forry

thanks to everyone who has posted. great advice.
The reason for wanting to live in an expat community is for familiarality to begin with.
We are not ignorant to the fact that we need to learn spanish and we are doing so just now.

A mix of spanish and british would be great. Also for location on the coast or just inland would be ideal.

I doubt we will live in a city so towns would probably be better for us.

I may be able to work as a freelance designer for my current employer which would make things so much easier for us.

i suppose our main issue is location. the reason i was interested in Malaga was the fact i know there are a lot of web design agencies there. If i am freelancing then anywhere on the east coast of spain which isnt to far away from an airport and near a main town would be great.

As you can tell i dont really know where to start.

Once we have a location we will probably visit for 2 or 3 weeks to see what it is like.

How is the health care in spain. is it wise to take out private health insurance.

thanks again for all your input

bxpuser24710519

Stubborn Scot still says Sevilla area :-)
I am 12km west of the town, great hospital in the area, many in Sevilla, local health centres dentist and Piedatric doctor, good schools and only an hour and 1/4 from the beach.

There are many villages/small towns on the outskirts which have good bus service. Sevilla has a cycle scheme which is great from families getting around to see the sights parks etc.

I am 3/4 hr from Sevilla Airport. Trains from Sevilla to many destinations. Most urbs have play areas for the kids. There is a municipal pool etc here along with many cafes/bars if you want them.


:-)

olivetree

We live about 40 min south east of Seville, a lovely area. Hot is summer but the winters are mild, very few really cold mornings, and if it is cold in the morning it normally warms up by mid morning!

Like Rumpuss, we lived close to Villanueva de Algaidas for a while, a lovely friendly village. Seville also has a tram system which is being extended out.
If you can be covered under the Spanish health system you will get excellent care (going by friends experiences) We are not yet old enough to be covered by the health system ,(not retirement age yet) we pay into a private health insurance.
We are extremely happy with our move here, any regrets? None at all!

Cazzy1

Are you thinking of renting or buying a property?
Don't be frightened of trying to integrate with the Spanish, you will find that if you live in an inland area as long as you make the effort so will the Spanish!
I agree with the captains wench... Sevilla province!!

forry

Hi, we will be renting as we do not want to commit until we are sure it is the right move for all of us.
Does anyone know if rental contracts are in english and what is the usual 'long term' period. i know in scotland to rent it is usually in blocks of 6 months.

I am all for integrating with the spanish people, afterall it is there country. i love the language and do speak a bit although i have started learning more.

theres nothing better than having a conversation in an other language. especially when you know what you are saying.haha

thanks

onlineamiga

Not read all the thread so sorry if this has already been mentioned. But professional IT work is all in Gibraltar now. Forget Costa Del Sol, there is no professional industry there at all. Short of setting up your own business to make websites for other local brit business, there wont be much in the way of sustained work on the Costa Del Sol.

Gib is a big financial hub, and you have the online gaming industry here, so plenty and plenty of web work here for big established companies such as William Hill, Betfred, Ladbrookes, 888 etc.

forry

Hi, thanks for the comment. i dont really fancy gibraltar although estepona isnt far away from it.

i have looked into web agencies in malaga and there seems to be a good few.
i may be able to work for my current employer from spain which would be great.

We havent set our sights solely on malaga region but do want to be pretty near the coast or with a good distance from it.

How did you find being homesick. im worried my wife will get it pretty bad. i have lived in oz so i know how it feels but i think you do get past it

thanks

bxpuser24710519

Never been homesick and that surpirsed me when I realsied it. Mind you I came to be with man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with no matter where he was. He got to spend the rest if his life with me albeit cut short. Even after his death my first thoughts were I will go back to Scotland at some time but NO I am staying here, they would have to drag me away screaming I think. It would be easier in my native tongue and not alone but hey life is an adventure every day

forry

ye i think if you were meant to be somewhere then you will feel comfortable there. life certainly is an adventure.
Scotland looks like spain today. its really hot which is nice.

bxpuser24710519

My sis will be pleased :-)

anninspain

Unfortunately Malaga is awash with unemployed graduates and young professionals at the moment. Unemployment is 31% and 45% for under 25s in Malaga. Unless you are completely bilingual you will struggle to find work.
Gibraltar is always looking for web designers and they pay almost double the wages you would get in Spain and almost no unemployment. I admit however it is more British than Britain but you don't have to live there, you can live in Spain and commute. That way if the work from you current employer ceases, you have options.
You could look at the area between Estapona and Tarrifa or inland to Jimena de la Frontera.
Good luck.

Domino

May I suggest you take onboard the caution by other posters - Spain can be a very beautiful place but also very lonely if you have no job.

If you find the Malage area really for you then try out http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/cer...aga/index.html and explore the new coastal railway which I used a couple of months ago for the airport - fast, clean, excellent service. This will allow you to travel to work at low stress.

Good Luck

teuchterpete

Spain is a very large country and Andalucia is a large and varied area.
My wife and I left England to live on a Scottish Island to raise our family. We have now sold our house to by one in a pretty inland town in Seville. We set our priorities made a database and spent about a year looking at all of the properties in our price range. We decided that we would like the south but inland. ( you need to narrow it down before you start looking at houses) We then set an area ( in our case it was around Cordoba/Seville/Granada/ area)
We then spent the whole year looking at houses on the web and talking to agents. Finally we then spent a fortnight at a motorway hotel from which we travelled each day to visit a selection of houses. It was hard work and very hot! But having done the ground work we knew what we could get for our money. Happily we found a house in a pretty town ( Estepa, Sevilla) where we are going to retire next year.
Hope this is of some help. But remember its is YOUR dream. How much do you want to fulfill it?
Pete.

forry

Hi, i will certainly take on board everyones advice. Our plan is to go for a year to see how we get so the location will be a huge factor in determining weather we stay for good or not along with work.

This is why i want to get a good location. i suppose it is one of the hardest parts of the whole process. 'teuchterpete' gave soem good advice.

i have been trying to narrow down one area to look at. the coast of andalucia is large so will take some time.

We plan to come over next year in march time for 2 weeks and we can look at rentals and areas then.

i have seen the area of majis costa which look snice. does anyone know what this area is like. Again we do want a mix of expat and spanish community

thanks

Cazzy1

We live very close to Estepa, it is a lovely town and we have lots of friends there (both Spanish and English) If you want any information on the area please ask me.
Caz