# Considering move to Asturias



## MrBeanandIrma (Aug 19, 2008)

We have been looking at the possibility of moving to either Asturias or La Coruna. Any members there or close? Projection is last half of 2009 or first half of 2010. Would be grateful for any information.


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

Hi there Mr Bean & Irma,

Welcome to the forum !!

I know the North of Spain very well & the places you mention are very nice indeed. Let me know what information you require and I will endeavour to assist

Regards, Dave


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## MrBeanandIrma (Aug 19, 2008)

I have been doing a great deal of research on this move. We are American and Iunderstand the visa system very well. I have seen enough on taxes to know it will not affect my pension. The weather looks to suit us, never did care for excessive heat and cold. My main concern is where to live and what to buy. Until we spend some time in country, I can only guess. But the experiences of others who are living or have lived in that area are helpful.


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

Hi there,

"The weather looks to suit us, never did care for excessive heat and cold"

Asturias or Galicia or Cantabria for that matter may well suit you then. As the sun generally only appears between July and September in the North of Spain, saying that it gets very wet, particularly in Galicia.

"My main concern is where to live and what to buy"

Personally I would not recommend buying in the current economic climate, especially as you never having been to the North of Spain.

Do you want to live in a city ?
If yes, then La Coruna is particularly nice, as is Santander

Do you want to live in a coastal town ?
If so, there are many places to choose from

Many people that move to Asturias tend to love the mountains and lakes and therefore prefer to live in small villages or towns, but it depends how quiet you want it really. 

Either way, I think its better that you rent for a time, then you wil know more about where you want to be and if its worth buying a property.

Hope that helps.

Regards, Dave


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## MrBeanandIrma (Aug 19, 2008)

Yes, I have been keeping an eye on the weather (a site that lists the various towns and cities has both cloud cover percentages and rainfall amounts but not always temperature), I used to live in the Snata Cruz mountains in California and am use to greater cloud cover and fogs. Unfortunately, I do not think that area of Spain has any redwood trees.

Since my wife is a long way from retirement (17 years my junior), she will continue to work, but at least she can telecommute as long as we have sufficient bandwith on a broadband connection. So we shall be limited to more urban areas such as small cities at least. I doubt that we could get 10 or 20 megs at a rural finca. We are not beach people, so we don't need to live close to the shore. Perfer mountains more and Asturias has that type of terrain. 

As far as buying, I am not fool enough to buy sight unseen. I am also not fool enough to buy without having the property evaluated and an english speaking lawyer evaluate any contract, including rental agreements. I have come across enough horror stories to know that I am at a disadvantage language wise and law wise. But I do pay attention to the housing reports and market information. The bottom has not been reached in the housing market although northwestern Spain has not seen the rise in prices like the eastern coast. 

What can you tell me about the cities like Oviedo, Mieres, Langreo, and Cangas de Onis. I do know that Mieres and Langreo are factory towns, but beyond that I don't know much more. I would assume that as the unemployment rate hits 12%, these cities may see an upserge in property crime.

A Coruma and Santander are a bit too large for me, I do not like the big city. Places like Cee and Ames in Galicia look pretty good and even Ourense would be acceptable as far as size goes.

Thank you for the information you have provided, it is helpful.
Bill


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## rjnpenang (Feb 20, 2008)

"I doubt that we could get 10 or 20 megs at a rural finca".
You won´t even get that on the coast, much less in the campo, we live 2 miles from the sea on the Costa del Sol and our adsl is about 3mb or less. Regards Rob


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

MrBeanandIrma said:


> I doubt that we could get 10 or 20 megs at a rural finca.


You may not even get BROADBAND in a Rural Finca! We've friends on an estate nr Valencia who only get 56kbaud.

Also - I'd have a LONG chat with an IFA about TAX. You'll (I guess) be classified as residents - and if your wife keeps working .........


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

The maximum you can obtain will be a 3MB ADSL Internet connection and thats either in a small town or a city. Although its true that certain parts of Spain will be getting 6MB in the near future.

A connection of 10 or 20 megs is not possible in Spain.

"What can you tell me about the cities like Oviedo, Mieres, Langreo, and Cangas de Onis. I do know that Mieres and Langreo are factory towns"

Langreo is an old mining town thats about to turn into a ghost town, well thats what people have told us anyway. Mieres is in the middle of nowhere and not that attractive either. Oviedo is the capital of the province of Asturias and therefore it might not be up your street, Gijon has a lovely beach and its the most populated city in Asturias.

So from that you have said, then I would recommend you take a look at Aviles (a smaller city) and Cangas de Onis (very popular with tourists and perfectly situated for the mountains and lakes.

As for Galicia - Pontevedra is a small city and has a historical part to it thats very interesting to look at. Santiago de Compostela is small and inland and very touristic. Ourense has better weather as its further South, but its quite a bit away from everything else. As for Ames and Cee, they don't do a lot for us, but maybe you will like - lol

Going back to Santander, its actually not as big as you think. It is the capital of Cantabria, but I know that the city is quite popular with Americans and anyone who likes boats seem to think Santander is a special place.

Anyway, I hope that helps 

Regards, Dave 

Ourense

Thank you for the information you have provided, it is helpful.


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

SunnySpain said:


> A connection of 10 or 20 megs is not possible in Spain.


It is - but you need to be on a dark fibre circuit somewhere like Madrid or Barcelona capital. Occasionally available on larger business parks too. But anywhere rural - Doubtfull. I work in a rural Town hall - we cant get more than 2Mb due to the wire distance we are from the trunk concentrators. The Sports hall is 500m closer so gets 3Mb.


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

Hi there,

I have just re-read what you wrote before and think Pontevedra and Aviles might not actually be right for you, as they are both on the coast.

You should definitely take a look at Cangas de Onis, Ourense & Santiago de Compostela - as these are all inland.

That said, Santiago gets particularly cold in winter.

You also might want to research the following:

Potes in Cantabria (a picturesque town, surrounded by mountains)
Villaviciosa in Asturias (property is cheap)
Lugo in Galicia (small city, inland & cheap)

Regards, Dave


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

Property prices in Asturias and Galicia

Take a loot at the kyero website, as its quite helpful with price trends

If you stay clear of the Coastal towns, big cities and touristic parts then you can find property at a very reasonable price in both provinces.

You should note that the Rias Altas in Galicia & anywhere between Leon and Madrid are particularly cold & wet in "winter"

The Rias Bajas has a better climate & is more beautiful

Regards, Dave


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## MrBeanandIrma (Aug 19, 2008)

Thanks very much Dave and Chris. I have been keeping track of the property market in both areas (Cantabria seems pricier than Galicia and Asturias the lowest). I saw a lot of casa and pisos for sale in Mieres and the Langreo area and wondered what had happened. I imagine that the recession is taking its toll there. Satellite mapes tell me a great deal as do the photographs posted by locals on various sites, but nothing beats boots on the ground. 

I see that Aviles has a very large Zinc plant/smelter along with some petro-chemical complexes, not sure I would want to be there. Gijon looked interesting for a while. But you are right about heading east,along AS114 I see some interesting real etate.

The only problem with being directly on the coast outside of higher prices for real estate is the tourist crowd. When I was living in the redwoods in the Santa Cruz mountains all the valley people just had to spend their weekend cloging the roads looking at the trees and going to the beach. It literally got to the point that I could not go shopping for food because of the traffic. Most of the tourist blurbs tell me how "popular" the coast is during tourist season. I guess there must be something to the feel of wall to wall people i have missed.

Ponteverde also looks like a good possible location, I am not sold on Vigo. Lugo would be ok. But the main sticking point seems to be that of broadband access and the speeds. I suppose that I will have to wait until next spring to find out. That is when I plan my first trip to Spain. Mean while, I will give Cantabria a second look on the housing market.

Again, thanks for the imformation. Bill


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

Hi Bill,

Asturias

Trust me, you don't want to live in either Mieres or Langreo, these places are full of property that is not selling and you would be hard pushed to ever find a buyer in the future. Some people might also suggest to you that the locals in these areas are not very friendly and in our experience they would be correct to do so.

Aviles is very industrial and that certainly puts a lot of people off, but its surprisingly quite a nice city and property is cheap. 

I think you would like Cangas de Onis, apart from the fact thats its majorly touristic and property prices are thus higher.

Galicia

We think the cities in Galicia are much nicer & the people seem more friendly.
Pontevedra is quite nice and not pricey, there are many small towns nearby that could also be good locations to live. Lugo is cheap and its nearby coastal resorts are very popular come the summer, namely Ribadeo and Foz

Vigo is a big city, I doubt you would like it.

You will get 3MB in either Lugo, Pontevedra and probably in Cangas de Onis, although Telefonica are about to install 6MB is some undisclosed locations.

Let me know howe you get on

Regards, Dave


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

Hi Bill,

Asturias

Trust me, you don't want to live in either Mieres or Langreo, these places are full of property that is not selling and you would be hard pushed to ever find a buyer in the future. Some people might also suggest to you that the locals in these areas are not very friendly and in our experience they would be correct to do so.

Aviles is very industrial and that certainly puts a lot of people off, but its surprisingly quite a nice city and property is cheap. 

I think you would like Cangas de Onis, apart from the fact thats its majorly touristic and property prices are thus higher.

Galicia

We think the cities in Galicia are much nicer & the people seem more friendly.
Pontevedra is quite nice and not pricey, there are many small towns nearby that could also be good locations to live. Lugo is cheap and its nearby coastal resorts are very popular come the summer, namely Ribadeo and Foz

Vigo is a big city, I doubt you would like it.

You will get 3MB in either Lugo, Pontevedra and probably in Cangas de Onis, although Telefonica are about to install 6MB is some undisclosed locations.

Let me know how you get on

Regards, Dave


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## MrBeanandIrma (Aug 19, 2008)

Thanks for the input, greatly appreciate it. Actually use several sites to track real estate and Kyero is just one of them. The main Spanish newspaper, El Pais is helpful as is Segundamono. Of course not everything for sale is listed. One site, spanish propertyinsight, keeps me up on a few of the trends and some of the statistics. I kind of wish I could drive commercially in Spain, a great way to see the country side, but even then the information you can gather is limited. Right now I am looking to line up a rental for a couple of months just to go and look. I may change my plans and head to France after all (it was my original destination until I started doing some checking). 

As it is, I teach language, English, as a volunteer. Usually one on one sessions. It is great fun and certainly has me running in research. I have training in both psychology and lingustics, among many other subjects, so I wanted to keep my hand in teaching and have something to do every day. don't care to work for someone and don't mind volunteering a few hours a week. I think France would limit that desire to teach and I think Spain could benefit better (not trying to be conceited). The last thing I want is to become isolated in a community and sit all day in an apartment with little to do.

So, you can see that location is important. Not being a rich man, I must be a bit frugal in my choices. But your information has given me some very vital clues as to where to look and I am grateful.


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