Looking for advice on relocation to Cocentaina

Relocating or holiday home?

do you speak fluent Spanish?

Cocentaina is stunning, but very Spanish, not well known to the tourist market, this has two major implications: if your Spanish is not fluent you will struggle, especially with healthcare and banks, if it is a second home you will find it difficult to let to offset your upkeep costs.

my advice is to rent. If you are utterly determined that this is the property of a lifetime, ask for a 'let to buy' contract, this is slightly more expensive than a 'normal' rental, BUT it gives you the option to buy with the rent being discounted from the purchase price, or walk away. Bear in mind the market here is recovering, but slowly, the 'average' time for even a nice property to sell is 3 years. If you buy and regret it you are well and truly stuck. Do not underestimate the benefits of a local network of friends.

if you are intending to buy a 'holiday home' DONT. Property in Spain is not like the UK, it is not an investment ie the value will not rise inexorably as it does in the UK ( it's supply & demand, Spain has an oversupply and little demand). You will be liable for local & national taxes, plus upkeep ( amongst other things pools & gardens don't look after themselves, labour costs in Spain are fairly high- especially to extranjeros), if you buy in a popular coastal area you may be able to cover these costs. But why give yourself the hassle when you can jump on a plane and stay in a hotel ( or someone else's financial nightmare rental)? 

Good luck

caroline

wow caroline, you certainly give the negative side to life in Spain, i am pleased i am not your neighbour as i would end up severly depressed, thankfully our experience is somewhat better.

We moved to Spain in July 2015, bought a Villa with pool & gardens and also 20,000M2 ( 5 acres ) 400 vines 200 almond trees. Large villa 4/5 beds, £200K. We have a house in UK, we thought 50/50 with time, but dont want to go back to it. Why would we?

Pool is €10 a week to maintain, no shortage of local labour, choice of 3 to do it, search on facebook or ask local estate agents b4 you buy, same for garden, but now a local neighbour has offered to do it as he has exactly the same system for lunch every month.

Gardening & Farming, again €500 a year for all our rquirements, gardening, ploughing, pruning and picking grapes and almonds, again it seems to be the average rate. I am putting in another 100 almond trees and €10 an hour i have been quoted to do it, 12 hours work, €65 for the digger with driver to dig holes. Trees are €2-€3 each from local co-operative who will take the produce at the end of the year.

Just back from lunch, 2 bottles beer, salad, bread, soup, mixed meats, pork bbq ribs, roast chicken, desert, coffee, and bottle of wine, €20 the lot for 2, we have a Michelin Star restaurant is €30 each - try and find that in the UK.

Fresh food from market, wine from bodegas at €7 for 5ltr, weather today in November 24 and sunny, no clouds, Alicannte airport 35mins away, beach 45 mins.

we thought we were surrounded by locals, in fact Brits are everywhere, if you are thinking about it 1,000 brits have done it before, we thought we were "the few" in fact opposite is the case.

Take the plunge, its much better than we thought, wished we had done it 10 years ago, and its November.......

Hi! Thank you for your lovely message! You're right about the previous response, SO negative,so didn't respond! Luckily I know enough about Spain to ignore most of it! As to 'fly in, stay in hotel', why would we when we never have? Much prefering inland, more real Spain!! I don't speak much Spanish but have always got by on little, however I've never had to use banks etc. We are relocating fully,not for holidays. I have to say she put me off the area, for as much as we would hate to live surrounded by expats, its nice to know there's a few around for advice which is why I posted! I thought if thats the only sort around then this area is not 'my cup of tea'!! You have renewed my faith, so thank you! As I said, we have quite a few friends in Spain & most are connected to dog rescue,(we have 4 dogs,2 are Spanish rescues), & this our motivation for bringing our 5 year plan down to 1 year. We have a very limited budget as don't want loan/mortgage & as you say,I've found many houses with 3 beds, pool & land within that budget! I'm now looking in Murcia area as closer to friends & very affordable. Many, many thanks again for your enlightening message, if we end up close, I'll post!! Regards, Kate

Hi kate 55

We are pensioners and lived in Cocentaina 12 years.

It's a nice town It has a tree-lined road plenty of bars and shops. opticians, dentists.,

health center. yes, there are quite a few expats but you're not bumping into them all the time.

the town closes down 2--4 pm but its no problem. Alcoy is just up the road to cocentaina.

we have Eroski Lidl, Aldi. Carefour,  Mercadona. They stay open all day. 

the countryside around Cocentaina.is good for walking mainly uphill.

The Spanish people are very kind and helpful and quite a few do speak English.

Drop me a line when you're in Cocentaina. and we can arrange to meet.