Pamela 1

I know that many folks winter in Spain but where does one go there to find the warmth? Their temperatures don't seem to get too much above the
50'sF mark and UK has been quite good this winter until the snow came.

Jan/Feb in UK are usually dark, damp and miserable but other winter months are more tolerable? More so than in very cold Ontario Canada.

Wendy said it was cold there. What about France, where would one go there - down south obviously but guess it could more expensive.

fishfinger

The UK isn't cold like Ontario, probably similar to the climate in Vancouver with less rain!

Mitzyboy

Well we're just spending our first winter in Spain so we've been childlishly comparing the two quite carefully.

At the end of Jan it dropped here to about 7 degrees and was a little chilly with a couple of weeks of rainy weather. January as a whole was lovely around 12 degrees with lots of sun, and the last few days have been wall to wall sun, but windy and the temp at 10.30 now is 18 degrees

Compared to the UK ... well

It was always Janurary though Feb and into March that always depressed me weatherwise in the UK

If I had loads of money I would reside in Spain October through to May and live in the UK for the rest of the year.

St.Georges Girl

You are in Valencia though Mitzyboy. My sister in law is Spanish and most of her family live in and around Madrid. They tell us it can get very cold and damp during the winter months.

lulu41

Well

I have lived in Spain for 4 yrs the south of Spain, here it has been cold in winter, we have central heating and a log burner and have spent a fortune on heating bills this yr, the thing about Spain is the houses are not equipped to deal with real cold snaps it has snowed here too a little further up on the mountain quite badly. I would rather UK as the houses are better insulated, although the colder weather doesnt last as long here as in UK about 3 months 18 degrees does seem cold to us as in the summer it reaches 40 degrees here, guess its what your use too, then again we get enormous electric bills from air con

Mercedes

I also have lived in South of Spain in the mountains near Marbella. I don't have central heating just a wood burner when I use it. I don't use A/C in the summer neither, just a Fan in my bedroom. I find I climatise much better if I don't have a/c on.

I personally prefer the winters here and I tend to spend both in UK and Spain as I commute every month to the UK. Personally I hate central heating, I find it often too stuffy and tend to open windows everywhere for some fresh air. It's no wonder people get sick from going from very cold to about 40 degrees in pubs, hotels and houses or in the summer from 40 degrees to 16 degrees. I've been back a few days now and apart from one day, it's been sunny here and today, I went to the beach and had lunch outside at a local restuarant and people were wearing light clothing mostly. I found it pleasant enough to go for a walk, and everywhere is green. Also I like the fact it doesn't get dark until 6.30, I find when I'm back in UK, I hate that it gets dark so early and I feel I want to go to bed early. I also find I don't like being stuck indoors in the UK, and here in Spain I often will also go for a walk at night in the fresh air. I also feel a bit safer doing it where I am. But saying that last week it was nice when I was back in the UK even moreso that I went flying in a cessna last Saturday as it was such a clear day. By living here and commuting I find the winters aren't so long for me, and having those days of sunshine does make a difference. I don't mind cold and sunny but the rest, makes me want to hibernate. If I get cold in Spain, I just put more layers on, but I find I'm much healthier and it is easier also to eat healthier, I tend to find I don't want to eat quite the same things when I'm back. I also don't get as sick, although the last 12 months I've spent more time in the UK, and those bugs attack me as soon as I land. But generally a warmer climate suits me and I've been heathier in it than I was when I live in UK. I certainly don't get as sick as I used to and I hardly ever get a cold when I'm here.

I do know alot of people who do spend winter here and spend the summer in UK. But that depends on their financial situation. The one good thing is flights are cheaper and you can escape the winters in UK if you need that burst of sunshine. I'm probably lucky as I get the best of both worlds and I enjoy living in Spain as I have a villa on some land and as I type this, I'm looking across the valley to the sea and the sun is shining. I spoke to my Business partner in UK and it took him 3 hours to get from the office to the house, which normally would take 30 minutes due to the snow, and he was moaning how cold it was. I just told him how the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day,

But isn't just about weather, it depends on what lifestyle you want and where achieves it for you. My office in spain is in a glassed terrace so I'm able to see the sunshine all day, which helps make me personally feel better.

thunderbird65

the problem with your posts are you never say anything positive re the uk so totally biased, every place has positives. your personal opinions i know but you really need to be open minded to be able to advise others.

Mercedes

I thought we were talking about the weather, whether to live in UK or Spain. I thought the OP wanted to live in sunnier climes in the winter?

Okay, if you're a duck or polar bear and/or eat plenty of carrots for when it goes dark at 3pm and like central heating and don't need to use an oxygen mask if you can't open the windows, enjoy being indoors mostly in the evenings, unless you find a cosy pub to go to, to socialize, then go for UK - Brilliant place.


Is that positive enough for you thunderbirds......I can write some more positive stuff about UK if you want, I did spend at least 3 weeks every 6 weeks in the UK last year, or it could have been more.... I could talk about the deers and badgers I see going to work as I drive down the country lane - sometimes in braille fashion when the Sun does make an appearance in winter and is low in the sky and I can't see a damn thing, but makes it an adventure. I could paint a more positive picture if you like when the sun is shining through my window again tomorrow (it'll probably rain now I said that) onto my computer as I glance over it across the valley to the sea as I sip my carrot and celery juice as I detoxing all the British food out of my system whilst I'm here in Spain for the next 2 weeks, and recharging my Vitamin D in my body for when I venture back to UK to keep me going

thunderbird65

nah, not good enuff, but u consistant in your abuse of the uk. i assume whilst you gaze upon your beautiful vistas you get bored and decide to post on the returning to the uk forum all the time.

Liana

People that I know who have spent winters in Spain were disappointed in the cold weather and, has been said, the houses are not ideal in cold weather.
You are in Canada/USA- why not go to the south of the US-FLorida is much warmer in the winter than Spain, or try Barbados.

UK is too dark in the winter; they are so far north up there.

lulu41

And there’s us here, traveling at least 1 hr each way to get our British food here you can take the girl away from England but you can not take England away from the girl I would swap my 250m2 villa any day if I could go back home tomorrow to my old semi.

Murcia is where we live, and I can tell you its well over 40 degrees C in summer with HOT winds every day here, no air con You must be joking, Spain is not cheap for electric and water, we paid 1800 euros for lekky for 1 yr, and we pay 250 euros a quarter for water unless you live in a rabbits hutch out here with no land and no plants maybe its cheaper, but as the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain we can count on 1 hand the amount of rain we get here, I would say that Spain is a lot colder than UK for winters, its a RAW cold as opposed to a damp one back home, and these places out here are built of concrete right the way through so NO cavity wall insulation at all, and this place is only 2 yrs old, CAN you tell by my post I want to go home.

chrisandvee

God it makes me laugh the amount of people that dont know they are born. I have lived in spain the last five years and i think the winters are great it got up to 23c yesterday and yes granted if you live in a north facing house then it can be pretty chilly but id cry if i had to spend six months in uk cold wet miserable and oh yes no sun! I bought 400 kilos of wood for the log burner and that cost 40 euros not bad to warm the house AT NIGHT for our three months of winter we have. Yes it does get hot in the summer so go in the shade. Viva Espania!
And Spain colder than british winters yes on a snow capped mountain in granada but not scb 16c average winter temp compared to 4 or 5 in uk do the math.

thunderbird65

i missed the last 2 summers in the uk but from what i hear they were pretty hot too. OR is it the WRONG type of heat.

chrisandvee

I hear what your saying my friend. Too hot too cold you cant win with us english whinge moan whinge.

Mercedes

Water I don't pay for as I have my own spring water well, so can drink it and it's not different to bottled water. My electricity bill when I was here for the full year, was approx 600 euros and my house is 200 sq metres. My council tax is about 400 euros a year and I don't pay any community fees.

I've lived most of my adult life in hot climates and have never used Air con even when I lived in Darwin which humidity was quite high there. I think by not using AC you climitise quicker, well I was told by doctor and it seems to work. I certainly don't get ill that often. I don't think extremes are that good for the body. My grandmother lived in the UK and didn't have heating apart from a log fire in her lounge and often slept with the window open. She died at 85 and was still walking 5 miles every day, and didn't have bad health. I can still remember her opening my bedroom window when I stayed with her. But since I've lived more in warmer climes I do notice the cold more than I did before I left. I even used to jetski here in Spain in the winter with just a summer wetsuit on so it can't be that bad.

UK we lease a 6 bedroom detached house. Our gas bill for last winter was 2000 pounds and the central heating is only on in the mornings and evenings unless really cold, our electricity bill isn't that great either and talking to my brother his gas bill was of similar ilk. Our council tax is 2500 grand so it's all horses for courses.

I looked at Murcia when I was looking a buying and it didn't appeal to me so don't blame you for wanting to move. A couple of colleagues lived there and they thought it was quite boring at times, hence why I didn't buy there. Here my garden is nice and green and the roses are looking good at the moment. The weather reminds me of an English summer day when the sun is shining and everywhere is still green. We've had enough rain for the garden to come back and I shall have to mow the lawn soon. The sun is shining and even inside the house it is 18 degrees at the moment without any heating on. If I'm doing things I often don't even bother putting the heating on at night. But I don't find the evening so long here and find plenty to do. One thing is everything is open late so I don't have to watch the time if I want to go out and eat and there's plenty to chose from. I think I probably prefer the winters here, even to the summers, mainly because it is so much greener and not so many tourists around, so a bit quieter.

But I didn't like Spain when I first came here, but when I arrived it was only temporary and I came here a bit on the spur of the moment, didn't know anyone and didn't speak a word of spanish. But since I can speak it better and moved into a Spanish community which has welcomed me, it has made it easier and I like it more. Long term I don't know whether I will stay here, I chose Spain more to experience another culture and lifestyle and it was closer to my family than the other side of the world and my family have visited me more as well as friends. But it has been my base and home and since I've just lost a close family member, being accessible to my family is important to me, when I lived in Oz I didn't see them for 4 years at time, now I see them every month at least. I'm not sure whether I will stay here once my family are gone, and I've been thinking about that lately, but I suppose I will know that when the time comes, I may try one of the South American countries and we can open a division over there if I chose to do so and at least I will be able to speak the language. I like and enjoy my time when I'm in UK, but I personally couldn't live there permantly, I seriously thought about it before I brought the house here, and pulled out at the last moment. I tried after I returned from Oz but I prefer being a commuter and enjoy my time there more now as a visitor, I know I'm able to return to Spain, and I travel to other countries for work so that keeps my nomadic genes happy.