Retirement

Hi

I have only one piece of advice, rent before buying. Places can change enormously from season to season, a place you enjoy in July you may hate in January and vice versa. Good luck for the future.

Thanks good advice, have you lived in Spain a long time

This is sound advice areas change from season to season completely changes especially around the coastal areas 

Good advice regarding renting a property and places changing depending on season. We stayed at Puerto De Mazarron, winter for us was lovely, quiet and restaurants gave good service and food. In summer complete chaos. A 5 minute drive to the supermarket could take an hour with all the traffic. Restaurants catering for holiday makers, we found service appalling and food hastily dished out. I understand why, July and August is the time they make their money. Visit different places, towns and urbanisations to get a feel for each place. We finally bought about 20 minutes from the coast in a small market town.

If you want consistency all year round, I'd suggest somewhere inland around the west of Murcia.  These towns function pretty much the same all year around,  obviously the weather drives busy times outside.  I'm thinking Cegehin,  Bullas, Caravaca de la Cruz etc. Good luck!

Thanks for the replies are you all British would you recommend life in Spain

We live in san pedro and it is a working town and remains open all year. The seafront has 2/3 bars and restaurants that stay open during the winter although they have struggled through covid restrictions. It is mainly flat which makes it good for walking and cycling, it can get quite busy in summer. Make sure you do for research regarding residency,  taxes, don't forget to allow another 10% on top of purchase price for tax and costs. When looking at a property go round at different times of the day ( we bought after looking during the day then found we had a neighbouring dog that was let out at 4pm and barked continuously). Also if you have a car check for parking, some areas only have parking on one side of the road. Check healthcare as if you cannot get an s1 from uk it is very expensive if you have pre existing conditions. Having said all that we do enjoy living here as for the majority of the year you can still go out for walk etc. 

Hi, no I don't live full time in Spain. I have an appt Puerto de Mazarron and a villa on Mazarron Country Club but untill boxing day 2019 spent about half a year in Spain. I almost bought in Isla Plana but luckily went again just after the season and saw how boring it was. The coastal areas change massively season to season and, although I haven't now been back for a year, will be living full time out there by the end of this year, maybe!

Good luck with your search and all the very best for the future.

Hi, we have a property in San Pedro. We have never stayed in summer as we return to UK. It's really nice in winter, quiet, functions as normal, everything is open. Massive health benefits, we intend to retire next year and apply for residency, we are just letting Brexit settle. Good luck