Building Complete

I often wonder how people choose as it is hard to narrow it down to which coast, never mind which town.

We ended up on the Costa del Sol because Justin coming from Gibraltar, it was the only part of Spain that we knew well. Initially, we wanted to move somwhere less touristy, more Spanish. We made our final decision based on price. We couldn' t afford San Pedro, Estepona so we hunted for the cheapest off plan we could find and ended up in the pueblo of Manilva.

Susan

As shallow as it sounds, three letters. M.R.I. We had originally wanted to be up Benidrom way (nor in Benidorm, but about 20k from it in the villages). We put it off for years and then decided on the Murcia area. Our choice was changed when we went out on said trip and the Costa Almeria, and boy am I glad it was. Vera, Mojacar and the surounding areas are lovely little places that still have traditional Spain in abundance. I didn't enjoy the MRI experience, but I do enjoy the Purto Rey experience .

Mark

 Saw Polaris World adverts on T.V. for Murcia-no interest in golf but liked the fact that the area was not built up, on the edge of a Spanish town, near an airport and close to miles and miles of sandy beach. Found by chance a Scottish agent, came out independently and were shown off plan villas BUT we were phase 4 so we were able to talk to people already resident of phase 1 and 2.

Completion was close to time schedule, no snagging problems, had great fun shopping around to furnish and as a result we are moving permanently late Summer ready for our 10 year old starting the local school where we have already registered him. The school was very impressive and we can't wait to leave the low temperatures of Scotland!

Carolyn and I used to Holiday in the Canaries however we came to mainland Spain in 2006 for a holiday in Duquesa, CDS and that was it... it felt like what home should feel like. We had always thought of visiting the Costa Del Sol but we thought it would be full of larger louts... how wrong we were about this area.

We had been thinking for years of buying a holiday home and when we came to Duquesa we just fell in love with the area, not to touristy, quite a strong ex-pat community but still quintessentially Spanish, which is what we wanted.

That was it! A 5 year plan  was born... Research, research and more research, then buy a Holiday home, and then move out permanently at the end of 5 years or so if we still felt it was a good idea and thought that things would work out.

After 2 years the 5 year plan became a 3 year plan and we moved here in December 2008.

Only one regret... should have done it sooner!

We had taken holidays in Costa Brava and Costa Del Sol

We owned a timeshare in Tenerife, but thought the fares and flying times were too high.

So decided to put down some of our own roots with a shorter flying time and cheaper flights.

Got a fly/buy package with Atlas to Costa Blanca.

Had never been here before but the flat terrain suited my ever increasing mobility problems.

We wanted to be within a 10 minute walk to the beach and shops and we found our off plan apartment.

if we were not tied up with 4 Granchildren and 3 Daughters, we might make the move to Spain.

But for now, 5 or 6 times a year for holidays, we are truly blessed.

Costa Blanca won't suit everyone, but with Alicante a 50 min drive and Murcia 30 minutes, we are well positioned.

Plus there are some lovely places to travel to inland or along the coastal regions.

We love costa Blanca!!!!

 In 94 first hubby and I decided to go to Oz with the then very young kids and knew we had to move beofre they got too old. 

We had come here to CDS mijas costa, just behind Fuengirola on hols as my parents had a villa for years.

We were one reference off application when my parents offered us use of the villa for 6 months. We took it and I immediately felt at home. 

He and I split up 2 years later, he returned to the UK, the kids and I stayed and always in Fuengy. We moved to Marbella 3 years ago and love it here, wouldnt want to be anywhere else!

Friends of my parents bought a holiday apartment in La zenia, Costa Blanca about 40 years ago.  They then bought a finca in the Canada of Pilar de La Horadada and moved there permanently 30 years ago.  Our family visited often.  My parents bought a tiny holiday apartment in the beautiful Dehesa de Campoamor where I always felt at home.  When they sold that due to ill health we looked for a place of our own.  We wanted to be as close to the beautiful beaches as we had previously been, and to the friends we'd made over many years.  We couldn't afford Campoamor but found we could afford Pilar, so that's where we are, and very beautiful it is too!

Such interesting stories especially the one that dates back forty years! Keep the coming, really enjoying reading them.

Susan

I trawled the internet for a couple of years and watched all the "Place in the Sun" programmes. I was looking for somewhere cheap, maybe a small village inland where I could spend time renovating a town house / villa. Then one late night trawling the internet I saw  a fantastic view from an apartment window in a place called the La Manga strip. On one side there was the Med and on the other side somewhere called the Mar Menor. I had never heard of it and it looked fantastic. Nothing was done for many months until we went to one of those local sales events, you know the one's that I mean. We booked a trip to Quesada and it was very nice and on day three we went to the mar menor area and looked at an apartment block on the La Manga strip. The apartment block was nice but neither of us fancied a property on the strip. We then went to a small town called Los Alcazares and that was when my fate was sealed. My other half fell in love with the town and the apartments so that was it. Instead of buying a renovation project inland we ended up with a brand new apartment on the coast! I have to say that it was the right choice and she was right again... That was 4 years ago and I am looking forward to a long fortnight in June. I just wish we could be there more often than we can manage right now.

As with "markfish" my wife and I used MRI although we had done some groundwork first. We wanted the costa blanca area because of the mild winters.In 07 we used our summer holiday in Benidorm to look north of Alicante and for various reasons we were able to rule this region out and concentrate on the south of Alicante. As it is our intention to retire to Spain we wanted to be close to a spanish town/village,with all amenities within walking distance.We were shown an apartment in Formentera del segura near Rojales and it seemed to offer everything we required. We purchased the apartment and look forward to regular holidays there followed by retirement living. As for MRI we had some problems with them but, after due deliberation we feel they tried to do their best,but the financial turmoil in the world around this time, added to the problems normally faced by any buisness of this type proved to be too much for them.

We looked around for about 6-7 years before taking the plunge.

We worked our way around the coast on various holidays - some in hotels, some hiring private villas, but always in a different part.

We were looking for somewhere to retire to, so thinking ahead, wanted it to be reasonably flat 'cos lets face it, as we get older we aren't quite so nimble! We loved Barcelona, but couldn't afford it. We loved Vinhuela, but it was too hilly. We looked around Nerja and Mijas but it didn't feel quite right. We thought about Chiclana de la Frontera but was too 'urbanised' and very windy. Loved Arcos de la Frontera though, but again, hilly. Liked Zaragoza, but winters too cold. Tossa de Mar is quite nice, but again, a bit cold in the winter. Alicante we thought had a lot going for it.

We then thought we'd put together a buying plan and looked around the Alicante region - it's flat, the prices were within our budget, the beaches were lovely, the countryside was pretty and there were lots of Spanish villages with property available. The plan was, we'd buy an apartment and use it as a starting point; somewhere to stay while we refined our search.

I spent days on the computer searching for possible places and contacting various agents. We set a date for our trip and selected 4 different agents who had supplied us with information on potential properties. We gave each of them a day. We booked into a hotel in Guardamar in February.

We saw about 6-7 places on our first day, then again on the second day and on the third day (Sunday) we saw an apartment that potentially ticked all the boxes - new, well finished, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, pool on the roof, and the crowning glory: an absolutely stonking great terrace. We couldn't see the apartment that day though 'cos it was all locked up. We saw the shell of one in the next block and decided that it was exciting enough to cancel the agent for day 4 and revisit with day 3 agent.

We fell in love with it and bought it.

We have owned it for a couple of years and found it harder and harder to leave each time we visited. We fell in love with the area, made loads of friends and then agreed to look no further.

We moved over in March, having retired and can't envisage being anywhere else.

Irene & Alan

Went over to Murcia area with two work colleagues with the intention of looking to see if our clients would be interested in properties in this area. Hadn't been to Murcia before, and had spoke to my wife before I went about the possibility of buying. Went with a certain budget, and blew it, and different spec from what we thought before hand. Finished up buying an apartment in El Mirador de Sucina development and am now waiting for property to be ready, hopefully in about a months time.

Had mixed feelings over whether we did the right thing, but hopefully in the long run should work out.

Well, we actually chose to move to Spain after spending 5 years trying to move to California! (Don't believe Arnie in the ads - it's not that easy!)

We had played golf in Spain, it is the same weather as California and it's closer to England if we need to visit. In California we would have needed to work, in Spain we could retire - so there was a lot going for it. My hubby always like Italy and saw himself retiring there but I didn't. I love Switzerland but we couldn't afford to live there, so Spain was a good compromise.

We started off in Murcia around Los Alcazares because that was the area we knew and we needed somewhere that was mainly hot and dry in the hope that it would help ease the arthritis problems I had . We were looking for somewhere that was unspoilt and still very Spanish, when the agent we chose to work with suggested we take a look at Almeria as well, as from hearing us talk, he felt it would suit what we were looking for.

We immediately loved the ruggedness of the area. When we came to Terreros it ticked a lot of our required boxes, and a few we didn't know we had, and our fate was sealed. We came back a month later on our own to make sure we were still happy with our choice and decided this would be our new home. Within 6 months we had sold up, packed up and moved lock, stock and 2 little puppies.

1 year on, we still love it here and like may others, we wish we had done it sooner.

I did a few bucket and spade package deals to Torremolinos as a teenager in the 60s. Liked it, but didn't return for thirty odd years.

Then a couple of years ago I walked from Sevile to Santiago with two of my teenage kids. I loved Extremadura in particular. So many fabulous historical cities that I'd never even heard of, like Caceres, Trujillo, Placensia, etc.

I returned with my wife the following year and we explored the La Vera area on the southern foothills of the Gredos mountains (East of Placencia - about two hours west of Madrid). Fabulous countryside. We bought a smallholding and moved out last year. We rented close by and renovated a small cottage on our piece of ground which we now live in. With luck we'll build a house later on this year. All the local tradespeoploe have been great.

Madrid is just up the road. We shop there, also in Talavera de la Mata and Toledo. No one speaks English here  but we make ourselves understood.

So far so good!

Hi we bought in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife 2 years ago. I had been going to Puert since a child 30 years ago. We had many holidays there since. It had always been my dream to own a second home in the sun, and had been looking for years. I also knew many of the holiday areas of mainland Spain. But I like Winter holidays, and would like to spend the Winter months away from the UK when retired. We looked at Spain, (and France and Portugal), but the winter weather was not as hot. We had a holiday in March when we had a good look around, was this somewhere we could 'live' rather than holiday? What could we afford, without having to rent it out. We came home and I spent 6 months researching the internet. We contacted many estate agents, and found one we realy got on with. We agreed that we would only buy from her, and she went out of her way to help us. Before we went out again in the October, she had helped us open a bank account, and obtain all the local papers etc. She had arranged a short list of apartments, and met us on our first night. We fell in love with the second property we looked at and bought it there and then. All the paperwork went through like clockwork. We completed on the day we left, and left some things in the apartment ready for our next visit. It was the dearest holiday we had ever had! We have been out 3 times a year since, it is a lovely apartment, in the right area for us. Our estate agent has become a close friend since, and continues to help us out. Thanks Kathryn.

How wonderful to read a "Good News" report, Kathryn !

Dear All,

that is an easy one to endorse Tish.

Well done Rickiebear thanks

and if only!!!

Regards

Norman

My wife and I were hardened Francophiles especially on the west coast south of La Rochelle.  We had a static mobilehome for years in a small seaside village called La Palmyer, near Royan.  We were both convinced that our twighlight years would be spent in France.

Oh no, said The War Department, its too cold and wset in the winter, no, not at all.

We decided one April to fly to Malaga and work northwards in a quest for a property.  We were smitten with the Guadahorce Valley and the following July moved over to Spain lock, stock and barrel.  In late July we found ur dream home, a 2 bedroomed finca with a small attached orchard.  The rest is history.  We have been back to France twice and found that the cost of living was astronomical compared with Spain, branted houses were cheaper but taxes, rates etc were outrageous.

I would not go back to the UK even if I won the Lottery!!

Dear Keddyboy,

come now,

all the enthusiastic francophile books tell us that the La Rochelle area has a wonderful micro climate that Spain would envy not too hot, not too cold and just enough rain to keep the grass growing.

what is a "branted" house and are seaside villages dearer for rates etc. than rural villages in France?

where is the valley you are in?

does not have the coast's problems of overcrowded urbanisations etc.?

it sounds as though it would be worth a feature if you have got time.

Regards

Norman

Normansands,

La Rochelle des not have a micro climate or any other special qualities apart from its site in France.  I have spent many a miserable summer in this area the last being last year.  It was cold, wet and windy.

Sorry about the spelling, it should habe been 'granted'.  Glad to see your hot on spelling!!!

Where we live is roughly 40 minutes north of Malaga airport in a village called Alhaurin el Grande.  We are about 35 minutes from all the coastal razmataz [spelt incorrectly but you know what I mean]  My annual taxes are 325E a year including my car tax.  We are at thye end of the Guadahorce valley near a town called Coin.  The views are spectacular and the climate is moderate [42 today!!!]  We live in a small finca amongst the orange groves and have a small orchard and a pool area.  We chose not to live in a coastal regieon or in an urbanisation.  This was a matter of choice.  I see you are from Kent, as is my wife, from a small village near Ashford called Woodchurch.

Our village is about 30 minutes from Marbella, Fuengirola, Mijas and Torremolinos.

We have lived in Spain for many years and would not return.  We are in constant contact with family and friends via the various media options on the Internet and  only return for very special occassions.

If I have mispelt anything please accept my apoligies in advance!!!