Retirement

First things first, what passport do you hold, for example, British or EU/EEA? The answer to this question will determine how easy it will be for you to retire to Spain.

Lots of people retire to Lo Crispin but there's not really a lot there. You'd need a car to go to the supermarkets in Quesada but you could walk to the Zoco Sunday Market.

The only things that were there when I went last was the Lo Crispin tavern and La Hacienda. One small market type shop and a hairdresser. Not sure if they've built anything else in the last 18 months but the commercial centre just had those last two and an estate agent.

Bit far, and quite dangerous with the main roads, to walk to Quesada which has all the amenities. No buses to get you anywhere (same as Quesada, really). 

Both pubs are definitely geared to expats with bingo nights and so on. The Tavern has quite a good menu. 

There's also a community swimming pool and (I think) a play area which I noticed at one end. 

John123456 has given you a heads up on the difference between having a UK passport (or any 3rd country one) and having a EU one (including the EEA and Ireland). 

I've only been to Lo Crispin 3 times in my whole time here, twice to drop off goods to someone buying and one for a nose round so not really too sure of what has been built there in the last 18 months or so. 

There’s also a little Dutch cafe in the commercial centre area open during the day.

If you purchased at the the far end of Lo Crispin  - near the Tavern, you’d have a 40 minute walk to the nearest supermarket in Quesada, so as previously mentioned you’d definitely need  a car.

None of the local municipalities are what I would class as being large.  Quesada for instance is an urbanisation of Rojales and  the total population of Rojales I think was recently published at around 16,500, although like anywhere in the area  this expands with holiday makers. From memory again Algorfa  (including Lo Crispin and the other urbanisations) has a population of around 3000. 

Lynn

It's easy enough to walk from Lo Crispin to Quesada (albeit is uphill) and there's no need to worry about the main road.

As you walk out of Lo Crispin there is a path drop off on the right before you head up the short uphill to the main roundabout that connects you to everywhere - and you can walk up that path  (it's frequented by cyclists and is more like a badly maintained road in the UK) and that brings you up by the main roundabout by the masymas supermarket.in Quesada. It's not lit so wouldn't be something I'd like to walk at night.

Whether the location is for you would be for you to decide - the best way to test that is to visit and spend some time there as what would be perfect for me would be horrible for someone else.

Lastly, whatever you decide, I'd suggest you visit a number of times at different times of the day and year so as to make a judgement. It's better to spend a bit beforehand to find the right place for you than to have to spend money moving having jumped at somewhere without due consideration.

Healthcare wise one thing to bear in mind is that while Quesada comes under Torrevieja both Lo Crispin and Algorfa fall under Orihuela.

While Torre has a newer hospital many have had bad experiences there, Vega Baja (Orihuela hospital) has a much better reputation and is currently being redeveloped.

I have lived in Almoradi for nearly 19 years and it has everything except lots of public transport.   Almoradi is about 20 minutes drive inland from Torrevieja.   We have quite a nice bus station but not many buses, so a car would be advisable.   We have several supermarkets, Lidl, SuperDumbo, Mercadona, Dia, and two Hiperber.   The Vega Baja Hospital is about 15-20 minutes' drive away.   There are lots of bars and restaurants in the town as well as a number of different banks and a post office.   On Saturday mornings several of the streets in the centre of town are taken up with quite a large outdoor market (fruits, vegetables, shoes, clothes and much more).   A few years ago I believe that the number of residents amounted to around 17,000.

A couple of websites that may have helpful information for you are as follows:

Citizens Advice Bureau Spain, for bureaucratic stuff, and

N332 for anything to do with driving in Spain.   This website, and their Facebook page, is run in collaboration with officers of the Guardia Civil and has an English version of the Spanish equivalent of the Highway Code on it.

Thank you everyone for your kind replies 

We will be relocating on an NLV and luckily have plenty of time to research. This doesn’t sound like the right kind of place for us so it’s been so helpful hearing from you all

Gill58

Hi Gill,

I’d highly recommend La Mata which is just along the coast from Torrevieja. It’s a lovely old Spanish fishing village with a wonderful bus service into Torrevieja ( every 20 minutes). It’s on the level mostly. Stunning beach, great coastal walks, numerous restaurants, bank, opticians, tobacconist, supermarket, Catholic Church, bars, street market every Wednesday morning.  If I was considering retiring to Spain, I’d definitely consider La Mata.  Always alive, summer and winter. It’s an idyllic location. Lots of Scandinavian people there in the winter months ( fluent speakers). Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

I live in Bigastro and  were about 10 minutes from vega Baja hospital and we have 24 hour doctors. Orihuela is 4 kms away and plenty of supermarkets close by, also have a bus service and the railways station in Orihuela, to Madrid etc.

Good luvk