Re: Moving to Spain
 

Inland, plenty. Depends just HOW close you want to be amenities (and what you mean by amenities, come to that...;) for some a Dia is enough to keep them going through several weeks with a top-up from Eroski or wherever every so often, others HAVE to have Iceland and Dunnes on tap within 10 minutes....each to their own!) And as for not too touristy, well that is always a good one for debate/brickbats, I'd say there are plenty of places East of Malaga before you get to Torre del Mar; only a short stretch of coast but only *really* touristy in high summer (and then mainly Spanish families anyway). Inland, well oodles as I said. If you can do it it really is worth doing what everyone suggests, namely come on a reccy and preferably stay in rented for a good long while so you can pick up sticks and move on if you decide the area isn't right for you for whatever reason. And bear in mind too the reasons don't always become apparent immediately. It might be a gradual dawning on you that, say, 25 minutes is too far for your liking to get to a decent beach or cinema or shopping mall, or 45 minutes might be just fine or....... but give yourself options to begin with.

Re Cman's point about rents: well I know there is some evidence but that too is very area-specific.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Sure, everything is area specific but I have a ton of evidence

Our flat in Benalmadena Pueblo was rented out for 1200 euros in 2005, we've been paying 900 for the past 3 years. Now similar ones are going for 700

We paid 1350 euros for our flat in Barcelona 5 years ago, now the same flat is going for 1000 euros

Places are renting for half 2005 prices in some areas, especially the upmarket places e.g. seafront in Marbella, big flats in the city centres. The people who used to flash the cash dont have it any more. I'm flat hunting myself this week in the North, same story there.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I hope OP is looking in the areas that are dropping! (I think it's just that we're looking in a particularly expensive side of Malaga>>:eek:)

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Thankyou Fiona and cricketman for your replies, good point about amenities Fiona, we will be walking everywhere so what I meant was things such as a place to buy food etc reasonably priced within walking distance, a doctor nearby in an area that is safe for us to live where we can rent a small place for a low cost and just live a peaceful life basically, that probably sounds vague but we are in our late 40's, my partner has a visual impairement and we are not into clubs, eating out etc, we just want somewhere we can live within our means, that is a pleasant place to live and where we can easily go and visit my daughter in Holland and my other family and friends in the UK when we want to.We would like to be within walking distance of the sea too but realise that inland is probably cheaper, any ideas of particular areas that might suit would be very welcome.

We would also like to be able to have the internet so we can contact friends and family and it would be nice if there are a few english speaking people in the area because although my partner speaks fluent Spanish, I dont and it would be nice to be able to make friends with spanish and english people in the area.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

You will both have to budget for private health insurance and remember that it will not cover pre-existing conditions.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Hi,

Get on the internet and look at areas like Yecla Murcia or Caudete in Albacete these areas are within a hour of Alicante airport and beaches and rentals are very reasonable. These areas are very 'Spanish' although are host to some expats and compared to costal areas it is very reasonably priced for most things. The area is mainly agricultural and the local people are an absolute pleasure to be with, nothing is too much trouble and we certainly keep them amused with our Spanglish!

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Yes whitelinen, we realise that will be a problem and my partner does have pre existing conditions but we have that problem here in Chile too so we have to find a way to deal with that, we do have savings behind us and we will do more research about the health insurance aspect when we get settled in Spain, thankyou for your post though, it is a consideration that needs sorting out

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Thankyou metalmike, will research those areas, very helpful

Re: Moving to Spain
 

I think you may find Spain very expensive if you are on a modest income. To cover the typical costs of rent, food, utilities, internet, transport, medical et al your realistically looking at needing a minimum of €1400/$2000US a month and that level won't leave much to go toward flights to the UK.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

So either the rents were too high or there is an element of desperation - lets face it, a let at very small profit is better than no let at all.

back in UK the rents are rising as the housing culture is turning from owning to renting, our house was originally assessed at £550-600 in November and the agent is now expecting to market at £700 to accept £650.

however, I believe the UK properties are better built, but that could be the subject of another thread or six.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Thankyou bob for your reply, at present we are living in Chile which is also very expensive and I take on board what you have said, we are just hoping to be able to strike it lucky and find a very reasonably priced rental and then be able to manage the other costs on top of that, we do have savings as a back up so will give it a try and see what happens, I need to lose weight anyway so who needs food, lol :)

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Rents are definitely falling - especially in rural areas. Spain isn't very attractive at the moment, and most people haven't much money. Supply and demand.

I have no clue what cost of living in Chile is (you say "expensive", but that's relative to what?). If you're going to be living on a peso economy, be sure to accurately calculate the high value of the Euro into pesos before coming to a conclusion (1000 Euros per month may sound much better than 50000 pesos, but look at the real value of those pesos in Euros) - and also be sure to figure in the high cost of utilities, VAT and other living costs here. Perhaps Chile is even worse, but you don't know that until you really know.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

The British always favoured "owning" (traditionally, it's been a solid investment far more sesnsible than renting).

In contrast, the Germans have always been a "renting" culture. Property values in Germany have remained mostly stagnant for a decade or more. It's not a great investment there.

Here, well, the reasons are obvious.

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Another place to consider might be Velez Malaga in Andalucia, it has all the benefits of a big town,(shops, supermarkets,culture,Cinema, Dr's, dentist's, hospital) good regular bus service to Malaga (45 mins-1hr bus station, think about 6 euros total) then on to Airport, either bus or train (20 mins, 2-3 euros). also tram and regular buses from Velez down to seaside( torre del mar) about 3 kilometres, lovely town, nice beach, popular Spanish seaside resort and town with all facilities.
I am sorry I cannot tell you about rental costs here but I am sure there is plenty of info online or maybe some BE members may know, there is also regular but not frequent buses from Velez bus station to the surrounding Pueblo Blanco's in the hills and mountains which have vibrant communities of all nationalities, also if your husband has asthma the drier climate down south may suit him better.
Malaga airport has great connections and cheap carriers.
Good luck !

BB

Re: Moving to Spain
 

Thankyou for your replies amideslas, Chile is expensive compared to our home countries of England and USA, my partner's pension is coming from America and and our savings are in England so we are not using a peso economy although the dollar is not very strong against the Euro right now