Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2020 1:21am
Hiya Jimbo,
Me and the better half did exactly that 6 years ago and never looked back 😁
I retired 2 years early after getting everything in order to retire to Benidorm which we had been planning for some years. We sold the family house, 2 cars, a big motorbike and 2 scooters and all the contents of the house.
Before I retired I took out extra private pensions and increased payment into existing pensions.
As soon as the house sale went through I organised a holiday apartment in Benidorm for a month and spent that month finding a permanent apartment.
A British owned solicitors sorted out our NIE and all that was required to make us legal residents here in Spain.
We love it here, love the lifestyle and of course the weather.
Don't leave it to late before you put everything in motion as after 31st December it will be much more difficult to gain legal residency.
If you want to come here to Spain to live, do it. What is the "safety net " in the UK you mentioned? It's not to difficult to gain legal residency but you will need to prove that you have enough income to satisfy the authorities that you won't become a burden on the state and prove you have full healthcare. There will be frustrating times and difficulties to overcome and many hoops to jump through but in the end it's worth it.
Don't hesitate to ask more questions or you can PM me.
Steve