Where to Live in Spain...and Why?

Hello

Many of you will know I am plannig a move to spain but am confused to the Area. Its Def gonna be Blanca or Calida but I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooo confused.

I wandered if you would all help by writing in to say what Area of spain YOU think is the best place to live and why.

Give us something to do I suppose....

I love EOS, Everyone is lovely!! thanks for all your help so far

Hi Sarah

Have pm'd you

Sazzle

Get on a plane and have a look!!

No obligation

Can arrange for you to be shown around....between Alicante and Mojacar

Pick your time of year;

I have just booked  Ryan Air to Granada 27/02/08 one way will be circa £21.25pp [ return £ 42.59pp] 

pick up a car...circa £70 per week]

drive and look...on the way we can show you around 

Come back from Alicante [ return flight will be more expensive than from Granada]

But if  you seriously want to buy I can arrange a one to one trip for you [ not me but my connections in Spain] and if you do buy ....the cost is refunded

Brian

Dear me, every now and again this question comes up and stumps everyone.  It does, of course, very much depend on what you want out of your future life.  If you like cities or big towns, perhaps places like Barcelona (beautiful place, not a city lover normally but this is georgeous) or maybe even Madrid (too hot in summer, quite chilly in winter and dirty in parts).  Are you looking to work or retire?  To work, depends on what work you want.  Many places on the Costas are seasonal and dry up in the winter months so bar/club work may not suit you all year round.  Even Torrevieja (over 50% foreigners are resident there) and Fuengirola seem deserted in the winter with many places closing down until almost Easter.  It is extremely difficult to get work in Spain unless you speak Spanish.  The average waiter in a restaurant can get by in at least 4 european languages, just listen to them talking to Spaniards, Brits, Germans, Dutch etc etc.  Can you compete with that?  If not, you'll be stuck in the expat bars and the pay is very (VERY) low.  Office work is also quiet difficult to get and the big estate agents are usually full of staff.

Retiring?  Depends on whether you want to go native or have the support of British people around you.  It might sound nice to be in a Spanish area away from the noisy Brits but many people who do this feel really isolated and up sticks and leave after about 6 months.  Those nearer British communities tend to stay longer.  There is also the infrastructure.  Will you have mains water or electricity?  Many places out in the sticks have to draw water from a well and have a generator running most of the time.  Funny though it seems (as people have left UK to find a different way of life) many people miss things like Heinz beans, Marmite or Cornish pasties.  The big supermarkets near a high expat area sell these type of things along with Guinness and Hovis bread (frozen, of course).  The smaller, inland places may not have chickens with the giblets removed and have probably never heard of cheddar cheese.

Maybe you want the sun and beach close by.  Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca are easily the most popular but Murcia and places in between are becoming more popular.  Again, you will be living in foreign dominated areas as these areas are pricing themselves out of the average Spaniards reach. 

What about health?  Unless you are living in Catalunya or the Valencia region, you will have to pay for health costs until you reach retirement age.  Murcia may allow expats free health care in the future but nothing has yet been decided.

Whatever you do, try renting in the area first.  It's easier to stop paying rent than a mortgage when you want to leave.  If you do buy, take what the agents say with a pinch of salt.  Their sole aim in life is to get you to buy a property and some of them aren't as honest as they seem (well, that's like saying the Pope is catholic, really).  Get an independent solicitor.  I can't stress this enough.  The agents' recommended solicitor will also be working for them and they get more business from the agents than from you so guess whose side they'll be on when something does go wrong?

Oh, and in case it comes as a surprise to you (it has to some people) it get very hot in Spain during the summer months.  Be prepared if you are going to live there.  It also gets quite chilly in the winter so be prepared for that as well.

Whatever you do or want, enjoy it.  The worst thing in the world is not to do something and then regret it for the rest of your life.  I have lived in 12 different countries in my life.  I have, in the main, enjoyed them all.  I have picked Spain to be my permanent residence because:

a.  I can afford it.  I will be on a service and NHS pension which will go a lot further in Spain than it will do in UK.

b.  I love the climate.  The Costa Blanca has one of the healthiest climates in the world which is important for my wife.

c.  I have met some lovely people there who are all in the same boat so we can have someone to turn to if I need it.

d.  It is cheap and close to the UK.  You can get back in a couple of hours and, just as important, people can visit easily.

e. I speak Spanish.  Converting Central American Spanish to "Costa" Spanish will be a bit of a challenge but I have a head start

f.  I'm getting extremely cheesed off with UK (sorry, but I am).  I don't mean to moan but I feel we can't do anything right in Britain anymore and we are being run by a bunch of amateurs.

g.  I do like the way of life in Spain.  Although I won't be working, I'm looking forward to the siestas, fiestas and any other esta you can think of. 

h.  This one from my wife, you can get Coronation Street on the telly in Spain.

Hi Bob,

Excellent advice there. I was interested about the health care  so that helped me too.

Cheers

Just adding to Bobaol's post. When you are ready to buy, use an independent mortgage advisor as well as solicitor. As we are finding to our cost at the moment, the one the agent recommends is not always the best. I KNOW!!! If we'd found EOS before we bought we wouldn't have used them!!!

Noreen

Wow Bob, Thats some post and very useful! and you sound like you know what you are talking about.

My main concern is right now schooling, and to be honest I am struggling a bit with it as have been in touch with a couple and never got a reply. My problem is that I don't know if they work in catchment and I can't look at property until I know about a school as what if there is not one where I want to live??

My daughter is going to HOPEFULLY attend an international school so she can stick to her studies, as you never know when we might have to come home again, and she is VERY shy and struggles academically so no way she would cope in a spanish school.  I know they are quite pricey but that is the one thing I am concerned about and would pay for it regardless. she is 11 by the way,

SO I am being told to look at Mar menor areas but I also like the look of playa flamenca but until I know about schools in this area and If I can get her in, I am STUCK! its really hard. Will maybe try calling again tom.

I know there is one in La Torre, Kings college which opens Sept this year and also one called El Liminor which covers a few different areas.

I have not even gotton to think about Health care yet, so how much does this cost? does anyone know as my daughter is Athsmatic! eek

As I sent my kids to boarding school when I lived abroad (oh, you rotten swine, you cry) because a couple of the places I lived in (for work purposes) didn't have schools nearby, I'm afraid I can't help you on that one.  I do know that, where I have my place at the moment, loads of "foreign" kids get picked up and dropped off by bus every day so there must be some around.  Currently living in El Galan which is joined on to Villamartin and inland (about 5 miles) from Playa Flamenca.

Only thing I can suggest is look at this (and other forums (fora?)) re schooling.  Some of the forums (that'll do) deal with specific areas so look around.  Schooling is one of the main topics on these sites.  State schooling vs private schooling is often discussed with some parents saying the state is far better for children whilst others insist the international schools are superior for the child.

Health.  The South Costa Blanca has been proved to have one of the healthiest climates in the world.  A friend of mine, suffering from respiratory problems, was advised to go and live there because of the climate.  One of the guys on the inspection tour with me was looking in that area because he'd been advised to do the same thing.  Cost?  If you're working, you will pay the state social security which is, I think, around 240 euros a month.  This gives you health and welfare benefits.  If you're not working, you can get free health care on the Costa Blanca once you have taken out residency.  I don't think you get entirely free prescription medicine but you can get it at about 10% of the cost if you get a prescription.  Inhalers, by the way, cost about €5 in Spain so they are cheaper than prescriptions in UK.  Elsewhere, you will be stuck with private insurance (which doesn't cover pre-existing conditions) but this is much cheaper than UK.  I was quoted between 125 and 175 euros a month for the two of us.  Dental care is private and not covered by the Health service but routine treatment is a lot cheaper than UK.  Major dental work, however, can work out more expensive.

Good luck

oh god of course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!how stupid am I?? I dont half pick bad timing to do things me do i?

nightmare, that makes things even worse as then I cant find out about schools till september when they go back, boo hoo!

I saw a school today in Torrevieja called Mara Zul so if anyone has feedback on this I would love to hear it as it looks pretty good from the website although Pricey Like the other ones I looked at (el liminor and kings college)

seen loads of lovely apartments/villas - right from Playa Flameca all the way down to Mar menor but I think you will all agree that now its just a case of getting on that plane, and that wont be till october. Maybe I should do it sooner. Might go look at flights as I worry by the time I get over in oct, a lot of these villas etc will already be booked and school places will be gone! eeeeeeeeekkk!

Surely it's "Mar Azul"?! (Blue sea).

Definitely get over to check out the places you're finding on the 'net. Very important to familiarise yourself with the general area, since everything looks nice in the virtual world! The best looking places are probably in the middle of nowhere!

Very best of luck to you.

thanks roberto!

Yes you are correct with the spelling, sorry my mistake.

Yes I really have to wait till I get over but I just wanted to get Ideas now of places to look but now they are all asking for deposits or else they will give them away to other people.

SO really maybe I should stop looking, but................................I CANT!

ha ha

och well gives me something to do eh?

Have just logged on after coming back from 2 weeks at La Torre Golf Resort where my family and I are relocating to on 6 September.  I can empathise with what you say about the schools, we have just gone through the process.  We have 2 children age 7 and 3 and although for the younger one a Spanish School would have been fine, our daughter has already done 3 years in Scotland at Primary School so as we do not speak much Spanish this was not an option for her.  Also if we do not like it and end up coming back she may actually be worse off.  Anyway, we went to see El Limonar in Murcia and also Kings College at La Torre.  We have opted for Kings College for the following reasons:

El Limonar is about a 20 minute drive from where we are going to rent for the first year (La Torre), it also would have meant that the kids went to 2 different schools at different locations because the Infant School is not at the main campus.  We were not given a tour of this school or much information other than what we had already found out for ourselves.  Amy spent almost 2 hours doing her entrance exam (which she passed), during this time the rest of us had to wait in reception!

Kings College is on the resort we plan to live on initially so no travel problem, the children will attend the same building/campus.  Mrs Greenwood (the head) is highly experienced in setting up International Schools all over the world.  She spent 2 hours with myself and my husband (both children had to do a test here which again they both passed), she gave us a tour, spent a lot of time going over how they would achive the full school facilities for September 2008.  There will only be one building open this year and that will only take up to Year 5 students.

International Schools are expensive although cheaper than in UK but they do get 5 full days and 3 full terms - no half term holidays only christmas and easter outwith summer.

As for the area we have chosen the Costa Calida because we have bought property off plan there, we are not so keen on Costa Blanca as we wanted a more Spanish area and everyone is right saying there are many more ex pats living there although the number is definately increasing in Costa Calida region.  We have visited both regions several times over the last 3 years and are sure we are picking the correct one but will still rent for at least 2 years to make absolutely sure we all like it.

I hope this helps.

Lynn

We relocated to Elviria, Marbella, 2 years ago and both girls now 8 and 13 went to Spanish school (with the bare minimum of language) straight away. We couldn't really afford international, but had thought it was best for the same reasons etc should we return. We looked at a couple, but didn't like the atmosphere during our visits and on top of that they could only take the younger one as the other year was full. Having just completed their second year in Spain and both being promoted to the next year (no messing here, if you don't make the grade you repeat - no arguments!) I couldn't be more relieved that we made the right choice. Whilst it hasn't been plain sailing, the obstacles aren't major - it is just different, and that's what you would expect. I have resisted the tempatation so far, as I am regularly accused of embarassing my children, to join the equivalent of the PSA (an ex member in the UK plus Goverenor), but now my Spanish has improved I am going to give it a go in September.

The younger one has an accent 'to die for' and the older one (having completed year 6 in the UK) is finding the style of learning less stressful. Other parents we have met that have ended up being here for a few years (they had the same reservations when they first landed) who sent their children to international school, have found that their written spanish is not good enough to stay on here for further education, so are having to go back to the UK to stay with relatives and study there.

The Spanish system is reminiscent of when I was at school (40 in October) - back to basics. And the best thing - the children hug the teachers and they hug back. I think we were very fortunate that the school we happened to enrol in (we were very lapse with our research and just went for the closest one) has a very good 'foreigners department' and caters very well for non-spanish speaking students and families. Every lesson and letter home is in Spanish, and it makes you try harder. We have over 30 different nationalities at our school, with a flag for each one on a big world map at reception. The age range is from 7-13; no guns, knives, drugs and no racist taunts.

Re the actual title of the message as to where to live in Spain, no idea - but don't think about it too long, or it will be too late!

Regards,

Fiona

Hi All,

I have been watching this thread evolve and there seem to be differing opinions and experiences regarding this immense question of where to live in Spain,what you have to remember is that most experiences are unique to the person looking to move,everyone has different needs and perceptions of what they are actually looking for,sitting trawling the internet will only give you the cosmetics of living in acountry so diiferent to what you may be used to,the only real way to discover and answer all those nagging questions is jump on a plane,walk around, ask questions, visit schools, visit areas at all times of the day,talk to people who live there and get some educated proffesional advice, contrary to opinion there are some agents that consider this their job to make people happy and find not sell them a property and area that will make them comfortable enough to move their family into a new enviroment.

I have been doing this for most of my working life and also have a family here with 3 children aged 4,11 and 14 so i am fairly qualified to offer an opinion and hopefully guide anyone looking to make a move.

1. If you are looking for a permanent move it is completely different than if you are looking for a  holiday home,people generally know what they are looking for from a holiday and it is easier to spot,beach,bars,restaurants etc are there for all to see and you can make your own judgements on how close you want to be to all of these for the few weeks a year you or your friends may visit.

I will concentrate on a residential permanent move because in my opinion there are far more factors involved and a lot more boxes to tick.

2.Ask yourself what you need from the area,Schooling,keeping the children amused,percentage of actual permanent residents in the town or urb to keep you amused and to meet like minded people for friendship and the everyday social activities,work,access to shops,supermarkets etc....,access to airports.

SCHOOLING.

Whether you choose Private or Traditional schooling the obvious difference is one you will have to pay for,get advice from someone who has children in the school and visit and talk to the teachers,here you will get an honest opinion.

My children all go to a local school and all speak fluently at their level,remember they are like sponges and what may seem daunting to you may be taken in their stride,i would recomend you put any child under 12 into a local school to experience the true Spanish lifestyle,they will make Spanish friends very quickly and you will find that both yours and their social circle will grow very quickly,they will also have the after school clubs and activities that surround the curriculum.Bullying,violence and the division created between teachers and students in some countries does not exist as the values taught are very old fashioned.The same sytem operates here than in the UK with catchment,so in essence where you live dictates your childrens school,so maybe if this is high on your priority make this one of your first visits.

PROPERTY

The size of property will obviously be dictated by the size of your family,the location again is a different thing,if you are going to live here and make Spain yopur home you will need to have close to hand the the things that make you comfortable,try to find somewhere with a good percentage of permanent residents(neighbours),people around you make you feel comfortable and they are there in times of need and for a friendly chat,there is nothing worst than being the only permanent resident in the street with thje summer bringing the neighbours friends and relatives for their holiday now and again.you will find people who live here all year around appreciate that this is your home and respect the fact.

You will get a good mix in residential areas of retired,working and people with families all going about the normal lives.

When looking for a property with a permanent move in mind remember than the things you will need here are all readily avaliable,try to think of all the mundane things you have to do everyday and add the sun,culture and social side that this country gives in abundance and you will be half way there.

Use someone with life experience to help and advise use someone with a good reputation who needs to protect and keep their reputation!

A large agent inspection trip in my opinion will not give you a clear enough picture of what you need,they are also under pressure to sell you something even if it is not quite right,because they have financed your trip they will expect commitment and you do not need added pressure to an alraedy hard enough decision.

We are succeful in finding people what they need because we listen and understand rather than try to make the decision for them.We actually spend more time in schools and supermarkets than we do in Property,at the ned of the day the house should come second to where it is.

Thre are a couple of Agents on this forum that work the same way,we all offer our service in the most transparent way possible,although it is not blatant we are there to give advice under the biggest scrutiny of all,you!!

The last piece of advice i would give is if you feel the time is right and you and your family would benfit from living here then do it,it doesnt really matter on the number of properties built,market forces etc..... the sun still shines,the people are still friendly and your children will have so much more quality of life.

Spain is a lifestyle choice and you only get one run at it,take a deep breath relax and make educated decisions in your own time,it should and can be an enjoyable process.

Phewwwwwwww!

Hope this Helps

Regards

Georgia

As ever, Georgia, I have enjoyed your interesting post. (If you could keep your sentances to less than twenty words it would be less taxing on my brain, there were 162 words in your first sentance / paragragh  ha ha !)

Sorry morerosado,

I tend to type as is speak,100 words per second and breath out of my ar... sorry do not pause for breath.

you remind of my old English teacher!! i wll make sure all posts are grammatically correct in future.

The point i was trying to make was that many people who contact us want a quick fix on where to live,we can help but you really need to gain the experience yourself and then we can help you with the decision.

Unfortunately the bad press surrounding the "inspection trip" by some companies has made people think twice about coming here and letting an agent help,everyone now thinks that you will get a massive amount of pressure and be forced into buying the wrong thing.

Use us,let us help and when we do a good job and you are happy we are happy.

Everywhere you turn you hear people saying "why did i use a large EA" it gets to the point of being annoying when you can see the mistakes they have made,

We have to constantly perform to a high standard and second guess everyone else on the way to keep our reputation as we rely on this to keep us in business.

This posts stems from the fact that all day yesterday i listened to a client go on and on about treatment they have suffered at the hands of another agent,it was one of the big boys and i won't mention the name as the post might get removed again.

Nice people but so naive,anyway whinge over,i hope someone takes something from this thread if it saves one person heartache then it's worth it.

Regards

Georgia

Hi Georgia

No need to apologise to me, my mate. I'll take you any way I can get you, your posts are so good.

For instance you say "The point i was trying to make was that many people who contact us want a quick fix on where to live,we can help but you really need to gain the experience yourself and then we can help you with the decision." I'm certainly not knocking some first posts on the forum but so many seem to be asking where they should live &, as you say, it's (at the end of the day) up to individuals to make up their own minds after going to Spain & looking at the many options. It's certainly not an overnight decision &  often one to be agonised over. It's such a personal choice.

I wished we'd chosen a small agent such as yourselves as I now well appreciate why we should. I guess the reason we chose to go with a big agent as we did (although, in fairness to us, we knew no better at the time) had something to do with the sheer ease of it all. These big agents offer inducements such as only £49/couple for 4 nights full board in great hotel, copious amounts of alcohol, sightseeing trips, flights, transfers .... oh we HAD to look at properties, 99% of which we hadn't asked to see, too, almost forgot.

Hi Morerosado,

What you have to understand with £49 inspection trips etc... is that the company and rep are then working on a numbers game,they have to sell to a certain percentage of people that they bring over to make the figures and profits add up,if you are one of the last trips of the month and the average is down then i would say that the concern for selling you something rather than finding you what you want will kick in.

Remember there is no such thing as a free carrier bag!!!

I have organised a lot of inspection trips in my time and most people are happier to pay that little bit extra for their visit out of their own pocket to ensure that they actually find what they want,they then do not feel pressurised to make bad decisions and we are not looking at budget forecasts.

Generally people who visit with us spend as much or as little time as they need with us,everybody is different and cannot be pidgeon holed,some people like to spend 4 days being driven around,wined,dined etc etc...

Other people like to have time to talk privately,visit schools,have the afternoon off if they like,walk on the beach etc.......

In my humble opinion if you are gonna spend at least £100,000 on a property then paying an extra £200 to make the right choice is a no brainer.

The other myth that exists is that the big boys have a larger portfolio than the independents,let me just say that we get at least 3 reps from different builders in everyday asking if we can show our clients their product,with an independent agent you will not get taken places where the builder pays the biggest commision as we do not lead, we actually listen to what you want.

My last client was a recently seperated lady with children to bring up on her own in a foreign country,the responsibilty that rest with us is immense to help her make the right decision,it took me half a day here and there for three weeks but we got there in the end,a pleasure to deal with and great job satisfaction.

To all the people on here who are taking the first steps remeber when dealing with agents you have the money and the power,no one can pressure you only yourself.

A good tip is to carry a book with you,"buying property in Spain" usually puts the fear of god into any agent who doesn't know what they are doing.

Good luck

Regards

Georgia