Mcgreevy1

My husband and I are considering relocating to Spain, we are in our mid sixties but are young at heart so not ready for the too quiet life yet. Where do we begin? any help would be greatly appreciated

bob_bob

Your type of question has been asked so many times, why not spend some time reading old posts?

missile

Here > Guidelines for posters

spainrico

Start here

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-spain

then if you have specific questions...

Retired in Euskadi

You really need to narrow your search, as your request for help is too general.
You could begin by reading books about living in Spain (available in public libraries) such as "living and working in Spain" by David Hampshire. Then ask yourselves any of the following:

where would we like to live in Spain? It's a large and varied country with climates to suit.
will there be many British people there or don't we mind?
how will we cope with the language/should we enrol this Sept for Spanish classes?
what about health cover?
will we have enough money to live on?
do we sell our property in the UK and if not, what shall we do with it?
would we want to be fairly close to an airport?
what will we do when we are there?
what if one of us falls seriously ill?

I hope that helps you somewhat.

spainrico

Yes, useful advice but I would warn against reading out of date books - things change very fast and dated books can be very misleading, so make sure any books are current and recently published - same with some internet sites as well.

Mcgreevy1

Leper

You're in your mid sixties and according to yourself are not ready for the quiet life yet. You're waiting for Brexit and the consequences. After Brexit there probably will be something else. If you are going to do something then do it. Don't be hanging around until most of us in the quiet life have given you all the advice you need for the fast lane. You need to take control of your destiny. I presume you're retired. What's slowing you up? Start looking for a 3 month rental off season (no better time than now). Pack a small suitcase each. Start to live the dream in some area that you think will suit you. You have got to start somewhere - so get off the couch and start living. It's easier than you think and cheaper. Believe me, you will know a few weeks into that 3 month "recce" if Spain is for you. Meanwhile, the rest of us in the quiet life will get on with it.

Oh! Best of Luck, must go, glass of tinto waiting for me on the terrace . . . . I love this quiet life, so does my wife.

. . .

bobd22

That is very sound advive from Leper which I can vouch for personally, having bought a property 10 years ago which we had planned on retiring to around 5 years ago, something will always come along to affect your plans. It has for us been financial crash , increase in pension age for females and Brexit. I have tried to plan and jump through more hoops than you can imagine. We are still not there full time yet but are now running out of time with Brexit. The ideal time will never be there I'm afraid especially trying to fathom out Brexit and things it may throw up. To that end I am hoping to obtain residency on my next visit (2nd time I will add because of uncertainties) in the hope that at 65 next year there will be some sort of Brexit deal and we will get the S1. Trouble is more you wait less of what you planned for your retirement you can do as you can't stop getting older. Things I wanted to do in retirement I now can't . So as Leper says give it a go or forget your dream alltogether. If it doesn't work out at least you tried rather than just dreamed about it.

Mcgreevy1

Mcgreevy1

Smithy73

That would depend on if they are charging you?

Mcgreevy1

spainrico

They have been doing these viewing trips for 20 years plus so naturally, there are horror stories and others who have had a more satisfactory experience. All depends on the sales team you get and how much pressure they apply.

Smithy73

Generally the focus is on you buying a property! You will have little time to yourselves and you can imagine, viewing 8/10 properties a day is VERY heavy going!
Doing this for 3 or 4 days is way over the top. It may sound like a cheap way for you to come and have a look, but you will not get to see an area like this. You will only see what the agent wants you to see, including the properties they really want to shift.This is not a way for you to come and find out whether you want to come and live in Spain… Forget the romantic idea of being shown properties like on A Place in the Sun. This will be hard sell for the time you are with them.I would suggest you come for a month. Try looking on AirBnB in the areas that you feel you would like to see or an area you could use as a base. Contact property owners by sending them a message via the website. As January and February is going to be off peak and very quiet for many AirBnB landlords, suggest via a rental of €400-500 for the month plus the electric for a two bed flat. If you message a dozen properties on AirBnB, you should get a couple of offers… Hire a car, come and see for yourself which areas you might like to buy in!You can email agents when you are here if you have a smartphone or tablet.