garyandjoy

Hello every one ,we are new here and hope to get some advice and help as in 3 years when we retire we would like to settle in la zenia , spain .
Is there any one here on this forum that lives there or visits a lot and knows the place well .
We'd appreciate any good advice and help on this subject please .
We would rent first and keep looking around , we would like to live in a bungalow , low rise apartment , town house .
We would like to be near shops , coffee bars , all walking distance to most places , but not in the thick of things when the holiday makers come to town .
A mixture of all expats , Spanish , would be great to live with ........
Hope some one comes along and helps ,
Also we watched the tv the other night regarding all the problems in spain
The poor kids , with no jobs and having to go to food banks , then we watched UK housing problems and how the brits also are suffering .
What's your say on all this ?
UK/ Spain ............

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

chrisjolly

Welcome Gary and Joy..in the remaining three years before your retirement you could take some holidays to Spain and soak up the atmosphere and decide on a few priorities and make some big decisions about whether to keep your house in the UK. Three years is a long time and properties will probably have reduced in price even more in Spain. The situation is bad but with typical Spanish resilience they keep smiling and say 'crisis? what crisis'
You need to sort out what to do about healthcare, payment of pension, transport and accommodation.
The weather pattern in Spain has changed over the years and it is not 365 days of sunshine any more so be prepared for some cold and wet days.
Life in Spain is still good and much preferable to that in the UK so good luck with your venture.

missile

I know the area well. Many Brits live in the local and there is a variety of properties, shops, pubs, clubs and cafes to suit most most peoples requirements. It does get very busy during summer at this time of year it is a ghost town .

There is a rather nice hotel, which you might like to consider as a base whilst you look for your perfect rental home. http://www.resortorihuelacosta.com/home.htm

garyandjoy

Hi , thank you for your reply , the hotel does look nice too .
Are we better looking more in land than on the coasts .
Hope you don't mind us asking , are you in la zenia , or out of it .
We'd appreciate any help you can give us on moving there and settling in Spain please .
We are over there in June for a few weeks so will get a feel for the place .
We have travelled on many coast lines of Spain and none have yet as it said yes come on in sit down relax ,so we are hoping this area will be as nice as it sounds by others living there .
Thank you once again , all the best Joy and Gary

garyandjoy

Hi Rosemary , many thanks for your post , this site seems very helpful and we will keep looking learning and taking it all in before we make that final move to our place of settlement in Spain .
We will look at the free beer thread , cheers for this , joy

garyandjoy

Hi Missile , tried writing on the forum so we hope we are not repeating our selfs twice , Thank you very much for your reply and would you recommend more in land than on the coast of La zenia .
We are looking for a mixture of people to live with and make friends with
On this site seem to be very friendly and we are so glad we found it
any recommendations on Spain would very very helpful , thank you , take care joy and gary

missile

Hi,

I hesitate to recommend anywhere. Spain is a large country. There are so many gourgeous places to choose from and what suits one does not suit another. The ideal holiday destination may not be suitable longer term. We do not live in La Zenia but know it well and have travelled extensively throughout the area and many other places in spain.

It really does depend on what you are looking for. I would suggest things to consider should include:
1.Do you want to live beside other Brits?
2.Do you want to be on the coast? Travelling say 10 Km inland would get you away from the tourist strip.
3.Do you have any interests or hobbies, which could narrow your options?
4.Many find it easy to settle on the coast, but later move.
5.If you intend flying regularly or having vitors you may want to live within easy travelling distance of an airport. Check which has regular flights to your home airport.
6.How is your health? Spanish health services are generally very good, but you ought to check out nearby facilities.

There is no substitute for doing one's own research.

mikelincs

If they are retired, then healthcare isn't a problem. We lived not far from La Zenia, in fact we used to walk from Playa Flamenca to there by the coastal path. I would visit at different times of the year, in summer La Zenia is a tourist area, in winter it is quite quiet. No public transport there though, unless they have altered things very recently. The beach area was renowned for flooding with the contents of the outdated sewage system if there was a heavy downpour, not that unusual around there, and there were several instances of the sewer manholes being displaced with the amount of water going through them. Playa Flamenca is very close and might be a better option, certainly no drainage problems there and a better place for shopping. I suspect La Zenias problem is that the drains weren't built to accommodate the number of houses that have now been built, and there was a lack of planning, or they allowed too many houses to be built which blocked off a lot of the natural watercourses that would take the excess rain down to the sea. It did feature several times in UK programmes about problems with Spanish properties.

agoreira

Remember the sewer problems well, as you say it featured on TV a lot, lots of it flowing down the street and across the beach. I think due to the publicity, they did fix that bit, not sure about the rest. I know I've upset JBG with my thoughts on Torrevieja and La Zennia area, so best to say it's definitely not for me, it would be my idea of hell. But loads of Brits live there, so it must tick all the boxes for them.
http://darkasylum.co.uk/videofeed/-Zxqz7dBj0c?mobile=1

Domino

Heard the one about the oap's who walk into travel agents and leave it up to the very charming young lady to decide where they are going to go for a fortnight - and they hate it.
Whose fault ? Not theirs, must be the young lady.

There is so much to consider, and yes it is nice to have English spoken around you from dawn to dusk - makes a change from the polyglot UK.
But is it what is wanted ?

There are some very nice countries to retire to around the world where more English is spoken than in Spain, but no one would consider moving to any of them without very careful thoughts about the facts of living there, so why do they come to the All Knowing in BES and expect a complete portfolio presented for them to just hop on a plane.

Jeez, I couldnt go to Granada on holiday for a fortnight without extensive research, so imagine how much work I have done before moving here, and still doing as I try to find a house to buy.

`

rspltd

Just in defence of La Zenia the council did eventually sort out the sewage problems and have landscaped the beach. As far as Playa Flamenca goes it is dying on it's feet and the recent changes to the beach there cause major problems when it rains. What is reputed to be the 3rd largest shopping centre in Spain has just been completed in La Zenia. Probably the biggest downside (if this is thought to be a downside) is that it's possible to live there with never speaking Spanish.

Tambo

How is Playa Flamenca dying on its feet.

I only ask as we are thinking of moving to the area!!!

agoreira

I think I wrote similar here a long time ago. Friends had a place at Villamartín and we rented a place near them. We were in the square, where the restaurants/bars are, had been there 30 mins having a coffee and my wife said "Have you noticed anything?" No! "I haven't heard a word of Spanish yet!" And it was true, everything in English. Because of friends we last went back about 7 years ago, even more crowded and built up, we won't ever be going back.

mikelincs

The simplest thing is to visit the area, go to La Zenia, Playa Flamenca, Villamartin, and other areas round there, have a look round the shopping area, commercial centres, and the beach areas, though no beach at Villamartin. Decide for yourselves, everyone posting here has their own thoughts, but that's based on what they want from living there. The only one who can make the decision is you, if the area suits, then by all means rent a place there for a few months, see just what living there means.