Information on life in Catral - Page 3

Pedro2020 wrote on Sun Nov 20, 2022 4:47pm:

First of all have fun looking!!

We bought our first house in La Marina in 1998, moved to Quesada in 2005, then to Benijofar in 2016 before buying our forever home here, near the Hondo, Catral in 2020.

Read more...

So we've had a house in the general area for 24 years. We bought here after the flood in 2019 which affected lots of towns around here. Your research will find the main reason for the flooding was exceptionally heavy rain, the "Gota Fria" which overwhelmed many areas of Murcia and Alicante.  Many of the newer homes, the gardens flooded but not the houses. Irrespective of the flooding, I believe Catral has something like 1,600 illegal houses and if you listen to "those in the know" over 50% of many towns in Spain have illegal houses for one reason or another.

We had a beautiful new house in Benijofar, 3 bed, 3 bathroom, modern house of 130 square meter build on a 200 square meter plot. Here in Catral we have a 140 square meter build on a 2,000 square meter plot. There are so many Palm trees around us we could be in the Carribean!!

Why Catral?  Our house is 3 km from the centre, it"s a lovely walk in Spring and Autumn (too hot in the Summer), great for cycling with most of the Vega Baja being flat (well it was the sea bed of the Mediterranean 2000 years ago).

The land is fertile and our garden is full of fruit trees and Palms making a great place to sit out in.  Remember, here in Spain you want good outside space and you don't need a large kitchen!!  Cooking outside in common and eating out can be done, even on a budget.

The local people are friendly with a heathly ex-pat mix but not too many to change the old charm of the town. 

As others have said, eating and drinking here offers many alternatives.

After two years here, we know we have made the right choice. Yes we live in an "illegal house" but that is compensated for by much bigger plots (if you want them) and great value for money houses. Our house would have cost nearly double in Benijofar or Quesada.

You get what you pay for - enjoy your hunt......

Pedro2020 wrote on Sun Nov 20, 2022 4:47pm:

First of all have fun looking!!

We bought our first house in La Marina in 1998, moved to Quesada in 2005, then to Benijofar in 2016 before buying our forever home here, near the Hondo, Catral in 2020.

Read more...

So we've had a house in the general area for 24 years. We bought here after the flood in 2019 which affected lots of towns around here. Your research will find the main reason for the flooding was exceptionally heavy rain, the "Gota Fria" which overwhelmed many areas of Murcia and Alicante.  Many of the newer homes, the gardens flooded but not the houses. Irrespective of the flooding, I believe Catral has something like 1,600 illegal houses and if you listen to "those in the know" over 50% of many towns in Spain have illegal houses for one reason or another.

We had a beautiful new house in Benijofar, 3 bed, 3 bathroom, modern house of 130 square meter build on a 200 square meter plot. Here in Catral we have a 140 square meter build on a 2,000 square meter plot. There are so many Palm trees around us we could be in the Carribean!!

Why Catral?  Our house is 3 km from the centre, it"s a lovely walk in Spring and Autumn (too hot in the Summer), great for cycling with most of the Vega Baja being flat (well it was the sea bed of the Mediterranean 2000 years ago).

The land is fertile and our garden is full of fruit trees and Palms making a great place to sit out in.  Remember, here in Spain you want good outside space and you don't need a large kitchen!!  Cooking outside in common and eating out can be done, even on a budget.

The local people are friendly with a heathly ex-pat mix but not too many to change the old charm of the town. 

As others have said, eating and drinking here offers many alternatives.

After two years here, we know we have made the right choice. Yes we live in an "illegal house" but that is compensated for by much bigger plots (if you want them) and great value for money houses. Our house would have cost nearly double in Benijofar or Quesada.

You get what you pay for - enjoy your hunt......

Angela25 wrote on Sun Nov 20, 2022 6:03pm:

You could be talking about us, we have a lovely big garden that is the envy of some of our friends. Fruit trees and. Flowering plants and bushes. Enjoy your home