daisyman1951

Hi everyone. I am 61 year old male contemplating retirement to Spain in about 6 months time. Having been sent to Saudi Arabia in 1979 I know how difficult it is to get started alone and without speaking the language. So I would need to find somewhere with a good established english speaking expat community. I have been told the climate is good in the Almeria region. I obviously want to learn to speak spanish (starting now) but I have found it easier to learn a language when in country. So any recommendations where in Spain I should be looking, I like sea breezes, I would be looking at a modest 2 bedroom house. Thank you.

Fredbargate

Hi daisyman welcome to the Spanish forum

However I must warn you Spain is a terrible place

We have it on good authority from someone you have met on a different part of British Expats

Read his post

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...hlight=monsoon

daisyman1951

Thanks for that, nonetheless I am still looking.

jackytoo

At Portugal

Fredbargate

J2 time for Specsavers

Lynn R

There were some places discussed in this thread earlier in the year which you might find meet your requirements:-

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...lmunecar+Nerja

jimenato

Thanks for pointing that out Fred - absolutely hilarious.

(Tosser)

Rosemary

Fred, if you look at the posters other threads you will find that she has asked about whether she could live on a set amount of money in Portugal so JT does not need glasses.

Rosemary

amideislas

I also got a kick out of that one

Still, that guy sounds like he could be anyone who has just been introduced to Spain and experiencing the usual shock of some of the things that can take place here with apparent impunity.

Clearly it's an exaggeration, but you gotta admit that after becoming acclimated to a few of the unbelievable things that happen here, his rant sounds even more "rantacious" to us, even though it's not entirely all that far from the truth...

Domino

Fred I thought £land was full, but otherwise it seems a bit tough on a nation of very nice people

daisyman1951

Thank you all for the responses so far. It's true that I am trying to work out if Spain or Portugal would be best for me, that's why I thought this forum would be of great value to me.

Rosemary

I apologise to you, I put she in my post when I should have put he.

There are a lot of places in Spain where there are a number if Brits hav settled so I am sure that you will find what you are searching for.

Rosemary

Fredbargate

OK all I think daisyman is aware that I knew he was also enquiring about Portugal, I made a post there .

However more seriously there are very few places on the Mediterranean coast that do not have a British expat presence.

At my end of the country there are active communities in and around
Chiclana
Manilva
Estepona
San Pedro
Marbella
Fuengirola
Malaga
Nerja
Etc. etc

In fact it would be hard to find somewhere without Brits.

However how friendly / approachable those communities are is a question that you would need to be on the ground to find out.

The message that is oft quoted often on this forum is to rent somewhere to establish how you like it before you make any permanent decisions.

Therefore may I suggest that daisyman takes an extended holiday travelling up and down the coast staying maybe a couple of weeks or a month in areas that he believes may be of interest just to test the waters.

I'm sure others on this forum could be a little more forthcoming with suggestions.

However for the ultimate Brit abroad experience Gibraltar must be the place.

Chiclanagir

If you want sea breezes then it must be Chiclana/Conil where the breeze blows it´s called Levante.

Domino

OK Fred, as one who has been there several times "on business" I have to agree with you. Sometimes I felt it was like living in a sci-fi film where there was a bubble appeared over a town, no one could get in and no one could get out

Also the advice about letting before buying (nor just letting and never buying) is also sound advice. The BH lived in a city centre flat and an outer city flat over a 3 year period. We have been in this rental for 18months now getting the best of the living 22miles out of the city, making good Spanish friends and generally enjoying ourselves.
However, we have been unable to find a property that ticks most, letalone all, of the boxes - something we may have been able to do but by travelling 2 hours away. Obviously this means we will have to give up what we have built up and start again elsewhere knowing we will not be coming back. This came home to us yesterday when for a change we could take a UK bank holiday that doesn't clash with Spain, we went into the big city, chilled out, did some important and personal shopping and had a really nice day out. We are continually finding places we like, just hope that when we eventually move we can replicate the experiences elsewhere.

Perhaps we fell into the trap and let this place get under our skin, started to put down roots we didn't know we had
But at least we don't have to sell a house to make a move, in the current market that would be an impossibility