Maria_747

Hello everyone,

I haven't posted for a long time. I was active in the Canada thread about six year ago. The basic story was, my father passed away, I moved to Canada from England (we took everything we had in a container), rented a nice apartment, (my Mum's family live in Canada and USA) as also received my permanent residence card as well. We couldn't settle, mum got ill out there and also my mum didn't like the long winters and and preferred European style of life and much of the family were all spread out too far. The whole move was a total disaster

I have contemplated alot these years and where I made my mistakes and I should have done alot more research. Now, I am supposed to be older and wiser. I am looking for a place which has good sunshine and better climate for the winter months and maybe all year around later on. A place for my mum also to help her arthritis too.

I have been to Spain a few times as a tourist and it was only to the Barcelona and Stiges area which I really loved. My cousin is married in Spain and is settled in Madrid for the last six years. She is encouraging me to research Spain abit more as a possible place to live part time and maybe permanently in the future. I also have a good family friends living Malaga and Valencia. I am financially sound, so could buy or rent in Spain.

I looked at some books about moving to Spain, but there are so many, I am not sure which one to get.

Does anyone have any recommendations of which books on Spain are good ? I really want to make sure I research well and visit certain places. I have already looked into Spanish language courses as well.

If I was to live in Spain, it would be in the Southern part, but l would like to have amenities like every city or town, where there is an airport to get back to London quickly if need be, social activities, theatre, concerts, decent shopping as well as countryside and sea life, but not be too isolated and I like the mediterranean way of life. However, my cousin says Sevilla and and the region of Andalucia is very nice.


I am not sure how I should begin without being overloaded, I just want to make sure I research Spain in the right way and not go wrong like I did with Canada.

Many thanks for reading my post (in advance), please bear with me if I ask too many silly questions.

Thanks again everyone.

Maria

KieronF

The only silly question is the one you don't ask. My own interest is that of life on Menorca so I won't chip in and confuse you but I am sure there will be someone along soon who can help you out with specific local knowledge and advice.

Pica

I do hope you find your happy land but why are you restricting yourself to Spain? Have you considered Portugal, Italy, France?

Maria_747

What is life Menorca like? I know they are part of the Baeleric islands and I have work colleagues who go there and love it.

Maria_747

Good question. I have never been to Portugal, but I read abit about the Algarve, I would have to visit it and to get a feel of the place, but I don't know anyone there.

With regards to Italy, I don't know much about Italy apart from Rome and also don't know anyone who lives there at the moment.

I did think about Southern part of France, but I thought Spain has more of an drier and sunnier climate.

The reason I chose Spain was my cousin really and friends who are living there and flights are more accessible to Spain from the UK.

johnnyone

I will not try to persuade you on an area as we all love the bit of Spain we have chosen.
For starters consider what type of lifestyle you wish for;_
i) Sea or countryside
ii) City, town, village, urbanisation
iii) Will you need to rely on a car to get to shops, bars etc.
iv) Will the property/location be suitable for your needs as you get older and physically less able.
v) What mix of people, mainly Spanish, mainly British, mixed etc.
vi) Accessibility to airports. Try to find a location where you can access at least two airports. You never know when a route may be withdrawn.

KieronF

Island life is completely different to that on the mainland. The Summer months can be hectic (in places) and resort areas around the coastline are mainly closed in winter. Property prices are higher as are general living costs - but that is the price for living on a relatively unspoilt island in the Med.


During the 'bad' years money was thrown at Mallorca and Ibiza for infrastructure projects and for building resorts for tourists. Menorca was largely starved of finance during that time so there is no high-rise hotels, building is strictly controlled and the people in Menorca have a genuine affection for the British who controlled the island for much of it's history.


What has developed in the modern years is a beautiful, peaceful island that attracts mainly family visitors around the many coastal resorts while the historic interior remains untouched. Nowhere is more than an hour away and if you can get used to small island life I can highly recommend it.

Loafing Along

Excellent checklist and the comment " We all love the bit of Spain we have chosen"
Would add - whatever you do/ wherever you decide to first settle rent for a while, it will quickly enable you to see if the place meets your plan and, if not, you will time and base from which to explore other areas.
By the way the Sevilla heat will kill you in the summertime !