hotchick

Hi guys although this is my first post I have been watching this forum for sometime. I thought it was best to take a dip in the water and start asking a few questions.

My new husband and I have decided to buy a home in the sun , we have decided on Spain due to flight times mainly.

We like our homes to be isolated but within half an hours drive to action - good clubs , casinos etc . We need an up market area and preferably one without too many British expats. Also we would prefer not to be on the coast, yes I know strange but we much prefer the beauty of inland Spain and the quiet traditional life unless we choose otherwise and decide on the action area

I know you are not estate agents but just to give you an idea of our ideal property it would be a 10 bedroom farmhouse with at least 10 acres for our horses.

If any of you have any ideas of an area that may be worth us looking into it would be very much appreciated .

Rosemary

As Concierges for the Spanish section of BE we 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 us know if you need any further help.

Rosemary and Graham

cricketman

Hi Hotchick

Seeing that you live in Chelsea then I guess that budget isnt a problem. A 10 bed farmhouse with 10 acres closs the coast, you're talking about 2 million euros plus, especially in an "upmarket" area (though not sure what that means in the countryside)

Since you want sun I'll ignore the North Coast. In the rest of Spain there are 2 areas where they do lovely traditional large farmhouses. Catalunya and Andalucia. In Andulucia I would concentrate on the Cádiz/Sevilla area where they have the traditional cortijos and in Catalunya, inland between Girona and Barcelona where they have incredible stone masias.

However, a half hour drive to the Coast is maybe being optimistic if you want to experience rural beauty. Probably would be more like an hour's drive to the Coast, maybe more

Personally I would go for a casona de indianos or palacete in Asturias which are stunning (and cheaper), but the weather is more like the UK and flights to the UK arent the best

fionamw

There are plenty of large old cortijos/Lugares/Fincas not very far inland from Malaga, but I'm guessing that wouldn't seem 'upmarket' enough nor close enough to 'good' clubs and casinos... ( just realised the word upmarket relating to campo has already been spotted as questionable!)Not that country houses can't be extremely classy, in my view they are frequently more so than urban properties unless quite old. But specifying 'upmarket?' .............


sorry, devil's advocate in me.... which part of chelsea is isolated and half an hour's drive from action?

agoreira

Perhaps the clue is in the title, a retreat, so presumably a retreat from Chelsea. Mind you, I have reservations about the whole post.

fionamw

Glad you said it first

jackytoo

Sotogrande, good enough for some of the sherry families so fine for trolls

steviedeluxe

Have you considered northern Mallorca? I know it's not inland Spain, but the scenery there is held to be as beautiful as anywhere. Plus. it's a place where even royalty can blend in. IIRC plenty of casino life on Mallorca too.

ononno

Do I smell a celebrity?

Mitzyboy

Well, I'm not!

jonnyx

Do you mean something like this:
Finca for sale in Alhaurín el Grande, Málaga, Spain

jackytoo

For those of you who are comfortably off and have a string of horses, sotogrande is ideal. There is a Polo ground and many members of the horse fraternity have cortijos ther including the Domeq family. (even sarah Ferguson and her lovely daughters sometimes stay there). There is a casino about 15 mins away. If you want to berth your yacht the marina is very nice.

I don't think the Alhaurín area will be upmarket enough for the Chelsea set

cricketman

Yes Alhaurn El Grande is more Chelmsford than Chelsea

hotchick

Actually jonny that doesn't look half bad, not sure if the land is big enough for the ponies. Only just thought we could maybe buy seperate land close for them anyway - I will look futher into the area - Thanks

I wasn't expecting any leads to actual properties only areas

hotchick

Could you explain this Jacky ? trolls ? does that mean it is a cave area ?