Sky_Captain

Hi everyone, we have been lurking for a while now, reading a lot and have finally joined up

We are looking to relocate to Spain but are a little unsure where would best suit our needs. We have been visiting and looking at areas and property for the best part of 3 years now and don't seem to be any further on. Unfortunately we have been caught out by some wide boy estate agents who weren't very honest or truthful with what can be and what can't be done with properties and land

My partner suffers with an extremely rare form of Rheumatoid Arthritis which is getting progressively worse and isn't being helped by the damp and wet Uk weather. She benefits greatly from dry hot weather as this seems to reduce her flare ups therefore dramatically improving her quality of life.

Our aim is to integrate fully into a Spanish community and become as self-sufficient as possible, growing out own organic fruit and veg along with keeping Chickens and Goats. Our end goal is to have our parents join us in Spain to live with us for the rest of their retirement.

We are looking to live in a quite area but not too remote as Doctor & Hospital visits will still be required due to her ongoing mediation and the various tests needed. We aren't interested in or want to be near the typical "ex-pat" areas, sorry if this offends anyone but this really isn't for us.

Her profession is Graphic Design/Marketing, mine is Conservation. Therefore she requires mains electric, good internet and telephone lines and I would like good fertile land with the area we live in.

I don't feel like I have even begun to scratch the surface with what I could write in this thread but I don't want to waffle on and bore you all to death with irrelevant details

We would be grateful for any input, advice and pointers

stuboy

Welcome to the forum skycaptain, If you have seriously been looking for three years then you should have a rough idea which part of Spain would suit you both. Your partners condition is clearly a major issue in your decision making process but I would suggest you consider the Canary Islands. Winters across Spain can be very cold, wet and damp. You wish to integrate fully into a Spanish community away from the ex-pat areas, that's fine. I just hope you can speak fluent Spanish. The good news is that mains electric is available in many parts of Spain but good internet connections/speed is a bit hit and miss.

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

missile

Certainly not Galicia it always seems to be raining there

cricketman

Yes in Galicia it rains more than most of the UK

Probably the Canaries would be your best bet. Almeria is very dry, after all, it has a desert there. Not sure how your farmyard animals would get on in the arid conditions.

The internet will be a problem. With graphic design you need very high speed internet for the images. Anywhere outside of the cities this will be very difficult

Do you have lots of savings or a full book of clients to work from home? You would need to pay a minimum of 260 euros per month social security each if you want to work as self-employed.

Sky_Captain

Thanks for the reply Studboy, we thought we did which is why we were originally looking at the Valencia, Alicante & Castellon areas but after another visit recently with the temperatures hitting just under 40 degrees celsius we realised that animals would be hard to keep as cricketman has mentioned below. Our Spanish is a little rusty but once we have been down there for a few days it soon returns.

Thanks Rosemary

Hi Missile, it's not rain as such just high humidity and damp cold weather.

Hi cricketman, we have enough to buy a property and all associated costs and live for 2 years. Regarding work I would be happy working in Conservation in Spain for one of the groups already down there. Regarding the missus, her work can be done part-time and she is also prepared to work for some one rather than remain self-employed.

cricketman

Unemployment is at 27%. what can you give that the 6 million unemployed cannot? Do you have a job to work into at one of the conservation groups?

If you have to get a job in Spain to survive that I would advise you not to do it

There will be no graphic design jobs in the countryside anyway

mikelincs

also the more rural you go, the less your internet connection will be, if you can get one even. There are conservation groups on the Costas, but they are usually invilved in stopping areas being developed, however the costas, and the canaries will get extremely hot in summer, and keeping animals is very hard work, which is why the most farmed animals in those places are goats and sheep.

Dick Dasterdly

Chickens and goats, you can keep just about anywhere, providing of course that they are kept very secure.

There is no perfect or even near perfect all year climate on mainland Spain, though that could be said of virtually everywhere in Europe.
The N.W. is about the only place you might avoid the extreme Summer temperatures, but as mentioned the rainfall up there is usually higher than that in the UK.

The Western Canaries is the nearest you'll get to a well balanced climate.
Like the mainland it still gets pretty hot in Summer, but with the micro climates that vary around the islands you can usually find somewhere comfortable plus the major benefit is the very mild Winters around the coastal areas.

Getting your hands on a little Finca out there would be your biggest problem.
Many such places were abandoned during Francos years, the owners going off to S.and C. America.
I tried for best part of ten years to find a suitable place, lots and lots available, but most with no valid escritura.
Some have taken the gamble only to find that a descendant of some long forgotten inhabitant turns up and says sorry, but this place is mine.

However, that is not to say it's impossible, there are some fully legal ones around, but I imagine a half decent one will still be like gold dust, even in these troubled times.