Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

Yes I know they have had some pretty serious flooding lately too. We stayed in Almuñecar in September when we were house hunting out there. Nice place but nothing for us property wise so moved eastwards along the coast. A lot of people have been put off by the greenhouses but where we have bought they are not too concentrated. We did view one house though that was in the middle of greenhouse city so its a case of having a good look around. We are pleased with what we have bought and wanted to be in real Spain rather than in a big touristy resort. Currently trying to learn a bit of Spanish which will be necessary.

Every Sunday the Brits out there meet for "churros" in a sea front bar at La Rabita which we are looking forward to joining.


Val :thumbup:

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

Grazalema can be fun in wintertime. Lots of people go there to "see the snow", but then find themselves stranded when the village roads get blocked off. With only a very limited number of hotel beds some of the locals have to open their doors and offer rooms to stranded tourists.:lol:

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

I'm not a huge fan of Almuñecar, but friends of ours have a village house in Ótivar (plus an apartment in Almuñecar) so we often meet them there. Now Ótivar really is quite the "real Spain" not sure if there are any other Brits there, as all their friends are Spanish. Only about 20 minutes off the coast but very different. As she says "I love this village, dog s--t and all". And there's lots of that, it seems to be everywhere!:) Spanish friends of ours think it's an awful place, they can't understand why they moved there, but each to their own.

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

Almuñecar is a great little town, mainly visted by Spanish tourists, no lager louts , hookers, (on the steets anyway) just occaisional harrasment by african dvd sellers.Never seen plastic greenhouses there , that starts in Motril going eastwards 20 km.
Otivar is very pretty but a bit hill billy with only a few brits there,Jete the village before is mainly Romainian residents ,generaly fruit pickers not the stereotypical gangster types.
Ive spent time on the Costa Tropical and think its one of the better places to live on the Spanish coast ,traditional Spain with stunning scenery , Granada and Malaga airport close by and a Ski resort in Sierra Nevada!

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

All this "real Spain" talk by Brits is bizarre. Its like an imaginary far-way place that doesn't exist.

I have friends who moved to Alhaurin El Grande a few years ago because it was "real Spain" rather than the Costas. We went to visit at fiesta time and we could only spot Latin Americas, Eastern Europeans and Brits!

They are non-the-wiser though, still living there :rofl:

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

I think that when I say "real Spain" I mean I don't want to live in Torremolinos for example surrounded by drunken Brits. Everywhere will have its visitors of course but its the type of people a place attracts that makes it a better place to live for us. :thumbsup:

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

I must admit years ago I used to pass Almuñecar by, but since visiting there with friends regularly I have warmed to it a bit more.

Yes Jete is best quickly past through, as you say, Rumanians (or whatever) and fruit packing stations. I wouldn´t say Otivar was very pretty (just asked my wife if she thought it was very pretty, she nearly fell off the settee.:)) it´s OK, very steep, and I particularly like the run from there up Puerto del Suspiro de Moro. But agree, I´d sooner live somewhere along that coast than the other side of Málaga.

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

Answer: no. Here's why.
In the past 2 years the £ has lost 25% of it's value against the € That effectively increases house prices in Spain by 33% [note #1] It also means that relative to a fixed income from a pension, prices have gone up that much, too.
In addition house prices in the UK have dropped in absolute £ terms. By how much depends on where you live, but let's say by 20%, so a £200k house now sells for £160k.
So, if you're selling up in the UK to buy abroad what would have got you nearly €300k a couple of years ago now only gets you €180k - a loss in value of 40%. That changes the balance a great deal.
OK, house prices in Spain have dropped like a rock, too. Probably more than in England. Whether they will drop further, stabilise at their present values or rise is anybody's guess - and you'd have to be very well-informed, or very rash to invest on the basis of what you think will happen.

So, personally if I was a pensioner I'd stay in the UK for the time being. Maybe sell up from a crowded dirty city and buy in the countryside - possibly in the S.W. to get the best of the British weather. Then, later if you still feel the pull of Spain you can always sell up and move out there. You'll find it easier to move from England to Spain than it will be to move back to England if you don't like Spain.

#1 when £100k -> €147k, now £100k ->€110k. 147 / 110 = 133%

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

yes but I'm paid in euros.
yes but here or there I prefer the city ;)

I'd still move here.

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

From what I have read so far most of you would;

Still move to Spain from the UK
Recommend learning Spanish
Rent rather than buy, initially

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

No

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

I say "Dont come to Spain expecting to get a job unless you speak Spanish and are well qualified"!!

The era of British expat communities being able to sustain themselves doing bits-and-pieces semi-skilled work is coming to an end.

In the next 10 years there will be no massive house price rises supplying the equity Brits need in order to buy Spanish property. We will not see the boom situation again as it was 2000-2005 in the Costas.

Get skilled people if you want to live in Spain!

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

I can only talk about where im living in Spain and my experiences. I live just outside Benidorm and work in Benidorm so really I work in the tourist trade part of Spain. Ive met so many friends and people here who have simply returned back to the UK. Some of them who have been here a while. Ive been here for 12 years and Im finally moving back home in the Spring.
People who are on holiday or havent been living here for long will question my move. All I get it 'why do you want to move back there for'?
Its a pity that they only see this through holiday eyes and if they lived here as long as I did then they will realise the weather is the only big thing going for the place. My Wages in the time ive been here have never gone up but shopping,rent and petrol has, dramatically. Im 37 now and this is as far as im ever going to go. Incidentally people who have returned have found jobs. One couple who were in their 50s went home 3 months ago and both are back in full time employment.

I guess its what you make of it. Maybe if you dont have too many money worries and you dont need to rely on work too much then Spain is fantastic but other than that I would go to another Country,maybe an english speaking one as this will be comforting not having to learn the langauge to get by. The wages are poor here and generally dont get anywhere near the uk's minimum wage.
Having said that I have had many happy times here. Your call but you need to plan and be realistic.

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

I know I've mentioned it before, but the wages are poor for low-skilled work. Its because there is no lack of people to do these jobs.

For high skilled job, the wages are fine. The Spanish lawyers, engineers, graphic deisgners, IT consultants, civil servents and businessman I know (all in my OH's family) get paid between 3-10k euros a month. Most work in Madird or Barcelona though

Re: Would you move to Spain now?
 

I agree. you would need to concentrate on the major cities