red7cobra

Hi all out there

My wife and I are looking at retiring to Spain towards the end of 2013. At present I am looking at the Murcia region but am open to looking at other Regions.
As experienced ex-pats you will all know the journey we are about o undertake with regard to research and carrying research visits. Our first visit will be to the Murcia region, during the last week of June 2012.

We are looking for advice on hotels or hirings to stay in and the possibility of meeting some ex-pats to discuss this venture.

Advice would be much appreciated

red7cobra

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Domino

Red, Welcome

but I am not going to offer you any advice, firstly because I don't live in Murcia (in Granada province), but more importantly because I beleive it is your journey and you should take it - warts, mistakes and all.

there are many brit expats in the Murcia area, but do you want to live with them, without knowing them

please, take some time to visit, find somewhere You like, not places where other people like. and............
enjoy, its a great country, great people, great food,

but beware of the cold spell from Nov/Dec to March/April even on the CDS, where they complain if it goes below +4, whilst I have had -8 where I am.

teuchterpete

Hi there. So are we! although we will be living in the Seville region. The difference is that we have done a lot of homework ( for about a year) bought a house, and we been visiting it for the last couple of years to get to know the people, and all of the ropes and pitfalls, of which there are many.
I would say, do as much research as possible, including visits to get to know the place. It is good to get info , but there is no substitution for checking things out yourself, and if you do decide to come: be prepared to make mistakes ( lots of them) and do not try to take on the authorities, I did and failed on more than one occasions!
Pete

HBG

I don't know about researching a place two years before your intended move. Spain, and most other places in Europe are in such a state of flux at the moment that it seems impossible to predict two years ahead.

Murcia is a pleasant enough place, I believe it's the smallest province in Spain, and it has suffered with the usual problems for expats for many years, i.e. housing projects started but never finished with the developers disappearing with your money, illegal homes by the thousand etc.

But if you rent, or are brave enough to buy at the right price in a Spanish town well away from the coast and other expats, it's as good as anywhere else.

Google Trampolin Hills, Murcia, it will give you some idea of the problems you could face.

I hate posting bad news about Spain, I love it here and enjoy my life. Come on down, but just be a bit careful.

red7cobra

Rosemary

Thanks for getting back to me so soon. I have had other replies which have hinted that there may be trouble ahead if I do not plan properly an carry out detailed research. That's why I intend to make 2 trips this year as weel as communicate on websites with ex-pats and check on all things Spain as much as I can.

Hasta luego

red7cobra

red7cobra

Domino

Thanks for your reply. Not sure whether or not I want to live with ex-pats or not. If I live in a retirement area I would imagine that most Brits would be much like me. Just wanting a quite retirement in the Sun with plenty of opportunity for outdoor pursuits. I am not that bothered but she who must be obeyed has to be consulted. I didn't consult about 20 years ago when we moved from Cornwall to Wales and got it wrong.

Where was the -8?. I know there are a lot of pitfalls ahead of me of which I take note as they are raised. I started a spread sheet of information about 4 months ago. There are over 400 entries in it so far and expanding further.

We will be making 2 visits to look at areas this year in June and September.
Should pick up the feel for places then

Hasta luego

Red7cobra

red7cobra

Hi Pete

Thanks for the reply. Whilst we are looking at the Murcia area it is just a start. If we see other areas we like we will visit there as well. I started my homework about 4 months ago after visiting A Place in the Sun at the NEC last October. I started a spreadsheet as a planner which has over 400 entries in it so far. I have been on many websites for questions and answers on legal, finance and political niceties at different levels of authority in Spain as well as many other snippets of information .

Its a long road ahead and I must learn from others who made this journey successfully before me.

Hasta luego

Red7cobra

fionamw

In answer to one specific question, we had -8 here but we're not Murcia!
I'd just make the observation that whilst being really organised about your research into Spain, you might well use Excel to keep a close note of what you like about your current life.
eg proximity to shops, local amenities, preference for nearby pub/sports centre/etc., hours of opening of different places, fireplace/heating/ PC rules and regs (they have their good side), and so on. That kind of thing is always suggested when researching a move within the UK so can't be any less relevant when planning a move into mainland Europe

Domino

Hi
that is why it is so important to research, research and when you can research. and you have the Cornwall/Wales experience to guide you as that proves that R word is important as SWMBO is the most important part of the research. The Italian word simpatico comes to mind here.

so it depends on what the collective "you" want out of it. I would assume (as I have no knowledge) that living with other expats can be heaven or it can be hell. The BH have always lived a fairly insular life, happy with each other (most of the time ) and not living in the pockets of friends and family.

the -8 was northern Granada province, but it gets even worse than that in the mid and northern parts. how else do we get skiing on the Sierra Nevada providing winter tourism without a bit of cold ?
just remember that Spanish houses don't always come with heating as standard as is now normal in the UK so just remember that the temp can and will drop from the summer, and the marble and terracotta floor tiles are freezing in winter.
but the walks can be fantastic, waking up to the Sierra's with the tablecloth on every morning is a marvellous site, especially after a life spent at sea level on ships and then the Fens. this country has a very diverse scenery and at times I think it is wasted on the Spanish, they don't seem to notice it.

not sure about the spreadsheet, perhaps a bit clinical for me, what happens to all that research when you walk into a property that is "just you" and you feel at home? its that gut feel for a property they talk about in the UK, that still applies here. househunting in Spain is no different.

just remember that this is probably your last move, so make the best of it, and good luck to you and SWMBO