fr29

We are a young family anglo/franco living in west brittany france....we are looking to move to spain temporarily for a few years just for an adventure. We are blessed in that with our job we can live anywhere we want as long as we are within 1 hour of an airport that will service an international airport to connect through.

We would like to try living in nortg Spain, however I hate the heat anything above 25 is not good. I enjoy rugged wild places and not bothered bout shops (been a while since i had the luxury of a good indoor shopping centre). We are mad about the outdoors, surfing, windsurfing, walking, biking anything....so access to beaches and mountains would be great.


We dont mind wind and rain but are looking for something warmer than north west brittany.
Anyway languages don't phase us we are used to starting from scratch and having lived / living in an area that is famous for stubborn locals doesn't phase us either....

Furthermore safety is a big factor too...the calm rural town life next to the sea is what we have...but not in the middle of no where and we arent looking for farm/small holding, just a normal new build with a garden.

Anyway we are interested in north Spain; any one done the same; any helpful hints.....we will explore greatly, but this is our 1st stop for our plan...

Thanks

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

steviedeluxe

I know a couple who've settled in Cantabria, and indeed all of that coastline (Galacia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque country) would probably meet your needs. With the exception of good international airlinks - probably best choosing a place close enough to Bilbao. You will find that the area gets plenty of snow inland in winter, so if you need the place to be mild stick close to the coast and investigate the local micro-climate.
Take a look also at the Girona region of Catalonia - great scenery and fantastic transport links. Ok so it's on the Med side, but worth checking out.

Retired in Euskadi

The Basque country can offer everything you mentioned, especially in the way of outdoor activities. Surfing is second to none.
We've been retired here 6 years, my wife being Basque.
I have an allotment with which I constantly have to adjust my thinking regarding planting and sowing......always several weeks ahead of England.
Although we get a fair bit of rain, on average about 1200mm annually, we also get warm to hot weather; July and August were pretty dry and I used much of my 5 1000litre containers of water. On balance I'd say we have a mild climate here; winters are not that bad; little snow except on the mountains.
The one minus in Euskadi compared to say Asturias or Galicia is property and rents; quite high in general, though Navarra is less.
We're 40 mins drive from Bilbao airport which has Easy Jet to Stansted or Vueling to Heathrow, 2-3 flights per day. No Ryan Air!!
We're 40 mins from San Sebastian and 50 mins from the French border.
So really, the best of all worlds. And best of all.........few lager louts and all that that entails!!

cricketman

The Basque Country is great but has two downsides compared to further West

1. The Basque language, which you have no chance of learning
2. It is a lot more expensive that Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia

You can really take your pick from anywhere on the North Coast. They have amazing beaches, beautiful fishing villages and safe as can be. Plus great food and friendly people

You can also pick up winter lets very cheaply. Prices in July and August are way more expensive

Retired in Euskadi

But you don't have to learn Basque. I choose to because of my wife. Spanish is spoken everywhere.
Why should anyone "have no chance of learning" it as you say?

Further west one will encounter Gallego, which whilst easier than Basque, is/will perhaps become increasingly prevalent as many autonomous regions begin to flex their linguistic muscles à la catalunia.

Moses2013

Have to agree with steviedeluxe and you should also look at Girona region (Costa Brava). A lot of Brits don't consider the area, but it has a lot to offer, however surfing will be an issue. The question would be why do you want to leave Britanny for the North of Spain? You don't mind the rain, but are looking for a place warmer and then again hate temps above 25. The North of Spain has various micro climates, but overall it can get hot in summer and pretty chilly in winter (because of the wind & rain). Bilbao for example gets around the same amount of rainy days as Wicklow in Ireland and sunshine hours are similar too. Lorient in Britanny would have a lot more sunshine compared to Bilbao, so a lot to consider.

fr29

I lived in Lorient; however house prices were too high for us we could get nothing below 250 000; & i m talking about a modest 2/3 bedroom with a garden near the sea. .. (within 20 km)..

I mentioned the temp to outline that i m not interested in going to south spain.

Languages don't phase me me i ve lived in South Korea, Thailand and i now live in a strong hold of the bretagne language; where schooling and conversation is in 2 languages...i m used to heing the foreigner trying to learn a new language....so basque or castellano i learn it both...

Furthermore my last justification for moving is because we can...we like to move see the world; so our children can see a different country.

cricketman

The OP has said they will be there 1 year, you really think they will progress in Basque in that time?

Gallego is very similar to Castellano. I watch Gallego TV sometimes and can understand almost everything

I have Basque friends in San Sebastian, they only every speak Basque. When we get together we speak English. They refuse to speak Spanish. And my Catalan friends in Girona also refuse to speak Castellano by the way.

Linguistical politics are important to consider in Spain

cricketman

If you are only going to be here 1 year then you wont want to buy, you have to pay 10% of the price in sales tax!

Just to say though, that actually 250k wont buy very much if you want to be within walking distance of the coast, but you should have some options

Moses2013

I don't know the house prices in Lorient, but it was just an example that you might not be better off in the North of Spain when it comes to the weather you are looking for. We all like to see the world, but I wouldn't see the point of moving and buying if it's just temporarily. In certain parts of Girona, you can certainly buy a 4 bed detached house less than 10 km from the sea under 200K, but how quick you can sell again when you move on is hard to say. Wouldn't it be better finding a place where you can live long term, especially for the kids? Just because you have a permanent base, doesn't mean you can't travel.

fr29

No not really i ve always travelled the world and saw alot of different countries when i was young and at school.... settling down in one place is in not my nature; i survived the upheavals....i have great career with numerous qualifications, lots of friends dispite the lack of fb in them days...and i have quite a positive out look on life so i don t believe it ll be in the best interests of my children to stay in one place....

I have alot of money too so its ok for the house and the rental prices; its quite insignificant to me the house prices although i mentioned it before in my post regarding lorient. There are more reasons i don t live there, notably the rise crime and traffic.... I m more motivated in seeing something different and having an adventure with my kids/family..

We are in a very very lucky position we have very good jobs that don t require us to be in one place; we have an extremely good income so why not use it eh? We also have 3 / 4 holidays a year to the USA and Asia so we d like to keep the holiday time to long haul.

It may seem spoilt our lives; but we deserve it; we don't come from a wealthy background but we studied hard, maybe thats what living in so many countries has taught me....so yes i d like show my children the same life we have the means ..

Its a shame as alot if people dont seem to be encouraging me. Though i suppose if i d go onto to the french forum and asked the same questions you d all be telling me to stay in the UK...

I just want to shoot the breeze with regards to location... i ve seen to much of the world to have a reality check....ie stubborn language politics...etc..i m an outsider and i m ok with that....hell i was an outsider when i returned to the UK briefly...

cricketman

If money is no object then sure go for it. I live in Asturias and for many reasons it is the best place in the world! Especially if you have a well paid job

However, if you dont speak the local language, then you are only going to be able to experience a rather superficial version of what living in the North of Spain means

After all, if you can't talk to anybody, it is a bit pointless

As a sidepoint, travelling to the US from the North of Spain with children will be a bit of a nightmare. Lots of connecting flights

Moses2013

People just want to help and we all have different opinions. I was just saying that weather might not be what you want in the North of Spain and you should be careful buying a house in an area you don't know, especially if you want to move on and sell again. In your case money isn't the issue, so that's fine (Now we know). It's great that you want your kids to travel around like you did, but just because you live somewhere, doesn't mean you have to stay forever. You'd then be better off renting a plot of land and buying a house that you can take with you when you move on.

cricketman

It's a bit counter intuitive as well after moaning at prices in Loreont being 250k euros, which is nothing really

A nice chalet backing onto a beach in Asturias can cost over 1 million euros, and even more in the Basque country

Always depends on what exactly you want of course