# Where???



## smudged01 (Oct 19, 2012)

Hi, seriously thinking about moving my family to the Alicante region, country side really, I have 4 children, 2 girls aged 5 and 9, and 2 boys 16 and 15. Was going to make it an 18 month plan as both boys will be finished in school. Need any advice on the nicest areas with lots going on for boys and good spanish schools for girls, Any ideas gratefully received.


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Hang on, I will just go and measure my peice of string


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## Kenwhite77 (Aug 30, 2012)

djfwells said:


> Hang on, I will just go and measure my peice of string


That was a helpful comment, if you haven't got anything to say why waste your time and put an idiotic comment. You will work out quickly the people who will help you and the people who have nothing better to do with their time.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Kenwhite77 said:


> That was a helpful comment, if you haven't got anything to say why waste your time and put an idiotic comment. You will work out quickly the people who will help you and the people who have nothing better to do with their time.


yes - I see why you might think that - but in all honesty it's an unanswerable question without rather more info


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

smudged01 said:


> Hi, seriously thinking about moving my family to the Alicante region, country side really, I have 4 children, 2 girls aged 5 and 9, and 2 boys 16 and 15. Was going to make it an 18 month plan as both boys will be finished in school. Need any advice on the nicest areas with lots going on for boys and good spanish schools for girls, Any ideas gratefully received.


:welcome:

that's a pretty much unanswerable question without rather more info from you - except I of course would recommend my home town  


however..............

what are your boys planning to do - will they be coming with you? do they speak Spanish? will they need work............. ???

the girls - do they speak any Spanish? if not, the older one _might_ find it too difficult to get up to speed with the language quickly enough to pass exams & you'd need to budget for private International school

what are you planning to do - will _you _be looking for work?

where have you been in the region? what did you like/not like about the area?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

There seem to be fewer posts this year from people wanting to come to Spain to live and fiind work. We usually get quite a few in October-post summer holiday euphoria - and again in January - New Year's blues...

I'm guessing the OP has an income from a business or job already contracted as he hasn't enquired about availability of work.

Maybe the message is getting home in the UK at last....that there are virtually no jobs for immigrants now that the good times of the first five years or so of the current century are long gone.

In defence of Mr. Wells...I must say that I find it droll that people ask questions that are really impossible to answer without more knowledge of the person enquiring.
_
What are the best areas to live?_ is one such... How can anyone answer such a question without knowing the tastes, family circumstances, ability to speak Spanish and other such pertinent factors

For me, the best place to live is where I am settled...a small, quiet village with few British or other immigrants, no night-life, five minutes from sea and mountains.
For others that could be the kind of place they'd try to avoid as they might prefer to be near an immigrant community with shops, bars, night-life and so on.

Sobre los gustos, as the saying goes...


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

The questions and the wording of answers is key!!!!

Alot depends on the income and the original posters finances. If he can afford to keep his family and has unlimited finances, then he can indeed maybe put the boys into an international school to do A levels or jus support them - perhaps the girls too, altho the younger ones could try a state school and pick up the language. 

There is more to do in Spain in general than the UK due to the weather and the tourist industry. So coastal/tourist areas are the best. Lets not forget tho, everyday isnt and wont be a holiday. And if you dont have enough income to support everyone, then firstly you wont be able to become residents and finding contracted work isnt easy

Jo xxxx


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## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

You say you are looking at the countryside. Do you mean inland or a less populated area on the coast? There are both here between Alicante and Benidorm.

Small coastal towns will have more facilities and better transport. Inland would probably be cheaper.

My advice would be to come over for a few weeks holiday, rent a car and have a good look around to see what appeals to you.

Once you have a short-list of possible places then you can start investigating in more detail.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

We have some friends here who have quite a lot of income. He works in UK and she and her two kids live here, near us. Recently they bought a boat which is costing them a small fortune in repairs, mooring fees and the small matter of €500 to fill up with petrol. The kids both go to a private school, another grand a month, then there is the rent of 950 a month, then there is the monthly cost of living which for them is around 1500 a month. So altogether they spend around 3,500 a month. Ok their lifestyle is very good. The hubby comes over as much as he can, usually every two weeks (forgot to add the cost of airfares to the total). Why am I rambling on about this which _ admit seems way off topic. Well, it seems to me that whatever your income might be, most folk will find a way of not making ends meet. Wh¡ch is what they have recently discovered. To help solve the problem they are about to move nearer the private school which is about 30 minutes drive away right now (and the kids finish at different times, are not allowed to take packed lunches, can't eat the muck which is described as a school lunch (€10 each per day) so they have to eat at a nearby restaurant five days a week, but then she (the mum) doesn't have to eat in theevening. They are moving into a grand house which they are on a rent to buy scheme at around €1500 a month, but the petrol savings etc mean that by doing this they save €200 a month. Now, I hear many of you saying, oh, I wish I had problems like that but my point is, that if you do have a private income and you don't need to work here, most people really will find a way of discovering that whatever their income might be, at times it simply isn't enough. So when making plans to move to Spain, remember that whatever your budget is, however carefully you've worked it out, be prepared for the big surprises that are just around the corner. As for myself, I don't have a boat (use our friends boat, much cheaper option), the boy will be going to state school from September next year (where he can take his own lunch), our monthly outgoings are a fraction of our friend's, I have a private pension and I have work etc etc etc, yet still at the end of each month we think, where did all the money go???? Life: doncha just luv it??? (Well, in fact I do - just landed a small role as a stand up comic haha)_


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> We have some friends here who have quite a lot of income. He works in UK and she and her two kids live here, near us. Recently they bought a boat which is costing them a small fortune in repairs, mooring fees and the small matter of €500 to fill up with petrol. The kids both go to a private school, another grand a month, then there is the rent of 950 a month, then there is the monthly cost of living which for them is around 1500 a month. So altogether they spend around 3,500 a month. Ok their lifestyle is very good. The hubby comes over as much as he can, usually every two weeks (forgot to add the cost of airfares to the total). Why am I rambling on about this which _ admit seems way off topic. *Well, it seems to me that whatever your income might be, most folk will find a way of not making ends meet*. Wh¡ch is what they have recently discovered. To help solve the problem they are about to move nearer the private school which is about 30 minutes drive away right now (and the kids finish at different times, are not allowed to take packed lunches, can't eat the muck which is described as a school lunch (€10 each per day) so they have to eat at a nearby restaurant five days a week, but then she (the mum) doesn't have to eat in theevening. They are moving into a grand house which they are on a rent to buy scheme at around €1500 a month, but the petrol savings etc mean that by doing this they save €200 a month. Now, I hear many of you saying, oh, I wish I had problems like that but my point is, that if you do have a private income and you don't need to work here, most people really will find a way of discovering that whatever their income might be, at times it simply isn't enough. So when making plans to move to Spain, remember that whatever your budget is, however carefully you've worked it out, be prepared for the big surprises that are just around the corner. As for myself, I don't have a boat (use our friends boat, much cheaper option), the boy will be going to state school from September next year (where he can take his own lunch), our monthly outgoings are a fraction of our friend's, I have a private pension and I have work etc etc etc, yet still at the end of each month we think, where did all the money go???? Life: doncha just luv it??? (Well, in fact I do - just landed a small role as a stand up comic haha)_


_



Good post but I disagree wit the bit I've highlighted. We certainly aren't in that situation and I don't really know anyone British who is.

I'm very interested in that 'rent to buy' scheme you mentioned. We currently pay a total of 1500 euros a month in rent and it would be interesting to find out if there are similar schemes on offer in this area.

The house we currently live in is quite large and there is a separate plot which has building permission which we just use as a field, really. It would be ideal to buy for my son and dil..._


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Kenwhite77 said:


> That was a helpful comment, if you haven't got anything to say why waste your time and put an idiotic comment. You will work out quickly the people who will help you and the people who have nothing better to do with their time.


A fair point.
Equally so, people may also work out which forum users disregard the thousands of potentially useful contributions that people have made ad nauseum over the years.
- The "search" button is not just there for decoration.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

mrypg9 said:


> Good post but I disagree wit the bit I've highlighted. We certainly aren't in that situation and I don't really know anyone British who is.
> 
> I'm very interested in that 'rent to buy' scheme you mentioned. We currently pay a total of 1500 euros a month in rent and it would be interesting to find out if there are similar schemes on offer in this area.
> 
> The house we currently live in is quite large and there is a separate plot which has building permission which we just use as a field, really. It would be ideal to buy for my son and dil...


There are many rent to buy schemes here in Spain and they are very popular. It is set up between you and your landlord and at the end of the scheme you decide if you want to buy, in which case all the money you've paid in rent is taken off the agreed sale price (which is set at the biginning of the scheme), or you decide not to buy in which case you move out. It is often used when people are not certain if they really want to live in that house or are permanently but can be used in more or less any circumstance. Should you require a mortgage when you commit to purchase you should make certain you have that agreed with a bank or other lender before you begin. Many banks will set up a mortgage and it is put on hold until the time comes when you decide to take it up or not.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> There are many rent to buy schemes here in Spain and they are very popular. It is set up between you and your landlord and at the end of the scheme you decide if you want to buy, in which case all the money you've paid in rent is taken off the agreed sale price (which is set at the biginning of the scheme), or you decide not to buy in which case you move out. It is often used when people are not certain if they really want to live in that house or are permanently but can be used in more or less any circumstance. Should you require a mortgage when you commit to purchase you should make certain you have that agreed with a bank or other lender before you begin. Many banks will set up a mortgage and it is put on hold until the time comes when you decide to take it up or not.


I know our very good landlord is unhappy with his experiences of renting in Spain. He has just lost literally thousands of euros in unpaid rent and electricity and water bills run up by a tenant in his other property which he has decided to leave empty.It seems we are the only tenants who have paid the rent not only on time but before time!

If we moved out, he would probably try to sell this house but property prices have plummeted and I doubt he would get more than he paid for the property ten years ago, once taxes had been paid. 

So the idea of a rent to buy scheme sounds VERY interesting. My son and dil have property here but not the kind they'd want to retire to. I can't see them staying in the UK once retired so our house with the plot with building permission would be ideal for them. It's not a 'holiday' property, not part of a 'community' - just a nice house on a quiet street at the edge of the village.

Discussions are in order, methinks. Son and dil have quite a few years to go before retiring so under a rent-to-buy scheme the property could perhaps be paid for by then....Food for much thought...


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

mrypg9 said:


> I know our very good landlord is unhappy with his experiences of renting in Spain. He has just lost literally thousands of euros in unpaid rent and electricity and water bills run up by a tenant in his other property which he has decided to leave empty.It seems we are the only tenants who have paid the rent not only on time but before time!
> 
> If we moved out, he would probably try to sell this house but property prices have plummeted and I doubt he would get more than he paid for the property ten years ago, once taxes had been paid.
> 
> ...


The only issue for you might be how long you could do the deal for. In principle, you could rent to buy until you've paid off the entire agreed selling price but I've not come across that before. The longest rent to buy I've heard of was 5 years. And remember, this is essentially an interest free part of the purchase which is why it casn be so attractive. It also, as far as the bank is concerned, represents your deposit on the property, so it really can be a win win situation for all concerned. I should think your son and dil are quite a way frome retirement otherwise that would put you at about 95....


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