LadyGoneGone

Hi,

My husband and I are considering relocating to Spain. We had previously thought of moving to Lanzarote, and we even met with a relocation adviser whilst out there recently, who said we could comfortably afford to live on my husband's income (he had to take early retirement for health reasons). As much as I like Lanzarote, I wouldn't describe it as picturesque and one thing that concerned me was there not being much to do and the fact that nearly everything is imported and their only economy is tourism.

Having gone back to the drawing board, we are now thinking about the Spanish mainland - probably Murcia, as we like the sound of the climate! I'm starting my TEFL qualification soon as I would like to work for the sake of my own sanity as much as anything else!

Does anybody have any advice please - especially with regards to possible areas that may be of interest? Both of us drive, so we wouldn't be bound and gagged by the limitations of public transport, which is probably better than back in the UK anyway!
Thanks

Jen

Bri and Katee

We live in a village in Murcia and while it is tranquil picturesque and serene I would advise anyone to actually rent in the area first. The reason being our nearest shopping town is 12kilometres away, so even should you want the simplest of things like bread or milk its a 24k round trip by car, no public transport here.

Murcia has some nice area's, lots of the region could be described as barren! Its a case of sitting down drawing up a list of your requirements and then look for that sort of area. It is also reputed to be the poorest region of Spain, most of its income is derived from agriculture, this doesn't apply to the shops who don't seem to know Spain has been in recession for almost a decade! For instance just ask anyone about Corvera airport- it was completed in 2008 and has yet to still see a plane land, this is just on the outskirts of Murcia city itself, a prime location!

Desolate wild and inspiring choose inland Murcia, well populated, full of life, shops etc choose the coastal area. Of course all of this goes out the window should you choose a big town/city like Murica itself or Jumilla.

missile

What attracts you to Murcia in particular?

There are many who have TEFL and no job. Without experience as a teacher, your chances of finding employment are slim.

Moses2013

I think it's wise not to go to Lanzarote. Scenery will get boring and living on a smaller island can be quite depressing after 2-3 years when you've seen it all, but we're all different. For some it might be great, but I think mainland offers far more. Spain has plenty to offer, but just think what you're really looking for. We don't live in Spain permanently (retirement still far away) but Costa Brava ticked all boxes for us. I don't mind the heat, but I think it would also get boring if it's constantly dry. This is the area we live and as you can see it's nice and green with mountains, walks and sea is still only 10 mins away. Even now it's still sunny at around 18-20 degrees.

LadyGoneGone

Hi and thanks for your replies, all of which have been really helpful.
Wherever we do decide to go, we'll definitely rent as we don't want to be tied down to a mortgage in case we need / want to come back.
The main thing that attracts us to Murcia so far is the climate, now I know that's not a good enough reason in itself to move there, but that's part of the reason why I posted on here, because I don't know Spain. The reason why we want the sun as much as possible is actually for health reasons as much as anything - my psoriasis drives me mad, but most of all it's the time of year where my husband is in agony, and will be for the next few months.
Ideally we would like somewhere that isn't too far away from life and things to do in general. Bri and Katee, I'm glad you mentioned the 24km round trip for your shopping, as it's little things like this we need to know. We don't want to be living in the middle of nowhere, but we don't want to feel as though we're living in Benidorm either (although some people would).

Missile, with regards to TEFL, I know that finding any sort of work won't be easy, but I'm of the opinion that if you have a qualification like TEFL no-one can take it off you, so even if I don't use it for a few years, I won't have wasted my time. As for teaching experience, I don't have experience teaching English as a foreign language, but I do have quite a few years experience of teaching adults creative writing and I've also worked with children and young adults too, so I wouldn't be going into it completely blind.
Moses I think you're right about living on a small island being depressing after a while. Although the relocation adviser seemed to think my chances of getting a teaching job were pretty good (he used to be a teacher himself), I don't think I could cope living on an island with so little to do. I'm only 40, so I could be bored for a long time living on Lanzarote!

Thanks again
Jen

missile

Almost anywhere in southern Spain has sunshine. Think carefully about your location. It can be cold during winter and oppressively hot during July through August. We find the climate nearer the coast is more ........... mediterranean <LOL> i.e. not so extreme.

LadyGoneGone

Thanks for your reply Missile. Another place which has been mentioned to us is Costa Brava, so we're going to have a look into that.

It's just difficult to know where to start looking because it's such a big country!

Moses2013

Agree. 2500 sunshine hours does it for me and a bit of rain during summer is good for the garden.

flotsum

inland murcia is cold at night from november through to february and march. It can still be warm on a sunny day its 19 at the moment but 7 degrees last night and my car has already had to be defrosted one morning this year, however I live inland and up a mountain, only 40 km from us on the outer limits of murcia and there will probably be snow. The rest of our family live nearer the coast (cartegena )and it is much milder in the winter so if its health I would say look nearer the coast but still when renting look carefully at how the place can be heated in the winter and cooled in the summer.

missile

Very true and we each have different requirements .........

We spent a long time agonising over where to base ourselves. I would suggest that it may be better to rent for a month or two and travel before deciding.

The first place you settle may not be the last.

LadyGoneGone

Again, thanks for all your replies - you're a great help!

My OH was doing a bit of research earlier and we think inland Murcia will be a bit on the cold side for us. He briefly mentioned Cartegena, so we'll look into that some more. I think living nearer the mountains might be a bit too remote for us anyway, and we would really like to live in an area (or near one) where there's lots of things to do.

We'd definitely rent - like you say, the first place we settle may not be the last!

missile

Cartegena is a sprawling city, with lots to do there. Not a tourist resort and few Brits live there, which may be a disadvantage or a bonus depending on your point of view.

Might I suggest you book up accommodation for an extended visit(s) before signing up for longer term rental. There is a wide choice of hotels, hostels and B&B to suit any budget.

LadyGoneGone

The fact that Cartegena isn't a tourist resort does appeal in a way. Whilst we're not too bothered about living in an ex pat area, it would be nice to be near some Brits :-)
We're looking at booking some flights in May to have a look around. Unfortunately I can't take too much time from work, but a few days is better than nothing!
Thanks!

NKing

Hi there, if you're looking in the Murcia/Cartagena regions, then why not try Guardamar del Segura or Torrevieja? There are many people who would dismiss this totally out of hand, but they're worth a look. Not necessarily the town of Torrevieja, but some of the slightly more outlying areas - Quesada perhaps. I'm not sure of the mix of Spanish and other nationalities, but the climate is generally good and none of them is too far from facilities (pools, shopping big and small, cafes, Torrevieja has a municipal theatre) and there are enough fiestas and celebrations to keep you entertained.

Good luck with the search.

LadyGoneGone

Hi NKing and thanks for that. My OH has been looking at Almeria, but to be honest, the more pointers we have from people the better, as we just don't know where to start and Spain is so big; (although by Canadian standards it's probably not very big at all, lol)!