Services getting worse all the time. A report in todays paper says that a man waited 8 hours for 30 stiches in his ear after a fall in Málaga...and that's only the tip if the iceburg.

You can say that again
"Knee and hip replacement operations and cataract removals fall to lowest level for five years as patients left longer in pain."

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2...e-hip-cataract

Regardless of country it's a real worry. Maybe the OP should stay in Canada?

oooh are we having a what about the UK thread again Looked at the waiting lists in Spain recently

Look at the thread title jacky. No need to get stroppy because you can't get away with your constant "Spain bad, UK great" agenda again. Cutbacks in health services are a worry for all of us.

But at least the OP would get free health care in the UK eh

You really think that the way privatisation of the nhs is going , that state of affairs will remain in the UK? If so you have far more faith than I do.

As far as health care goes, I would advise the OP to look carefully at the hospitals in whatever area of the UK they consider moving to. Whilst the quality of care in some is good, in others it appears to be anything but. Take the case of the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, for example (an area popular with retirees) - the new style CQC report published last week (introduced in the wake of the Mid Staffs scandal) called some wards, including ones specialising in the care of the elderly, "dangerous and inadequate", conclusions which many people living in the area seem to agree with, judging from the comments below this article:-


http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/new...outh_Hospital/

There is little point speaking the same language as the nurses if they are going to ignore your needs anyway.

Conversely, Salford Royal Hospital received a glowing report, but I don't think anybody in their right mind would recommend Salford as a place to live.

However, all the indications are that waiting lists for many forms of treatment in Spain are getting longer and it is true that the OP would need to pay something towards the cost of whatever medication is prescribed for them. There have also been reports that restrictions on certain kinds of very costly treatment being available being tightened - but this can also sometimes apply in the UK too, there having been reports a few months ago that patients in Wales were being forced to move to England (or pretend they had done so and use a relative's address) in order to be able to access certain expensive cancer drugs, as so much of the Welsh NHS budget had been used up in paying for free prescriptions and free parking at hospitals for all.

As with most things, there are things for and against in both countries. If you want to live in a scenically beautiful area, particularly one of historical interest, with a relatively mild climate, and one with little or no social problems, then housing in such areas of the UK is going to be far more expensive either to buy or to rent than a similar area in Spain would be. However, as the OP may have read elsewhere, great caution needs to be exercised when considering buying a property in a rural area of Southern Spain, in particular, as so many have been declared "illegal builds" retrospectively, leaving their owners in a terrible position.

Personally, I think a "city on the beach", particularly Malaga or Valencia, takes a lot of beating when considering somewhere to live. I would say Valencia has the edge for foodies, and the city beaches are superb. On the other hand, Malaga is ideally situated for easy access to places of great historical interest like Granada, Cordoba and Sevilla, even ski-ing in the Sierra Nevada, and it is easy to travel across to Morocco for a taste of another culture. Malaga also has more international flight connections, I think. Both cities have a more temperate climate than inland areas of Southern Spain, with mild winter weather and slightly less scorching summers.

Would a Canadian pensioner get any free health care at all in Spain?....can someone have a google, some of you are so good at it with all these links

We are in our 50's so we wouldn't get healthcare.. Some of the autonomous regions.. (sorry not sure of terminology) have started to offer a 'pay in system' but it's up to the regions to opt in or out of it..
I know that healthcare is 'doable' without going the expensive private insurance route..

I have a feeling that 'quality of life' would be better in Spain.. It looks like Javea and the Costa Blanca have very active U3A's..

I do like Malaga and surrounding areas too..

As for the U.K. I think property rental or otherwise is not an option, the sort of house we would like in S.W. England would just cost way too much, and I'm not a 'settle for less' kinda gal!!

As a matter of fact, private health insurance in Spain can be less expensive than paying the recently introduced cuota to receive treatment from the state health system - although the cuota system is better for anyone who has pre-existing conditions.

My OH and I are insured with a company called Prevision Medica (which only covers Malaga province and part of Cordoba province). For a couple aged 64 and 57 our premiums next year will go up to €55 per person, slightly less than the cost of paying to receive state cover. We would, however, have to pay 100% of the cost of any medication prescribed (other than that prescribed during a hospital stay). There are no co-payments or excess involved for any kind of treatment. Just to give you some idea, as a comparison.

My husband has a couple of pre-existing conditions, so I would want to be sure they were covered... he's had Pulmonary Embolisms in the past, the fact that he's on warfarin makes it 'stable' but it's still a pre-existing condition.. Then there is the fact that he had a subarachnoid Brain hemorrhage in April, idiopathic.. But likely caused by clonking himself on the head when changing over from the winter tyres on the car.. He had to obviously go off the Warfarin because of the Brain bleed and ended up getting Pulmonary Embolisms again !! Now he's back to being 'stable' ...To look at him you wouldn't realize he's had these problems.. But I doubt a private insurance company would want to take the risk....

Oh yes, then you would most definitely be better off paying the cuota to be covered under the state health system.

Certainly Spain wins there, millions of properties going cheap, some even legal, any potential vendor will rip your hand off at the thought of finally selling their property.

Hi Goldeneye,
We're also looking to move back across the pond after 25 years here in Canada and like you are considering Spain or UK. In the UK we have family but Spain is more appealing due to the climate. One of the reasons we are considering the move is to escape the cold and long winters. With the cheap travel over in Europe compared to here in Canada it would be easy to go back to the UK for visits while living in Spain if we so wished. We have visited Spain on many occasions and have always loved the people and culture and like you the great food etc. It's never a easy decision to make such a big move, but having made it once before we feel life is too short to not experience another country while we can.

I had to double check, you're thinking is just like mine..

What parts of Spain are you considering?
We have sorted out healthcare and that is doable.. The only other concern we have is IHT .. Any future Inheritance we may get.. Although not a subject that people are comfortable with and as much as I would like my M.I.L to go on forever, I don't want to just 'give' away a large chunk to the Spanish government..
The law as it stands in the UK is the threshold (£325,000 in 2013-14). The tax is payable at 40 per cent on the amount over this threshold... or 36 per cent if the estate qualifies for a reduced rate as a result of a charitable donation.
In Canada, there is no inheritance tax. Instead the CRA treats the estate as a sale and a final tax return is done once all assets are sold..
Canada does not have a death tax or an estate inheritance tax. In Canada, no inheritance tax is levied on the beneficiaries;

In Spain however it is treated very differently, a lot of people residing in Spain think that they are only liable if it is a property of a deceased estate that is in Spain, they don't realize that on this particular area there is no treaty and double dipping occurs.. The estate would be taxed before passing to beneficiaries and once you receive it, it's then taxed again as 'income'
For this reason we are planning on initially going the 183 day rule and staying tax residents of Canada..