Re: Where to live
 

The only way I can fund living in Spain is to sell my house, renting is out of the question for various reasons, so my idea is to move to my desired location and rent for 2-3 months that way I will get a feel for the area, if I don't like it or decide living in Spain is not for me I will not have lost too much, have I missed something out.

Re: Where to live
 

Hola

Yes if you sell your house then you have effectively burnt your bridges - unless you have told the whole story

Davexf

Re: Where to live
 

Yes that's the whole story, but I will have enough money to buy again in UK if Spain does not work out, I realise it would be better to rent my house out but the only people here who are close to me are family who I can still visit and just a couple of friends, personally I can't see any downside.

Re: Where to live
 

I know a number of people that sold up and moved to Spain and have been happy here for years. Again horses for courses although the recommendation of renting your UK property is sound it also has its down sides bad Tennant's, management, unexpected maintainance bills tax etc. Yes it may be that having sold up lock stock and barrel and moved focusses the mind of those I mention i.e. no option but to make it work. Main thing is make sure if you do buy you are sure it is where you want to be in all ways. Spain in most areas unlike the UK can be extremely difficult and at best expensive to simply sell and move on. So rent initially to be sure.

Re: Where to live
 

I've seen the argument to rent prior to buying so many times and understand the reasoning behind it.

In our case, we visited many areas and chose the one that was best for us, chose the house that we liked most and visited the neighbourhood many times at different times of the day (and night) on different days of the week. We then bought the house and have been happy here for nearly four years.........however....... latterly we have been burgled twice. Others in the area have also been burgled recently, this seems to be a very determined gang who strike when they know that the houses are unoccupied.

We have now decided to bite the financial bullet and move.

Had we rented for 6 or even 12 months we would be in the same position as now so the money spent on rental would have been wasted. As in so many things, different things suit different people, I have no regrets about buying this house in the manner which we did but would not recommend that others should do so any more than I would recommend that someone should rent prior to buying. As long as someone is aware of the options and has done their research it depends on individual circumstances and preferences

Re: Where to live
 

At the end of the day the decision is simply down to the individual everyone's experience no doubt will be different.

Re: Where to live
 

Don't do it!

Re: Where to live
 

Buying and then reselling in Spain works out at around 20%. Add in the difference in property price inflation between UK and Spain. Consider everything fully before you decide what is best for you as you may may an expensive mistake.

Re: Where to live
 

Hi Cutter53! Quite a few "half empty glasses" around here, right? :)
Here is my 2 pennies, for what is worth: sell your house, but buy a small flat in the UK, something you can easily rent out, even if to students. That way you'll have a monthly income and, if things don't work out as you expected, you can come back to.
As for Spain, Costa Blanca South was my choice, Orihuela Costa to be exact.
I love it here, as you can chose if you want to immerse yourself in the Spanish life, or still keep it to what it truly is: an expat living in a foreign, lovely country.
And my advice: try it, unless you don't mind saying to yourself in a few years time "what if I did it?"
Good luck!