# Spain is your oyster, where and why?



## Chimaera (Aug 12, 2015)

So Spain is your oyster so to speak. I appreciate that again my question is subjective and everyone has their own reasons for choosing a particular place to live; climate, proximity to the coast because they like it or are involved in watersports, close to relatives, a place previously visited that tugs at the heartstrings or close to an airport for trips home to name but a few. 

For me we hope to rent somewhere near Puerto Lumbreras prior to buying because of the proximity to the coast, towns, airports and the climate. However it may be that the actuality of living there will change our priorities and we may ultimately end up somewhere totally different! So why did you end up where you did?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chimaera said:


> So Spain is your oyster so to speak. I appreciate that again my question is subjective and everyone has their own reasons for choosing a particular place to live; climate, proximity to the coast because they like it or are involved in watersports, close to relatives, a place previously visited that tugs at the heartstrings or close to an airport for trips home to name but a few.
> 
> For me we hope to rent somewhere near Puerto Lumbreras prior to buying because of the proximity to the coast, towns, airports and the climate. However it may be that the actuality of living there will change our priorities and we may ultimately end up somewhere totally different! So why did you end up where you did?


Not sure where would be my favourite place to live. Where I am now has its good points, but not enough to keep us here once we retire. The north is much more to my liking, but one of the things I like about this region is the dry climate... OH is from Bilbao, but I don't think he wants to live so close to the family (and I'm happy to have some space too)
We have loved the beaches and countryside of Asturias when we've been there. Cantabria has those plus points too. Galicia's weather is worse and it's a bit too isolated to live in I think (proximity to airports, Bilbao...). Oviedo appeals, an attractive manegeable town, but we were there in August and spent one morning in a fine mist.
I'm not attracted to live in the south mainly because of the weather and the parched countryside although I'm know there are some paradises down there. Maybe rent a place in January/ Feburary


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

> So why did you end up where you did?


We ended up in Madrid because of work, but live @ 30 kms out in an area which is much nearer the countryside in an urb of about 100 houses 99% Spanish, and 85% of those with employment work in Madrid. It sounds awful, but we don't have any friends in the urb, only an ex work mate of mine who came to live here after us. We talk to and get along with several people as acquaintances


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

We wanted the South of Spain because we wanted a mainly dry and warm climate (but of course it does rain and feel comparatively cold in the winter, once you have acclimatised to the summer temperatures, and you need to be able to live with a couple of months of really hot weather in July and August).

We wanted to be near the coast but not on it - didn't want to live in a holiday resort which is too busy in summer and can feel a bit "forlorn" in winter when the bars and restaurants are nearly empty even if they stay open - plus property prices away from the coast are much cheaper.

We wanted a town with really good shopping facilities we could walk to, good public transport links and to be close to a hospital, as I don't drive that was most important to me, especially as we want to stay here when we get older.

We wanted to be near an airport with plenty of choice of flights back to the UK and to other places for holidays, and to be able to reach the airport easily by public transport.

We wanted ideally to live in a town with a lot of historic character to it, and not on a housing estate.

And where we live ticks every one of our own particular boxes, so we're very happy here.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> We wanted ideally to live in a town with a lot of historic character to it, and not on a housing estate.
> 
> And where we live ticks every one of our own particular boxes, so we're very happy here.


I need to be somewhere where I can see and get out into the countryside and funnily enough a "housing estate" was the best option. It's not in the middle of nowhere making it difficult for schools and our daughter visiting friends (I was 7 and a half months pregnant when we moved hereso we had to think of living with a child) and it's not in the hot, noisy town. It's 12 mins walk from the town which has been one of the best things for us, always, even when our daugher was little, being able to walk to the shops, sports centre, bars, library, town hall...
Also the proximity to Madrid for museums, exhibitions, restaurants and the inevitable paperwork has also been very important


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I need to be somewhere where I can see and get out into the countryside and funnily enough a "housing estate" was the best option. It's not in the middle of nowhere making it difficult for schools and our daughter visiting friends (I was 7 and a half months pregnant when we moved hereso we had to think of living with a child) and it's not in the hot, noisy town. It's 12 mins walk from the town which has been one of the best things for us, always, even when our daugher was little, being able to walk to the shops, sports centre, bars, library, town hall...
> Also the proximity to Madrid for museums, exhibitions, restaurants and the inevitable paperwork has also been very important


I really wasn't asking anybody else to justify their decision to live where they do. I think I should be able to state a personal preference without anybody assuming I am criticising their own choice if it doesn't happen to be the same as mine. I have personally never liked housing estates, either in the UK or here, and have never lived on one. I don't like modern properties and old ones don't come on housing estates. I don't want to pay additional community fees on top of my IBI bill, either. I don't live in the town centre either, but up on a hill in a mostly traffic free historic area within the old city walls. I have a panoramic view of countryside and mountains from my roof terrace, and it is very quiet indeed, especially at night.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> I really wasn't asking anybody else to justify their decision to live where they do. I think I should be able to state a personal preference without anybody assuming I am criticising their own choice if it doesn't happen to be the same as mine. I have personally never liked housing estates, either in the UK or here, and have never lived on one. I don't like modern properties and old ones don't come on housing estates. I don't want to pay additional community fees on top of my IBI bill, either. I don't live in the town centre either, but up on a hill in a mostly traffic free historic area within the old city walls. I have a panoramic view of countryside and mountains from my roof terrace, and it is very quiet indeed, especially at night.


Lynn!
I wasn't defending, and I didn't think you were criticising :confused2:
I was just adding information about why we made our choice!
I wasn't asking for more information about your relation with housing estates either.
I put housing estate in "" because people _usually_ agree that housing estate does not = urbanizacion, but please, go ahead and state your personal preference.

It's been very windy here yesterday and today. Maybe that's affecting the forum as people seem to be a bit touchy with several spats going on!

Lynn, I didn't want to be abrasive and offend in any way and if you have any thing else to add could you do it by PM so that it doesn't spoil the thread?


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Lynn!
> I wasn't defending, and I didn't think you were criticising :confused2:
> I was just adding information about why we made our choice!
> I wasn't asking for more information about your relation with housing estates either.
> ...


Nothing wrong with your post at all. I found Lynn's post rather bizarre as well.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Unlike many others, we have no need for flights back to wherever (UK, USA, Colombia) we are content here and if we could only get the local shops to stock Flora Light (Lowest saturated fat), everything would be perfect.

I was born on the outskirts of a village and within spitting distance of the North Sea so I have no desire for a coastal location. I have very fond memories of that rural life - it was wartime - and the warm generous nature of country people. Although where I was born was very flat and I have lived also in areas like Lincolnshire, I have also lived in more mountainous areas which I find I prefer. SWMBO comes from high in the Andes and the suegra spent over 50 years living there.

I had thoughts of living in the campo but SWMBO pointed out that we are all getting older and we should consider how long it would take an ambulance to find us. At present we can drive but we need to consider the possibility that, at some time in the future, we may not be able to. The proximity of shops and hospitals needs to be considered.

This village is perfect. We have mountains, the people are warm, generous and friendly. The house suits us, giving the three of us enough room to be apart while having the option of being together. We have a range of shops for groceries, clothes, footwear, and most other things with the added option of the nearby town for larger purchases (beds, etc.) and hospitals. Our health centre has 24hour out-of-hours srvice with a Dr, nurse, driver and an ambulance on standby with, for real emergencies, a helipad for Medevac. The bus service is rather infrequent operating more at the times when it is needed (schools, work and a couple of shopping trips per week) rather than running around empty every ten minutes so it would be sufficient if we were unable to drive.

We looked at about 70 different properties before this one and it seemed that we were being drawn here - as we walked to the house for the first time, we had the distinct feeling that the house was saying to us "Ah, you've got here at last. Welcome." We knew roughly the sort of area we wanted, having ruled out several areas and locations because of climate (river valleys can be extra hot in summer and frost hollows in winter). We can get to most of Andalucía within a few hours and with its wealth of Natural Parks giving us a range of holiday locations and its wealth of history, where else could we want to be?

Time to take the dogs for their midday walk while there are still bits of road that have not yet been caught by the sun today and we can do most of the route in the shade.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Lynn!
> 
> 
> I was just adding information about why we made our choice!
> ...


Then why do it as a direct reply to what I posted?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

We wanted to be near the Costa de la Luz, Andalucia's Atlantic coast, because of its wild beauty and vast stretches of golden sand. It is notoriously windswept, which is why it hasn't had the tourist development that the Mediterranean coasts had. There are a few resorts of course, which are packed with Spanish city-dwellers in July and August, enjoying locally-caught seafood and child-friendly beaches. But the rest of the year it's mainly just birdwatchers and surfers.

We actually found our dream house in a pueblo blanco about 40 km inland, where prices were much lower. We couldn't have bought a small 2-bed apartment on the coast for what we paid for our large detached house in the village. I'm really glad we did end up here, not only because it's in a natural park with stunning wildlife and scenery, but because the people here are just fantastic. It's an amazingly strong and supportive community and we are so lucky to have become part of it.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola
I ended up on the costa de la Luz because I have always thought of the Mediterranean as a "dirty" sea - probably comes from my parents in the 1950´s and may not be applicable now. 

The Atlantic sea is much cooler though but when I first started looking, I took one look at the miles of golden sands on the beach and thought "This is the place for me". I lived most of my life in Worthing; a seaside town with miles of shingle "beaches". 

Not everyone's cup of tea but I like Chiclana. 

Davexf


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## Mushu7 (Jul 17, 2015)

Haven't moved yet, but I have a short list of what I want in a property.

Musts:
Have large open terrace/balcony/garden
Nice views
Close proximity to beach (driving or walking)
Close to shops, schools and potential job

Bonus:
Sea and mountain views
Community pool
Close to airport

I would prefer to have neighbours so wouldn't want to be out in the sticks isolated, and I would prefer not to be in a resort type area so not keen on the south of the Islands.

In my research I have found a few ideal apartments or duplex's (providing pictures are correct) that match my 'must' list. But am very much keeping an open mind, as when we eventually visit to search for homes I may fall in love with something completely different.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Mushu7 said:


> Haven't moved yet, but I have a short list of what I want in a property.
> 
> Musts:
> Have large open terrace/balcony/garden
> ...


Don't forget you can use Google Earth and go to "Street view" to look at places and the surroundings and take a virtual walk around.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> Then why do it as a direct reply to what I posted?


Simples!
Because you said


> We wanted ideally to live in a town with a lot of historic character to it, and not on a housing estate.


and I was commenting on that, giving a few reasons why we decided to choose this place.

I didn't want to live on a housing estate/ urbanizacion either. It wasn't something I set out to do but there many different types.( And I'm adding this for people who might not know, not for you, Lynn) 


An urbanización can be 10 houses or hundreds of them.
They can be all houses, all flats or a mixture.
They come with or without a communal swimming pool.
The properties can be as cheap as chips or luxurious and owned by celebrities and politicians.
There maybe communal gardens, there may be individual gardens.
They can be aimed at an expat market or the Spanish buyer or both.
They can be beautiful, ordinary or grotty (although I have to say most I've seen are nice to very nice).
They can be on the outskirts of a town or really in the middle of nowhere.
If they are in urban areas they are usually flats I think.
They may be gated or not
They can be built with properties one on top of the other or with individual houses in large, leafy plots.

Just as there are thousands of different personalities out there, there are many (probably not thousands) of different types of urbanizaciones, so my advice would be to people new to Spain, if you are offered a house on an urbanizacion/ estate, you might want to consider it, at least from Madrid up. 

photos of urbs/ estates near me
https://www.google.es/search?q=urba...m=isch&q=urbanizacion+los+arroyos+el+escorial










https://www.google.es/search?q=urba...s&tbm=isch&q=urbanizacion+el+rincon+galapagar
In the south I don't know if there is the variety that I've talked about, but probably


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

I would love to give Frigiliana a go but wife says we prefer Valencia region


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Rabbitcat said:


> I would love to give Frigiliana a go but wife says we prefer Valencia region


Ah another "She Who Must Be Obeyed"


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## fcexpat (Sep 25, 2014)

Rabbitcat said:


> I would love to give Frigiliana a go but wife says we prefer Valencia region


We looked up at Valencia and also on the Costa de la Luz .... and we are in ..... Frigiliana ...... we are on the edge of the village ... but not on the campo .. but our front terrace looks over the campo ... never tire of looking at it ... the bus to Nerja stops at the end of the road . 1 Euro . once you get the bus times sorted - fantastic service ... get a big shop delivered once a month from Super Sol .. the rest comes from the village ... after a coffee and sometimes before lunch .... or in the evening... depends what we feel like ...

Nerja has links to Malaga by bus for the airport or shopping and to Torre Del Mar and Velez for a large shopping centre - we don't use that as find that the shops in Nerja are more than adequate for our needs and their delivery service is superior to U K ! 

In short we love it here .....


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Funny, if I had moved to Spain as a younger person I would have wanted a property inland with lots of land and no near neighbours. Now I have just retired my priorities have changed to:
Villa with pool and decent size garden with easy maintenance
Near the coast
Urbanisation will do
Reasonably close to a hospital, doctor and dentist
Reasonably close to shops (ideally TXMaxx Hee Hee!!)
Close to a studio so I can carry on with Zumba and Pilates
Somewhere to walk the dog
Climate that is mostly sunny
Surroundings not too dry
AND somewhere I can slow down and relax
Not necessarily in this order.

I suppose horses for courses.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

fcexpat said:


> We looked up at Valencia and also on the Costa de la Luz .... and we are in ..... Frigiliana ...... we are on the edge of the village ... but not on the campo .. but our front terrace looks over the campo ... never tire of looking at it ... the bus to Nerja stops at the end of the road . 1 Euro . once you get the bus times sorted - fantastic service ... get a big shop delivered once a month from Super Sol .. the rest comes from the village ... after a coffee and sometimes before lunch .... or in the evening... depends what we feel like ...
> 
> Nerja has links to Malaga by bus for the airport or shopping and to Torre Del Mar and Velez for a large shopping centre - we don't use that as find that the shops in Nerja are more than adequate for our needs and their delivery service is superior to U K !
> 
> In short we love it here .....


Lucky sod. Sounds idyllic . It's such a gorgeous village. I love this link 

Webcam

Any chance of you convincing my wife???


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

We visited many parts of Andalusia but it did not float our boats. We ended up here in Extremadura.

Its horrible here, people nasty, weather awful, really noisy, cant settle, thousands of cars awful place

Don't come here!
:eyebrows:


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

we came here for holidays - not always to Jávea, but if we were ever within driving distance it was like a magnet & we kept coming back..... it just felt like 'home'

so one day we decided 'why wait til the kids have grown up & gone - let's try it while they're still young enough to adapt'

3 months later we were here


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Chimaera said:


> So Spain is your oyster so to speak. I appreciate that again my question is subjective and everyone has their own reasons for choosing a particular place to live; climate, proximity to the coast because they like it or are involved in watersports, close to relatives, a place previously visited that tugs at the heartstrings or close to an airport for trips home to name but a few.
> 
> For me we hope to rent somewhere near Puerto Lumbreras prior to buying because of the proximity to the coast, towns, airports and the climate. However it may be that the actuality of living there will change our priorities and we may ultimately end up somewhere totally different! So why did you end up where you did?


Originally I wanted to emigrate to Australia, but the miserable dastards wouldn't let me in. However some years later I found this Isle of Wight sized island, which is Chav free and almost crime free, cheaper than the U.K., nice climate friendly locals, beautiful countryside, so when a bungalow with 1500 square meters of land came up for sale, for a very reasonable amount of Pesetas, well it had to be bought, and here we are "Home sweet home,"


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