elgallego

Hi , I am shocked to be seeing so much written about the problems in the Chiclana area. The people asking for advice before buying should just read the post and decide. I had a place there and for a number of reasons got out. When people say the area is going to be rezoned or properties will soon be legalised I have to have a chucle to myself. That was all being said years ago when I was getting out. Looking at all this now I'm glad I did . Good luck to you all.

sillygirl

I purchased a Villa in Pago Chiclana, 2 yrs ago. and it has been the worst impulsive buy ever ! all I want to do it is sell it or swap it for a home in Cornwall.the Hassle has been awful. all thru my own stupidity. I pity the people there who have bought and cant afford to move back to the Uk. I made big mistakes believing the Brits who live in Spanish Dreamland,

poollounger

Chiclana town is not the most beautiful place in Spain, but improving. The beaches are beautiful but the Levante does blow in summer. Anyone buying here needs a spirit of adventure. Many of the estate agents were going along with previous practice, which now that the population is growing is being clamped on. This included the illegal sharing of meters, once a long accepted practice now destined to leave you powerless. Planning law is flouted by builders, expats and locals alike. There are many houses near me with juliet towers, all totally illegal but unlikely to be demolished. Sadly some expàts have been hit more than others, many surviving for a year and more on generators. Posters on this and the local forums are not allowed to name and shame, but anyone asking for advice will probably get a private message or two advising which agents to avoid. Prices are falling, and any property without a legal meter is probably worth about 10 eu unless you can find someone willing to take a gamble and buy it for the long term prospects.
Impulse buys are definitely not recommended..
The expat population is growing, but so is the Spanish. If you want a little Britain with sun then look elsewhere. I looked all over southern Spain and ended up in Chiclana, but I am glad I did. And remember that Utopia is a myth. Houses up for sale, boats for sale all over the Med... all casualties of many who thought that they could up sticks and leave problems behind.

Joe King

Why do Brits come to Spain and live like this? It completely baffles me. Can you imagine buying a house in the UK with a shared meter or a generator?

And it's not just Chiclana. Near us, on Monte Pedreguer, a lot of villas have only generators for power - and people have paid top dollar for them. One lady was badly injured this year when her generator blew up.

elgallego

As a spaniard I think it's a shame what has happened in Pago del Humo and around chiclana in general. There was a bit of a boom there a few years back. Sadly there is not enough water to support the population growth .You only have to log on to Google earth to see for yourself how many pools there are. When I had my place there it was all very low key and not much movement. Then a lot of British started coming. This is not a bad thing in itself and it doesn't really matter if people don't speak the local language the only losers are the newcomers. Yes by all means come to Spain live your life how you like ...the Spanish are quite tolerant and from my experience in Pago del humo anything goes as long as you don't scare the horses. In effect aproveche!!! disfruta !!. I'm proud to think that so many people want to live in my country and on the whole the Brits make good neighbours even if their customs are a bit strange...putting jam on your meat....! and butter on your bread. I recently visited some friends in Pago del Humo and I thought it was looking like a favela....I think the the bubble may have burst and you are right in suggesting that some places are virtually worthless. The Banks will not allow a mortgage on a lot of these places and where once you could buy for cash now the prices are so high that is not so easy. Anyway I will keep up to date with events though I have moved on from there. Owning property in Spain is always going to be a headache even for a Gallego like me but I guess it depends on wether we are talking headache or migraine.

Chiclanagir

Well I live in Pago del Humo and understand what you are saying. We have a legal meter but did go through heartache initially. It is the amount of new homes that are being put up not just for "extrajernos" but also properties built on tiny, tiny plots which the Spanish have bought. I have lovely Spanish neighbours who I do try to talk to in Spanish whenever the opportunity arises.

louisaj

We have a holiday home in a quiet part of Pago and we absolutely adore it. It is our piece of paradise - peace and quiet with lovely neighbours, English and Spanish alike. We look forward to the day when we can spend more time there - not just school holidays - and really integrate into the local community. I think the description of Pago as a "favela" is very unfair! As in many parts of rural Spain, the community rubbish bins leave a lot to be desired in some places (the wind doesn't help!) but I think that over the last 4 years since we bought our villa there has been a lot of renovation of older properties in the area, as well as building of new. Maybe I have inadvertently turned a blind eye to this "shanty town" mentioned!! We love it and wouldn't change a thing - well, maybe just the rubbish bins!

elgallego

I'm sure you are very happy there as I said the locals are great where ever they maybe from.....I wouldn't really class pago del Humo as rural spain though, it's more a suburb -albeit partly zoned non-urban- of Chiclana which is perhaps not the prettiest town . Try looking at the post card stands, thats always a good indicator of the sights in a town. What chiclana does have though is a vibrant ex pat community and a thriving buy and sell property market which will suit a lot of people.

lets not kid ourselves though. It's not the rural idyl often promoted by the estate agents. Funnily enough a while back while watching Corronation Street I was surprised when Steve Mcdonald mentioned Chiclana as being where his brother was living......(Any advance on that ??) I'll bet you can even get the Daily Mail there too nowadays...Must be almost Pimms O'clock

Cheers

Chiclanagir

Don´t get me going on the rubbish bins..... our local one is near Florentinas and it drives me mad. Rubbish here, rubbish there, rubbish everywhere. It is like living near the local "tip" somedays.

elgallego

Sometimes it looks like "la feria de la basura" with all the plastic bags caught on the fencing flapping like tibetan prayer flags.

jdr

I saw a tree on a beach in Mexico where people had collected all the washed up plastic crap and fixed it to the tree as a monument to unneeded waste.

jimmy23

We have lived in Pago del Humo for two years and have fallen in love with the area. We have very many Spanish friends and have been made to feel very much part of the community. We are very happy with the proximity of Pago to the town, to the beach, to bus services and to the countryside.
Yes we have had problems with electric and the legality of our house but this was down to a crooked British estate agent and his cronies who lied ,cheated and invented fraudulent documents. We are very happy to be in Spain and in Pago del Humo we accept that there is a bit of litter but to those who complain would they prefer to the British system of refuse collection every two weeks or would they prefer the collection system we enjoy here,every night. Pago is not perfect but is but in my view is well worth working with.
Once we are rid of the crooks and ner-do-wells and those here only to make a quick dishonest buck then Pago will be a very desirable place to live.

Chiclanagir

To answer your question, "would those who complain about a bit of litter prefer the British system of refuse collection every two weeks" YES, YES, YES. We lived with this system of alternative weeks collection for years before we left. Don´t think it is a new thing. Our Council had implemented it years ago, and it worked. We recycled everything we possibly could and had no problems whatsoever. There was a company who came every so often and cleaned the wheelie bins too. Yes I do prefer that system then rotting food being thrown over the ground with plastic bags in the gutters. I have seen dead animals just thrown out with the rubbish too. Only tonight someone has thrown a bin bag down the bottom of our road which has subsequently been torn open by neighbouring free range dogs and the rubbish including rabbit skins is strewn all over the entrance to our bit of road.

louisaj

I can assure you elgallego, the part of Pago that we live in is pretty rural, not everyone lives off of the main road!

jimmy23

As in all areas there is a community council and all incidents of non compliance should be reported to them . It is not in anybodies interest to encourage vermin.The refuse collection system as it is would suggest that the council takes this service very seriously. Until people take action against this type of behavior it will make life difficult but to ignore it is to allow it and if we want to live and thrive we must do something about this sort of thing. Complaining and moaning is not enough action is needed .