BE HONEST...Would you stay in Spain if it wasn't for the weather?

Nisa1 - keep your chin up.  Say a prayer - great consolation and miracles DO happen!  :)

 Nisa1, sorry to here your problems. Where is your house?

YES.  We are in the process of moving permanently to our house on Camposol.  Some people who are in Spain a while begin to see the UK with rose tinted glasses, well it's not rosy, in fact many bits of it are depressing, cold, wet, corrupt, expensive etc etc.

Nisa1 -

When one door closes another one opens !    I feel so sorry for you as you seem quite depressed and I can understand why.   We have also had to make changes in our life due to the fact that our apartment has dropped in value in Spain drastically and we needed to sell as we didn't want to sell up in the UK and move to Spain.   We sold for 57% less than we paid for it but decided the safety net of the UK was more important for us (NHS, After Care Services in old age and benefits if insufficient income to live on).

Have you considered either trying to buy a percentage of a housing association property in the UK ?   This is what we have done.   We sold our house to pay off the mortgage we took out to buy our apartment and have bought 95% of a nice little bungalow for the over 60's which cost us half the amount that a house would have cost and spent £93,500 but if you cannot afford that you could either buy a nice static caravan (we looked at loads when we considered sellling our house to move to Spain but wanted to keep a foothold in the UK).   We looked at some nice ones, you do however have site fees to find and you do need to find a residential one rather than a season long site.

I am sure there are options out there, you just have to be flexible but it all depends on how much you want to return to the UK.   If you want to stay in Spain, then obviously your options are limited which is why we decided we would not retire there.   To be in Spain without money or means to support oneself is not an option I would like to live with as the support services are not there for people without means to support themselves.

 Hi,

I have just returned from La Nucia. I spend 1 week in every 8 there. I permanentally rent a villa. 

Question would i live in Spain without the weather.

The answer is no.

When i got off the plane at Alicante and completed my journey to the villa.

My 1st impression was the heat. 2nd the cigarette butts, 3nd chewing gum, 4th graffitti, 5th fly tipping, 6th dog shit, 7th cat shit,8th visually imprisioned people in property, 9th infra structure still under construction when the property boom is over. 10th the cost you are expected to pay to live in a third world country. 11th noise. 12th impatient drivers. 

On the plus side, well i suppose impression 1  the heat. If you think living in an air conditioned villa trying to keep cool is living.

Anton

my house in cabo roig.....

nisa1, thank you for replying, I only buy villas in Javea northern Costa Blanca. I wish you the best best of luck and hopefully things will look up for you. Kindest regards.

Antonp - you are a little bundle of fun, aren't you?  Lol.

 From greatstart:

Antonp - you are a little bundle of fun, aren't you?  Lol.

Yes, one wonders why people bother renting in a place they so obviously detest.  Stupid remarks like 3rd world country explains a lot.  Advice antonp - go somewhere else.

The outdoor life of the Costa Blanca; you are more inclined to eat fresh fruit and veg; there are lots of people of a similar frame of mind and people are generally more friendly, which, together with the amount of sunshine (vit D) and fresh fruit etc (vit C) must add up to a longer, happier life than one spent in dreary UK.

Just my personal opinion :)

Greatstart, 100 % correct.  I suppose it depends if you're a half full or half empty person.   Only problem is that the Costa Blanca is not the place it was 20 years ago IMO.  Murcia is much better.

Nisa 1,

if you are entitled to housing benefit back here you can use that in the private rented sector as well, council accommodation itself is limited with long waiting lists, perhaps also you could find some work here?

Does equity release operate in Spain?

Perhaps even family and friends would be interested in investing with you in exchange for equity?

Hope something turns up soon.

Regards

Norman

I hate to see the bashing spain is getting at the momment, some of it is well deserved but highlighted now more than ever as spain seeks to sort out the mess the boom years and the greed have left.

I only holiday in spain although i have friends and relatives that live there.i will retire there one day even if i don't buy a villa and just off set renting my uk property out against renting a place there.

I love the laid back lifestyle and the relaxed nature of the spainish people,the food although i am not a great fish lover even spanish meat is better than at home as we get water inflated chicken.

We were going to sell up here and move out but luckily we were told not to by those living there,i am glad i listened as i am a ceramic tiler and would find work almost impossible to find now.

crime will increase in spain as people get desperate not just because like in the uk its an easy way to make a living whilst relaxing on the dole.

If i was 15 years older i would leave the uk to live in spain in a flash and not even look back with rose tinted glasses at the white cliffs that remind me what a great country England was.i have worked all over kent and south east london in the last few years and the rate of social decay is frightening.I don't even go out for a beer downtown at the weekend now as i cannot be bothered with the hassle.My niece was stabbed in the throat by a coked up lune last year whilst walking home with a friend and although it was known who he was he got away with it because they couldn't find the knife thats british justice.i have been burgled and had 2 cars stolen in the last 10 years no one ever caught or convicted.

In short (lol) i would say yes i would live in spain not just because of the weather.

 09:00 Got out of bed.  Had fresh brewed coffee in the back garden under the shade of the trees.   Read the Mail and Telegraph on my Kindle.

10:30.  Had to move from the back garden as SWMBO wanted to hang out the washing.

11:00  Checked the flowers in the front garden.  Dead-headed a few oleanders and hibiscus.  Everything else looking fine.  Said goodbye to the next door neighbours who have been renting for 2 weeks.  They really, really, did not want to go.

12:00  A slow (very slow as I agree it is getting very hot in the sun) walk up to the local supermarket to buy a barra of pan.  Also picked up some fresh dates (SWMBO  likes them) and some nice beef tomatoes.

13:00  Sitting in the front garden under the parasol.  Lunch of Serrano ham, fresh bread, sliced tomatoes, semi-curado cream cheese and alioli dip.  All washed down with freshly squeezed orange juice.  Whole meal cost for two just over a euro.  

14:30  Across to the swimming pool.  Bit more crowded now that it's the school holidays but still plenty of room.  Nice bit of shade under the ataps.  Lovely and clean around here.  No rubbish, no dogs, lovely palm trees and flowers all around.  Bliss.

16:00  Back home as SWMBO likes to watch Countdown on Freesat.  

17:00  In the back garden which is nice and shady in the afternoons.  Just welcomed the new ones next door.  Reading my book on the Kindle.  

18:30  Up for a shower.  No need for a power shower as we have good water pressure.

19:00  Sitting on my front porch.  Had a lovely awning fitted which keeps it nice and cool and has the bonus of keeping the extreme heat from the living room which also stays nice and cool.

19:30  That's it.  Out for a meal and drink with the new ones next door (they come every year so we've seen them a few times).  Going to try a new place that's highly recommended with a 3 course evening meal at €7 (drinks not included).  Won't be late as we have to go shopping tomorrow for some fresh sole and prawns.  2 of the grandkids are arriving tomorrow with my daughter and son in law so SWMBO wants me to make the beds up for them in the morning (no peace for the wicked).  Will take the rubbish bag to put in the bin on the way as it is collected every day of the week, no storing things in half a dozen different bins for a fortnight.

Now that is a quite normal day.  Even in winter months the weather was great outside on the balcony, just the pool that was rather chilly.  Some of you might think that rather a boring way to spend ones life.  After commuting 30 miles to and from work, a lot of the year going in the dark and returning in the dark, worrying about the next member of staff who was going to throw a sickie and muck up the rota, hardly ever going out because I was either too shattered after work or the local had put up its prices (again) then I think it is absolute paradise.

Of course the weather has loads and loads to do with it.  Getting a suntan in November, December, January etc.  Not worried about the state of the roads with the snow and ice, SWMBO being a prisoner in the house for weeks on end as the pavements were too icy, nor about the fact that her arthritis flares up in UK for 4 or 5 months and she has back pains and knee pains so has to take pain killers.  Not a trace of it over here.  Should I feel ashamed that I now do nothing as I was probably one of the never had it so good generation?  Not a bloody chance.  Went to work at 15 as a waiter in the nights to earn enough to put myself through college.  My annual grant was £20 a year which just paid for the lunch meals of 2 shillings a day (term time only) and used the money earned from being a waiter to pay bus fares etc.  Stopped work at 60 but, by then, I was working harder than I'd done and longer and longer hours.  So, 45 years with never being unemployed, putting away a bit in savings, took out a pension which is now keeping me in the delightful lifestyle I am living in the sun.  So, no. I have no feelings of guilt, no feelings of remorse, I visit UK now and again but can't wait to come back.  I have a well built (far better than the one I had in UK) house with no creaks, no cracks and is nice and cool in the summer and nice and cosy in the winter.  I see my family often, chat to them via the computer when I want and phone for a lot cheaper than the UK costs.  My food choices are much healthier and my bills are much cheaper (apart from the electricity but that is offset by the fact I don't pay gas and my water bills are about a third).  I feel better, more relaxed, healthier and look forward to each day.  Oh, and Rioja is on offer at €1.19 a bottle at Lidl.

 I agree that Spain is failing because the authorities are not doing the job they should be. After purchasing in a complex 5 years ago our builder ceased to trade, 20 purchased out of 50 have paid the community fees which for the last couple  years have risen to €80 a month. high because we still wait for Utility meters and the high charge pays the community Utility bills. We have no Habitstion certificate despite the 5 year wait the authorities find excuses not to provide it (another story). the 20 owners now have to put up with the influx of gypsys living in the unsold units. The police are unable to do help  as the gypsys have children and no other place to go. Three units have owner residents but the other 17 are used for a few weeks holiday each year. The gypsys are stealing the utility services by breaking into the areas using an ax to break down the doors. 

These gypsys fill our onsite swimming pool up with their friends and have loud parties to early morning and make the complex most unpleasant to visit.  The owners pay all the local taxes yet we are not getting the service paid for.

We all love Spain and the sun but feel we are not wanted because the local authorities including the police think more of the non National gypsys and the damage they are doing to the Country. Just hope they wake up soon and realise people that want to live in Spain are being prevented because of the lack of help to put things right.

I would love to make Spain my home but these problems prevent us making the move even though we bought our home 5 years ago. We do not have these type of problems in the UK. Sorry I am not bashing Spain I Love Spain.

"We do not have these type of problems in the UK"

You are kidding I hope !   Of course we have these problems in the UK.   We had gypsies breaking into millionaire properties in London until the government amended the law about squatters being evicted and now they have been shifted.   We also have an ongoing saga of gypsies on a site in Meriden on green belt land in Solihull.   The local residents have been setting up camp and fighting for 5 yrs to get them evicted as they were putting in electric and water pipes illegally - the lot, against the planning laws.   Guess who was evicted ?   Yes the local people who were told to disband their camp and the issue has still not been resolved.

Spain is a lot better than the UK in that they do not hand out benefits to free loaders so that is one good thing whereas here in the UK we pay for everyone to live the idle life.

Spain should take a leaf out of France's books, they have just deported a load of gypsies after breaking up their camps and sending them on their way - KIDS AND ALL !  They couldn't give a fig for the HRA!   These freeloaders are everywhere and the stupid EU and its Human Rights Charter has put a nail in the coffin of law abiding people who are expected to fund these waistrals and their offspring in an indolent way of life.

Perhaps one day the penny will drop that you can't have decent housing, decent clean areas, and regular bill payers if you give everything away to people who think they should get it for free.    Someone has to pay the piper to afford these things in the first place and if all the taxpayers and responsible people took flight to pastures new, who would be left to pay for it all ?

In an ideal world as some have said, it would be nice to spend half your time in Spain and half in the UK (to be with family and friends), but as I get homesick after about a month I would want to fly home 12 times which really isn't practical.   The ideal solution would be to take all family and friends with you.   The happiest people I have come across in Spain who are permanently settled are couples who have family over there with them.

It is a strange mother who does not miss her children and grandchilden if they are back in the UK and they are in Spain !

So the answer is I need to win the lottery and take them all with me

The other thing I forgot to mention is that when I was last  in Spain I was surprised to learn from friends who have settled in Spain that said if their partner passed away the wives especially, said they would return to the UK as they would not wish to stay in Spain alone.   Perhaps this is relative to how long you have lived there and how many friends you have but people tend to cling closer to their remaining relatives when a husband or wife passes away
 

If you don't like Spain guys, go back to the UK and declare yourselves homeless and at least in Scotland you'll ge accomodation of some sort.  let us with the 'pioneer, entrepreneur spirit' to carry on!

J White

You are quite right in one respect at least. If you so miss your offspring and grandchildren, either take them with you or persuade them  to follow you later. One of ours had already decamped to Ireland to escape thatcherdom, so we knew the problems before we came here permanently in 1996. Fortunately both our kids came over eventually, and the travelling was finished! I would not suggest that we were not called upon to assist in the early years, but they came expecting to succeed, and have done so. There is a danger however in offering too much to get them here.

Informative debate guys! 

We have been travelling back and forth for the last few years but the novelty is wearing thin and we've figured out I could stop working if we weren't paying for 2 houses and 2 cars etc. We'd like to sell up in the UK and move to Spain but haven't figured out how to have a comfortable place to stay when we go back to see our family without actually owning it.

Any ideas?