Spain - British Expat Forum

Its occured to me that there is a lot of knowledge and experience tucked away in this forum and the words 'potential' coupled quickly with 'hindsight' occur all the time when talking to people. We might be able to reduce the hindsight bit with this topic!

I'll start the ball rolling......

Have you considered how you are going to pay to live in Spain. The number of people I have met out here who have got their property, done it up nicely and then, when the cash has run out, wonder where they are going to get more from. Expat builders, good or bad, experienced or inexperienced are two a penny out here!

Keep in mind that that for the last year the pound to Euro rate has been steadily dropping. When we came out it was 1.69, its now 1.39 ish. This means that if, like us, you are on a UK pension it gets less and less each month. Mind you we can all hope that one day it will go the other way but I have my doubts

If you are a couple coming out to live are you both as keen as each other? Again the number of people we have met where one or the other can't stand being away from the 'grandchildren' is high and it does cause 'complications both financial and practical'

Do you really know where you want to be, with the Spanish in a village, in an isolated 'Finca' or do you want to live on a urbanisation near a town. Have you had a good look round at each of the types?. If you are thinking of an isolated Finca do you both drive?

I think that will do for a start, lets see what everybody else can come up with. By the way, we have been here for 16 months in a little Spanish village and we still, BOTH, think its great!

Cheers
Richard

Bit late I know but the one we didnt really spend too much time thinking about was the fact relatives now want and need to stay with you!!! usually for at least a week!!!
Having said that all the pros afr out weigh that con!

My wife and I have been living about 20 miles inland from Malaga for the last two years. At just over 50, I decided that I didn't want to suddenly wake up one cold and wet morning in the UK and find out that I was 60 ! The quality of life we discovered here in Spain is one of the reasons I would recommend moving here to anyone. Yes, you ceratinly need income of some sort to live here, of course you do, however once you have covered your basic needs, housing, food etc., you can relax to a degree that I never thought possible in the UK ! Stress levels drop, blood pressure drops, certainly, and various things in your life take on new values; when are we visiting the Alqazaba in Cordoba next, how can we drive up that mountain to see the sunrise, what are the best looking fish to buy at the local fishmarket, how can I grow better lemons, how do you prounounce that obscure Spanish verb, and all those other important issues !
We have discovered time for ourselves, those glorious sunsets which you have time to watch, time to brush the cat, time to listen to those cd's which you've had for years but never had the opportunity to appreciate.
As a long term expatriate, with many years in the Middle East and Africa, I am aware that you could do those things in many other places, but I believe that the overall quality of life here, is the best I have ever experienced. My advice is not to wait any longer, make sure you can support yourself, yes, but once you have that in place, come on in ! The water's fine !

I have been stuck in front of my screen for about 12 hrs over the last 24 getting a bewildering mix of advice, anecdotes, blatant marketing and sheer nonsense. Thanks for some straightforward thinking and lack of BS! I have lived in the states and loved the entire experience so the thought of retiring to Spain has no fears conceptually but I have been struggling to find a definitive comparison on the everyday cost of living compared with the UK has anybody got a rough idea of the basic services for a villa in Costa balance area - probably just inland - would cost? Is there a website that I could visit?

Keep up the good work

HI Tonyf,
Where do you mean ?

Let's have your questions !

My advice would be to take things slowly when you arrive - it's very easy to trust the first few people you come across but as we found - most people will not think twice about ripping you off as they are desperate to survive out here - most tradespeople were NOT doing the same trade in England. People reinvent themselves when they arrive in order to scratch a living.

Mark

Hi all,
Just found this board and as we are thinking seriously about moving out to Spain later in the year I hope this will be a great resource for ideas and information.
Tired of the rat race and the cold weather in the UK I hope to sell up (house and computer business) and move out to Spain later in the year. Allthough most of our trips to Spain have centered around Marbella, Puerto Banus I don't really want to live there (and probably couldn't afford to) so we think we might head for Murcia, probably inland to Cartagena or Cehegin perhaps, and just rent a place and chill, if we don't like it we can just move on to another town or area until we find the right place to settle down. I think I could happily bum around Spain for a year or so until I was sure I had found the right place. Then, in an ideal world, buy a large townhouse or something on the edge of town which needs a bit of "fixing". Spend another six to twelve months renovating and turn it into a small guesthouse/B&B to give us a continuing income with a relaxed lifestyle.
What do you think? does that sound like a good plan? I'd especially like to hear from anyone already in Murcia who can give advice on the right area etc.
Any advice appreciated. Thanks

Hi Bob

You seem to be doing things the right way by renting and touring around first - however - I disagree with the B&B idea especially as you run a computer business.

I'm sure there are many others doing B&B and it sounds to me like hard work for little return. It may sound great to begin with but I'm sure that feeling can wear thin.

I always feel with Spain people are more inclined to rent an apartment or villa near the coast. France is more suited to B&B because of the closer drive from England.

I'm sure it can work but why not concentrate on computers which is more specialised and probably more lucrative.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply.
Yes of course continuing with computers is an option but I find a lot of people advising that it is difficult to get work in Spain and that the best option is usually to set up your own business. Of course that could be a computer business, with more than 20 years in the industry my experience is in repairs and servicing, sales, IT systems management, networking etc, but I wonder how easy it would be to get something like that going.
I take your point about getting into the leisure industry, it is something I am interested in so will probably give it a go anyway. If it turns out to be the wrong decision I can always sell it on and try something else. If I had enough money I could go for buying 3 or 4 appartments for holiday lets but I don't think I could strech to that.

Hi to all of you, first time on the forum. The advise is great, although sometimes a bit confusing. There are three of us, a married couple along with a very good friend at present living and working in the Middle East. In Jan 07 we are leaving and heading for Spain. We are aged between late 40's and late 50's, and are fed up with the rat race over here, so we have decided to take the plunge. With the advise given by you guys on the forum we have decided to head for Malaga, maybe stop in a hotel or B&B whilst we travel around and search for an area that we all like and with the possibility of finding some work. My husband has been a manager in the middle east and his ideal job would be collecting shopping trolleys from tesco or the spanish equivalant lol We dont want to be in the middle of the tourist areas, although not to far out in the sticks either, any suggestions as to what area would be a good place to look at first. And also, are there any rugby clubs, as we are members here in Qatar and would love to meet up with like minded people.

I live on the Costa Blanca and think it is better than the Costa Del Sol where you are headed for. Having said that any part of Spain would be preferable to the UK!

Costa Del Sol would be good for mixing with ex-pats as it is the most developed area of Spain and heavily populated with ex-pats. It's more expensive than Costa Blanca and too built up for me.

Take your own advice and tour round before settling down.

Mark

There are certainly rugby clubs here, although for me it is a game played by men with odd shaped balls. I would guess that you would have to be in a fairly urban area to have easy access to them though.

In the Costa del Sol, east of Malaga is less developed than west of Malaga.

Although quite "touristy" Nerja ia particularly beautiful.

Plenty of peace and quiet if you head inland, and you get a lot more for your money. OK if it suits you to have to drive to the beach, to supermarkets, restaurants etc., and to have neighbours miles away.

Best bet is to hire a car and travel around and see where you like. Try reading a few guide books as well.

Good luck.

Alan

Hi all,
Thanks for your replies, great to have some info off people that already live the spanish life.
Taken on board your comments, and we would like to travel around a bit first.
What we would really like is somewhere within walking distance to the local village/town, with some brits around, but also wanting some space.
Are we asking too much? We will be getting a car, as we will be looking for some work.
What is a reasonable cost for long term rent out of the tourist traps?

Hey Muskateers,
What you are looking for doesn't sound too difficult to find property-wise. As you see from the many other posts on the subject, finding a job could be difficult and may well define your destination.
A reasonable rent? Well, it really depends what you are looking for. Where I live, the locals would be shocked at a rent of more than 500€/month for a good sized house and garden.

Hi Again,

There seems to be alot of people moving to Spain on a daily basis for one reason or another, we will be ariving first week of Jan/07, anybody else at that time ?