# Forever home



## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

Hi all. 
We are relocating from Ireland this summer.
Hoping to buy in Southern Spain. Any advice on the best areas. We prefer rural. Not urbinizations. Love Spanish villages, to be near markets. 
Any advice on the best estate agents? _thanks in advance everyone_


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

Southern Spain is a huge area with thousands of places. Whatever you do come and visit and rent before buying. If you have no real experience of Spain you will simply be building your own mental picture of things and then reality will bite. Rural Spain will be cheaper if away from the popular coasts but for non- Spanish speakers it can become quite an isolated existence. Similarly inland get boiling in summer ( over 40 today in many parts of spain today) and many spaniards actually head for the coasts in july august to get slightly cooler weather. Plus beware of areas that might be surrounded by forests and greenery as fires can also occur. All in all come for a few months perhaps toward the end of summer and travel around a bit , get a feel for the place.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Welcome. Well I'll presume you have been here before. I think you need to narrow down for us a smaller area than just southern Spain. You'll get better information


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

We have been to many different areas of Spain. But now we are relocating as we just have had enough of the awful weather here. Yes we know away from the very popular main areas will be cheaper to buy property. We just don't mind being 30 minutes from coast, inland a little. Don't need schools as our boys are past education. Just looking forward to more relaxing lifestyle


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

We like Almeria region. Almanchez. If you know much about those. Adra. Lubrin. We like many places. But also know there's many many more we havnt heard of. We don't want yo be near pig or goat farms. Or close to over populated places.


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

You need to be a bit objective here and list your priorities, from one to ten, in terms of what are the criteria which define your ideal location.

Consider, proximity to hospital, shops, pubic transport links, beach, entertainment, other English speakers etc. Whatever your priorities are.

Small Spanish villages are full of charm and fine for a week but the charm soon wears off after a week or soon and unless you really are geared up for country life could turn into a bit of a nightmare.

Rent first to get the lie of the land and then decide and your likes and dislikes should become clearer.

Best of luck!


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

Yes, for sure. I just think we are not city or even big town people. We obviously would like to be near a good medical centre or hospital of course. Yes seems to be the advice is to rent and drive. We are just hoping for advice from others who have relocated and did it and settled in an area, and then why they did.


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

Tanya, one key point is your budget and this will drive where you can afford to buy.

Do you want your own house and a bit of land or are you happy with an apartment?

Use https://www.idealista.com/ this website to search for somewhere to rent but you might find they will not even entertain you, if they cannot meet you in person.

Although I come from a very small village, I grew up there so I basically knew everyone I met. However, when you move somewhere later in life it is a whole different story and moving to a small village and getting to know people can be quite challenging. I did at one stage live in a small English village and found myself quite isolated. Also, I have lived in lots of cities basically there is more going on. Living in close proximity to a city or large town, with good transport links is probably best, I think.... Being close to a hospital is a must in my opinion. At the moment I am in the centre of a large city and it suits me, but long term I want a place with a bit of land and outside these god damn awful apartments that most Spanish live in. Packed in like sardines they are and it is a horrble way to live, period!


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

Yes we are not city people. And I agree, we don't want an isolated, totally rural, alone for miles and miles and no humans. And our budget will be around £200 000. Which will buy us a great home. We have seen quite a few.


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## kaipa (Aug 3, 2013)

dancingspider said:


> Tanya, one key point is your budget and this will drive where you can afford to buy.
> 
> Do you want your own house and a bit of land or are you happy with an apartment?
> 
> ...



However, watching today's news , there must be quite a few folk worried about living in small rural areas so Spain. Spanish flats are, in my opinion, nice places to live but you need to be a communal person who enjoys living with others( obviously). I find them very different from uk apartment living where you can have lots of young noise folk who haven't really matured enough to know how to behave in communities. Spanish young rarely live on their own so apartments are usually families or single parents and they are usually very responsible and welcoming


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

We will be looking for a villa with a bit of privacy.


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## dancingspider (Mar 4, 2018)

OK, then you need to make sure everything is tickety-boo from a legal standpoint.

You need to make sure the property you are going to get is 100% legal and has all the required permissions.

Others on here know more about that then I do.

Also don't be afraid to haggle. A lot of Spanish and I guess overseas buyers bought at the height of the boom and the sellers are in some sort of dream world where they think they can get those prices or close to them.

Regardless, good luck with your search!


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

Thank you so much. Yes apparently it's expected to haggle a bit indeed. We just want to get over here, rent and explore Almeria. It's such a beautiful area. Many unspoilt places it seems too.


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## manuka (May 26, 2014)

Tanya Harron said:


> Yes we are not city people. And I agree, we don't want an isolated, totally rural, alone for miles and miles and no humans. And our budget will be around £200 000. Which will buy us a great home. We have seen quite a few.


Don't forget to include lawyer fees, cost of surveys and purchase taxes ( per owner) - those affect your starting budget considerably


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

Yes thsnk you


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## manuka (May 26, 2014)

we paid for urban property purchase tax of 10% in Alicante and Valencia-so that would be £20000 on £200000! Horrible! lawyer needed for searches to make sure is legal to sell property etc.so you don't lose your money! .... one of the houses we looked at was on rustic land and had illegal buildings and restrictions to rental on it and also on rustic land you would not be able to extend the property.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Tanya Harron said:


> We like Almeria region. Almanchez. If you know much about those. Adra. Lubrin. We like many places. But also know there's many many more we havnt heard of. We don't want yo be near pig or goat farms. Or close to over populated places.


Do you mean Albanchez? If so it's worth noting the altitude ... nearly 500 metres above sea level. I lived in inland Costa Blanca at an altitude of 530 metres for 14 years before moving to the coast. The winter temperatures were around 6c cooler than the coast and summer temperatures were often 6c or more higher. According to the Spanish state weather service (AEMET) the temperature today in Albanchez is 37c rising to 39c tomorrow. It's a very pleasant 30c on the coast where I am today. Altitude is very important (something I didn't fully appreciate when I first moved to Spain!).


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Tanya Harron said:


> Hi all.
> We are relocating from Ireland this summer.
> Hoping to buy in Southern Spain. Any advice on the best areas. We prefer rural. Not urbinizations. Love Spanish villages, to be near markets.
> Any advice on the best estate agents? _thanks in advance everyone_


You will find the Spanish online property portals far more helpful than estate agents when searching for a new home: Idealista.com, Fotocasa.es, Habitaclia.com and Kyero.com are amond the best.


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## Mforster (Mar 27, 2019)

Tanya Harron said:


> Hi all.
> We are relocating from Ireland this summer.
> Hoping to buy in Southern Spain. Any advice on the best areas. We prefer rural. Not urbinizations. Love Spanish villages, to be near markets.
> Any advice on the best estate agents? _thanks in advance everyone_


Hi Tanya, As mentioned by a few people already have a look on the spanish portals such as idealista. Before we moved to Spain (3 years ago already), and we've been looking for 5 years in several countries, we had a spreadsheet of priorities such as wishes, wants, definitely nots. For example: wish to have an ensuite bathroom, guest house, wants; to have a pool, not too far from a big town, airport, hospital. Definitely not: A muslim country or area with high crime rate..... Stuff like that.....A couple of our biggest drivers were climate, and population of people. (We lived and worked in The Netherlands) What we have: And we are very happy with it; is a house out in the sticks, with 5.6 hectares of land (olives, cork oak, woodland) 7.5 km away from the village (900 residents), we have, in the meantime, got a pool, which is a lifesaver in the hot weather! We're 3 hours from Madrid airport or 2 1/2 hours from Seville airport. The closest town with hospital is around 50 km away. The (local) medical centre is about 15 km away. We love it! Even though it didn't tick all our boxes, the price was right, it just felt right. So....explore and good luck! And, it helps if you can speak a bit of Spanish! English is not high on the list. We live in Extremadura.😀


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

Mforster said:


> Hi Tanya, As mentioned by a few people already have a look on the spanish portals such as idealista. Before we moved to Spain (3 years ago already), and we've been looking for 5 years in several countries, we had a spreadsheet of priorities such as wishes, wants, definitely nots. For example: wish to have an ensuite bathroom, guest house, wants; to have a pool, not too far from a big town, airport, hospital. Definitely not: A muslim country or area with high crime rate..... Stuff like that.....A couple of our biggest drivers were climate, and population of people. (We lived and worked in The Netherlands) What we have: And we are very happy with it; is a house out in the sticks, with 5.6 hectares of land (olives, cork oak, woodland) 7.5 km away from the village (900 residents), we have, in the meantime, got a pool, which is a lifesaver in the hot weather! We're 3 hours from Madrid airport or 2 1/2 hours from Seville airport. The closest town with hospital is around 50 km away. The (local) medical centre is about 15 km away. We love it! Even though it didn't tick all our boxes, the price was right, it just felt right. So....explore and good luck! And, it helps if you can speak a bit of Spanish! English is not high on the list. We live in Extremadura.😀


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

I would suggest between Lorca and Aguilas in Murcia, 30 mins north east of Lubrin.and by comparison to the area you mention the landscape is incredibly GREEN.
Very well structured services and excellent facilities with a sprinkling of universal expats. Not sure many properties within your budget but check it out online.
Good luck.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

Mforster said:


> Hi Tanya, As mentioned by a few people already have a look on the spanish portals such as idealista. Before we moved to Spain (3 years ago already), and we've been looking for 5 years in several countries, we had a spreadsheet of priorities such as wishes, wants, definitely nots. For example: wish to have an ensuite bathroom, guest house, wants; to have a pool, not too far from a big town, airport, hospital. Definitely not: A muslim country or area with high crime rate..... Stuff like that.....A couple of our biggest drivers were climate, and population of people. (We lived and worked in The Netherlands) What we have: And we are very happy with it; is a house out in the sticks, with 5.6 hectares of land (olives, cork oak, woodland) 7.5 km away from the village (900 residents), we have, in the meantime, got a pool, which is a lifesaver in the hot weather! We're 3 hours from Madrid airport or 2 1/2 hours from Seville airport. The closest town with hospital is around 50 km away. The (local) medical centre is about 15 km away. We love it! Even though it didn't tick all our boxes, the price was right, it just felt right. So....explore and good luck! And, it helps if you can speak a bit of Spanish! English is not high on the list. We live in Extremadura.😀


Stop encouraging people 😂😂😂


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

Monster. Thank you so very much for that info. Much appreciated. We know ee do need to tent and explore as there's many unspoiled little places and towns too. So we will definitely be doing that


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

I know the area between Lorca and Aguilas very well.You need to be very aware that there was a major earthquake there about 10 years ago. Lorca is on a known fault line.hence a large section had to be rebuilt. The houses in Aguilas were not affected so lots of people moved down to their holiday homes there whilst Lorca sorted itself out. Ask if the property you look at has been built to withstand quakes.
Land is very expensive as the soil is quite fertile and farmers are after all they can get. A lot of the salad and fruits exported to the rest of Europe are grown there so you will find huge areas of plastic greenhouses as well as citrus and almond groves.
If you are at all concerned about fuel costs find somewhere on the coast itself. When we over wintered in Aguilas evening temperatures were typically around 10°-12° but up in Lorca it was verging on frost and we needed proper gloves and scarves whenever we went evening shopping.
200k will easily buy you an estate house with all amenities and you should haggle. However I believe lots of Belgians have made the move there recently whilst Germans are fewer so make a sensible offer if you want a property. Hence English is not commonly used by the Spanish, but almost all the other Europeans will happily chat with you in English. There are very few people there whose first language is English.
If you care to PM me if you find somewhere I might be able to answer detailed questions on the area.


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## Tanya Harron (7 mo ago)

The Skipper said:


> Do you mean Albanchez? If so it's worth noting the altitude ... nearly 500 metres above sea level. I lived in inland Costa Blanca at an altitude of 530 metres for 14 years before moving to the coast. The winter temperatures were around 6c cooler than the coast and summer temperatures were often 6c or more higher. According to the Spanish state weather service (AEMET) the temperature today in Albanchez is 37c rising to 39c tomorrow. It's a very pleasant 30c on the coast where I am today. Altitude is very important (something I didn't fully appreciate when I first moved to Spain!).


Do you mean because of the all year round high temperatures?. It's more comfortable where you are on the coast? Did you move near to Albanchez coast?.


ccm47 said:


> I know the area between Lorca and Aguilas very well.You need to be very aware that there was a major earthquake there about 10 years ago. Lorca is on a known fault line.hence a large section had to be rebuilt. The houses in Aguilas were not affected so lots of people moved down to their holiday homes there whilst Lorca sorted itself out. Ask if the property you look at has been built to withstand quakes.
> Land is very expensive as the soil is quite fertile and farmers are after all they can get. A lot of the salad and fruits exported to the rest of Europe are grown there so you will find huge areas of plastic greenhouses as well as citrus and almond groves.
> If you are at all concerned about fuel costs find somewhere on the coast itself. When we over wintered in Aguilas evening temperatures were typically around 10°-12° but up in Lorca it was verging on frost and we needed proper gloves and scarves whenever we went evening shopping.
> 200k will easily buy you an estate house with all amenities and you should haggle. However I believe lots of Belgians have made the move there recently whilst Germans are fewer so make a sensible offer if you want a property. Hence English is not commonly used by the Spanish there but almost all the other Europeans will happily chat with you.
> If you care to PM me if you find somewhere I might be able to answer detailed questions on the area.


Oh really!!
Can I?
That would be so very kind of you.


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

ccm47 said:


> I know the area between Lorca and Aguilas very well.You need to be very aware that there was a major earthquake there about 10 years ago. Lorca is on a known fault line.hence a large section had to be rebuilt. The houses in Aguilas were not affected so lots of people moved down to their holiday homes there whilst Lorca sorted itself out. Ask if the property you look at has been built to withstand quakes.
> Land is very expensive as the soil is quite fertile and farmers are after all they can get. A lot of the salad and fruits exported to the rest of Europe are grown there so you will find huge areas of plastic greenhouses as well as citrus and almond groves.
> If you are at all concerned about fuel costs find somewhere on the coast itself. When we over wintered in Aguilas evening temperatures were typically around 10°-12° but up in Lorca it was verging on frost and we needed proper gloves and scarves whenever we went evening shopping.
> 200k will easily buy you an estate house with all amenities and you should haggle. However I believe lots of Belgians have made the move there recently whilst Germans are fewer so make a sensible offer if you want a property. Hence English is not commonly used by the Spanish, but almost all the other Europeans will happily chat with you in English. There are very few people there whose first language is English.
> If you care to PM me if you find somewhere I might be able to answer detailed questions on the area.


Just to refine a few points you have mentioned ccm47
True a major earthquake did some damage in Lorca town itself but surrounding area was unaffected.
Houses in the campo constructed within last 20 years are built to withstand earthquakes.
Most are built on a minimum of 5000sq m. 
Estate housing, which OP didn't want, is barely 500m . There is one such estate in the process of being completed.
The only large areas of plastic greenhouse I am aware of are not in Lorca area but come under auspicious of Aguilas.
About 5 km outside of the seaside town of Aguilas and on the dual-carriageway They are perfectly managed. Neat and tidy and IMO neither invasive nor ugly and not worth mentioning 
Cannot fathom where the huge areas of citrus and almond groves ever were on Lorca / Aguilas route but small fields of the latter in my actual area are disappearing now in order to grow broccoli and melons. 
Coastal towns are ALWAYS at least 5 degrees warmer than inland and Jan and Feb can be cold but thought OP mentioned Lubrin which because it is further inland would be colder still in winter, as I can attest to.
There not only are lots of British people but many Spanish, even in my small hamlet, are proficient in the English language. Really amazing.
Although a farming area the Lorca area was, still is, actually very wealthy as you confirmed by the fact Lorquians have holiday homes barely 15 km away, consequently many children from a young age holidayed in various UK towns from London to Edinburgh via Birmingam,Liverpool and Manchester.
Aguilas is delightful and the reason we relocated to this part of Spain. 
Like many towns, coastal or inland it unfortunately suffers from an horrendous lack of parking. Especially in the summer months when the Feria is on. 
Spain is a huge country and hopefully Tanya will find the place that feels right for her.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Tanya Harron said:


> Do you mean because of the all year round high temperatures?. It's more comfortable where you are on the coast? Did you move near to Albanchez coast?.
> 
> No, you will not have high temperatures all year round. The point I was making is that winter temperatures at high altitude inland will be lower than on the coast. Inland temperatures in general will be more extreme than on the coast, colder in winter and hotter in summer. I lived in a remote part of the Costa Blanca mountains, an hour's drive inland, for 14 years. The scenery there is stunning and I loved living there but old age and health issues prompted my wife and I to move closer to civilisation and we now have an apartment near the beach, close to shops, public transport and hospitals. The climate is definitely proving more comfortable and even in the recent heatwave, when inland temperatures were over 40c in places, our maximum was 34c. It's just something to bear in mind when you are deciding where to buy.


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

Melosine's post 26 shows that we all have different experiences of life and notice different things even when in and around the same places!
The greenhouses immediately off the Lorca road are indeed primarily at the Aguilas end but they also extend miles into the countryside around, some are visible from the AP7 but many are not. Similarly there are citrus and almond groves. Because we ride horses and bikes we have explored parts of the hinterland that are well off the normal tracks there; in season we go out after the pickers and pick our mandarines and lemons off the trees or take them from the ground as per Spanish law. However we leave the tomato mountains to be found behind those greenhouses well alone. Houses in the hills around also often have vistas which include the sea and greenhouse plastic! They don't bother me but I think a mention of their presence is warranted as an explanation for all the lorries to be seen around, and people should know this is where their food comes from.

Spaniards speaking English? We simply have not found them in either Aguilas or Lorca, maybe because I am particularly fair skinned they are more likely to try German than English if they speak first or my Spanish fails. Nor do we find there are many native English speakers in Mercadona or Carrefour at the same time as us.

Parking in summer in Aguilas? We take our bikes whenever possible as our flat has underground parking of its own. 
Cost of property? I wasn't advocating an estate house for OP just emphasising that land prices around Aguilas are high, so plots there are small.

Tanya , my offer stands if ever you find a need.


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## Melosine (Apr 28, 2013)

ccm47 said:


> Melosine's post 26 shows that we all have different experiences of life and notice different things even when in and around the same places!
> The greenhouses immediately off the Lorca road are indeed primarily at the Aguilas end but they also extend miles into the countryside around, some are visible from the AP7 but many are not. Similarly there are citrus and almond groves. Because we ride horses and bikes we have explored parts of the hinterland that are well off the normal tracks
> 
> Spaniards speaking English? We simply have not found them in either Aguilas or Lorca, maybe because I am particularly fair skinned they are more likely to try German than English if they speak first or my Spanish fails. Nor do we find there are many native English speakers in Mercadona or Carrefour at the same time as us.
> ...


As two blonde haired, blue eyed, fair skinned people who have lived permanently in the area for 16 years we can definitely state that everytime we go to a bar or shop be it in Puerto Lumbreras, Lorca , Aguilas, Totana to name a few OR, as we did today, visit Raphel Mendez Hospital we hear English spoken, by people from UK so am surprised by your comment.
As I am surprised that you are unaware how many local Spanish proudly speak excellent English.


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