moving to la marina - Page 2

HI thanks for your reply, we have an american white shepherd and a collie both are getting on a bit,like me, they only bark at cats or strangers,as they cant speak,only a little brummie irish,eg saus- ages,or un poco espanol and me no speak de inglish,sean

Hi there firstly my dogs are not yappie little things,  they are big friendly and very well behaved. It is not the dogs that are the problem but the selfish thoughtless owners. We are looking for a nice warm friendly welcome. There are plenty of other places to go to

regards Anita 

Hi

Nobody is accusing you of having yappie dogs they are just comments and nothing personal. 

Please dont take offense. Your dogs look lovely.

Regards

Hi thank you for your kind response, yes they are lovely and very good. I am not so bad myself, and I am sorry for sounding snappy. I guess I am a bit worried about moving to Spain at 62 it seems like a big deal. I am hoping to meet some expats that can help us to settle in to a new way of life. We are really excited and this has been a big dream for Sean's for many years. He is 73 now and it is great that he can fulfil his dream. 

Kind regards 

Anita & Sean, 

Hello Anita and Sean

Very best of luck with your search for a home in Spain.

Would you consider renting long term in an area that you feel meets most of your needs?  

We are spending as much time as possible in our home in Alicante City before fully retiring there next year.  But we are going to keep a base in the “old country” 😀

Health care is a little scary to be honest.   Definitely not being able to communicate well in Spanish is a big drawback.  We are learning.  Yes, hubby will qualify for Spanish healthcare because he is retirement age, and therefore so will I as his wife. We are made to understand that Spain has very good healthcare.    Access however is not the same as you would be used to.

For example, our center is only open from 8am until 13.00 during summer.  What happens if you feel you need a doctor between 13.00 and next morning?  Perhaps a pharmacy may help?   Or call an ambulance? 

You have to register at your nearest primary care center, Centro de Salud, which we have done.   Then you need to phone them to actually make an appointment with a doctor.  Not a problem if you speak Spanish.  We haven’t attended a doctor yet so don’t know how that will go.  We have the choice of course to obtain private medical insurance which many people do.   We’ve found that a Spanish phone number is essential and many expats use dual sim phones. 

It’s a lovely country and you will enjoy the wonderful blue skies and everything else that would make Spain a great retirement destination.  We particularly like having access to the many forms of public transport at very reasonable prices!!  Many homes in Spain are very poorly insulated.  As a result you need air conditioners in the hot weather and some form of heat during winter months.  

Wishing you every success in your new adventure.

Hello MeathMaria how are you today.

Surely the doctors is only a short distance from where you live, someone can just go to the surgery and make you an appointment instead of using the phone.

Did you expect all Spanish to be fluent in English before you decided to reside in Spain? Were you shocked?

Have a good day and all the best.

thanks maria, we will be having a look in early oct ,we usually go to portugal but we went to torrevieja in may and think we might get more for our money, it was very built up and it took us 3 or 4 days to find our bearings, but the surrounding areas out to orithuela are fab,murphies pub in the park was fantastic,people from all over and not a bother about brexit and to cap it all 2 euros a pint of lager ,we are in kerry looking across at ballybunnion,breathtaking,but the weather is the problem. must get up to laytown sometime, the place where i was born,then went off to birmingham, sean and anita

Hello Anita and Sean

Laytown and Bettystown were our nearest seaside towns and we enjoy long walks there.   But yes, the weather 🥶

Portugal, although a lovely country, has a lot fewer properties for sale in any price range in comparison to Spain.   We searched locations between Denia, Torrevieja and Murcia.   Finally chose Alicante city because it offers so much.   ☀️☀️☀️

It’s a great adventure and for people like you and I who have emigrated at other times in our lives nothing will come as a shock or surprise.  

The few horrible people I’ve had brief contact with in my lifetime thought they could speak and spell english. 

Keep in touch with this forum as there are good people who try to offer sound advice.

thanks maria,good advice,if anything happens, will let you know, sean and anita

hey Sean...take a look at Catral or Dolores...nice little towns with a mix of locals and UK...no crime...15 mins to La Marina...