Hello Everybody ! - Page 3

We haven't bought as an investment, we've bought this as a lifestyle choice for our retirement. 

The thread was around the comparative cost of living, so your comments contribute to this as well, as, whether you have an exit strategy or not, those costs may come to bear at some point.

Think Anne3019 and Fixit2020 are on the money. I am a an annual visitor  to the Mar Menor for many years, but visit Lo Pagan across from La Manga. My 2p worth. 1) Visit and give yourself time to scope and research  your options. It will be very useful in informing  your  decision making. 2) Stay in San Pedro del Pinatar/Lo Pagan or Santiago de la Ribera/other side if Mar Menor from La Manga. These are all year round Spanish towns with a more balanced mix of Spanish Nationals and English/EU Nationals. Enjoy , it is quite lovely.

Guys,

Dont hold your breath about 90/180 or other rules being loosened.. This has been in place for decades for non -Eu citizens, its part of the non-passport movement arrangement between countries. This is scheduled to be computerised with automatic checks by end 2020. All Schengen countries would have to agree for any changes.

Trying to narrow down my search - How much more expensive are things (Drinks, Eating Out, Supermarkets, Transport etc ) on the complexes compared to other places ? - I am pretty much set on Mar Menor as my destination but all comments appreciated !

Morning Mark62,

I can’t give a comparison on the price difference between a golf resort and a town/village however I will share that when we were looking to buy we discounted golf resorts preferring to live in a village and not an environment that is pretty static.
We like being able to walk to many different bars and restaurants, the back street neighbourhood bars are much more interesting and much cheaper, having the option on your doorstep to go to the local market to buy fresh fruit and veg offsets the more expensive cost of the supermarket. We shop in the mercadona and I find the produce to be excellent and of great quality, I know that if you seek to buy the items you are familiar with, the ‘British food’ you will pay more for it, most things have a good Spanish alternative, but perhaps not the bacon.

Having a higher number of bar/restaurants available drives competition and we have found provides for a greater variety of price points for menu del dia etc..  

One important thing to investigate is the availability of local transport from the golf resort, it’s OK if you have a car and don’t drink and are prepared to drive off complex often to explore new places and have new experiences but if you want to have a meal and a nice bottle of wine and don’t want to drive and there isn’t a regular reliable bus service or reasonably priced taxi service then it’s the resort each time.

And then there’s the likely service or communal charge which in my experience has always been higher than any IBI (council tax) quoted when looking at a house....

There are golf resort dwellers who will disagree with my POV but it is only that, my view and I hope it has given you some food for thought...

Good luck with your decision making, one last thing, like other people on here I echo the notion of looking at other places....lots of the towns and villages along the Mar Menor are captivating.....

Hi mate having lived on La Torre Golf Course Murcia I can honestly say that things are comparable. Take the on-site Spar supermarket for example. Exactly the same prices as other Spar supermarkets in the main cities. On La Torre there are a number of bars and restaurants and all are good value. The problem is location. As suggested on the golf resorts you would be better with a car. However the advantage of this is travel as there are so many places to visit. Me personally to be honest wouldn’t buy anything not on a resort. This is just my personal preference based on experience. One positive of a resort is the on-site 24 hour security and the fact the grounds are always immaculate. I’ve been visiting Murcia for a few years now and have noticed considerable graffiti around some of the towns. Coastal too. I think it’s a right put off. I’ve also heard and talked to people who buy in some of the small towns and they have had issues with motorbikes, kids hanging around and other stuff like that. I’m not saying this is everywhere though. My best advice is to holiday and explore the different areas.