kelterjon

Anyone living in or near this area? (Alicante provence)

Solarwhizz

Yep, what do you need to Know??

kelterjon

Hi there,
just general things like, what are the schools, shops, bars, Restaurants, people and the area as a whole like? Any information would be greatly appreciated, thanks .

big wheels

I do not know the area. But "las Nieves" in the name suggests that it may get a bit nippy in the winter.

BW

kelterjon

Just some information about the name =
"Local legend states that la Virgen de las Nieves (the Virgin of the Snows) made a miraculous appearance in the location of Hondón de las Nieves in 1418. The sighting led to the village's name today, Hondón de las Nieves (Gorge of the Snows),
Despite snow being a fundamental part of the village's name, rest assured that Hondón de las Nieves boasts a brilliant climate with around 320 days of warm sunshine a year."

Solarwhizz

As you say it is a nice Valley. there are two main towns(Villages) in the Hondons as the local expats call the area. Las Nieves, and Los Frailes ( The friars), there are some pretty fantastic smaller villages , the Expat population is quite large, and there has been extensive building of chalet type homes for the Expat market, a lot of these fall into the category of approved by the local Mayor but not on the urban plan, so could be problematic, care must be taken when purchasing IMV!!
Hondon had snow last year for about three days, and just a smattering the year before. I was on a rooftop about two weeks ago in Mascivenda about 5Kms from Hondon Nieves and it was freezing cold with biting wind and hailstones, but as u say, generally it is really good.

The whole area has seen a surge of regeneration over the last two years with a new road going into Barinas and on down to Fortuna, with a few localised industrial units popping up on the outskirts of the towns.The area is fairly low cost for living with extensive bars and some really good restaurants ( The Fish restaruant in Barinas (Casa Felix) is somewhat legendary!!
Cant help on schools, as |I dont know, however the school buildings are all modern and towns generally are clean and well cared for by the local Ayuntamiento's. The area looks fabulous in the spring when the blossom is on the almonds and other fruits, All in I would say a really nice place. The only downside I can see in the area is that the local Marble factories are taking the tops of the mountains surrounding creating some eyesores in places!!

There is good access to Elche which has major shopping centre's, and once the new road to Fortuna via Barinas is finished Murcia city wil be only 35 Mins away and that is one Fabulous place for a great mix of traditional spanish and modern shopping centres, with the old city a must for a touristic type visit.

One other advantage if you are not of retired age is that the area is in the Alicante province so you will be able to apply for health care (Communidad de Valencia) in the Spanish System,

kelterjon

Thanks for all that information, it's nice to hear other peoples thoughts on where we are going to be living, as not much about it on this forum.,
Do you live in the area solarwhizz?

jrob

Could you explain 'not of retired age' with regards to heath care.

Solarwhizz

I Live about 10Kms away Near Canada del Trigo, just over the regional border in Murcia.
The reason I mentioned the health care, is that leaving aside private health care There are various ways u can qualify for care under the Spanish Health system.
Being of pensionable age IE ( over 65 Men or 60 Women) is one of the qualifiers,(I should have used that expression rather than retired age!)
However in Valencia Community which includes Alicante, for some reason unkown to me they accept citizens of other EU countries for health care providing they can prove they have no access (or qualify) to health care in their own country. IE if you leave UK and take up residence you are no longer able to get health care in the UK. (although this is not true as I have been using both for some years now, as the records or management systems of both countries seem to be in total chaos and the DR's in the UK seem to accept that I live in the UK as I dont tell them otherwise, and in Spain I pay into the system thru virtue of employment and therefore registered with the local Centro.) Confusing but fact!!

jrob

Ta very much for info