Retirees returning to UK

When Jewish friends have died I usually hear of their demise after their funeral, this is because of body errosion in the middle east, I suspect that Islam has similar traditions.

Please try and keep the thread on track. Thank you

I just wonder what floella finds so incorrect about my factually correct post. 

And I just wondered what your post had to do with what happens in Spain.  IMO ...nada.

Countries with hot climates tend to bury their dead quicker than countries with temperate climates, my apologies for confusing you floella.

Holy thread drift, Batman!

How did the question of retirees returning to UK become a treatise on how Jews and Muslims bury their dead?

Let's try and give Floella a proper reply. Firstly, no I have not returned to UK. I have visited and am pretty glad to return to Spain after each visit. However, I do know a couple who did move back (both in their 70s) and one woman of 82 who returned after her husband died. The couple regret it but it was a knee jerk reaction (pound was very low at the time, prices going up, property values in Spain going down but up in UK) and, each time I speak to them, they say they feel very housebound in UK and seem to complain about prices etc (shades of some people on here). They do like the days when it is warm in UK and go out to parks and so on but go in during the evenings and never set foot outside.

The lady of 82 also wishes she'd stayed in Spain. She had been living here for nearly 20 years and had friends, was known at the restaurants nearby and so on. Now she says she never goes out except for shopping and the feels rather overwhelmed by the crowds. All her neighbours seem to busy to stop for a cup of tea or pass the time of day.

Now, the bit about buying a house and so on in UK with no red tape, bureaucracy etc. Sorry, but that doesn't wash. What it does mean is that people from UK know the system and have been brought up with it. They speak the language and it seems easier. If you don't know the system, like you wouldn't in Spain as you haven't been brought up in it, then UK is just as daunting. Opening a bank account requires passports, utility bills, proof of income and so on. Buying a house means letting a solicitor do it for you, having land record searches, house valuations and so on. All red tape and bureaucracy but you know the system, you know the language so it becomes easier. I'm pretty sure the Spanish know their system.

Same with taxes. In UK you know all about tax credits, pension credits, JSA, how the council works, what a P60 is, what a P45 is and so on plus it's all in a language you know. For the Spanish, they know about their tax system, they know about social security in Spain, they know about notaries and so on and it's all in their language. They would probably find UK as daunting as the Brits find Spain but they will probably have a better command of English than a Brit would of Spanish. And I'm pretty sure they'd be complaining about exchange rates as well but the other way round.

In my case, as I have a false knee and suffer arthritis, UK is a nightmare for months of the year.I was scared of slipping on the icy pavements so I stayed in. I got pains in my back and joints when it got cold so I stayed in with the central heating on 24 hours a day. Here, it's not cold for long enough to bring these problems on and certainly not the icy pavements.

There is nothing I can't get here in Spain nowadays that I can only get in UK (apart from my preferred brand of teabag which I get from Amazon) and usually at cheaper prices. I find Spanish brands as good as, or sometimes better, than the UK ones (after all, they are all international now so Cif in UK is the same as Cif in Spain, Cadbury's is American and so is Heinz).  Our pensions go so much further here. We have quite good savings and a good income but still spend a lot less here than we would in UK. I don't want to bring it all down to money but it does make a difference.

I also know more people here than I ever did in my village in UK, probably because we have the time to get to know each other.

Well done Babaol,for getting us back on track again,was beginning to lose interest.I found what you said very interesting,as,we are planning to move out to Spain in the next year or two,upon retirement,and are keen to get all points of view,positive and negative.So far,the positives seem to outweigh the negatives,we have been thinking about the move for the last eight years or so,and have done a fair bit of research.We plan to rent  at first,though,I must say that there does seem to be a bit of a lack of properties to rent in the area we want to settle.I have just paid off my mortgage on my house here,and plan to rent it out to partly finance our new life.We may eventually decide to make the move more permanent,and possibly buy in Spain,though I have heard people mention that it might be better to keep our house in the u.k whatever happens.I would be interested to hear people's thoughts on that,but not at the risk of going off subject again.

My comment on next day burials by nationals of other hot countries was prompted by floella's referal to this practice occuring in Spain, what is wrong with that for god's sake? It's not as though I spelt tapas with two p's, or perhaps to the hate brigade any post of mine is worthy of ridicule.

I await the tirade of insults and abuse from the usual suspects.   

bobaol

Well done probably one the best postings I have seen on here for a long time

Along with DuncanMcG's recent postings on property it is great to read positive thoughts about Spain

The point, off topic, that I was actually making Hep  was that here the families stay over night  in the tanatorio with the deceased....something I  couldn't do. 

But then some forum folk don't read and digest what has been posted before responding therefore making incorrect assumptions and threads getting closed.

Yes floella, your financial advisor/adviser inane hate post managed to close a thread didn't it.  

.

Frills - I don't think you've indicated what part of Spain you are considering, but I would be amazed if you really cannot find a good property at a reasonable price.  There is masses available in Murcia where I am, sometimes you need to explore a bit and go beyond the letting agents.

A while ago I would have said it's best to rent first, now I'm not so sure.  The market is very gradually turning and if you rent for 12 months you might have to pay a bit more, but you'll probably still get a good deal.

No-one can say if it's good to sell up in the UK as it's totally dependant on personal circumstance and the property you've got and finance terms etc.  I reckon as a generalism UK property is a good investment, but Spain's prices are probably rock bottom so...who knows.  But realistically you are in a great position and lucky to have a choice, so toss a coin and go for it.

Acer,funny enough,the good lady and myselfwanted r want to retire to Murcia,we have fallen for the village of Sucina,and have been back a few times for holidays,and love it there.We tried to have a conversation with the local guy in Murcia Property Services there,but when he heard we wanted to rent,he seemed to lose interest.obviously done Internet searches with little luck.If you have any suggestions,I'd be only to glad to hear them.To Get back on topic for a moment,we were talking to a couple the last time we were over,and they wanted to sell up and return to u.k,but that was because they suffered from melanomas,and,obviously needed to sell to have the capital to buy back in the u.k.So I guess that makes their return more understandable.I can't personally think of a worse scenario than retiring to the sun,then finding that it's doing you harm.

When we talked to people on Camposol in various bars over 3 years if the discussion ever got onto "returning to the Uk" the one major topic which came up  was " missing the grandchildren growing up" and being away from family . Sure, this is going to be seen as a "major bonus" by many Grand Pas.. too  Some how the modern world typecasts grandparents as non paid full time babyminders and taxi drivers and bailer outers.

Yes, the little blighters can visit ( and many do) for holidays but ive also seen many granparents visably  sign with relief as  " just dropped them back at Murcia Airport " ... freedom.

One of the downsides we found with Camposol and other large ex pat resorts( like Condado and other Polaris ) is that the avaerage age would be roughly 68 . Everbody looks the same about 17 stone ......... grey.... or bald ... or both.

It is a worry selling a house out there and closing down your legal services etc  but we just gave it all to agents ... Costa Calida Services on Camposol. It was a life saver and they did the lot including going to Notary on the day we sold. Next time if ever we would RENT. If your only looking for a hoiday home RENT....then you can come back to the UK at the drop of a hat.

Frills, thanks for yours.  I don't know Sucina so I googled it  and up popped lots of properties, hotels plus http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g1509165-i22540-Sucina.html There will be lots available - personally I would find an urbanisation that I liked and then speak to the locals.  And I see that EOS has a forum http://www.eyeonspain.com/community/sucina-golf-and-country-club-S50.aspx

You can get hit anywhere by Melanoma, you need to be cautious where ever you are.  But I take the view that life's too short to worry too much about it (I had to add that having spent the last 8 hours in the sun, or I would be calling myself hypocritical .

Thanks Acer,tried the links you suggested,but they all sort of come up empty,which has always been our previous experience,thanks anyway.We have a kind of plan,the nice people we last did our holiday rental with suggested that we may be able to rent their villa long term,which would be good,but it is kinda small,but it would allow us to have a good look around,and talk to the locals.Of course,ideally we would find a place where we could be really settled before coming over.8 hours in the sun eh!😁It's been gloomy and quite cold here all day,just like England in October.........Hang on a minute.

A brilliant post, as always, bobaol. It's true...it is now a real pain in the proverbial to open a bank account in the UK...all part of the effort to lower the risk of fraudulent activities...so we're told. We would advise anyone moving to Spain to keep their UK bank account, if at all possible, even if you give up your UK house.  You can always use a family member's (or tusted friend's) address for post from the bank.  

We spent some time in Condado recently and, lovely place that it is, we would prefer to be in a town or village.  Aliton...my husband is one of those mid-sixtyish guys with a balding head (been like it since his thirties) but he's not 17 stone. He's tall and slim...lol.

Frills: "I can't personally think of a worse scenario than retiring to the sun,then finding that it's doing you harm."

Just another thought: how about retiring to a nice easy going, laid back place for a relaxed and stress-free existence, only to find that the bureaucracy and red tape and hassle and confusion borne out of not understanding the language or culture drive you nuts? I came to Spain in my 30s to work, and I speak the language. I couldn't really imagine moving to, say, Portugal for my retirement and starting all over again, learning a new language and getting to grips with how everything works there. Not worth the hassle IMHO. I'd rather just rent a place and spend a few months a year there, but keep my main base where I'm familiar with. I know there are plenty of retired ex-pats out there who live in blissfull ignorance, but if like me you're the type who likes to dot your i's and cross your t's and know what the heck is going on around you at all times, then selling up, burning your (UK) bridges & moving permanently to Spain as a retiree doesn't actually make much sense to me. 

But that's just me. 

Roberto, best post yet. Although other posts have included some good advice your post pinpoints the essential ingredient to be considered when moving to Spain. That is, do you like to be involved - even from your armchair -  in local and national matters involving your Country or can you live outside this? Neither is right or wrong - just personal choice. If you do like to feel part of what is happening around you, or if you are just happy to let it all happen because it is not your Country and nothing to do with you, is what separates the two types of people. I lived in Spain for 8 years but always felt like an outsider as pleasant and friendly as the locals were - it just wasn't my Country and never would be. Anyone thinking of moving lock, stock and barrel should, as you advised, keep a foothold in the UK until they are absolutely sure about the move - the UK with all its faults, and they are many, it is still a great place and it 's my place!