# Suggestions on a postcard to...



## Alfonso70 (Jun 14, 2011)

Hi all, we currently live in the north of Spain and for lots of reasons we are looking to head south. Andalucia, Valencia and Murcia are areas we are looking at. But given how huge these areas are we need suggestions of locations to investigate. This is where all you lovely ladies come in!! We can't consider being in large cities or towns as we have a large family of cats coming with us. However, we don't want to be too isolated so within walking distance of a small town or village would be ideal. An established expat community would be great too. We're very open to suggestions as at the moment it's like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack! Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alfonso70 said:


> Hi all, we currently live in the north of Spain and for lots of reasons we are looking to head south. Andalucia, Valencia and Murcia are areas we are looking at. But given how huge these areas are we need suggestions of locations to investigate. This is where all you lovely ladies come in!! We can't consider being in large cities or towns as we have a large family of cats coming with us. However, we don't want to be too isolated so within walking distance of a small town or village would be ideal. An established expat community would be great too. We're very open to suggestions as at the moment it's like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack! Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!


there _are _lots of men posting here, you know 


I think where I live sounds perfect for you - there plenty of properties within walking distance of town/port/beach with land enough for lots of cats

I actually live in a townhouse on the edge of a gated urb just a few mins walk from the beach & port & I have 4 cats myself.............

I doubt I'm going to be the last to suggest their own town though


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I think your cats will be better off in the sort of place Xabiachica lives in, than out in a more rural area. I wouldn't let my old dears out of the house; they would have been torn to shreds by stray dogs, picked up diseases from the many feral cats, or used as target practice by young dudes with airguns. The campo is no place for domestic cats!


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## Alfonso70 (Jun 14, 2011)

Oops sorry for the 'lovely ladies' thing, that will teach me to copy and paste. You see my wife put it the post on Costa Women and i stupidly just copied it without reading it!!

But thank you for your suggestion, we were actually hoping for exactly that, people suggesting where they live. Its such a large area we just need ideas to start with.

Do you know of any information websites about Xabia/Javea?

And thank you again Alcalaina, its something that does concern us, especially as one of our adopted Spanish cats only has one eye after some thug shot her.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alfonso70 said:


> Oops sorry for the 'lovely ladies' thing, that will teach me to copy and paste. You see my wife put it the post on Costa Women and i stupidly just copied it without reading it!!
> 
> But thank you for your suggestion, we were actually hoping for exactly that, people suggesting where they live. Its such a large area we just need ideas to start with.
> 
> ...



here you are 

Portal Turístico de Xàbia - Ayuntamiento de Xàbia

javeamigos.com | SHARING A PASSION FOR JAVEA

Xàbia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> I think your cats will be better off in the sort of place Xabiachica lives in, than out in a more rural area. I wouldn't let my old dears out of the house; they would have been torn to shreds by stray dogs, picked up diseases from the many feral cats, or used as target practice by young dudes with airguns. The campo is no place for domestic cats!



Where do you get this tosh?

I live in the campo and have NEVER seen a stray dog, yes there are feral cats but are they diseased?, never seen a 'young dude with air rifle' either.


We have domesticated cats which are left to roam freely - no harm has come to them at all (yet).


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> Where do you get this tosh?
> 
> I live in the campo and have NEVER seen a stray dog, yes there are feral cats but are they diseased?, never seen a 'young dude with air rifle' either.
> 
> ...


We live in different worlds then. No stray dogs?  You must have a very efficient dog warden at your Ayuntamiento!

I have seen cats by the side of the road with their innards ripped out by galgos, and half the cats in the village have no tails. The feral cats all have some sort of eye disease and rarely reach maturity. Fifty yards from my house there are two brothers who occasionally stand on their roof terrace at night taking potshots at anything that moves.

Fortunately the village has many redeeming qualities, but it's not for the faint-hearted in this respect.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

We live not far (as the vulture flies) from Alcalaina and in a sort of similar village and our cat has lasted about 7 years so far. He is free to roam and the only harm he has come to so far was when he fought with another cat (also expat). We have lots of stray dogs here but the cats are more ferocious and can take care of themselves. Many of the village cats have no tails but I thought that was genetic - bit like Manx cats? It would be worth considering Jimena or somewhere similar - certainly an established expat community and well positioned for coast/shops/airports/Gibraltar.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jimenato said:


> We live not far (as the vulture flies) from Alcalaina and in a sort of similar village and our cat has lasted about 7 years so far. He is free to roam and the only harm he has come to so far was when he fought with another cat (also expat). We have lots of stray dogs here but the cats are more ferocious and can take care of themselves. Many of the village cats have no tails but I thought that was genetic - bit like Manx cats? It would be worth considering Jimena or somewhere similar - certainly an established expat community and well positioned for coast/shops/airports/Gibraltar.


It isn't genetic, I have seen the bloody stumps!  Fortunately they seem to heal over quickly.

I agree with you though, Jimena would be a lovely place to live and well worth the OP's consideration.


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> It isn't genetic, I have seen the bloody stumps!  Fortunately they seem to heal over quickly.
> 
> I agree with you though, Jimena would be a lovely place to live and well worth the OP's consideration.


Whilst not disputing these things can happen, is it not possible that the ones you see on the roadside,are victims of being hit by a car and the carcass has been "ripped open" by scavengers such as rats, foxes or other cats?

The mutilation of the tail, is probably the result of a human,rather than an animal( I seen this quite often when we lived in Hong Kong, where Chinese superstition dictated a cat with tail/straight tail was unlucky) and would "face each other off". Animals don't think like humans, attacking the tail means the "business end "(the bits with teeth and claws) is still free..even the most stupid animal knows that is not wise

The two "dudes on the roof with air rifles taking pot shots", I would photograph them doing it and report them(if they are close enough to your house they present a danger to you and your family)...... and if that didn't work, buy myself a bigger airgun and take potshots at them, but from a different and hidden angle and see how they liked it:ranger::ranger:


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

dunmovin said:


> The mutilation of the tail, is probably the result of a human,rather than an animalise


A friend of ours complained that we hadn't had our first dog, Rubio, docked - it seems to be a Spanish (?) thing.



dunmovin said:


> The two "dudes on the roof with air rifles taking pot shots",


As Alaclaina said - *that* is genetic!

Our second rescue dog had been shot and the bullet (which is still in his abdomen) passing through his rear left leg breaking the femur. He is called "Scruffy" because he was and even after washing, having his haircut - he still has an unkempt appearance. We just cannot understand why he was abandoned and so ill-treated because he is the most affectionate animal one could ever hope to meet.

We live in a village more in the middle of Andalucia - it is very friendly, we are miles from the coast (about 2½ hours drive), very few expats but we have scenery (see my albums on the forum), there are a few stray dogs and a few feral cats but the former get rounded up by the dog catcher from time to time. We have most shops (small ones) in the village and for bigger ones Alcalá la Real is about 10km away. The roads are quiet, even the N432 (the main road Granada - Córdoba - Badajoz - Portugal). Our cost of living is probably the lowest (but this is partly down to lifestyle) See
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/123066-cost-living-spain.html


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

dunmovin said:


> Whilst not disputing these things can happen, is it not possible that the ones you see on the roadside,are victims of being hit by a car and the carcass has been "ripped open" by scavengers such as rats, foxes or other cats?


No, they are chased by galgos (greyhounds) and their owners encourage it. These dogs are used to catch hares in the campo (illegally of course).


dunmovin said:


> The mutilation of the tail, is probably the result of a human,rather than an animal( I seen this quite often when we lived in Hong Kong, where Chinese superstition dictated a cat with tail/straight tail was unlucky) and would "face each other off". Animals don't think like humans, attacking the tail means the "business end "(the bits with teeth and claws) is still free..even the most stupid animal knows that is not wise


I can assure you my friend did not mutilate her own cat! She thinks it was bitten off by a terrier.


dunmovin said:


> The two "dudes on the roof with air rifles taking pot shots", I would photograph them doing it and report them(if they are close enough to your house they present a danger to you and your family)...... and if that didn't work, buy myself a bigger airgun and take potshots at them, but from a different and hidden angle and see how they liked it:ranger::ranger:


Well, we've discussed this before over cockfighting - sometimes getting on with your neighbours in a small community takes priority over reporting their delitos!


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