bad.  At the end of the day we used all this experience to help other people along the way so they would not have to go through the same things.  If you open your eyes to all that is around you and and do as the spanish do it is not a bad thing it has made us good spanish friends and respect for standing up for ourselves.  We do not go to places where the English hang out but it is nice to have it there if we want.  The spanish are very good at adapting when things get tuff. They also have big hearts and like to share things which helps when things are a bit tuff.   We also have had to do the same as being on a pension we now find it really really  tuff but hey ho, we cannot go to the same expensive restaurants as we did do but we still go out for Menu D. D.  We have our house up for sale as we need something cheaper to run so we are down sizing but still no thoughts of going back to England - I love the way we live here and the versatility that we can change our life and still survive.  Sorry to say that we could not survive in the same situation if we were living in England we would probably be out on the streets (if we could not afford to pay our bills)  Where here there are still cheaper options to live and enjoy the special secreats that Spain holds you just need to look.  I guess by now that you can see we adore spain and we do have our eyes wide open to all its faults and paperwork but it just one of life's rich tapestry and as we learn we share with others.  I have really change since living here, I have become more adaptable and more forceful.  With patience and a smile and fire in the belly we usually do all right. For an English person 

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We moved here almost 2 years ago (having owned our apartment for 4 years and used it as a holiday home) We  sold up in the UK and feel we made the right decision for us,  visiting the same place for holidays for several years eased the transition, that said it has been far from easy. We deliberately chose a very Spanish town where very little English is spoken so learning Spanish has been essential and also decided that the same values we had in the UK in terms of doing everything legally would also apply in Spain. Of course transferring my husbands business (he is a writer) to the Spanish system for Social Security and Tax took time and dealing with a different system and different attitudes to customer service was stressful at times but we came here for different experiences and adventures and that includes dealing with the Hacienda. My husband's business has been up and down due to the disruption of the move and the crisis so I taught English and registered as Autonomo too for a while to tide us over, two lots of Autonomo payments cost more than our UK mortgage!  but we find on the whole things are cheaper here so we still feel that we are better off than were in the UK.

Our plans to use profits from our house sale in the UK and sale of the apartment here so that we could buy a nice little village house with a pool, have been shattered due to the Crisis and problems with our urbanisation but we are hopeful that things will recover eventually and in the meantime are making the best of all that Spain has to offer

We have made some lovely Spanish friends and acquaintances as well as friends from other countries as well, we have also met people who are not as honest or trustworthy as one would hope (sadly mostly English ex-pats)

I agree with one of the other posts in that many ex-pats struggle because they cannot earn a living here, my advice to anyone considering moving to Spain is plan your finances and employment options very carefully as you cannot access the NHS if you do not pay NI contributions (your E11 should only last 2 years though plenty of people fiddle the system and use it for longer) and there is no means tested Social Security for those who do not qualify for the contributory unemployment benefit scheme.

We are determined to make it work here and I would say that 90% of the time it works wonderfully but there are days when life here is very challenging, so to answer the question posted, we love living in Spain and definitely feel we made the right decision

 

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Just thought I would add my pennyworth.

We rented in Spain for 4 months over winter a couple of years ago. We enjoyed it, but although Spain is a wonderful country-and we still visit at least twice a year, we decided not as a permanent home.

My point is to just back up what has already been said. The best way to do your research, if you are thinking of settling permanently, is to do it in Spain, not in the UK. Also, its cheap, or at least quite a lot cheaper than renting is  in the UK. Short term lets of 3 or more months are easily available, and you may be able to rent out your own  house in the uk whilst living in Spain, which should more than cover the rent.

Also if you are a brit who is likely to want to be around other brits- dont move to the middle of the countryside! (some still do). Find an area where a lot of other brits live. For me, if we had gone for it, I would be thinking of a town, so that shops would be near and lots of other amenities-and oh yes brits. Although I am 55 so not ancient yet, I  think we would also have to consider whether living in a rural area is a good option when we got into our late 70's say.

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 We bought our house in the Alicante region in 2001. I retired just over three years ago and we sold our UK property and made this our only home. Absolutely no regrets. Who in their right mind would want to return to a cold wet climate and have to also put up with anarchy on the streets and everyone (especially the government) out to rip you off at every opportunity.

Give me Spain any day. It so so refreshing to be able to go out of an evening and see families enjoying themselves without any fear of encountering boozed up hooligans. Long may it remain so here!

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We've been here (in Seville) three years now and have no plans to return. Like Fionnula, we are not retiring, in fact we're both in our late thirties. Our daughter was recently born out here and the experience was about as easy as a birth can ever be, and far better than many of my friends' experiences in England!

We have never had a mortgage and would like to buy a place out here, but are holding off for the moment because of the uncertain financial future and house price situation. When we were deciding where to go, my husband insisted on a city and I think he was right, as problems with both utilities and illegal buildings are far less likely, and there is more to do and more people to meet, which we see as important to building a life here.

Life is really good here, really calm, happy and chilled. As an English teacher, I earn less than a third of what I earned in England and our financial situation is probably precarious, but money isn't everything and we have a roof over our heads and the ability to earn. As a native speaker with a CELTA qualification, I came over for a few days in the October (and we arrived in Jan/Feb) and took my CV round some schools. Initially they said they were full, but in the December one phoned me in England and offered me a job and I've been there ever since. I get laid off for two months in the summer, but claim unemployment benefit then. It's not ideal, obviously, but considering how much I loathed my job in England it's still an improvement.

The weather is wonderful, the lifestyle is relaxed, and the people have their priorities right here. I love England and always will, but politically it is headed to a very dark place in my opinion, and the Government and media do all they can to encourage that unattractive - and unjustified - sense of injured victimhood you see more and more. The Spanish aren't perfect, but at least they're not all convinced that everyone on benefits is personally stealing from them, etc. And yes, the bureaucracy is a pain, but speaking Spanish helps, and it gets so extreme it can be quite funny. Nine visits to five offices and triplicate receipts for 0 euros while changing the registration for my scooter? Come on, that's hilarious. 

 

 

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Hello all,

I retired in January 2006 and we decided we would come and live in Spain, my husband is a lot younger than me and a Mechanic.  We decided that as they drive cars in Spain as well he should be able to get work.  We arrived here in March 2007 and he got a job in a local garage.  We are out in the mountains ( Calasparra ) with very few english, we looked at Alicante and Torrevieja and decided, NO WAY!!  Most of the bars were Irish or English, most of the shops are English, the condition of the roads was atrocious and worst of all it was all Communities, something we definately didn't want.

We looked at a certain builders work and liked the way he finished things off properly, we made enquiries and found that he was about to start a new 'Estate' in Calasparra, Murcia'.  We noticed as we got closer to Murcia and the mountains that the roads were like as smooth as ice, the air was so clean you could smell it, every where was green, even on the motorway cars were few and far between, they still drove on your back bumper but that is Spain.  When we got to the site it was nothing but a couple of fields but the computer generated pictures were great but the most important thing was IT WAS NOT GOING TO BE A COMMUNITY, the local council were going to adopt us when finished. 

We have been here 5yrs now and wouldn't go back to England for anything.  My pension is approx €650 per month and as my husband lost his job when the crisis hit we still are able to run are vehicles, pay our bills and eat good Spanish food.  We only go to Iceland 2 or 3 times a year just for essentialls like OXO cubes, Tea Bags, Cheddar cheese and Walkers c/o crisps.

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I'm 57 and although I am a proud Scot, the weather has got too much for me.  We spent 4 months in Mazarrón this year and we are back to put our house up for rent and get back out permanently.  To wake up every morning,(well most) and see blue skies is fabulous.  If i get another 13 years or so before I start dribbling, I'll be happy!!!!!

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