jood

Hi
Hubby and I are expats living in rural Ontario at the moment; we're thinking of moving to Spain - Northern Spain in particular. Any expats out there?

We are in our mid 50's with no dependant children, so jobs and schools are of no importance at all. We have a very quiet life here, and enjoy it - but hate the winters and all the paraphernalia that goes with it. We also feel too far away from family and friends, which is why we want to move. I'm researching the area, but personal views and feedback are valuable - so any information would be appreciated.

mrsjdr

Hi, can´t answer regarding Northern Spain, as we are in the South, but like you we emigrated to Canada many years ago with a young baby at the time, then back to UK, and now for a number of years very happy in Spain. You may also find Northern Spain cold in the winter, so choose your area carefully. It is easier to make regular trips back to UK with all the cheap flights, so you do not feel too far away from relatives or old friends. If you search this site you should find the answers to all your questions...good luck

jood

Hi mrsjdr - thanks for your reply. Yes, we have heard it can be cold in Northern Spain - one part of me says if we can cope with the cold here (minus 20 at one point a few weeks ago!), we can cope with anything northern Spain throws at us....but then the other bit asks why we would want any cold at all - haven't we earned a Life in the Sun! I have a lot of research to do. Strangely enough it's scarier thinking of this move than it was to come back to Canada....probably because Spain offers a totally different lyfestyle - and then there's the language. However, as I sit here, I have my Spanish phrase book at my side! How long have you been in Spain?

mrsjdr

Hi there, nearly six years now, a lot of getting used to, but would not change it for anything, been really hot today, so been laying in the sun, although by evening it will be cool when sun goes down. We are on the Costa del Sol, so warmer than Northern Spain, and when in Canada were in Vancouver, so not as cold as your side, could be very wet during the winter though

battlezone123

Hi. We live in Northern Spain in Galicia. We moved here last September and it is the best thing we have done. We looked at Southern Spain but we could not find anything we liked, and within our price range. Our house is 400 years old and we live in the countryside, about a 20 minute drive to wonderful beaches and the town. There is not an expat community here in the North and you are unable to buy any "English" food items. In winter it has been very cold, and we had snow for one day. But I have been told that in the summer it is very hot. The area we live in, Viveiro, is quiet in the winter but is full to bursting with Spaniards from Madrid and Barcelona taking their holidays here. The countryside is lush and green and you can grow all vegetables and fruits that you could grow in the South. There is never any shortage of water. You have Lugo, A Coruna, and Santiago all within easy driving distances (about two hours) for major shops. Bilbao and Santander are both easily accessible for trips back to the UK, and I understand that Ryanair fly from Santiago to Stanstead. The EEC is putting lots of money into Galicia to improve the road structure and the environment. In Galicia you become part of the community, the people are always welcoming, and it is a wonderful place to live. Very few people speak English but after 6 months living here I am slowly learning Spanish and can make myself understood. Galicia is known as the Spanish Cornwall. I hope some of the above helps.

jood

Thank you Battlezone123 - yes this does help. I must admit the lack of language worries me the most, but then I would think there are many hundreds of people who move to foreign countries without the necessary language skills. Have you found it fairly easy to pick up? You say it's been cold this winter. It has been as low as minus 17 at times here (in Southwest Ontario) and today it has snowed non-stop. We just had two days of ice storms with 15 hydro poles being brought down just north of here......the linesmen are still trying to restore power for several thousand people! I reckon if I can put up with this, I can take an odd day or two of snow. Just how cold did it get?

Mitzyboy

Wow .....
no wonder you want to move
We're lower down, Costa Del Azahar / Valencia region. Twenty six degrees here today. Lowest it reached daytime was about 7 during the winter iirc.
Much more "Spanish" than the CDS in this region

Mike Taylor

Hello

Just read your note as I am a new member my wife and I are moving to CE, Ayamonte COSTA DE LA LUZ next year when our place is ready and we retire
there.

One oF the best reasons being that the weather is not really cold
I have checked the weather history details and find that what the locals call COLD is in reality 10-12 decrees C in mid winter for a very short while only

Golf is available all year round in summer wear

In england at the same time it would be 4-5 degrees for a longer period
and a lot more rain/frost

I hate the cold weather and l am sure that the N Spain weather will suit you much better even in Winter ( 4-6 weeks ) than Canada

MT

battlezone123

The weather was probably about 5. We were still sitting out in the garden up to the end of November. Maybe I felt the cold more because we did not finish putting the windows in the house until beginning of December! What is lovely is sitting in the lounge with a large log burning fire. You do not have to pay for wood as you just go up into the hills and pick up whatever wood is laying on the ground. Picking up the language is not easy but you soon get to grips with the Spanish language. It helps to have three young children who are now virtually fluent. You have to learn the language as there is no expat community in Galicia and not many people speak English. But then the Spanish people are just lovely here, and generous. We have no electricity cuts here. The only thing I find hard is the siesta when everything closes from 1.00pm to 5.00pm. But if I had the choice again of settling in the South compared to the North I would still choose the North. On a negative point it has not stopped raining for about 7 days - but then come the summer you have ample water and no water shortages.

Also the North is alot cheaper for properties than the South. In the South you would find it practically impossible to find a 600m2 400 year old property, 10 kms from the beach for £40,000. The house and roof are structurally sound. We just needed to put in windows and do lots of cosmetic work (which we are still doing).

jood

Hi again Battlezone123 - I've just come in from shovelling 2 feet of snow! Underneath that is a 1" layer of ice! Yeh - hubby and I are getting tired of it....the novelty of snow has well and truly worn off! I'm really interested in the differences you point out between north and south; we visited souther Spain (Nerja and region) in April 2004, and didn't like it at all. My parents went to Northern Spain years ago, on holiday, and loved it - it appeals to us more simply because it seems more the "true" Spain - you'll know what I mean, I'm sure. Had you visited the area before moving? Do you work there?
We've given ourselves til the end of 2008 to achieve our goal of leaving here......which I'm sure we can do. We gave ourselves 2 years to leave England, back in September 2003 - we arrived in Canada 31st Oct 2004 - house sold, eveything packed or sold, etc. etc, so it is possible ( hubby is a Canadian citizen, and I was still a PR despite being in the Uk for many years - so this did made things easier).
Could I borrow your kids when we move?

gallerie9

I live in southern spain inland and we are also in real spain. I think most places inland are very Spanish............... Our friend was showing some one the area......they were thinking of moving to the area .......... they said it was tooo Spanish .............. I thought thats where they were in Spain ????'

featherbum

Hi there,

i am Spanish, from San Sebastian (northern Spain, about half hour drive from the french border). Unfortunately i live in England now and suffer from v bad homesickness but aaaanyway,

just wanted to say its very beautiful there, there are 3 beaches, mountains,etc, but, the BIG BUT is, property prices are outrageous!
We want to go back home and simply cant afford it, as boyf cant speak spanish, and in this area there arent many english speakers at all.

Weather wise, it does get cold in the winter but nothing compared to what you were saying in your posts about Canada - i would say the winter in northern spain is quite similar to the british winter, But then the summer lasts from the end of may until mid september!

If thats the sort of area you are interested in you should try to google images and info on it, there are also nice quieter villages nearby like zarautz, fuenterrabia etc. France is sooo close too, when we go back home we always pop over for the day!

I just wish we could go back now!! RIGHT NOW!
But we are actually also looking at Canada now, because of the language barrier as we need to work.

Anyway not sure if i helped, thought i'd try!

featherbum

Oh and, i meant to ask, what does PR stand for?

battlezone123

We spent the summer holidays (2006) travelling around southern Spain, with our three children, trying to find somewhere. But everywhere we looked was far too inland, also dusty and very hot. On our way back to the UK we stopped in Galicia and fell in love with the area. We bought the property, returned to England for three weeks and then, with a caravan we returned to our house. We purchased the caravan because we thought it would take a long time before the house would be habitable but my husband managed it in three weeks. He plumbed in a temporary bathroom and installed electrics. OK I do not have a sink in the kitchen but I do have a working dishwasher and the main thing, a washing machine. We took quite a risk in finding somewhere as we had sold our house in the UK before we came to Spain to look. But it was something the whole family was determined in moving to Spain.

We were originally going to turn the house into a 9 bedroom B&B. But out of the blue we were visited by a Spanish gentleman and his wife who had just returned to Spain after living in Ireland for 15 years. They had heard we had a big satellite dish to receive BBC and they wanted to know where to get one from. His wife was missing Coronation Street. Anyway, he is a builder (mainly stonemason) and with my husband being a plumber/general builder they have gone into business. They have already been commissioned to build 5 chalets. And it is all without risk, or very little, as 20% is paid upfront and then staged payments received. It was what my husband originally wanted to do but with the language barrier it was impossible.

My children are a handful, three boys aged 9, 8 and 6, who love school, the environment we live in, and the people - and they would not want to return to the UK. We had one big worry about 4 weeks ago when my eldest went ill. I took him to the ambulatoria who sent him to the hospital about 35kms away. The next day he had his appendix removed. All of this would have been worrying enough in the UK but in Spain you did not really have a clue what was going on. But they looked after him extremely well and the hospital was fantastic. They let him go home after 4 days, with a follow-up appointment for 6 weeks time, all on an E111.

We do go back to the UK regularly as we have family in the UK, and I still want the children to keep up with their old friends. But once the house is ready we will probably end up with more visitors coming this way to Spain, than us going back to the UK.

vox populia

HI I AM IRISH AND MOVING TO MID SPAIN SHORTY AND I AM GOING TO TRY MY BEST TO PICK UP THE LANGUAGE IN 12>24 MONTHS, AT LEAST THE BASICS!! I HAVE BEEEN TOLD IF YOU TRY IT WIL TAKE U 2 YEARS!