Making the Move to Spain

This is a very open question to ask on a forum as everyone who lives anywhere will claim it's the perfect town, village or area!

You need to pick an area you like the sound of and rent or use your campervan to explore several areas. I love Benidorm and can rave on about it but I know this city doesn't suit everyone (even though they have never been here) so its down to personal preference in the end. 

Familiarize yourselves with the legal requirements for living here in Spain such as the minimum income and healthcare necessary to gain residency. 

Steve 

Hi Steve, your comment is very valid, it was a quick fire question without a great deal of thought or information. We have researched income, health insurance , medical costs for current illnesses etc and are in a position to hire for 12 months and then purchase somewhere up to 150K  plus fees, SUMA etc. I am also a qualified plumber, but I dont intend on doing too much when we move over. We have been looking at La Marina and Guardamar for over a year, but plan on taking a year out (probably next Nov onwards) between long term rentals and the van to find the place we want to settle in. Obviously Brexit may well affect what we can and cant do, and for how long as visitors, but hopefully by the time we pack the van we should have better direction. I joined this Forum to try to get a feel for the ex pat community around Pinoso, I have done the same for the other two areas and have made a few contacts to meet up with (if COVID ever allows it) when we can get over.

Maybe I would have been best placed just reading through the posts for a few days. However as I jumped in feet first, I might as well see what comes back.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to reply to me.

Hi Mark and Mandy,

We made the huge move from America to Spain three months ago. Love where we are!!

There are so many places to chose from but luckily for us we chose Costa Blanca North. Moraira...

So beautiful and not high on the Covid list!!

Prices varie in the area.. we had a fabulous realtor and found the perfect house.

Be sure to check out the areas you think you might like before buying.

If we can help just let us know,

Bob and Lisa

Hi Mark,

Pinoso is a nice, typically Spanish town and it does have quite a few UK citizens living there, but it depends what you're looking for.  Pinoso is about an hour's drive inland, whereas Guardamar and La Marina are on the coast.  The cost of property is more favorable when you go inland, although La Marina urbanisation is very large, so this suppresses property prices somewhat.  Personally, Guardamar is my favourite town in this area, but it really is a case of getting "that feeling" and you'll only know by visiting these places for yourself.

Kind regards 

Kim

We Love Guardamar , Lovely clean town with nice beach and tapas bars. Has a bus station too so you can get about without a car if you want.

Kim, we agree, we have visited Gaudamar 3 times in the past 2 years, and have seen nothing that we didn't like. It is up there on our list, but as you say, we want to visit a few more areas, and explore in land a bit before we make the final decision.

I like Guardamar too but could only find apartments so settled on La Mata which is nearby but has more houses available.

A few people have recommended La Mata, are there a nice selection of bars, eateries etc? And local walks? We aim to do a minimum of 5 miles each day.

La Mata is lovely, on the coast between Gùardanar and Torrevieja, with laidback bars and restaurants even out of season.  They've been renovating a boardwalk, through the sand dunes and  along the coast.  The beaches are beautiful and a great selection of eateries, my favourite being  La Fusion.

I don't know the cost of property, but it's a lovely location 👍

Kind regards, 

Kim