Good and bad of Calasparra/Settling in the area

Hi there - I will get back to you with some more information in the next few days - in the meantime - great place to live....

Thanks will look forward to the other information.

Hi - as promised a few answers for you.

1) Some do but mainly by visiting the Bars & Restaurants in Town or local areas.  Fiesta time / Tapas Route is well supported by the ex-pats.

2) No, not really.  When we came here 12 years ago, a few spoke English but as the years have gone by, more & more have learned a few basic words - as have ex-pats who have learnt a few Spanish words/phrases.  There are a lot (ex-pats) however, who have not bothered to learn anything ! 

3) I think so.  There are still a lot of people who were here when we arrived & are still here but obviously it is an ageing population, so some go back if they have lost a partner. 

Some other information for you if not already seen or know.  nexo.nr is an online local news provider, here is the link: http://nexonr.com/

A monthly magazine, Costa Calida Chronicle is left in certain Shops / Bars around the town for collection. http://www.costacalidachronicle.com/

There are 2 Internet providers: http://telecalasparra.com/  and https://redimer.es/   (This is our supplier - 27.70euros a month for 20mbps)

Plenty of banks to choose from.  Spoilt for choice on Restaurants/Bars to eat or just drink in.    A Chinese Restaurant, Take Away & Eat In.   A Kebab place.    Fiesta at the beginning of September (ish) with Bull runs through the Town every morning & Bull Fights in the evening.   Rutas de Tapas - 3 weeks in November.    2 main Supermarkets - Consum & Dia with plenty of Private operators running smaller shops.   2 Builders Merchants - Big Mat & Esperanza with a few Hardware shops.    Ladies & Gents Clothes Shops but Nueva Condomina (Murcia) is only 45 minutes away where the Big shops are.   Market day is here on a Friday unless there is a Bank Holiday on a Friday - like tomorrow - then it's on Thursday.   

If you into Fitness, there are a couple of Gyms.  I use this one: https://www.facebook.com/bodysportcalasparra/   They have Spinning Classes morning & evening with a Ladies Only Bums & Tums (I thinks that's what it's called) on a Wednesday morning.

There is of course the Sanctuario de la Esperanza, which is a big attraction, 4km out of town.   Rice Museum & Arts Museum in town.

Plenty of walks & other activities put on in & around the area - all within easy driving distance.

Are you looking to move onto one of the Urbanisations or into the "Campo" - countryside.

Can't think of anything else to tell you but if you have any questions, please feel free to put another post on.

Rick

Hi Rick,

Thank you for your detailed and helpful reply.

We already speak Spanish to a degree -  not fluent but passable and better than a lot of the expats we have met driving around Southern Spain.

We have looked out in the countryside and although this seems a good idea it would probably be to remote for us as the houses we have been shown have been pretty isolated on huge plots.

We have looked around Canada urbanisation and it seemed very well kept with some nice houses. We are far from ravers but felt a little quiet. We saw the row of four restaurants/bars and were told two were permanently shut. 

We are looking for something with a little more life but still with space ( 600 square metres) is fine and nice views of the countryside so maybe looking for something not available in this area.

We walked down by the river, bbqs and sanctuario. 

We have not seen Valle del Sol yet. 

Ideally we would like a village that had maybe a bar, a shop and tapas restaurant not too far from Calasparra with a house that was in good condition.

Hi MJR14, we have had a house in the country between Calasparra and Valentin for the last 7 years. I class this area as very peaceful and fairly quiet. Outdoor pursuits are plentiful in the stunning countryside and the views are amazing. Primarily an agricultural area it is very much, rural Spain.The better your grasp of the language, the easier you will integrate with the locals. There is an Expat community, but if you do not choose to live on an urbanisation you will have very little contact with them. There are plenty of properties for sale, however I would recommend initially renting for 6 months to test the waters and find your feet. It is definately sleepy compared to the coast, which is very easy to visit for the day or weekend. Winters are cool and can be wet, summers are HOT!! Spring is glorious with the countryside bursting with blossom and Autumn is very comfortable with stunning sunsets. The fresh fruit and veg available is of excellent quality as are the various restaurants. I think Calasparra is a great place to base yourself if you intend to explore the vast interior of Spain, which is stunning, or bake in the sun in total privacy. Value for money is very good for your day to day living and dining out morning, noon or night is very reasonable and good quality.Please keep this info. to yourself as we don't want to spoil it. good luck. 

Hi again

Agree with the Country houses size wise - think they are all around 5000 sq mtrs Hard work when it's 50 degrees !!

The area Canada Manrique has 2 Urbanisations, the one we are on is Valle del Sol which may be called Tierra del Sol (as it was named by the Builders) but when the Town Hall took over responsibility, the previous Mayor changed all the Street names and the Urbanisation to Valle del Sol - still confusion after all these years....

Canada Verde, the other one is a Private Urbanisation where they pay a Community Fee for the upkeep whereas here, we are maintained by the Town Hall and pay no Community Fees, just the Council Tax about 380ish a year.

Size of our plots are around 525 sq mtrs but the corner plots are around 560 (I think), one up the road up For Sale if you are interested.

The Bars that are open are OK, one's a bit basic (Alandalus) in its appearance but the most popular whilst the other (Titanium) is smaller but serves a bit more specialised menu's.

Your Language skills will come in handy, especially if and when you decide to make it permanent.  The other supplier of information is right that it may be best to rent for some months to see if you like the area.  That is what our present neighbours have done, here for a year before deciding what or where to go.  3 other previous tenants who rented next door have all bought houses here.  It is quieter than the coast but I think if you asked all those living here would agree it is a nice place to live.   We do have Spanish on here as do Canada Verde (more so there) and generally think all get on OK with them tho' some can be a bit noisy at Fiesta times when the Families get together.  The other Urbanisation is Coto Rinales the other side to Town form us.  The house are bigger but fewer houses make the Development a bit like a Ghost Town.  Many Spanish Families live on there these days.

That's a bit more info for you and as before, don't hesitate to contact us if you need more help.

Rick

Hi,

I have lived in Calasparra for 14 years after moving here from Essex.

The one thing I would recommend highly is rent before you buy this kind of living is not for everyone, and the money you pay in rent Which isnt expensive here about E450 per month will pay dividends. As you have not committed yourself totally and you can decide if this is the place for you. It also gives you a base to look at all the areas around. 

I love the village atmosphere and the people are so welcoming to the brits here.

The views and countryside are breath taking.

When we first moved here because it is very Spanish there was little or no one that spoke English. I must admit it was a bit daunting, we used to have our dictionary at the ready. We did have 5 months of learning Spanish which did help but to be honest it was hard for me to bring it to the fore when needed.

But saying that as the years have gone by a lot of the younger generation speak English and with the translator apps ,it is easy to communicate now. 

Living hear if there is a downside! when we arrived both the airports were and  1 hour 20 mins one way and an 1 hour half the other.

But now with Corvera airport 40mins away that isnt the case.

Another down side which was a very big surprise to us, is in the winter months here is very cold and goes cold as soon as the sun goes down. But you very rarely get those awful drab cloudy days that you get in the UK.

It is lovely and bright nearly the whole year round. 

Saying that in the summer it more than makes up for the winter months.

I like living further from the coast I didnt want to come to Spain for a little England I wanted true Spain and that is exactly what it is.

If you love the Sun then this part of Spain is for you.

Living here to have a swimming pool is a must really as you will definatly need somewhere to keep cool in the summer.

Or if you fancy the time at the beach you have that option as well.

Good luck hope you find exactly what you are looking for.

Hi again

This link might be useful to you.

Our neighbours who are renting the property uses this girl, who they say is very good.

http://www.urbanproperties.es/

Rick