# Our Move



## Christlake (Sep 21, 2008)

Good Morning,
Just looking for some ideas for the best place to start. Having recently retired we are seriously considering retiring to Spain. 
Grateful for any suggestions. Thanks Chris.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

I suspect you need to give us a bit more information. Such as do you want to live in the north or the south, or in the middle. Coast or inland. Urbanisation or rural. Near an expat community or not. Do you need to be near an airport. But even that is something to start the thought process


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

Hi ,

As thrax said there are many things to consider !

When we came over years ago , we booked a cheap hotel in Benidorm to use as a base , got a hire car and went exploring !!

12 years back property was very expensive here , and I admit we were quite disappointed on our first trip after watching place in the sun showing loads of bargain properties !

Any way now things are much better for buyers as the prices are so low and the exchange rate is good !

I dont think the Costa Blanca is a bad starting point , as there are many nice coastal and Spanish inland villages to check out !
Also Alicante Airport is quite central 

Good luck Tony 

Agost , Alicante


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## Christlake (Sep 21, 2008)

Hi There, have been looking around the Murcia area but we are open to any suggestions, dont mind if we are a little inland and ideally would not want to be much more than an hour from any airport. Thanks........................


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

We made lists. What we wanted, what we needed and what we didnt want or need. From there we searched google maps and then made a few visits.

Renting or having a long summer holiday exploring would be fun and constructive maybe???

Jo xxx


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## Christlake (Sep 21, 2008)

Thanks for that,
In recent years have visited the Malaga and Barcelona area's but not took to much notice of residential areas so this will be a first to the Costa Blanca just wondered what would be the best time of year to nosey around property and would it be best to get my own flight and a cheap hotel.......Regards Chris

As thrax said there are many things to consider !

When we came over years ago , we booked a cheap hotel in Benidorm to use as a base , got a hire car and went exploring !!

12 years back property was very expensive here , and I admit we were quite disappointed on our first trip after watching place in the sun showing loads of bargain properties !

Any way now things are much better for buyers as the prices are so low and the exchange rate is good !

I dont think the Costa Blanca is a bad starting point , as there are many nice coastal and Spanish inland villages to check out !
Also Alicante Airport is quite central 

Good luck Tony 

Agost , Alicante[/QUOTE]


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## Christlake (Sep 21, 2008)

jojo said:


> We made lists. What we wanted, what we needed and what we didnt want or need. From there we searched google maps and then made a few visits.
> 
> Renting or having a long summer holiday exploring would be fun and constructive maybe???
> 
> Jo xxx


Thanks for that,
In recent years have visited the Malaga and Barcelona area's but not took to much notice of residential areas so this will be a first to the Costa Blanca just wondered what would be the best time of year to nosey around property and would it be best to get my own flight and a cheap hotel.......Regards Chris


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

To see things at their worst, then January is probably a good time lol!!! But you dont necessarily want to see only the bad time. So maybe have a trip in the late summer/autumn. But in the end, once you've sorted out what you want, need etc. The area itself has to be down to you.

I remember when we first started looking. We liked the sound of Javea. A passing comment from a friend who has links there put me off - he said that Javea was like Brighton, but sunnier. What rubbish lol!!! So we then looked towards Malaga (where we ended up). The passing comment was actually nonsense and we should have looked for ourselves, not that I regret our final choice

Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

jojo said:


> To see things at their worst, then January is probably a good time lol!!! But you dont necessarily want to see only the bad time. So maybe have a trip in the late summer/autumn. But in the end, once you've sorted out what you want, need etc. The area itself has to be down to you.
> 
> I remember when we first started looking. We liked the sound of Javea. A passing comment from a friend who has links there put me off - he said that Javea was like Brighton, but sunnier. What rubbish lol!!! So we then looked towards Malaga (where we ended up). The passing comment was actually nonsense and we should have looked for ourselves, not that I regret our final choice
> 
> Jo xxx


Too true!! It's like all that nonsense you hear and read about the CdS being all high-rise, covered in concrete, swarming with tourists and, that hoary old cliché, not the 'real Spain'.
I have to admit that I fell for some of that before we came to live here. Snooty friends in the UK raised an eyebrow when we said we were going to Spain and, even worse to the CdS (I suppose Benidorm would have put us beyond the pale). But having lived here for getting on for seven years I can see just how much is based on ignorance or prejudice or both.
We have found a peaceful spot, a few immigrants, mainly Spanish here and we love it.
You really do have to check things out for yourself....


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## tonymar (Jan 29, 2015)

Christlake said:


> Thanks for that,
> In recent years have visited the Malaga and Barcelona area's but not took to much notice of residential areas so this will be a first to the Costa Blanca just wondered what would be the best time of year to nosey around property and would it be best to get my own flight and a cheap hotel.......Regards Chris
> 
> As thrax said there are many things to consider !
> ...


[/QUOTE]


Hi Christlake

We still go up to Benidorm now and then , I quite like it 

I you are thinking of coming over and looking about , I would say probably better before the summer , as hotel prices and flights will be cheaper , also a bit cooler for driving about and looking at areas and houses !

Do you think you would like to live on an urbanisation or in the country ?

Tony Agost Alicante


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

I came from Trinidad to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1962


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola
If you intend to travel back to the UK frequently, or intend to have visitors, then consider where the local airports in the UK fly to. If they fly to Malaga airport, then around that area would be easiest. If they fly to several Spanish airports, then around any of those airports would do. 

Normally it is better to travel any distance in Spain than in England as the roads here are less busy 

Davexf


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Hepa said:


> I came from Trinidad to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1962


Hepa, you look younger every day!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Hepa said:


> I came from Trinidad to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1962


Please tell the story of the photo!


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## SandraP (Apr 23, 2014)

Davexf, what is it like in Chiclana? We are thinking of somewhere around Cadiz (but not Cadiz itself) and although we have only googled so far, we coming back to the outskirts of Chiclana. 
I know that you have to be careful with illegal properties so when we find houses we like we will research properly.
We are really wanting a villa (ground floor), not too overlooked, with a decent sized plot, and a decent sized pool. Dave if there is no pool what are the chances of getting planning to put one in? Sorry, lots of questions, is it ok to have a well and can you install solar panels?
Thanks Dave :wave:


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola

Chiclana is a town of 84,000 having grown (illegally) from about 35,000 in 2003. There is a current PGOU (town plan) that hopes to see the light of day, but there are elections looming and if the Partido Popular don't get back in, the PSOE have said they will "re-work" the plan which will cause delays. 

When a PGOU is passed into law, then there will be much more security and buying an illegal property should become a thing of the past. Even if you buy a legal property (built before the 1987 town plan) then there are problems in that you will probably not have drinking water from Chiclana Natural, but will get your water from your well. Likewise, your sewerage is likely to go into a septic tank again on your property. 

There are urbanisations with all the facilities but they are not fincas; Most fincas are in the campo, illegal and on illegally divided plots. But all is not that bad; legality will come but at an unknown as yet price. 

There is a local forum http://paulday.proboards.com/ and you should be able to get a flavour of our part of the paradise we call Chiclana from reading through these. You will also find out a lot more from ChiFRA the Chiclana Foreign residents association website www.chifra.org - Home 

The town is being dug-up because of the tram to Cádiz construction, but it will be an asset when finished. The nearby beach of La Barrosa is considered one of the best in Spain and is a holiday destination of the Spanish in July and August. 

Personally I love the town and its surrounds and sleep well of a night even if my property is one of the 16,500 illegal properties. 


Davexf


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## alborino (Dec 13, 2014)

davexf said:


> Hola
> 
> Chiclana is a town of 84,000
> Davexf


Dave really appreciated that view of the issues. We will be looking at Chiclana very soon (it is the number one target ).

Do you have any view of security? I saw Humo had some problems recently.

Also are the bus services good - as on time - between the beach area and Chiclana centre? We've seen a number of properties near Gallos which look ideal for us but don't want to be car dependent.

Also with all the water (river, estuary, marsh) do you notice mozzie issues more than normal?

Sorry pumping but a local view would be very valuable. Cheers

Cheers


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola

Not surprised it is the No. 1 target – used to be called “Secret Spain” as no-one knew much about it and it has a certain charm of its own. The unemployment here is VERY high but the police are on top of it (adults unemployment is around 35% and under 25’s about 65%). 

Bus services seem to run on time – and people that use them say they are good. Los Gallos is urbanised I believe and that’s reflected in the house prices. There are some bungalows there with small gardens. It is too far to walk to the beach; but certainly possible on a bike. 

Los Gallos is not bad for mozzies – and there are sprays that deter them unless you live under lots of pine trees or by the marshes. 

No problem answering questions – perhaps we should start up a “Chiclana” thread LOL 

Davexf


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