spanishgirl

Hi

My husband and I have just bought a property near to Guardamar del Segura, north of the saltlakes.

We have been told (after we had paid the deposit on the house) that sometimes, when the wind is in a certain direction, the saltlakes gives off an offensive smell? Is this true?

We are very excited at the prospect of living in this area of Spain, but just a little concerned about the 'smelly' lake!

I'm sure there are lots of other things that we need to know about also, so no doubt I'll be asking for other information.

Its my first time on this site, and I must say it seems to be very informative.

Thank you.

Linda

Spanishliferules

Don't worry this is your place, you will love it and I welcome you.
one thing is the smell, but guess what you come to love it, when you are not with it, you miss it.

spanishgirl

Thank you for that! (I think! ...). Its only a month since we put down our deposit on the property, and we have gone through millions of emotions: happiness, blind panic, fear, etc etc etc! Is this usual? Is the smell there all the time, or does it come and go?

We've got so much to do now at home, including working, selling our UK property and moving into rented until our Spanish home is ready (June 06).

Then theres the decision of whether to forward buy the euros, or risk the exchange rate at the time we need the money. AAARH!!! Will I still be sane when I reach Spain?

We've not done this rashly. We've holidayed in Spain over the last 30 years, had a career break of twelve months and travelled around the world to see as many places as we could. Now in our middle years, it is our dream to finish work early (hurrah!) and live and play in the sun. Guardamar seems the ideal place. It still seems Spanish, yet you can dip into the British bits if you want. Of course, this is in my head, you will all know much better than me the reality of it all ; - )

When we told friends/family/work colleagues, some were happy, some were amazed, and quite a lot of them have tried to panic us with tales of inferior builders, alcoholic friends who live in Spain, lonely old people in Spain. The story continues! We feel that its another big adventure for us. We are both fairly fit, in our fifties, like the outdoor life, cycling etc etc and want some FREEDOM to do what we want for a few years.

We've been over to South Costa Blanca/Costa Calida a few times to look at property, and the one we have bought seems to fit the bill. BUT, of course, no one told us about the smell! We were told about the beautiful views from our solarium. Does this mean we need gas masks??!!! Is it all year round, or just some of the time? (I hardly dare ask about the mosquitos ...)

Any comments would be appreciated.

Regards.

TheArmChairDetective

Your question about the salt and the smells led me to see what was on the net. From what I have found...copied below.....I wouldn't worry about it. I have a friend who owns a house in Torrevieja and he says it's not a problem.


<Research>
The salt flats behind Torrevieja led to the rapid development of the town and port, today it is the biggest producer of salt in Europe. Tourism is the other big business in Torrevieja and people flock here every year to soak up the sun on its gorgeous beaches. The salt water lakes absorb water from the atmosphere and create a special microclimate which is widely regarded to be beneficial for sufferers of rheumatism, asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems. The salt lakes are now a nature reserve, attracting a diverse range of migratory and nesting birds.
Located at the mouth of the River Segura, Guardamar del Segura is another tourist honey pot. Guardamar was originally situated further inland but after it was destroyed by the 1829 earthquake, the town was rebuilt closer to the coast. The Dunas de Guardamar is a woodland park by the coast that was created at the end of the last century when rows of pine trees were planted to prevent the advancing sands from the beach encroaching

Guardamar has plenty of beautiful sandy beaches, backed by large stretches of sand dunes; the most popular are the Centro and Roqueta beaches whilst those next to the mouth of the river tend to be quieter. The town is well developed and the beaches are backed by modern hotels and apartments, though the centre of the old town retains its original Spanish charm. Guardamar’s population of 10,000 includes a large number of British expatriates.
</Research>


Good luck to you in your move, will you be taking all the personal property that you currently own or starting from scratch

spanishgirl

Thanks for that! It does read well. I'm excited again now!

With regard to our possessions, we are just deciding what to do with them. Over the years, we have accumulated lots of belongings. I'm just sorting through them now. We'll have a car boot sale, ask family if they want anything, then send other stuff to the charity shop. We are thinking of bringing over our sofa bed (its a good one), a set of coffee tables, our waterbed, maybe our table and chairs (dining room and garden) plus a few other bits and bobs. Of course, the major factor in determining how much stuff will be the cost of transporting it all. I've not done a lot of research yet about it, but I imagine its not cheap. If anyone has any recommendations, that would be good.

Regards.

Linda

TheArmChairDetective

I suppose it depends on how much space you will have.

Hmm there's a question, can everything one owns here be accomodated in the space that one will have over there..

Anyway, back to things.....
Think about all of the garden tools, lawnmower, scredrivers paint brushes etc etc etc that you have. Will you be buying ALL that stuff again?

I am told that Bishops are a good company to ask for an estimate, in fact I have a friend who moved to New ZEaland who took two cars, three motorcycles and the entire contents of his house and shed for £7000:00p

spanishgirl

Hi

I'm supposed to be clearing out, but I can't resist just checking for a reply ...
The property we have doesn't have a big garden, just a large terrace with a pebble garden and enough room for two trees (one of them a lemon tree for my gin and tonics ; - ), so we won't need lots of gardening stuff.

My husband will be taking his diy gear and all the valuable things men keep in their sheds and garages (within reason of course). I'm just trying to start getting rid of the things we have had for years and hardly ever used.

I'll get a quote from Bishops and see what their estimate is like.

We won't have lots of space (but enough I think). We want to try and live more simply and use everything that we have, not keeping things for 'best'. I think I read somewhere that you spend the first half of your life accumulating possessions, and the second half trying to get rid of them. I can certainly identify with that just at the moment.

Is the weather good where you are? We've just had a few days of horrible wet, cold weather here in Yorkshire. I can't wait until next year!

Regards.

Linda

TheArmChairDetective

Hi Linda,
No the weather here has been fine, cold but fine.
So you have a lemon tree?????
Are you selling up completely in the uk?
What will you do for work?
How long have you been planning your relocation?
regards
ACD

Spanishliferules

Linda, don't panic you seem to have done the same as we did. you are going to meet amasing people, new friends and just love it and hopefully never want to return ecexpt for pleasure or unfortunall y loss

spanishgirl

So did you go through the same feelings? I'm so excited about it all, but there seems so much to do. What did you do about your belongings etc? Did you risk waiting and buying your euros when you needed them, or did you forward buy?

I'm not trying to be 'nosy', just finding out the best way to do things. I can't wait until we are there next year. If you've any good advice, please tell ; o )

Regards.

Linda

spanishgirl

Hi ACD

Perhaps its a small lemon bush in a pot! As long as it has lemons on. Yes, we are selling up completely in the UK. My husband took early retirement, so he has a pension. That should keep us ticking over until he gets his state pension. He is an electrician by trade, working as a service technician in white goods, so if anyone needed any lights fixing, washers mending etc, he could do it. Not as a big business, just as a bit of pin money. I have a few more years to go until retirement. I am working at the moment in a Resource Centre as a Library Assistant.

I wouldn't mind looking after villas and cleaning them if there was that type of work available. I've worked full time for quite a lot of years now, and just want to do something different (including sitting in the sun reading, maybe even writing a book) and just chilling out.

I am a worker, however, so if there was anything I could do, I would be there. I realise that without speaking fluent Spanish (I don't, but we are working on that ...) we would be at the bottom of the stack. We'll just see when we get there.

Its a wet, dismal Monday morning here in the UK. Do you have blue skies where you are?

Regards.

Linda

Spanishliferules

]
Yes
I think it would be more unnatural not to have concerns and worries.

I did take all the necessary things over from the UK; fortunately I had a unit to self-store the equipment, and then found a man in a large van. It took him two visits; I looked at several options airfreight, specialist removal firms, and part container. The biggest problem was getting to know which day it would finding its destination, so a dedicated driver and van I found best option, and also the best value for money.

The euro well it’s a lottery, you will have to make your own decision on this, I am absolutely useless when it comes to money, always in the wrong place, when I put my deposit down exchange was 1.46 euros to the pound, with it in the past being higher I hoped for better, unfortunately I failed and finally got a business rate of 1.38 for completion. I only had to 10% deposit believed me the point’s make a difference.

My biggest problem was turning up to find I had no electricity or water, this I had left in the hands of the estate agent, which in fairness to them all the necessary paperwork had been done and sent. But I was just on the list to be done at sometime or another.

I, what you would call made the connections illegally, they were soon out to do them then!!

coralsoft

Linda,
You'll probably find it easier to sell or give away things in the UK before moving as the opportunities for 2nd-hand sales may be a bit more restricted for expats unfamiliar with the culture and language. Having said that, we were way too busy, so ended up bringing masses of junk with us that we are still clearing out after 4 years.

Do think carefully about items that might not be available over here. Most things are, but it can be difficult to find some things, because the retail culture is different: fewer branch stores and identical high streets, so finding the place that sells a certain item can be difficult.

We had a shipping company bring everything over that we wanted to bring. They were a contact through Spanish friends, so probably not relevant, but they have a Brit handling the UK side, with some UK-based help. They've also handled 2 moves for us within Spain, but I can't remember the name.

We found it well worthwhile on each occasion having them come in a day or 2 beforehand to do all the packing as well, though make sure you know where the short-term essentials are and keep them separate if possible, to bring over yourself. My wife's car keys were one of the first things packed on one move and she had to ride in the van with the children, leaving the car for me to pick up later by catching the train back to the old house with my keys.

Their packing was excellent and even labelling was OK - they also handle all the export/import paperwork. They did more in a couple of hours than we did in 3 weeks of evenings and weekends. On insurance, we took a gamble. We reasoned that anything broken would be fairly minor and losses would have to be the result of the ship going down or something, so full replacement would be a major hassle that we'd have to pay for even if money would eventually cover it; or, like our paintings, they would be irreplaceable even if paid out by insurance, since they are unique. Nothing was broken, so we saved about £800.

TheArmChairDetective

How are things going for you and the move Linda?

Chiclanagir

Just a warning about Bishops Move. We used them to move to Chiclana in Costa de Luz. They lost three of our boxes which included all my husband's winter clothes (yes you do need them) bedding and kitchen equipment. Part of the contract for which we paid was to unpack the Spanish end. Basically they dumped everything in the lounge and said they had another job to go to and left. On contacting them back in the UK we were firstly told that we would have part of the money paid refunded. Nothing happened so I wrote to the M.D. after much correspondence I got nowhere and was just sent an insurance form. As we had only paid for the expensive items to insure, i.e. t.v. furniture there was no point in filling in an insurance form. As I am sure you will understand I do NOT recommend this company.