# Considering move to Spain for health reasons. Thoughts?



## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

We need a healthy climate without the bad cold/flu season that northern Europe has or the thick dust clouds that eastern parts of the med have. So, we are looking for somewhere with...

Minimal dust events, preferably none or at least rare and light. We can lock ourselves indoors for a few days.

Low incidence of colds and flu in the winter. This is possibly the most important factor.

No extended periods of grey, wet, miserable weather in winter. Again we can cope with short periods. Short spells or even the odd day or so of rain are fine. Its the long spells of wet clouds that are the problem healthwise.

Not relevant to health but --- nice beaches! Ie white/yellow sand or rocky coves with shallow clear water. OR a nice lake. 

We are mature professionals looking for a quiet, cultured environment. Any location suggestions based on all the above? 

Other than all that - whats it like to live in Spain these days for people who dont need to get a job in the country itself?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Kikie said:


> We need a healthy climate without the bad cold/flu season that northern Europe has or the thick dust clouds that eastern parts of the med have. So, we are looking for somewhere with...
> 
> Minimal dust events, preferably none or at least rare and light. We can lock ourselves indoors for a few days.
> 
> ...


Spain is a lovely place to live, but it is dusty in the summer, and in the winter, although not as cold as the UK, the houses tend to get very damp and cold, in fact there are many days when its warmer out than in - so it doesnt really adhere to your requirements. 

The Canary Islands may be better? They have a better all year round climate

Jo xxx


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

Thanks Jo. Mainland is better for us, for work and medical care reasons. This is proving very very difficult! We dont mind a bit of dust thats stirred up from the ground, its the huge clouds of it that come from the Sahara that are a worry. If we can get a good house that isnt damp in winter that would help us cope too.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Kikie said:


> Thanks Jo. Mainland is better for us, for work and medical care reasons. This is proving very very difficult! We dont mind a bit of dust thats stirred up from the ground, its the huge clouds of it that come from the Sahara that are a worry. If we can get a good house that isnt damp in winter that would help us cope too.


. One of the reasons we left spain was because my daughter is asthmatic and the dust didnt agree with her and she didnt like it. When it rained there was more often than not, a coating of dust on the car afterwards. Possibly not so bad close to the coast??? But yes, Spain is dusty - its the heat and the dryness?

I'm sure that there are houses without damp issues, central heating isnt common in spain, but I'm sure that there are some houses available with it and insulation? 

All in all I loved spain, but not the winters and as I say, my daughter didnt like the dust and it was dusty!

Jo xxx


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

jojo said:


> . One of the reasons we left spain was because my daughter is asthmatic and the dust didnt agree with her and she didnt like it. When it rained there was more often than not, a coating of dust on the car afterwards. Possibly not so bad close to the coast??? But yes, Spain is dusty - its the heat and the dryness?
> 
> I'm sure that there are houses without damp issues, central heating isnt common in spain, but I'm sure that there are some houses available with it and insulation?
> 
> ...


where were you living Jo?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Kikie said:


> where were you living Jo?



We started off inland Alhaurin de la Torre, Malaga and eventually moved to Benalmadena - and then back to the UK. But we have friends who live in Nerja, Malaga who we often visit.

Jo xxx


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

Oops, double post


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

Kikie said:


> We need a healthy climate without the bad cold/flu season that northern Europe has or the thick dust clouds that eastern parts of the med have. So, we are looking for somewhere with...
> 
> Minimal dust events, preferably none or at least rare and light. We can lock ourselves indoors for a few days.
> 
> ...


Dust: There's lots and lots of dust around here. There basically is no grass, just weeds which die off during the hot months (6 months of the year) leaving bare earth - bare, dusty earth. When I open my windows in the summer evenings to let in a breeze, the next morning my floors are covered with a coating of dust. We don't need dust storms to have dust. 

Colds and flu: Is there really a lower incidence of colds and flu in Spain? I get 2 or 3 colds every year (as do most people I know) and on the news they always talk about a flu epidemic every year. I wonder what the statistics say?

Rain: It definitely rains in Spain! And it tends to rain for long stretches of time during specific rainy seasons. The driest part of Spain is in Almeria - but that would also be the dustiest, because it's virtually a desert. 

Beaches: Lots and lots of really beautiful beaches! The south and east coasts are the most popular. 

I'm not sure you're going to fine an area that ticks all your boxes.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Kikie said:


> Thanks Jo. Mainland is better for us, for work and medical care reasons. This is proving very very difficult! We dont mind a bit of dust thats stirred up from the ground, its the huge clouds of it that come from the Sahara that are a worry. If we can get a good house that isnt damp in winter that would help us cope too.


We often get what we call 'red rain' caused by Saharan sand - not so much rain the past couple of years....... much of Spain is experiencing drought conditions, especially in my area - but when in rains IT RAINS!!

If you're affected by damp - you'll likely be affected by humidity. My arthritis is often worse in summer than in winter, because of the very high humidity - so if that is an issue, choose an area with low humidity


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## ExpatWannabee (Jul 6, 2011)

I think you are setting the bar a bit too high, Kikie. I don't know of any place that matches your description - not just in Spain, but around the world. Of course, I've only been to 64 countries, so I might have missed the perfect one. I would love to be proven wrong, of course. If anyone knows of a place like the one described, please let me know and I'll pull up stakes and move there right away. I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more realistic Kikie and find a place that matches most of your criteria, or at least your most important criteria. As for a place that has low incidence of cold or flu in the winter, please remember that we're talking here about the country that gave the world the "Great Spanish Influenza"!!!


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*Thanks and explanations*

Thanks for the responses everyone. However I think perhaps I wasnt clear, for which apologies. So...

We are not worried about ground dust conditions, it is the atmospheric dust that is the issue. Ie mostly from the Sahara. It is worse in some countries in the Mediterranean than others and even varies within those countries, exacerbated by other pollution. Hence me trying to find out where it is least prevalent. This is not us being picky, it is actually dangerous for my partner. (not asthma)

We are not looking for NO grey skies and rain in winter, just not constant weeks of the stuff. Extended periods of cold and damp are huge risk factors.

Ditto cold and flu. There are countries/areas where the incidence is less, usually areas of lower population in warmer climes. There is information online, eg via Who but not always down to enough detail, in fact some data is not supplied by some countries at all, hence asking for local experience. I know its finger in the air stuff but its better than nothing. 

In response to the implied lack of experience ... In 60 years I have lived in 11 countries, on 4 continents, for many years each time, moving around to different areas in several of those countries. I have travelled to very, very many countries, several hundreds of locations of all types. I have experienced a wide variety of climates including living on the edge of a desert, in monsoon country, in hurricane country, tropical, equitorial and temperate. I can say that there ARE places that fit the above criteria but unfortunately for a number of reasons we are probably restricted to Europe for the next few years. 

We had to leave the UK because it was quite literally killing him. We have already moved 3 times and are trying to get enough information to reduce the chance of getting it wrong next time.


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## Kikie (Nov 7, 2008)

*Spanish Flu didn't start in Spain*



ExpatWannabee said:


> As for a place that has low incidence of cold or flu in the winter, please remember that we're talking here about the country that gave the world the "Great Spanish Influenza"!!!


It is a common misunderstanding but Spanish Flu didn't start in Spain. Just more widely reported there due to media restrictions elsewhere. The 1918 “Spanish Flu” in Spain


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

Colds in Spain Last Longer Than Anywhere Else in the World! | Spanish News in English - On The Pulse of Spain


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