# * First Time to Spain - Looking for areas to visit and/or live



## Gentle_patience (Sep 3, 2012)

* First Time to Spain - Looking for areas to visit and/or live 

Hello Friends

This is our first time to Spain later this month ! 
Looking for areas to visit and/or live. 
My partner and I are fairly travel savvy but always learning !

Staying for over 4 weeks end of Sept through first of November, 
We will be driving and/or taking the train from Lisbon to Barcelona along the coast. (With a short 2 days in Morocco)

We were thinking of visiting the southern coast of Spain with the idea of maybe finding a "reasonable" place to live part of the year after we retire. We are also hoping to have a great Vacation there for NOW over 1 month this Sept/ October.

We Love the water, and Authentic people and culture and some night life and activity and places where there is activity. We love small shops , boutiques, coffee houses, and restaurants and fresh air ! We don't want to be in a place that is a carbon copy of the USA - Been there done that. Eclectic and accepting and friendly are key attributes of any area if we are to live there, BUT traveling through other areas of interest, (Like Morocco, are still of interest to us as we learn about new areas.) 

We are also looking for Help to find any good blogs for this area 
We are also looking for an apartment in southern Spain for a week or two.

Any help or info out about different areas in the region is helpful as well.

We don't want much do we ?  

Thank You Kindly,
Chelsea 

PS: No negative emails or postings please. 
Life is too short to waste on negative people. Been there done that too.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Gentle_patience said:


> * First Time to Spain - Looking for areas to visit and/or live
> 
> Hello Friends
> 
> ...


:welcome:

we don't do negative here - but we do do realistic 

Spain IS a great place to live, providing you have a secure income - it's a very diverse mix of what you might call traditional & big city modern

it's hard to know where to suggest though - & by the time you've done your travelling you will have seen only a tiny part of the country - & yet possibly more than many of us who live here!!

on a practical note - if you're planning to live here as opposed to just visit, then take a look at our FAQs - there's a post there about visas for non-EU citizens which you should find helpful - it can be rather a long process securing a 'resident' visa, so you can never start the process too soon - there are links to articles, discussions & Consulates

some of our regular posters here have blogs about living in Spain - so have a read of the forum & click the links in their signatures


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

The negatives/realism are that to live in Spain you need to prove a sustainable income and healthcare provision to become a resident. I dont understand the visa system, so I cant comment on that. 

Apart from that and the economic situation, Spain is a great place, it is diverse, you can ski in the mountains, live a peaceful and quiet life, it has busy cities, tourist areas, lots of wide open spaces, traditional white wash villages. If you're visiting, you need to hire a car and simply drive round and see if you can find what you're looking for.

Havr a look on google maps and get an idea

Jo xxx


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

As said, not negativity just a reflection of what the situation really is.

Start up near the French border as the weather will be cooling and head south chasing the sun.

As I'm sure your research has shown, Spain is in a perilous economic situation with house prices dropping a lot and further falls forecast so DON'T be tempted to buy anything; prices won't level out for a long time yet.

Long term rental is ideal for you, its a renters market and rental prices have dropped too.

On the plus side, Spain is wonderful if you have a good retirement income. Its also a great base to visit other parts of Europe and flights can be had very cheaply. Book in advance and you'll get change from $100 flying to London and back for instance. You'll be a couple of hours from all of Europe's major cities. You'll welcome some prices, others may be a shock but if you can afford to live in the States you should be OK; just don't expect to save money on a day to day basis living here instead of home.

Have a great time and keep us informed on the trip


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Spain is a huge Country, extremely diverse culturally and scenically. 

I live in the most south westerly part of Spanish territory, the Canary Islands on the same latitude as Florida. When you have been to Iberian Spain and Morocco perhaps visit these Islands and experience the warmth of the Canarian charm and culture.

Shortly I shall be flying to Cantábrica in the north of Spain for a short vacation. I am expecting it to be completely different from here.

Follow the link below for photos of El Hierro


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## Minerva.909 (Jul 29, 2012)

None of the European countries are even close to being a "carbon copy" of USA. I am sure you will find Spain very different - even if many differences are not readily visible for a tourist. Friendly? People - yes, bureaucracy - not really: very cumbersome in fact, but again as a tourist you shouldn't be too affected. 

You do not mention whether you speak Spanish. If you do, you'll learn more of real Spain, if you don't you'll only (?) partake in expat Spain, but no worry - it is diversified a lot more than US expat dominated Latin America and a lot of the Caribbean.

As for an apartment rental: there are many web sites allowing you to find - and book - what you need. The ones in Spanish (ex.enalquiler, idealista) have more choices and more humane prices, the one in English (like kyero) have a lot more limited choices and can have ridiculously high prices.

As for the fall weather: I happen to like Barcelona in November - less tourists, smaller crowds. Don't mind wearing a coat .... but there is a significant temperature difference between, say, Costa Granadina or Costa Blanca and Barcelona at that time of year.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Gentle_patience said:


> We Love the water, and Authentic people and culture and some night life and activity and places where there is activity. We love small shops , boutiques, coffee houses, and restaurants and fresh air ! We don't want to be in a place that is a carbon copy of the USA - Been there done that. Eclectic and accepting and friendly are key attributes of any area if we are to live there, BUT traveling through other areas of interest, (Like Morocco, are still of interest to us as we learn about new areas.)


Take a look at the Costa de la Luz, the Coast of Light, which is on Spain's southern Atlantic coast (between the Rock of Gibraltar and the Portuguese border). It would seem to tick a lot of your boxes!


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