swimmer

Hello

I was wondering if any of you can give me a bit of advice. I'm keen to move abroad for a while - possibly permanantly if I like it. I have stayed for a few months in both Cape Town and in America in my twenties and loved the sunny outdoor lifestyle. However, I dont want to move any further than Europe, as I want to be able to come and go from the UK, for my business, see family and friends etc. I run an internet based business so will need to rent somewhere with internet access, I see telefonica does broadband, so perhaps this wont be a great problem. Ive completely misssed the property ladder and I am stuck renting not being able to afford a deposit on a flat, sick of paying TV licence when I never watch the BBC, no pension but read a 1/4 of my council tax goes towards civil servant pensions! (In newspapers this week), Student loans, etc etc etc I wont go on youve heard it all before. However, I think there is loads of people my sort of age thinking off doing off. The Q of Life is pap, and they want us to work until we are 70 for the privellage.

What I would like to know is where would you recommend in Spain? I cant speak spanish but will learn when im there. Is there anywhere attracting younger expats. Don't get me wrong I get on with all ages and wouldnt want to live in a mad cheesy resort but at the same time would not want to live in a babyboomer early retired enclave where everyone is still going on about the Who and John Lennon!

In my head I would like to live in a medium sized town, that has a lively, fun but not OTT nightlife, a good mix of spanish and expats, a wide range of ages but with a crowd of people in their twenties and thirties. I like sport and outdoory stuff. Tarifa seemed interesting, the place in Cadiz which has a lot of windsurfing I think, marbella sounds great but perhaps not so good if your not a millionaire....After reading this does anywhere spring to mind?

Mitzyboy

Babyboomer early retired enclave person here!!!
And whats wrong with that .... I go on about Rammstein, Nirvana & stuff like that

Well the Northern Costa Blanca is cool as its less expensive to live than the areas further South, its not so Britified in all the areas, its relatively quiet, yet within easy distance of Valencia (good nightlife), Benidorm (well someone has to go there) and places like Gandia, Denia, Javea & Calpe. They're all nice towns with lots going on.
Theres broadband available in coastal areas, and its only two hours from Birmingham by plane with good cheap flights.

swimmer

Ha Ha, no offence to any babyboomers. However, i'm not going to spain to retire so i dont want to find myself in a town that is full of early retired people. Im in the North East so flights are to Alicante and Malaga, and I think I like the sound of Andalucia. My landlord who i rent off is in his sixties and has a house in france. He said the south of spain is totally full of retired brits and he said Barcelona would be good. But although Barcelona sounds like a great city and I would like to visit, i think i would prefer to live in a slightly smaller place. Ive lived in London, Manchester and from N/cle and want to get away from living in big cities. As I said I like outdoor stuff, mountain biking, etc. Any more ideas please?

j0197

Tarifa is a great place, young, trendy and really cool, however, whether you can make a living there is another thing.

Everyone thinks we are all millionaires living in Marbella, I wish. It is like living in little England here sometimes, but if you´re not ready for a completely different culture, then its perfect. You still have some old towns and villages nearby so you dont forget where you are!

If I was single and was starting a new life, I´d probably try Malaga. Malaga City I really like, and you would definately have to learn to speak spanish!

If you move somewhere like Marbella, you could get lazy and end up not speaking a word of it like many expats here.

Tip. When you do decide to move here,book your spanish lessons before you get here or straight away, or you will find months pass by and you havent learnt a thing.

Good Luck

Arco-Iris

Hi Swimmer. Why not have a look at Geoff and Jane's site. They live in a village within driving distance of the coast (Estepona way), do a lot of walking and have lots of newsy things and pictures about the surrounding area.

I hope Administrator allows this URL www.property-in-the-sun.com (this is not an estate agent's site- more a day-by-day journal giving a really good feel of the area).

Good luck in your search.

swimmer

Hello Arco Iris I will, thanks.

Jo197, thanks for your reply. I cant remember how I heard about Tarifa, but wherever it was it sounded good and it made me look it up and found the main site for the place using google.

So you live in Marbella, that is the place I first thought of moving to as because as you say you can get by without spanish to begin with. There was an article in the Daily Mail a few months back about there being a rise in younger people moving to the area, as well as the more established pattern of people retiring abroad, Have you noticed this or is just papers filling their pages. Is it mainly brits in Marbella or does it have all sorts of Europeans living there?


it had a few case studies and they all said they loved it. Im coming over for a trip in April and if i like it plan to get an easyjet flight straight back out.

I looked on one Marbella site and one article seemed to say it was becoming popular for businesses to relocate their, not just tourist jobs. Im in a lucky position in that I have my own business that can be done anywhere in the world in theory as long as i have an internet connection.

What do you like most about it and is what are the negatives? Thanks.

Carol&John

Hi Swimmer,
Jump in at the deep end! Go for the Basque country (Pais Vasco - north). Close to the Pyrenees (skiing) and Picos de Europa (climbing), Pamplona (bullrunning - loads of 30somethings do it ), and airport/ferry connections. The Basque people (well, the men mostly) are known for their sportsmanship, especially rowing out into the Bay of Biscay, and back again. There's a film festival in San Sebastian in the summer, modern art in Bilbao, & miles of unspoilt sandy beaches (don't know about the surfing). And, its on the route to Santiago de Compostela, if you're interested.
Sunshine? Did you mention it as a priority?
Tarifa? Surfer dude? You said you didn't want to be surrounded by 1960's or 70's nostalgia? Well, close you eyes everytime you see a flowerpower campervan...
All the best,
Carol

j0197

Hi Swimmer

There are alot of English here, but also alot of Swedish, Germans, Russians, South Americans, and of course Spanish.

It is a great place to live, and great if you have your own business which you can do from home. People who want a well paid office job dont last long here, and we know of quite a few people who have had to go back home because they just cant make the money like they did in the UK.

If you are going to travel back and fourth, think about how far the airport is too. Malaga to Marbella about 45 mins car. Tarifa is close to Gibralter airport so thats also worth taking into consideration.

Best thing is to rent for a while and check out the areas. Even go on holiday for a few days and stay in different areas.

swimmer

Hello Carol and John

Thanks for your reply. Ive seen Pamplona on TV but cant see the attraction of getting chased by a raging lump of live beef with particularly sharp horns through narrow streets :scared: The region you mention sounds great but i think I want to live further south and not to far to an airport to get me to and from N/cle, so i think Malaga region would be best for this.

Jo, that is what i planned to do, rent for a bit somewhere in Marbella or not to far from, learn a bit of spanish go away to see different areas and then over time decide where/if I would like to stay on a longer term. The great thing about moving to Europe there is nothing to final about it, you can come and go to the UK without a problem unlike Aus etc.

Is there anywhere or any publication that is seen as the best place to find rental accom that the locals all refer to?

I will need broadband, is it easy to get sorted. I see telefonica has a site in English, is this what most people use.

I run 3 websites, one selling solar powered stuff britisheco (dot) com and 2 new ones called auctionyourservice(dot)com and sunrealestateads(dot)com. Auctionyourservice is for people who want to get new business for the service they provide by setting up an auction. Its got categories that cover everything, personal trainers, tutors, secretarial etc etc. You can list anywhere in the world and I think might be popular with expats who are looking for services or are looking for work. Sunrealestateads is a site where people can list properties for sale/rent in sunny locations.

So I'll be kept busy working on these, when ive been looking into it there is quite a few companies that specialise in call divert, mail forwarding, mobiles abroad etc for people wanting to work abroad but still have a UK presence.

Im coming over to spain at the start of April.