# Tell me about the town where you live



## redshoes

I was wondering if those of you who are active on the forum and have been living in Spain for a while would like to share some thoughts about the place where you live? What do you like about the town where you live? What are the advantages or highlights of living there? What challenges do you face?
Looking forward to hearing your stories!


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## Pesky Wesky

redshoes said:


> I was wondering if those of you who are active on the forum and have been living in Spain for a while would like to share some thoughts about the place where you live? What do you like about the town where you live? What are the advantages or highlights of living there? What challenges do you face?
> Looking forward to hearing your stories!


I live in a large town 30 kms outside of Madrid. it's not my dream house, nor my dream town, but the house is fine (four bed, small garden, 15 mins walking to the town) the "urbanización" has a pool with a small bar for the summer and tennis courts which we don't use and a play area. The town is no great beauty, but has supermarkaets, bars a few clothes shops etc. What I like most is having Madrid near for cultural input now and again, also useful for medical issues and paperwork at times, but we have great walking country in the area too. At the moment the combination of city country is important to me - perhaps that won't be the case in the future.


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## kalohi

redshoes said:


> I was wondering if those of you who are active on the forum and have been living in Spain for a while would like to share some thoughts about the place where you live? What do you like about the town where you live? What are the advantages or highlights of living there? What challenges do you face?
> Looking forward to hearing your stories!


I have lived in Spain for 28 years, and for the last 20 years I have lived in the same place, in a 3 bedroom townhouse. It's in a town of about 10,000 people 6 km outside of Seville. I enjoy living here because I have the advantages of quiet town life along with the convenience of having Spain's 4th biggest city only a few minutes away. So what are the advantages of quiet town life? People are friendly without being intrusive - I am known all around town as "la americana" and am greeted no matter where I go. My kids grew up being able to play outside and roam around town freely. In the summer I sleep with the windows open and it's quiet, but there are also plenty of places to walk to in town for a coffee, a tapa, or a meal out. As for Seville, it's a beautiful city with plenty on offer for shopping, cultural events, night life, sporting events, etc. 

My one real complaint is that it's way too hot here in the summer, and the blazing heat goes on for month after month after month. Ah well, that's a good excuse to get away to the beach on a regular basis. The nearest beaches are only an hour away, in Huelva.


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## Cazzy

My village has about 250 houses, 2 shops that sell everything from fresh meat to socks and toys, a bank, a doctors surgery, gym where membership is 5 euro a month, sports courts and pitches, feria ground, park with swings etc, 2 bars which both serve food, womens association, primary school with about 25 pupils, very friendly Spanish and a few ex-pat families. My nearest large town is about 20km away and you can buy everything you want there. There are many small villages within a few km's all with ex-pats in them. As for house prices and rental prices, you can rent a 3 bed village house for about 250 euro a month, and you can buy a 3 bed village house for under 80,000 euro. I am an hours drive from Malaga and Seville and about 50 mins from Cordoba. There is a high speed (AVE) train station about 10km away giving access to most of the main Spanish cities.


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## redshoes

Pesky Wesky said:


> I live in a large town 30 kms outside of Madrid. it's not my dream house, nor my dream town, but the house is fine (four bed, small garden, 15 mins walking to the town) the "urbanización" has a pool with a small bar for the summer and tennis courts which we don't use and a play area. The town is no great beauty, but has supermarkaets, bars a few clothes shops etc. What I like most is having Madrid near for cultural input now and again, also useful for medical issues and paperwork at times, but we have great walking country in the area too. At the moment the combination of city country is important to me - perhaps that won't be the case in the future.


The closeness to Madrid is very appealing. I love to be within easy travelling distance of a capital city and all the cultural events that are available, but I like to live were it's less expensive. That's one thing I really miss about England is the theatre, and I don't mean the West End, but small rep. theatre. I went to a fantastic production in Sheffield last year, great acting and inexpensive.
Also there is probably an international womens organization in Madrid as there is here in Oslo. Being a woman on my own, I need to have a network of other english-speaking women to begin with until I establish good language skills. Lots to think about, thanks!


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## redshoes

Cazzy said:


> My village has about 250 houses, 2 shops that sell everything from fresh meat to socks and toys, a bank, a doctors surgery, gym where membership is 5 euro a month, sports courts and pitches, feria ground, park with swings etc, 2 bars which both serve food, womens association, primary school with about 25 pupils, very friendly Spanish and a few ex-pat families. My nearest large town is about 20km away and you can buy everything you want there. There are many small villages within a few km's all with ex-pats in them. As for house prices and rental prices, you can rent a 3 bed village house for about 250 euro a month, and you can buy a 3 bed village house for under 80,000 euro. I am an hours drive from Malaga and Seville and about 50 mins from Cordoba. There is a high speed (AVE) train station about 10km away giving access to most of the main Spanish cities.


Thanks for your comments.
It sounds lovely. It sounds very accessible to the rest of Spain.
Is internet available? Are there also apartments to rent, or just houses?


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## redshoes

kalohi said:


> I have lived in Spain for 28 years, and for the last 20 years I have lived in the same place, in a 3 bedroom townhouse. It's in a town of about 10,000 people 6 km outside of Seville. I enjoy living here because I have the advantages of quiet town life along with the convenience of having Spain's 4th biggest city only a few minutes away. So what are the advantages of quiet town life? People are friendly without being intrusive - I am known all around town as "la americana" and am greeted no matter where I go. My kids grew up being able to play outside and roam around town freely. In the summer I sleep with the windows open and it's quiet, but there are also plenty of places to walk to in town for a coffee, a tapa, or a meal out. As for Seville, it's a beautiful city with plenty on offer for shopping, cultural events, night life, sporting events, etc.
> 
> My one real complaint is that it's way too hot here in the summer, and the blazing heat goes on for month after month after month. Ah well, that's a good excuse to get away to the beach on a regular basis. The nearest beaches are only an hour away, in Huelva.


I assume the hot months are May, June, July and August.
How do you cope with the cold winter. (It's reletive of course, it's -8 degrees here right now and there is several cm's of snow, but inside my apartment it's toasty warm).


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## Cazzy

redshoes said:


> Thanks for your comments.
> It sounds lovely. It sounds very accessible to the rest of Spain.
> Is internet available? Are there also apartments to rent, or just houses?


Yes internet is available we par 20 euro a month for 3 meg, and use skype for everything. It is mainly houses available to rent, not sure about flats as I have never looked!!


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## kalohi

redshoes said:


> I assume the hot months are May, June, July and August.
> How do you cope with the cold winter. (It's reletive of course, it's -8 degrees here right now and there is several cm's of snow, but inside my apartment it's toasty warm).


The insufferably hot months are actually June, July, August and September. But May and October can also be quite warm and offer lots of days which are perfectly fine for swimming, for example. 

As for the cold, I wear wollen sweaters, run an electric heater at my feet for when I'll be sitting for a while, and sleep with an electric pad on my bed. Because the houses are built to keep out the heat, they stay chilly well into the spring and that means it's often warmer outside than in. All the more reason to get outside and enjoy the patio. It is only miserable here when foggy/drizzley weather sets in. Then not only is it cold but also damp inside. But that only usually happens in December and January - and not every day. All in all, I really don't mind the cold. It doesn't last long, and it's actually quite welcome after so many months of heat.

Personally I have a lot more trouble dealing with the heat than the cold. Life goes on as normal during the colder months, but everything changes when it's hot. Basically you have to plan your day so that you don't have to go out between noon and 6pm. The streets are deserted at those times. And children cannot go outside and play except at night. Keeping my kids closed inside all day was a nightmare when they were small! Also, you have to keep the blinds down all day to keep out the blazing sun, which means living in the dark. So much for enjoying the Spanish sun.


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## neilmac

We live in a small village a little inland and between Valencia and Alicante. Gandia (20mins) is our nearest coastal town with Xativa and Albaida just slightly further inland.

The village is thriving as it is in a rural area and boasts 2 'super'markets, a shop, a school, a surgery, two bars, a hairdresser, a nail bar, a swimming pool, a music / cultural house and our back garden is a mountain range.The 600 or so residents are in the main very friendly and a mix of ages. The locals are extremely attached to their culture and our 'Moors and Christians' celebrations for example become larger and more dramatic each year. 

We love living here and even after 6 years we are still bowled over by the beauty of our surroundings.

Somebody is going to ask why we are for sale. Simply the house is too big for our current needs! Until the market changes we are content to sit tight and consider ourselves fortunate indeed that is the case.


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## Cazzy

kalohi said:


> The insufferably hot months are actually June, July, August and September. But May and October can also be quite warm and offer lots of days which are perfectly fine for swimming, for example.
> 
> As for the cold, I wear wollen sweaters, run an electric heater at my feet for when I'll be sitting for a while, and sleep with an electric pad on my bed. Because the houses are built to keep out the heat, they stay chilly well into the spring and that means it's often warmer outside than in. All the more reason to get outside and enjoy the patio. It is only miserable here when foggy/drizzley weather sets in. Then not only is it cold but also damp inside. But that only usually happens in December and January - and not every day. All in all, I really don't mind the cold. It doesn't last long, and it's actually quite welcome after so many months of heat.
> 
> Personally I have a lot more trouble dealing with the heat than the cold. Life goes on as normal during the colder months, but everything changes when it's hot. Basically you have to plan your day so that you don't have to go out between noon and 6pm. The streets are deserted at those times. And children cannot go outside and play except at night. Keeping my kids closed inside all day was a nightmare when they were small! Also, you have to keep the blinds down all day to keep out the blazing sun, which means living in the dark. So much for enjoying the Spanish sun.


We live very close to, and work in Ecija which gets the hottest temperatures in Andalucia. it is known as the frying pan of Andalucia. It is hot in the summer months and often reaches 50 degrees. You acclimatize to it, I think you feel the cold more in the winter because of the huge difference in the temperatures.


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## redshoes

neilmac said:


> We live in a small village a little inland and between Valencia and Alicante. Gandia (20mins) is our nearest coastal town with Xativa and Albaida just slightly further inland.
> 
> The village is thriving as it is in a rural area and boasts 2 'super'markets, a shop, a school, a surgery, two bars, a hairdresser, a nail bar, a swimming pool, a music / cultural house and our back garden is a mountain range.The 600 or so residents are in the main very friendly and a mix of ages. The locals are extremely attached to their culture and our 'Moors and Christians' celebrations for example become larger and more dramatic each year.
> 
> We love living here and even after 6 years we are still bowled over by the beauty of our surroundings.
> 
> Somebody is going to ask why we are for sale. Simply the house is too big for our current needs! Until the market changes we are content to sit tight and consider ourselves fortunate indeed that is the case.


There are not too many people who have a moutain range for a back garden! Is it possible to get british TV there? Good internet access?


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## neilmac

Oh yes a special place indeed! Yes and yes to TV and internet in fact the village has free wifi available.


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## neilmac

redshoes said:


> There are not too many people who have a moutain range for a back garden!


This is what we mean by 'back garden', its a lovely place for walking and the video was taken this afternoon - beautiful January weather 

Our backyard - YouTube


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## kalohi

Cazzy said:


> We live very close to, and work in Ecija which gets the hottest temperatures in Andalucia. it is known as the frying pan of Andalucia. It is hot in the summer months and often reaches 50 degrees. You acclimatize to it, I think you feel the cold more in the winter because of the huge difference in the temperatures.


After 28 summers here I think I can safely say that I'm not going to acclimatize to the extreme heat. It's just not for me.

I actually love the fact that we get seasons and a huge difference in temperatures.


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## 90199

I live on an island slightly smaller than the Isle of Wight. I live with Boss Lady, in a bungalow that is over 150 years old. I live in the capital city of Valverde, 700 meters above sea level. The population of the capital city is probably only 3000. 

The island has an official population of 11,000, however this is one big joke, the population of persons actually living here is more like 7,000. There are only four English residents on the island

The coast is a 40 minutes walk or a 10 minute drive, the capital has every thing at hand all within walking distance. There are bars and restaurants nearby.

Our main industries are tourism and agriculture, we export pineapples, wine , bananas and cheese. We also export young people, for work here is hard to find.

The downside of living here is the isolation, however this has prevented large tourism that other islands have suffered.


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## redshoes

Hepa said:


> I live on an island slightly smaller than the Isle of Wight. I live with Boss Lady, in a bungalow that is over 150 years old. I live in the capital city of Valverde, 700 meters above sea level. The population of the capital city is probably only 3000.
> 
> The island has an official population of 11,000, however this is one big joke, the population of persons actually living here is more like 7,000. There are only four English residents on the island
> 
> The coast is a 40 minutes walk or a 10 minute drive, the capital has every thing at hand all within walking distance. There are bars and restaurants nearby.
> 
> Our main industries are tourism and agriculture, we export pineapples, wine , bananas and cheese. We also export young people, for work here is hard to find.
> 
> The downside of living here is the isolation, however this has prevented large tourism that other islands have suffered.
> 
> Spain: El Hierro - An Ecological Paradise | European Journal - YouTube


I look at the pictures, very, very beautiful!


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## jeremyinspain

I live near to Valencia. It is a fantastic city with a great 'old town' and some stunning new buildings. But my favourite part is the (dry) River Turia which has been converted into a long park since the old river was diverted. it is a place of constant activity. People running, cycling, listening to music, picnicing, playing sports (there are many facilities)... It just goes on and on.
I know Valencia has been criticised for spending so much money on some building projects, but here is one example of money well spent and of many people taking advantage of a superb public facility.
well done, Valencia. ¡Amunt!


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## Pesky Wesky

neilmac said:


> This is what we mean by 'back garden', its a lovely place for walking and the video was taken this afternoon - beautiful January weather
> 
> Our backyard - YouTube


Not bad for a back yard!!


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## Pesky Wesky

jeremyinspain said:


> I live near to Valencia. It is a fantastic city with a great 'old town' and some stunning new buildings. But my favourite part is the (dry) River Turia which has been converted into a long park since the old river was diverted. it is a place of constant activity. People running, cycling, listening to music, picnicing, playing sports (there are many facilities)... It just goes on and on.
> I know Valencia has been criticised for spending so much money on some building projects, but here is one example of money well spent and of many people taking advantage of a superb public facility.
> well done, Valencia. ¡Amunt!


I agree.
A lot of these projects have gone on in recent years. Think of the area by the Guggenheim and Ria in Bilbao, a lot of which has been done up in the last 10 years and there is now a tram which runs along there. 
There is also Madrid Rio where part of the road was made underground and the surface was made into a huge park and recreational area.
Of course, I expect the huge debts in local town halls were not helped by these works, but they are a lot more beneficial to people than building roads that go nowhere or airports that are never used.


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