# A Little Discouraged.



## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

Hey guys.

As some of you may know, I have the intention of going to Spain in the future.

However, after spending a week in Alicante and south of Alicante I have become a bit disheartened to say the least.

The crisis is pretty evident, obviously. However, I also didn't like the areas I visited.

Fact is, I still want to give Spain a shot. I don't want to look back in 5 years and say "Damn, what if I had gone?"

So, all in all, I want to go over in a few years. Rent somewhere for a year or two. I'm thinking, I'll see if I can find work as an optometrist, or if necessary, see if I can do anything with my languages (TEFL, maybe?).

I reckon best case scenario I love it and I stay and it all works out.
Worst case scenario, I waste some time and money in a beautiful country.

Now I just need some advice here...

Aside from Alicante, where should I look?
Murcia?
Saragoza? 
Barcelona?
Valencia?
North of Spain?
Andalusia?

I'm unsure where to look next.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Give the east of Malaga a shot, from Torre del Mar to Salobreña. We are in the campo just north of Nerja and Torrox. Beautiful scenery and still largely unspoilt.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Sirtravelot said:


> Hey guys.
> 
> As some of you may know, I have the intention of going to Spain in the future.
> 
> ...


 What, apart from the evidence of the crisis, was it you didnt like?? 

Jo xxx


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## Nigeljay (Dec 1, 2010)

You probably would have been better going North from Alicante, but as JoJo says it depends what you didn't like and what you are looking for.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Sirtravelot said:


> Hey guys.
> 
> As some of you may know, I have the intention of going to Spain in the future.
> 
> ...


So much depends on what you are looking for. Holiday-wise, since we've been here we have spent time down the Jérez area, Galicia, Barcelona and northeast Jaén - we live in the west of that province.

*Bear in mind that the following is totally subjective:*
Barcelona was OK for a couple of days but definitely not our cup of tea - we've gone off cities and didn't find the general attitude of the Catalans to our liking

Jérez/Cádiz area we found a little depressed with many closed-down businesses and a general air of decay.

Galicia - very green (after our summer parched scenery), people, on the whole, helpful, warm and friendly. Wouldn't mind living there but it does get a lot of rain. Downside - some patches (in particular Santiago) over commercialised tourism.

Northeast Jaén (Cazorla Natural Park and environs - great scenery and thoroughly enjoyed it (going back for Christmas!) but there is little in the way of employment.

West Jaén province suits us down to the ground, excellent scenery, people helpful, warm and friendly, no over-commercialisation and the village holding up well in the "crisis" (in the last 4 years only two shops have closed but we hava had a new shoe shop and a doner-kebab open); the nearby town is also holding up well. (True there has been some rationalisation, e.g. our bank has reduced its outlets from two to one which is sufficient).

So there you have our twopenn'orth in a nutshell but as I said it is subjective.

If you go to my photo albums, you'll get a little taster of this area.


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

Inland Andalusia! Lovely area


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Try northern Spain, Asturias or Cantabria, I have been to both and was very impressed.


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## Jumar (Mar 14, 2012)

As the above posters say, it depends on what you want/like. We hate cities and tolerate beaches but love mountains, but most people wouldn´t like what we like. Decide what you want to spend most of your time doing/seeing and have a good look around. We also come to Spain for the activities we can do in winter in mostly mild temperatures and we leave when the weather is hot. So for us, in winter, we stay in a different part of Spain to where we would live if we were here in summer. If you are intending to be here all year round you need to decide on your priorities (temperature wise).

Hope you find where you want to be, and if so enjoy yourselves here in a wonderful country.


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

jojo said:


> What, apart from the evidence of the crisis, was it you didnt like??
> 
> Jo xxx


Well Alicante itself was interesting. Lovely to visit but not my cup of tea to live there. I'm not knocking it, but I feel like other Spanish cities would have more to offer? Naturally I thought it would be better to opt for the surrounding areas, so we had a drive south beyond Torrevieja. I didn't see the city itself but I was near Quesada and Cabo Roig. 

I found it quite isolated. Empty. Sad. In Alicante I had wonderful interesting things to take pictures of, but anywhere else was basically very unattractive so I didn't even take my cameraphone out once. I saw some groups of people of different nationalities walking outside, but aside from that, everything felt lonely.

The empty buildings everywhere. I went down to a beach and I could see several empty half build houses standing near the edge of the coastline. Kind of like a constant reminder of all that's gone wrong with the country.

Also, it felt like, in order to go somewhere you definitely need a car. One can't walk really. Infrastructure seemed badly planned out.

I feel like a moaner. Sorry guys!

I suppose Alicante was "too Spanish" and south of it was too pseudo-foreign?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

What about Javea, Denia?


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

Hepa said:


> What about Javea, Denia?


Definitely wished I had seen that corner of the world. Of I return to Alicante I'll be checking it out.


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

I can recommend Javea, I live there and love it here. It has an old town, lots of picturesque streets, mountains, greenery, a beautiful beach, a lovely port area, plenty of shops,restaurants, supermarkets. Lots to do and get involved in. Many different types of property, apartments, town houses, villas.
Part of the Montgo, which is a mountain, is a National Park.
We own another property south of Torrevieja and much prefer it here in Javea, so glad we drove north of Benidorm to find this place. Don't let one bad experience of house hunting put you off Spain, there are so many great places to live amongst lovely people.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

And the sunny Canary Islands


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Make a list of what you are looking for in the way of environment (town, city, village, campo), lifestyle (relaxed/retired, slumming, working, beach-bum, outdoor [walking, mountaineering, golf, etc]), climate (hot dry summers warm pleasant summers, cold winters, mild winters), near coast/mountains/on a plain/flatlands (there are even those who like Lincolnshire ), what type of people, language skills you have/can learn easily/too old or can't be bothered to learn, etc. Then start researching (you can do a lot on-line or on the forums) to find out where ticks the boxes but keep an open mind when drawing up your shortlist. You may well find that your dream destination is where you had previously discounted or overlooked. Where we live now, I had previously discounted - "looks as though it is stuck on the side of a mountain" but it is fabulous and we couldn't have wished for better.

Don't be discouraged. If you have a dream - *you* are the one who has to make it happen, it won't come pre-packaged, *you* have to work at it!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

*there are even those who like Lincolnshire *

Marvellous for cycling and fishing


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

I'm a big fan of inland Andalucia! There are wonderful cities like Granada, Cordoba and Sevilla, beautiful towns such as Baeza and Úbeda and many, many pretty villages. 
I also love Toledo and Segovia and have been back there a number of times. We hit a cold spell in Salamanca one August so that put us off this rather lovely city!
In Extremadura there are the picturesque towns of Caceres and Trujillo and the hidden jewel, Zafra.
Barcelona's beautiful but I wouldn't want to live there. Zaragoza (the city) is also attractive in parts, and very close to where many of my family live, but again, not where I would want to be.
I'm not really a beach person, as you may be able to tell from my choices


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## chica de cocentaina (Jul 25, 2011)

North of Alicante...inland...Alcoy, Cocentaina...beautiful scenery, lovely, friendly people, very Spanish, but the locals really appreciate us Brits who try to speak with them in their own language.


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## Leper (May 12, 2010)

Hi Sirtravelot, 

Mistake No. 1:- You want to work in Spain. I wish you the best of luck, but you saw for yourself; the last thing Spain needs now is another Western European looking for a job that does not exist. You might think it does' it doesn't. [No offence, please].

Mistake No. 2:- Your expectation exceeded the reality. Not unusual, expect less and you will achieve more. Ask not what Spain can do for you, but what you can do for yourself. Spain won't.

Mistake No. 3:- Giving up an occupation with good income in the UK or even thinking about it. Keep your job, nourish it, cherish it, hold on to it, love it because Spain will murder it.

Go for a long walk in Scotland, smile at passers by, salute some motorists, look around and even if it is windy and raining love it.

Eventually, when you retire, Spain will still be in the doldrums. Then come to Spain from September to May. You will have the time of your life. Rent and don't buy.


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## virgil (May 3, 2012)

Hepa said:


> And the sunny Canary Islands


Amen to that brother :clap2::clap2::clap2:


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Leper said:


> Hi Sirtravelot,
> 
> Mistake No. 1:- You want to work in Spain. I wish you the best of luck, but you saw for yourself; the last thing Spain needs now is another Western European looking for a job that does not exist. You might think it does' it doesn't. [No offence, please].
> 
> ...


& That sums it up nicely. :clap2:

Pity it can't pop up automatically every time a post with certain words appears !


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Sirtravelot said:


> Well Alicante itself was interesting. Lovely to visit but not my cup of tea to live there. I'm not knocking it, but I feel like other Spanish cities would have more to offer? Naturally I thought it would be better to opt for the surrounding areas, so we had a drive south beyond Torrevieja. I didn't see the city itself but I was near Quesada and Cabo Roig.
> 
> I found it quite isolated. Empty. Sad. In Alicante I had wonderful interesting things to take pictures of, but anywhere else was basically very unattractive so I didn't even take my cameraphone out once. I saw some groups of people of different nationalities walking outside, but aside from that, everything felt lonely.
> 
> ...


Its only my personal opinion (and I'm sorry to those of you that like it) but I'm not very surprised. I dont like Alicante, and compared to other Spanish cities it rates about 3 out of 10 imho.

Again, only my opinion, but you may have found if you headed North then you might find some areas more to your liking. Javea, Denia, Gandia ... and as a city Valencia is great also


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

gus-lopez said:


> & That sums it up nicely. :clap2:
> 
> Pity it can't pop up automatically every time a post with certain words appears !


Yes, it would save me having to get out of my pram!


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## GallineraGirl (Aug 13, 2011)

chica de cocentaina said:


> North of Alicante...inland...Alcoy, Cocentaina...beautiful scenery, lovely, friendly people, very Spanish, but the locals really appreciate us Brits who try to speak with them in their own language.


Agree. a lovely area. Also cheaper than coastal areas. Can be much colder in the winter however.


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## MovingOUTofFrance (Nov 1, 2012)

Since u are an optometrist why not move to a wealthy area and open up your own practice? Have u been to puerto banus / neuva andalucia? Its full of very wealthy russians and other foreigners and a lot more wealthy people are going to move there soon so economy will boost...u might even get a job there. Its a nice area to be based , close to lots of interesting places.


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

All I can add is "stop faffing about" because every day that you delay coming here is another day that you miss the delights of this wonderful country and warm people.


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## Goldeneye (Nov 12, 2011)

I too didn't care too much for Alicante, couldn't put my finger on why.. I did however love the area North of that.. 

Denia, Javea area and the Jalon Valley were my personal favourites. For what you are looking for I would think that Denia or Javea may hold the right balance for you...
I found this site when doing a google search, why not give them a call and ask if they need some help!! Maybe they can give you some advice, who knows, speak to some within your profession..

Oftalmologa, Denia, Moraira, Dr. Alfredo Ferrer, Especialista en Oftalmloga, Ciruga ocular, Ciruga lser

Just a thought, when we moved to Canada we had to get relicensed, initially working as a 'Tempory regristrant' under a licenced person then take both a practical exam and jurisprudence.. 
Have you found out what is needed for a move to Spain?

Cheers and good luck!
..
..
..
..


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Trubrit said:


> All I can add is "stop faffing about" because every day that you delay coming here is another day that you miss the delights of this wonderful country and warm people.


Poor advice for someone looking for a job, though...Especially in the Malaga Province where unemploymemt is now officially at 39% and rising.

How can you get through to people that things are not just bad here but that they are very very bad indeed

Yes, I agree with you,this is a wonderful country with warm people -if you discount those who mistreat their wives and hang unwanted hunting dogs - and yes, it's a truly great place to live ....if you have a secure income from whatever source or have steady, well-paid employment.

No amount of wonderful scenery or warm people will pay the rent or mortgage or put food on the table so as a piece of indiscriminate general advice, 'stop faffing about' is really not good counsel.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Poor advice for someone looking for a job, though...Especially in the Malaga Province where unemploymemt is now officially at 39% and rising.
> 
> How can you get through to people that things are not just bad here but that they are very very bad indeed
> 
> ...


Well we will still need that type of person to moan about how disillusioned they are with this idea of moving to a "home in the sun" and how they are "going back home", people who have no more idea about what they need to move to a different country and make a life elsewhere and then come onto the forum asking daft things like "Can I get a bus from Times Square, New York to the Prado in Madrid or do I have to change somewhere and will it be warm when I arrive or do I need to pack more than a T shirt?"


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2012)

Sirtravelot said:


> Hey guys.
> 
> As some of you may know, I have the intention of going to Spain in the future.
> 
> ...



Avoid Catalunya like the plague. Most racist place I've ever lived and getting worse rapidly. I'll NEVER understand this place. What a weird little place it is. It's a total headf^*k. Counting the months down before I gladly jump aboard the plane out of here.


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## suezq (Dec 1, 2012)

Try North of Alicante. Some of the places around Benidorm are really nice. Benidorm is the pits but the area is beautiful.


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