lovingthesun

I have come to love where I live - although I was very homesick at first.

I think that we are in an ideal location - an hour to the east of Málaga and 30 minutes inland from the coast. Also an hour from the pleasant resort of Nerja and about 90 mins from Granada and the Sierra Nevada.

We are in a hamlet 5 mins drive from a medium sized town/village (pop 3,500) which has all amenities - shops, restaurants, health centre, library, gym etc.

There are some expats - but not too many, and those that wish to mix seem to get on well though there are many others that prefer to keep to themselves or mix with a small group of friends.

All in all - pretty perfect I think

(we also moved over with a cat and a dog and that went well - though now, despite vowing not too - we also have 4 rescue cats and 6 rescue dogs!)

Domino

I seem to remember some tv prog, probably from France where some expats were taking a bottle or a jug in and shopkeeper just filled it up from a barrel. HMRC would shudder off their stools.

Rosemary

Many years ago it was the same in UK.

Rosemary

Domino

I do remember real ale came direct from the barrel, was a pub on Cambs\Beds border that poured the real ale direct from the spigot - really lovely pint of of Well Bombardier, then the refurb team moved in and it had to come down a grotty pipe. That would have been about 1978 (?). The Watneys Red Barrel era ruined all that though. Earlier abt 1969 (?) remember being in Aus and being served with a large jug of lager - that was a novelty!!

Mitzyboy

Can you check your pm please

stevesainty

Hello Sandradmrsp

Jill & I are making the move in 2012 and have already done lots of research and a couple of trips/holidays to sus out a few areas.
Properties away from the coast even a few km's seem to be a lot cheaper.
There is a downside to this though, for us at least, in that the further away from the coast you get the necessity to have a car increases and also the temperatures are much lower out of the summer season. There are large areas of population in certain parts of the coast and consequently everything you need, shops, restaurants, bars, supermarkets, DIY stores etc. to service this population. There is also more chance of public transport on the coast.
This is important to us as we do not want to move once we are too old and doddery to drive a car, a good 20-30 years away but a consideration.

Don't get hung up about Brit enclaves because there are also lots of other nationalities that tend to live in groups. Usually though there are good mixes with lots of Spanish also. You may also need to speak to someone in your own language sometimes and knowing where the Brits are may be useful. We have been told though, to be wary about help and information given by the Brits as they may not have your interests foremost in their minds.

Southern Costa Blanca and Murcia tend to be drier than further north and south in the spring and autumn. The winter temperatures in CB are also higher than further north and south. Although the Ayamonte area, close to the Portuguese border has milder winters also; probably because it is the Atlantic coast

All this information was gleaned from looking at average weather information from various internet sites. Members of this forum will have their own opinions as they actually live there so their insight will be more helpful.

It is difficult to get general information about local taxation even car tax as every area seems to have its own way of doing things or interprets the rules differently. Even simple things like getting a mobile phone contract need official paperwork of one sort or another. This is something we are finding from replies to our postings here.

Anyway all the answers are here on the forum, you just need to ask or search previous threads. Everyone is very helpful but you do have to put up with some ribbing and banter along the way which adds to the fun

Good luck with your move

Steve & Jill

whitelinen

Well, one thing less for you both not to worry about because the annual vehicle tax is computerised. The rate is set locally and is not open for discussion or wrong interpretation.

The rate is not National nor even Regional. It is local, i.e. set by the Town Hall where the vehicle is registered. Therefore the same car, same age, same spec. can and does attract a different rat of tax in different areas.

stevesainty

Didn't I just say that?

Dick Dasterdly

Not many round my way waste their time with bottles or jugs, it's usually run off into 5 ltr water containers or similar, a few at a time.
Their cars are often creaking under the weight when they drive off.
As for barrels they'd be a waste of time as well, as it comes direct out of a number of giant containers through seven different big taps, one for each type of wine and I've yet to see one of them run dry.
There's quite often a few locals already legless when I go down there at 10am on a Saturday morning.
The best of the wines actually costs over 1 euro a ltr locally, and at least six times as much in the big cities where it is highly rated, so in between serving the locals in bulk, the staff are kept busy running some off into expensive looking bottles with fancy labels, some of it then being packed into presentation boxes before being sent off.

Dick Dasterdly

I suppose the beauty of it is that it's produced on site and is virtually direct from farmers to customers, as far as the locals are concerned anyway.
Almost no mark ups at all from in between ppl. like greedy merchants, shopkeepers, restauranteurs and all the rest who normally grab such a big slice of the action, in fact many of the customers are the farmers and grape producers themselves, so no chance of anyone getting ripped off.

bmspiller

The area of Spain where we have bought a property could suit you. Lebrija is a market town, about 15 miles from Jerez and about the same distance to the coast. This is Costa de la Luz, on Spain's Atlantic coast and completely different to the rest of Spain's southern coastline. There is a very small British community in the development where our property is, but otherwise it is a very Spanish town and area. There is a rail connections from the town are currently being improved and will include the high speed rail link to Madrid (at the moment the train routes are to Cadiz, Seville - both about an hour away in opposite directions and of course Jerez).

We haven't moved to live there (yet) - we bought the property as an investment and rent it out - but have always enjoyed visits. There's lots to do in the area - walking, golf, birdwatching (the Donana national park is about half and hour away.

Domino

I remember someone (can't remember who) said to me "The downside to Spanish wine is it doesn't seem to come with screwtop bottles very often" when I replied "why would a country that grows the corks want to fit screw tops and do themselves out of business" he could only reply with a muted "mmmm"
I know it is possible and now the supermarkets are supplying in plastic tops and cardboard bricks but still applies in general.

Fred James

A lot of Spanish wines now have plastic corks.

HBG

Although I could fill all sorts of containers with all sorts of local, cheap wine, I much prefer pouring mine from a proper, glass bottle, I find it tastes better.

I'm always amazed to find that wine can be cheaper than water if bought direct from those containers, it doesn't seem right.

lovingthesun

Mine comes out of a Lidl Brik - mixed 50/50 with tap water and ice



(OH says I'm cheap to run!)