# Researching retirement locations



## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

Hello!
I'm from the US, recently married to my Scot, and we are researching future locations for retirement. I'm 59 and my husband is 57, so we are talking probably at least 4-6 years from now.

I will be receiving US social security, and he will be receiving a couple of pensions. Could someone give me some info on the pensioner situation for expats in Spain? I'd like to be in a location that is sunny, warm but not extreme in the summer, and ideally near some kind of water (doesn't have to be the sea).

Being from the US, my initial research has been Central and South America, but now that I am on this side of "the pond", I'd like to expand our options to areas that I haven't previously considered.

Information, suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Laurel


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Water Dragon said:


> Hello!
> I'm from the US, recently married to my Scot, and we are researching future locations for retirement. I'm 59 and my husband is 57, so we are talking probably at least 4-6 years from now.
> 
> I will be receiving US social security, and he will be receiving a couple of pensions. Could someone give me some info on the pensioner situation for expats in Spain? I'd like to be in a location that is sunny, warm but not extreme in the summer, and ideally near some kind of water (doesn't have to be the sea).
> ...


under current rules, once you are in receipt of a UK _state _pension, you are entitled to state healthcare here in Spain & the spouse is also, as a dependent

if there is no UK state pension then you'd need private healthcare

since your OH is an EU citizen, you would also be entitled to live here as his spouse, once he is registered as resident


as for where............. anywhere on the coast - the weather tends to be less hot in summer & less cold in winter than inland


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Hi Laurel,

At the moment, provided you have an income and access to healthcare, Spain is a great place for retirement. We retired early and came here six years ago, and have no regrets at all.

As for location, very few places are sunny and warm all year round but it's all relative. The Canaries are supposed to have the most temperate climate, but even they have had severe storms lately. On the Mediterranean coast you get hot dry summers, and mild winters with occasional heavy rainfall. Go inland into the mountains and the winter temperatures are much lower (think Sierra Nevada). Northern Spain is beautiful but gets rain all year round (think the west coast of Ireland).

After a couple of years, you adapt to the climate. Being able to eat outdoors for ten months of the year more than compensates for the occasional cold wet spell. As for the summer heat, you become nocturnal and sleep during the hot afternoons.

How do you envisage spending your days of leisure? Do you want to be near other English-speakers or do you want to get away from it all? Do you want to be in walking distance from shops, bars etc? Will you need to be near an airport with cheap flights to Scotland? It's a good idea to make a checklist and then start looking for a location that ticks the boxes.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

PS I'm a Water Dragon too.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Have you considered the Canary Islands? Being on the same latitude as Florida and further south than the Suez canal, 900 miles from Europe we are not geographically part of Iberian Spain.

It is said our climate is the best in the world, unless you live in the mountains heating and airconditioning are not needed.

I have a place on the coast where the temperature rarely goes below 16ºc and because of the trade winds stays mainly below 32ºc in the summer.

Apart from houses most things are far cheaper than the U.K. or Iberian Spain, our VAT being only 7%.

There are photos on the below link of the small island where I live


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> Hi Laurel,
> 
> At the moment, provided you have an income and access to healthcare, Spain is a great place for retirement. We retired early and came here six years ago, and have no regrets at all.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the input. I realize that I wasn't very specific about our lifestyle or anything and everyone's likes and dislikes are very subjective. 

We enjoying walking; I'd rather walk (or bicycle!) to town than drive. I would like more of a small neighborhood-type of housing - don't care much for big city, glitzy night life. Knowing other expats is helpful to combat the isolation, but I would very much hope to make friends with locals as well. Of course, I would have to learn much more Spanish than I know now!  I lived in Texas for several years but only picked up a little. Both my husband and I enjoy photography, rock-hounding and fishing. We are moderately active - not rock climbers or mountain bikers though! 

 As you probably gathered from my user name, being near water is important to me, if possible. I would love to be near the ocean, but I realize that drives costs up significantly. We would like to be within a reasonable distance to an airport that could get us to the US easily, as we'd be more likely to head there for visits. We'd come back to Scotland too, but my daughter and grandson are in the US.

A temperate climate with cool periods would be fine - summer every day isn't necessary, but we both hate high humidity! I would like to see the sun a little more often than we do here in Scotland though. An area where it is easy to garden would be great; we love flowers and fresh vegetables. It would be lovely to have more time spent outdoors for dining, socializing, gardening, relaxing. We both have had very stressful lives and our main goal is to live as simply, comfortably and stress-free as possible for whatever years we have.

Can you share where you live, what you enjoy doing, and some of your experiences in adapting?

Thanks again!
Laurel


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Water Dragon said:


> Thank you for the input. I realize that I wasn't very specific about our lifestyle or anything and everyone's likes and dislikes are very subjective.
> 
> We enjoying walking; I'd rather walk (or bicycle!) to town than drive. I would like more of a small neighborhood-type of housing - don't care much for big city, glitzy night life. Knowing other expats is helpful to combat the isolation, but I would very much hope to make friends with locals as well. Of course, I would have to learn much more Spanish than I know now!  I lived in Texas for several years but only picked up a little. Both my husband and I enjoy photography, rock-hounding and fishing. We are moderately active - not rock climbers or mountain bikers though!
> 
> ...


sounds like you'd love my town - I walk or cycle everywhere unless I actually want to _leave _town - which is rare!

Portada - Portal Turístico de Xàbia - Ayuntamiento de Xàbia


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

Hepa said:


> Have you considered the Canary Islands? Being on the same latitude as Florida and further south than the Suez canal, 900 miles from Europe we are not geographically part of Iberian Spain.
> 
> It is said our climate is the best in the world, unless you live in the mountains heating and airconditioning are not needed.
> 
> ...


I've only begun considering locations on this continent, so am open to any suggestions. 

The photos are beautiful! As you are on an island (which I have trouble remembering that I am too, essentially!), aren't goods a little more costly since they have to be shipped in? How easy is it to travel off the islands? Could you give me a rough idea of housing costs, utilities, quality of internet? Again, a simple house with maybe 2-3 bedrooms at most so room for guests. (We aren't like the expats that move to a new country and build 6 bedroom/6 bath mansions!)

I have a friend who went there for a diving trip years ago and loved it. What is the humidity like? Do you get any bad storms like hurricanes?  Sorry for all the questions, but I appreciate your time. The best people to ask are those who actually live there.

Laurel


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> sounds like you'd love my town - I walk or cycle everywhere unless I actually want to _leave _town - which is rare!
> 
> Portada - Portal Turístico de Xàbia - Ayuntamiento de Xàbia


Oh my goodness!! Thank you very much for the link - it is so beautiful! If you have time, or even by PM if you prefer, could you tell me more about the area? Weather, humidity, storms, internet service (my lifeline to my daughter and grandson), costs of renting a simple house, utilities, acceptance of expats, etc, etc? 

Seriously....I will be looking into the area further - I love the photos. All this time, I've been thinking South of the US and you have all this beauty hidden over here. I'm glad I came on this page to ask questions!

Laurel


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Water Dragon said:


> Oh my goodness!! Thank you very much for the link - it is so beautiful! If you have time, or even by PM if you prefer, could you tell me more about the area? Weather, humidity, storms, internet service (my lifeline to my daughter and grandson), costs of renting a simple house, utilities, acceptance of expats, etc, etc?
> 
> Seriously....I will be looking into the area further - I love the photos. All this time, I've been thinking South of the US and you have all this beauty hidden over here. I'm glad I came on this page to ask questions!
> 
> Laurel


yes it IS beautiful

weather - rarely VERY hot nor VERY cold - but the downside is high humidity most of the year, although we reputedly have the world's second best microclimate & we get well over 300 days of sunshine a year - there's more info on that link

it is more expensive than surrounding towns as far as property sales & rental are concerned

internet - reasonable connections are available throughout the town & surrounding hills, though there are a few 'dead' pockets - so best to check before you commit to a particular property

55% of the population is non-Spanish & the current mayor is very keen to 'integrate' all nationalities ............ :fingerscrossed: he gets re-elected next year. It's a very 'international' town for that reason - & yet it's still to a great extent a Spanish fishing town - I live in the port & all my immediate neighbours are Spanish


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Water Dragon said:


> Can you share where you live, what you enjoy doing, and some of your experiences in adapting?


Your priorities are much the same as ours. We live in a pueblo blanco (white town) on the edge of a nature reserve, about 45 minutes' drive from the Costa de la Luz, Spain's Atlantic coast. It is old-fashioned, agricultural and unsophisticated, with very few foreign immigrants, and we spend a lot of time helping local people with their English. If we feel the need for an urban buzz, the cities of Cadiz and Jerez de la Frontera are less than an hour away. 

We have the advantage of a small, friendly community, beautiful scenery on our doorstep, and plenty of good quality food produced locally. You can read more about it, and about our life here via the link to my blog, below.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Water Dragon said:


> I've only begun considering locations on this continent, so am open to any suggestions.
> 
> The photos are beautiful! As you are on an island (which I have trouble remembering that I am too, essentially!), aren't goods a little more costly since they have to be shipped in? How easy is it to travel off the islands? Could you give me a rough idea of housing costs, utilities, quality of internet? Again, a simple house with maybe 2-3 bedrooms at most so room for guests. (We aren't like the expats that move to a new country and build 6 bedroom/6 bath mansions!)
> 
> ...


Yes we are on an island, 274 Km square, the meridian Island of El Hierro, there are seven main Canary Isles, ours is the smallest, population of 7,000, four are English!!

Apart from property everything is a lot cheaper, much is manufactured here, much is grown here, wine, rum and beer are produced locally. Oil is imported from the Caribbean, in fact my first visit here was on an oil tanker from Trinidad, with a cargo of crude. 

Being near the Sahara, the climate is somewhat dry, arid in late summer, showers occur three to four times annually, but those showers can be heavy, in November we had 15 inches of rain in two days, last Thursday we ha 2&1/2 inches overnight. We do get storms but not hurricane force, perhaps gale force 10.

The biggest drawback for you would be flights to the U.S.A. you would probably need a flight to Madrid, but I'm not sure about that. This island is even more isolated, the only flights from here are inter island.

It would be hard to price you a house accurately, I know only of one that fits your specifications, a bungalow, 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, garage, small garden with barbacoa, the house comes with two building plots, it is a five minute walk to the Atlantic, and the owner wanted 300 thousand euros, anyway it hasn't sold so he has rented it out.

Come and visit the Canary Isles, all seven are completely different.


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

Hepa said:


> Have you considered the Canary Islands? Being on the same latitude as Florida and further south than the Suez canal, 900 miles from Europe we are not geographically part of Iberian Spain.
> 
> It is said our climate is the best in the world, unless you live in the mountains heating and airconditioning are not needed.
> 
> ...


Hepa. Sorry it is a bit off track but I would like to ask you a question please about one of your excellent photos. It is 35 out of the sequence. It has the church central to the photo. What is the almost complete circular structure in the foreground?


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

Hepa said:


> Yes we are on an island, 274 Km square, the meridian Island of El Hierro, there are seven main Canary Isles, ours is the smallest, population of 7,000, four are English!!
> 
> Apart from property everything is a lot cheaper, much is manufactured here, much is grown here, wine, rum and beer are produced locally. Oil is imported from the Caribbean, in fact my first visit here was on an oil tanker from Trinidad, with a cargo of crude.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. We would only rent and I know that much changes over the years. I was just curious how things would compare at the moment. Is the euro the usual currency? 

We would definitely do a lot of visiting before making any long term decisions, but you have certainly given me something to consider. And living somewhere that the rum is produced locally is a definite plus in my book.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Water Dragon said:


> Thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions. We would only rent and I know that much changes over the years. I was just curious how things would compare at the moment. Is the euro the usual currency?
> 
> We would definitely do a lot of visiting before making any long term decisions, but you have certainly given me something to consider. And living somewhere that the rum is produced locally is a definite plus in my book.


Yes we use the Euro.

Now renting at the moment is very cheap, €300 to €400, monthly, two bed apartment, furnished, electricity and water included.

I'm not allowed to drink rum, apparently I shout in my sleep, it also makes my legs go funny


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

Hepa said:


> Yes we use the Euro.
> 
> Now renting at the moment is very cheap, €300 to €400, monthly, two bed apartment, furnished, electricity and water included.
> 
> I'm not allowed to drink rum, apparently I shout in my sleep, it also makes my legs go funny


Wow....all that for only 300-400 euro??!! That's great. I've been shell-shocked at how expensive it is to live here in the UK, and we're in Scotland...it's much worse near London. Before I married and left the US, I had 5 bills to pay to cover normal housing and utilities and mobile phone. Here, it seems there are bills for EVERYTHING. Example: you not only have to pay expensive rates for cable/broadband/land line, you can't have a TV (or watch TV programs on any electronic device) without paying the government for a license in addition! And then there is the Council tax.... 

We will never be able to afford to stay here, or even live in the US, on what we will have for income, so I've been researching for quite a while. When single in the US, I was considering Belize, Costa Rica, Panama or Ecuador. I really like the idea of looking over here, except the distance from family is the only real downer. Thanks again for the information!

That's a funny thing about rum.....


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## Goldeneye (Nov 12, 2011)

*The World’s Best Places to Retire in 2014*


The World


This feature is done from a North American retiree perspective...
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## ExpatWannabee (Jul 6, 2011)

I've read the article and it's written wearing very rose-coloured glasses. For example, it doesn't include crime rates in its evaluation -- I wouldn't want to walk around alone late at night in Panama City as I've done in Valencia City. Nor do they include transportation infrastructure -- good luck driving on the highway anywhere near the Panama Canal. Nor do they mention Panama's long rainy season, just that it doesn't get hurricanes.

I'm not knocking Panama City, my point is that the article provides a one-sided perspective that doesn't allow you to intelligently evaluate a place as a potential retirement destination. Enjoy the article, but take it with a pound or two of salt and do balance it with other, more balanced evaluations.


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## Water Dragon (Jun 28, 2011)

ExpatWannabee said:


> I've read the article and it's written wearing very rose-coloured glasses. For example, it doesn't include crime rates in its evaluation -- I wouldn't want to walk around alone late at night in Panama City as I've done in Valencia City. Nor do they include transportation infrastructure -- good luck driving on the highway anywhere near the Panama Canal. Nor do they mention Panama's long rainy season, just that it doesn't get hurricanes.
> 
> I'm not knocking Panama City, my point is that the article provides a one-sided perspective that doesn't allow you to intelligently evaluate a place as a potential retirement destination. Enjoy the article, but take it with a pound or two of salt and do balance it with other, more balanced evaluations.


I've been reading their publications for a few years and much of what they write is more advertisement than unbiased factual information, unfortunately. I try to take away what bits of useful information I can, and ignore the rest. I also receive several other newsletters that help to balance things a little too.


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## cnichols (Feb 12, 2014)

Water Dragon said:


> I've been reading their publications for a few years and much of what they write is more advertisement than unbiased factual information, unfortunately. I try to take away what bits of useful information I can, and ignore the rest. I also receive several other newsletters that help to balance things a little too.


Most of what I have read on the internet about several places have made them sound better than what they really are. I have found doing my research is more fact based when I make sure to use reputable sites. Also, I like to be sure the information is not outdated.


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