# Orihuela Costa



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

An article about Orijuela on the Costa Blanca, which has the largest population of retired Brits in Spain. Although some of the readers' comments are very patronising, it looks to me like a very nice place for older people to move to if they don't want to worry about learning Spanish and getting used to foreign customs.

‘I don’t want to go back with nothing’: the Brexit threat to Spain’s little Britain | Politics | The Guardian

(I know this has already been posted on the Brexit thread but I also know a lot of people have given up on that one...)


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## soja (Apr 10, 2016)

Alcalaina said:


> An article about Orijuela on the Costa Blanca, which has the largest population of retired Brits in Spain. Although some of the readers' comments are very patronising, it looks to me like a very nice place for older people to move to if they don't want to worry about learning Spanish and getting used to foreign customs.
> 
> â€˜I donâ€™t want to go back with nothingâ€™: the Brexit threat to Spainâ€™s little Britain | Politics | The Guardian
> 
> (I know this has already been posted on the Brexit thread but I also know a lot of people have given up on that one...)


That would make me anxious being that old and not knowing the language, what if there's an emergency situation. I don't find it patronizing either, we don't accept immigrants in the UK who don't speak English and stick together in their ghettos so why should another country.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

soja said:


> That would make me anxious being that old and not knowing the language, what if there's an emergency situation. I don't find it patronizing either, we don't accept immigrants in the UK who don't speak English and stick together in their ghettos so why should another country.


Well, you would find that in an emergency situation in such a community not knowing Spanish would not be a problem. You call the emergency number, there's an English language option. I used it once when I first came and knew little Spanish here to report a fire. I'm sure there are more than enough English-speaking doctors, dentists etc. there anyway.
Anyway, I don't live in such a British community and people who holiday here, knowing no Spanish, manage if taken ill. Spain isn't Kazhakstan, after all.

As for the UK 'not accepting immigrants who don't speak English'....well, actually, we do. Some people might not like that and I'm sure that life is difficult for non-English-speakers but there's no law that says an immigrant must speak English.
Like wise in Spain. Life is better if you know Spanish but it's obvious that in many places you don't need to. People can live very happily without being able to speak Spanish.
I've lived in Germany, the Czech Republic and spent time in other countries including Poland. I do speak fluent German but I picked up just enough Polish and Czech to be able to do basic things, nothing more. I neither wanted to or needed to but I got by.
I speak Spanish because I want to, not because somebody thinks I ought to.

Alca is quite right. The tone of the piece was patronising and very many of the comments beneath it were snobbish and ignorant. I'm assuming most Guardian readers consider themselves 'progressive'...all I can say is, no wonder that so many 'working class people', the C1 and C2 demographic that seem to have settled in Orihuela Costa, have deserted Labour for UKIP. These elderly, retired Brits, not that well-off, enjoying retirement in the sun and giving employment to the surrounding area are obviously too white, too vulgar and too working class for these superior types.

There's a lot of pretentious tosh talked about how Brits live in Spain. If these kinds of comments were directed at the ghettos of blacks or Asians in Birmingham, Rochdale, Bradford, or Somalis in the East End, there'd be howls of 'racism'. Like the Brit community in Orihuela Costa, these are self-selected communities, bound by nationality or ethnicity. It's called 'multiculturalism', apparently.

Why anyone should pick on harmless elderly Brits -or Brits of any age for that matter - who get on with their lives in what some refer to as 'Britzones' in Orihuela, Benidorm, Torrevieja etc. is beyond me. True, it's not how I would like to live. But it's their choice and they deserve some respect.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> An article about Orijuela on the Costa Blanca, which has the largest population of retired Brits in Spain. Although some of the readers' comments are very patronising, it looks to me like a very nice place for older people to move to if they don't want to worry about learning Spanish and getting used to foreign customs.
> 
> ‘I don’t want to go back with nothing’: the Brexit threat to Spain’s little Britain | Politics | The Guardian
> 
> (I know this has already been posted on the Brexit thread but I also know a lot of people have given up on that one...)


I replied to some of the more crass, ignorant comments. Maybe you spotted which replies were mine...

I'm on the point of giving up on the Brexit thread. It makes you lose the will to live.
Either that or it makes me laugh so much I choke on my muesli......


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I was hoping to hear from some members who live there or are thinking of moving there ... Is it a fair assessment? We get a lot of people coming to the forum asking advice about where to move to, and this region is frequently mentioned.

Soja, I don't think it's a fair comparison between the UK and Spain. UK is a crowded country with a housing shortage; Spain has a declining population and two million empty homes. Isn't there a difference between a non-English-speaking ghetto plonked in the middle of a British city, and a new community, more or less self-contained, built on what was essentially desert before?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I've just realised I spelt the name wrong, it should be Orihuela!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> I was hoping to hear from some members who live there or are thinking of moving there ... Is it a fair assessment? We get a lot of people coming to the forum asking advice about where to move to, and this region is frequently mentioned.
> 
> Soja, I don't think it's a fair comparison between the UK and Spain. UK is a crowded country with a housing shortage; Spain has a declining population and two million empty homes. Isn't there a difference between a non-English-speaking ghetto plonked in the middle of a British city, and a new community, more or less self-contained, built on what was essentially desert before?


I visited Orihuela, along with Alicante and Benidorm, on my 'tour' of Spain in 1968. The old town was beautiful, rather run down, a bit sad. . There was as you say nothing but sand and scrub by the sea.

It's difficult to get a 'fair assessment'of anywhere, really, so much depends on individual needs, circumstances and, above all, taste.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

soja said:


> we don't accept immigrants in the UK who don't speak English and stick together in their ghettos so why should another country.


We most certainly do!


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Several nails firmly hit on their heads.....

Marvellous post.



mrypg9 said:


> Well, you would find that in an emergency situation in such a community not knowing Spanish would not be a problem. You call the emergency number, there's an English language option. I used it once when I first came and knew little Spanish here to report a fire. I'm sure there are more than enough English-speaking doctors, dentists etc. there anyway.
> Anyway, I don't live in such a British community and people who holiday here, knowing no Spanish, manage if taken ill. Spain isn't Kazhakstan, after all.
> 
> As for the UK 'not accepting immigrants who don't speak English'....well, actually, we do. Some people might not like that and I'm sure that life is difficult for non-English-speakers but there's no law that says an immigrant must speak English.
> ...


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

I did notice the bit in the report about British selling their council houses and buying a place in the sun. They can't leave it out can they!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Horlics said:


> Several nails firmly hit on their heads.....
> 
> Marvellous post.


Thankyou


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Isobella said:


> I did notice the bit in the report about British selling their council houses and buying a place in the sun. They can't leave it out can they!


People who buy in Provence or Tuscany can presumably afford to do so without having to sell their Islington or Hampstead properties.


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## soja (Apr 10, 2016)

Horlics said:


> We most certainly do!


I'm not talking about the government, I'm talking about British people don't accept the idea that it's acceptable to live in a country and not learn the language. Have you been living under a rock these past few years in regards to immigrants from Eastern Europe or South Asia not speaking English. Of course it's only ok when Brits in Spain do it because they're expats not immigrants :eyebrows: 

It's not much to ask to learn the language basics, no one's asking you to discuss politics with a Spaniard or to eat Spanish food or to even make exclusively Spanish friends.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

soja said:


> I'm not talking about the government, I'm talking about British people don't accept the idea that it's acceptable to live in a country and not learn the language. Have you been living under a rock these past few years in regards to immigrants from Eastern Europe or South Asia not speaking English. Of course it's only ok when Brits in Spain do it because they're expats not immigrants :eyebrows:
> 
> It's not much to ask to learn the language basics, no one's asking you to discuss politics with a Spaniard or to eat Spanish food or to even make exclusively Spanish friends.


Sorry but you are wrong again. You simply cannot talk about 'the British people' as if everyone thought the same, whether about immigrants not speaking English, or any subject, really.
Some may feel strongly that immigrants should learn English, others may accept that many are transitory and don't need to. Many Muslim women live totally segregated lives and don't need to speak any language other than their own.
As for your 'expat/immigrant' comment, I strongly dislike the term 'expat' and never use it to describe myself or any other Brit in Spain or anywhere. We are all immigrants.
All any immigrant has to do in Spain is to observe laws and customs, be courteous and considerate and pay taxes if required..
The rest is optional.


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

I posted on here a few weeks ago that I had seen a beautiful house in Orijuela and was advised to look further up and down the coast and I would find nicer places, which I did. I now move on June 21st to a village north of Castellon de la plana which has been voted as one of the prettiest villages in Spain. Of course there are drawbacks, there usually are, No Brits ( tongue in cheek) a new airport 10kms away with just one Ryanair flight a week to Stansted but on the other hand a selection of the most fabulous and very clean beaches that I have ever seen, and only 10kms away, roll on June 21st and thanks Pesky, I owe you one !!


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

soja said:


> I'm not talking about the government, I'm talking about British people don't accept the idea that it's acceptable to live in a country and not learn the language. Have you been living under a rock these past few years in regards to immigrants from Eastern Europe or South Asia not speaking English. Of course it's only ok when Brits in Spain do it because they're expats not immigrants :eyebrows:
> 
> It's not much to ask to learn the language basics, no one's asking you to discuss politics with a Spaniard or to eat Spanish food or to even make exclusively Spanish friends.


It has to be personal choice, I have lived in Spain for 6 years and cannot hold a conversation because it does not interest me and I have never had a problem at all. I also don't want to learn how to knit or take up macrame, pottery or judo, it's my choice. I live by the song made famous by both Gloria Gaynor and Shirley Bassey, " I am what I am, I am my own special creation"


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Trubrit said:


> I posted on here a few weeks ago that I had seen a beautiful house in Orijuela and was advised to look further up and down the coast and I would find nicer places, which I did. I now move on June 21st to a village north of Castellon de la plana which has been voted as one of the prettiest villages in Spain. Of course there are drawbacks, there usually are, No Brits ( tongue in cheek) a new airport 10kms away with just one Ryanair flight a week to Stansted but on the other hand a selection of the most fabulous and very clean beaches that I have ever seen, and only 10kms away, roll on June 21st and thanks Pesky, I owe you one !!


No you don't!
You seem to be somebody who makes up his mind without too much dithering - with one or two opinions to consider and your own input off you go, which is fair enough!
Castellon de la Plana looks like a good option with plenty of Spanish and "Expat" influences, on the coast and with access to some nice places in the interior too
I'd love to hear how you get on with the move and settling down there


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> People who buy in Provence or Tuscany can presumably afford to do so without having to sell their Islington or Hampstead properties.


In fairness, it did say in the article that property in Orihuela Costa is so cheap that many people don't have to sell up in the UK and can keep their UK properties as well.


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## stevec2x (Mar 24, 2012)

Lynn R said:


> In fairness, it did say in the article that property in Orihuela Costa is so cheap that many people don't have to sell up in the UK and can keep their UK properties as well.


Yeah - that's what we did - just let-out the property(s) in UK and moved to Orihuela Costa! It all depends on personal circumstances of course.

btw - with tongue only partially in cheek, I often think that the thousands of unemployed people existing on benefits in the UK should be allowed to move to Spain and retain at least some of those benefits. They would fill all those empty properties in Spain and contribute to the Spanish economy - and have a better lifestyle! Meanwhile, there would be no shortage of housing in the UK!

Simples!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> In fairness, it did say in the article that property in Orihuela Costa is so cheap that many people don't have to sell up in the UK and can keep their UK properties as well.


Tbh, if we hadn't had family property to use as a base in Spain whilst looking for our own placeand if we hadn't already visited and got to know and like this area, we might possibly have decided on a place like Orihuela Costa. We would probably have wanted somewhere with fewer Brits after we'd got used to how things work in Spain and would have moved on....but there again, as we moved to Spain to carry on with our lives much as we have always done, and not as some exciting exploration of fascinating alien customs and traditional ways of life, maybe not.

The fact that you can buy a villa with pool for €150k made me think...that's less than we've paid out in rent for villas with pools since we left the UK ten years ago. We've no desire to lumber ourselves with property ever again but presumably with purchase prices being so low compared to where we live now - villa with pool starting at around €450k - presumably rents are also cheap, I'm guessing around €500 a month for villa with pool?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

stevec2x said:


> btw - with tongue only partially in cheek, I often think that the thousands of unemployed people existing on benefits in the UK should be allowed to move to Spain and retain at least some of those benefits. They would fill all those empty properties in Spain and contribute to the Spanish economy - and have a better lifestyle! Meanwhile, there would be no shortage of housing in the UK!
> 
> Simples!


I would agree with you if you suggested such a move for British pensioners (provided the UK Government agreed to continue providing their healthcare).

However, I don't think many of us would welcome an influx of British benefit claimants and their lifestyle next door to us. I wouldn't, for one. Does that sound snobbish? Probably, but I don't care. I like a quiet life and don't want neighbours who play loud music at all hours, have noisy and unruly children they make no effort to control, drink excessively and fight amongst themselves, etc. I don't think we should wish them on our Spanish neighbours, either.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

stevec2x said:


> Yeah - that's what we did - just let-out the property(s) in UK and moved to Orihuela Costa! It all depends on personal circumstances of course.
> 
> btw - with tongue only partially in cheek, I often think that the thousands of unemployed people existing on benefits in the UK should be allowed to move to Spain and retain at least some of those benefits. They would fill all those empty properties in Spain and contribute to the Spanish economy - and have a better lifestyle! Meanwhile, there would be no shortage of housing in the UK!
> 
> Simples!


Nice idea. However, most people on benefits in the UK are actually working - they just don't earn enough to live on. People looking for work have to be readily available if a job comes up, and people on disability allowance have to be assessed regularly. People with kids would have to uproot them and put them in Spanish schools, which wouldn't really be fair on the kids or the schools. So that doesn't leave many people to move!

And of course it would cause howls of outrage from the tabloids...


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> I would agree with you if you suggested such a move for British pensioners (provided the UK Government agreed to continue providing their healthcare).
> 
> However, I don't think many of us would welcome an influx of British benefit claimants and their lifestyle next door to us. I wouldn't, for one. Does that sound snobbish? Probably, but I don't care. I like a quiet life and don't want neighbours who play loud music at all hours, have noisy and unruly children they make no effort to control, drink excessively and fight amongst themselves, etc. I don't think we should wish them on our Spanish neighbours, either.


A bit of generalisation there, what would the Guardian say


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Isobella said:


> A bit of generalisation there, what would the Guardian say


Don't know, don't care.

I am sure there are some decent families in Britain who are having to live on benefits temporarily through no fault of their own. However, the long term welfare dependent ones are, in my experience, overwhelmingly as I described them. My parents' last years were made a misery when houses in their street started to be bought up by buy to let landlords and rented to such people, when they had to suffer fights in the street between drunks in the early hours of the morning, bad behaviour and vandalism by their children, constant use of foul language and early morning drug raids by the police, none of which had ever been a problem before. I myself lived in a street which had always had a very settled population, with two or three generations of the same family living in houses they owned next to or near by each other. Shortly before we left that was becoming fractured too, with houses starting to become btls and the same kind of problems manifesting themselves.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

There are many, many, many UK families on benefits who cause no trouble or hardship to their neighbors Lynn, your sweeping generalisation is to be honest uncalled for and rather sour IMHO.

As for shipping benefit claimants to Spain? A daft idea that will never happen.

Back to Orijuela, I looked it up online today (whilst resting from filling the polytunnel with yummy stuff we will be eating in no time at all); it looks like a great resort for brits who may not have the most dosh in the world but are happily enjoying life on their pension(s) and or investments...they don't need to learn the language and integrate into the Spanish lifestyle/culture; they are financially OK and good luck to them. Effectively they are putting into the economy which can only be good for Spain.

As for immigrants to the UK who don't speak the language et al, well many of them support themselves by working and starting a business and whilst some family members don't/can't learn English some seem to thrive and...good luck to them as well.

This is a great forum but at times the snobbery which is overtly demonstrated often by people who barely have a pot to pee in astounds me.

Not long for a family break to see friends in Minnesota, good BBQ's, some canoeing and I'm looking forward to a break from Europe in general


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## startrucker (Jun 17, 2016)

stevec2x said:


> Yeah - that's what we did - just let-out the property(s) in UK and moved to Orihuela Costa! It all depends on personal circumstances of course.
> 
> btw - with tongue only partially in cheek, I often think that the thousands of unemployed people existing on benefits in the UK should be allowed to move to Spain and retain at least some of those benefits. They would fill all those empty properties in Spain and contribute to the Spanish economy - and have a better lifestyle! Meanwhile, there would be no shortage of housing in the UK!
> 
> Simples!


What did you do for hobbies/to occupy yourself on arrival?

Having worked 40/50 hour weeks i wonder how we will keep motivated if we take the plunge?

Any tips?

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

startrucker said:


> What did you do for hobbies/to occupy yourself on arrival?
> 
> Having worked 40/50 hour weeks i wonder how we will keep motivated if we take the plunge?
> 
> ...


I didn't have any problem finding things to do, but it took a while before I stopped feeling guilty about just sitting around reading. I always thought I should be doing something useful! I'm over that now though. 

Some other ideas:


Spend an hour or two every day learning Spanish. It's really worth the effort and if you join a class you will make friends too.
Take up the hobbies you never had time for when you were working - painting, modelling etc. Or start a new one from scratch. I did some art classes when I arrived.
Learn to shop for, cook and eat your food at a slower pace, rather than just sticking something in the microwave. Healthier and cheaper too.
Take advantage of the nice weather and get lots of exercise to help you stay healthy. Just walking half an hour a day is good for you. Get a dog!
If you have problems staying motivated, set yourself some little challenges; e.g. "On Friday I will go to the market and do all my shopping in Spanish", and tick them off when they are achieved. 

But don't worry, most retired people say they wondered how they ever had time to go to work!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> I didn't have any problem finding things to do, but it took a while before I stopped feeling guilty about just sitting around reading. I always thought I should be doing something useful! I'm over that now though.
> 
> Some other ideas:
> 
> ...



I would just add;

Volunteer at one of the many animal charities - they do such good work and it's another way of meeting people and broadening ones social circle.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> I didn't have any problem finding things to do, but it took a while before I stopped feeling guilty about just sitting around reading. I always thought I should be doing something useful! I'm over that now though.
> 
> Some other ideas:
> 
> ...


We did all of those things when we arrived, and still do most of them. We have also always liked to take quite frequent short trips to other places in Spain, and both planning them and enjoying them is fun. This is a huge country with so much to see from historic cities to stunning countryside, get out and explore!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

snikpoh said:


> I would just add;
> 
> Volunteer at one of the many animal charities - they do such good work and it's another way of meeting people and broadening ones social circle.


Well, that was certainly how I came to learn Spanish and make loads of friends....
Now alas I m President of the charity I work for and rarely have a minute to think about anything else, apart that is from the Spanish political Party and Minority Rights Group I also got involved it.

I m yet to understand the meaning of retirement but I read somewhere activity keeps dementia at bay so I'm happy.


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