Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

We are retired and currently live on the Costa Del Sol and enjoy the sun and outdoor lifestyle. However, I don't like the noise everywhere i.e. on the buses, in the shops, in the cafes etc. I don't like the cheap and cheerful Fiestas and Ferias etc the intense heat in Summer, the bureaucracy...and I certainly don't like the dogs that howl because they are neglected or worse. Can anyone suggest anywhere else where the weather is good but not too hot and there's an outdoor lifestyle, that I can research?? I would just like some ideas for now. Thank you.

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

Costa de la Luz or Costa Tropical

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

I suppose with good, you mean hours of sunshine? Galicia would be an option, but you can have a quiet life anywhere really. Our holiday home is only 10 mins from Lloret/Blanes, but you wouldn't hear a thing. Even South/West England would be an option, as you have a great climate there.

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

To be fair, even moving out of Alhaurin El Grande would be an improvement.

Not a very nice place.

However, it is one of the cheaper places to live on the CDS.

The North of Spain including Catalunya isnt as noisy as the South and the fiestas are very different, but you will struggle unless you speak fluent Spanish/Catalan and the winters are obviously worse

I am surprised about the buses, it was my impression that only British OAPs and tourists used them down there!

The dog thing is your imagination. Spanish dogs in the countryside live outside. Some may be neglected but the majority are not, and that has nothing to do with whether they are howling or not

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

UK?

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

:thumbup:

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

Thanks for everyone who troubled to respond with serious/decent advice. Cricketman - not sure where you have been. ... the lack of consideration the Spanish have for animals is well known. Why are there so many animal refuges? All you have to do is pick up the papers and you can read all about it, otherwise just listen out/look around you (with regard to my point: why are the dogs howling, are they cared for do they have a kennel/food/toys/water/freedom/love/shelter/are they shut up alone?)...but that is not what my thread is about...anyone else got ideas for somewhere better to live?...not UK please.

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

With your disregard for Spanish people and your focus on animals then I suggest you go and live somewhere out of Spain

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

When you say about the noise on the buses and in the shops I presume that you are referring to people talking and therefore I also think that you are referring to Spanish people because they are inclined to be loud. Unless you go to live in an area purely populated by the English you will probably always encounter this sort of noise. My friends all laugh about how loud it always becomes when several are gathered together even in places such as hospital waiting rooms the decibels can be difficult to deal with if you do not like it.

Many might say that if you do not like being amongst the noise of Spanish people, the fiestas and ferias then a move further into the campo might be better but I believe that there is far more noise from dogs in the campos due to the fact that they live outside the majority of the time.

Regarding heat you might find it more to your liking if you move further north to somewhere like Costa Blanca North.

I find it very difficult to give you any quality pointers because I live in a small town amongst Spanish people where it is very quiet the majority of the time but when there are events or even when a couple of people are talking it can be noisy. The Spanish people associate noise with life, they love to show that they are enjoying life and this often means additional noise, they love to talk to each other so if you get a few of them together it becomes loud as they are also inclined to all talk at once. I always joke with them that they do not listen to each other and when I am in the group with them that I am the only one who really is a listener rather than a talker.

Rosemary

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

As mentioned, there are plenty of nice places. We don't know your budget, so it's also hard to say.

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

Thanks Rosemary. By noise I mean the 'music' which is inescapable whether it be in cafes, shops, the buses etc. The Fiestas and Ferias, or at least those that I have seen are cheap and cheerful. The people are noisy as you say, especially when you get a group of women approaching you in a country lane (minus their dogs), however I find them welcoming and very friendly.

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

Please don't misquote me Cricketman.

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

Please don't misquote me, Cricket Man...and EVERYONE SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON ANIMALS WHEN THEY ARE BEING ROUTINELY SLAUGHTERED AT THE POUND, THROWN AWAY WITH THE RUBBISH, THROWN INTO WATER DEPOSITS TO DIE, OR LEFT OUT IN THE SUN TO DIE LIKE THE PUPS I FOUND WHEN NEWLY IN SPAIN.

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

You say you want to move because Spanish people are noisy and mistreat animals, then of course you should leave Spain if that is how you feel

or you need to meet some more Spanish people, broaden your experience and perhaps you will feel differently

Re: Recommendations for somewhere better to live
 

Move to Oviedo. It's not as hot, there's no noise, everything is better, and animals are treated with the utmost of respect.

No doubt Cricketman can suggest something in his own neighbourhood?