For’s and Against

Hello

I can tell you that I have lived in Spain for 13 years now.  I love every minute of it too.

The climate is great..

The people are great...

For me, it's cheaper living than my town in the UK.

I also spent 18 months visiting before I bought my house inland.  Then you can get an idea of different places.

The scenery is beautiful, the beaches are beautiful too.  I do a lot of walking.

I've never looked back‼️‼️‼️

Hopefully you won't too.

I can't give you any bad points because all is good.

Sorry it's all muddled up😂

Sue 😘

The downside is the paperwork and lack of clarity other than that it's a great life.

I'm also looking to get all the relevant paperwork sorted before 31/12 but am struggling due to breaking my ankle and can't travel at the moment due to recovery and hospital appointments.

I regularly think about your question including the advantages and disadvantages from a financial point of view as I am not of pensionable age. So my main concern is the healthcare but for the first 12 months I would just pay for PHI giving me the time to get myself sorted in this time although I'm not sure if it covers pre-existing conditions, but this I can live with for 12 months.

I've had a property out there since 2012 and just love it, and this is the reason why I'm applying for residency before the dreaded at the end of the year. It's fairly straightforward for me as I have nearly everything in place apart from PHI at the moment.

In my eyes the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and I base this on the lifestyle, weather, food, the country and of course the people. I find that people of all nationalities seem better to get on with and making friends appears to be easier, and with that comes a better social life. You dont have to go out all the time as it's nice to visit and have visitors round just for a chat and a drink etc. Go for lovely walks in different places without all the hussle and hussle. I appreciate that this is a little more awkward at the moment due to Covid but eventually we will all get back to some sort of normality.

So with careful financial planning and getting through the beaurocacy of it all I made up my mind to do it. 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Of course there are cons as with everything else, but what counts is the bottom line. After living now for almost 60 years I wouldn't even dream of going elsewhere bearing in mind the hard times to come. You would do good by forgetting everything about Spain from temporary stays, the everyday¡s reality is tough and need some change of habits. But where is a will there is a way, and you can have it if you rally want it, but you must go for it. Lots of luck.

For - - - people, culture, climate, cost of living, food, drink. 

Against - - - bureaucracy

If you get the area right where you are living then that is the main thing in my opinion. 

I love it here because of the weather, cost of living, the friendly and helpful Spanish people, the abundance of socializing, Spanish healthcare system, the beaches etc, etc.

There is a lot of bureaucracy to get residency here but if you find a good solicitors then they will do it all for you...Simples!

I wouldn't go back to the UK for any reason....full stop!!

Steve 

Hello Karen

Yes‼️ I totally forgot about the paperwork which can be overwhelming sometimes.

Sue 😘

We moved here last year end of June to La Marina, we bought the house the previous April ,we should have scouted the area better ,we find that the area is too quiet ,while we are surrounded by different nationalities we find very little in common with.them ,its true that the cost of living is cheaper than UK ,but I think selection in supermarkets is much less than UK ,now it may be that I'm less adventurous when choosing products from sea .We found that the summer was too hot for us ,so this year returned to UK where climate was much more to our liking ,We had visited Spain many times on holiday but found living permanently totally different ,We have now decided to split our time 3months here and 3 months UK ,I think one should rent in different areas before buying circumstances permitting ,and also remember banks charge here ,while not a fortune 35 euros a quarter ,another downside is cost of second hand vehicles have not even looked as imagine very high ,the lack of public transport is another concern ,we had lived in a city in UK where access to buses trains was readily available  .You may think I'm giving more negatives than positives regarding Spain ,but as people are different ,peoples expectations are different ,hope this is not too long winded

Hi John

That's your opinion and that's what this topic is all about.

I agree that La Marina can be quiet in the winter but it's all about the socialising as you get to know people. It makes it more appealing,ing with friends and the like. This year has been strange and that's for everyone  but hopefully things will eventually change.

I think the heat in the main months is an issue but the more time to spend there you will get used to it better.

So have you decided to move back to the UK now?