Whoops, maybe i should've coloured in the brown box for ease!
Relocation to Spain Experience
- Thread starter Martynt74
- Start date
Whoops, maybe i should've coloured in the brown box for ease!
Soldato
If that swimming pool is that close to the house, my experiences with my parents villa's in spain have been that it's nice to have a shaded patio area next to the house (where your pool is on that drawing)under an attached canopy, so you can chill outside in the shade, and the pool can be further away.. it's also easier to then have a small fence around the pool if you every had young guests (A good selling point too!) if it's away from the villa.Onto the good part. The architect has finished the plans for the house with our reworked layout. Still a few minor tweaks i think to make, mainly being the pool being further from the house, but hopefully we can get things done quickly so we can get planning permission in
Their first villa had the pool close to the house, with a canopy over a patio area away from the house, but in their next villa, had it reversed, patio area under shade next to the house, pool further away and they found they didn't need a canopy over the pool as it was never an issue, it was lovely sitting outside in the shade in summer, with the odd 20 minute dip in the pool to cool off.. ahh.. what a great life out there!
Horses for courses of course, you only have yourselves to please..
PS - obviously goes without saying, its dusty! they had a nice white perimeter wall just at the right height to keep the majority of passing dust at bay.. any idea what you will do for that?
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We've agreed to move the pool so it's 6m from the house. I agree that in the original design it's a little close at only 3.5m. I imagine they're more designed for people without absolutely masses of space! I'm never really a fan of fences around the pool area and i don't plan on inviting kids
The look we're aiming for is to have everything the same, so the aim for the same tiles indoors and outdoors and even into the pool, for a continual flow. We "might" have to have a change between inside and outside though as some tiles we like are only for Interior use. We love the look of the dark grey/rust style. Just need to find something without going massively over budget!
The "Terraza Cubierta" will be covered as part of the original build and likely have a comfy sofa under it. The plan is then to build an outdoor kitchen area with seating area under a pergola somewhere. Although that's something fun i can tackle at some point.
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Not sure we have any chance against dust given where we are located!
Just have to mitigate it. The house will be a sandy colour to avoid the ugly look of dirty white walls that most have. Then also having a "lip" around the roof to avoid drips down the walls.
Other than that, there's not much we can do. Just have to access it's part of living out in the country.
Soldato
My parents second (or third) Villa was in a similar open dusty area: This was the view just outside their front gate:
All the villas had short white walls, some put bamboo matting on, but just the basics interrupted the otherwise sprawling dust
I wondered why everyone had 'white' as that seems counter intuitive, but it kept surprisingly clean (obviously white is used primarily to not absorb as much heat!) Just a weekly wash down in certain areas, no more than 20 minutes a week and it was fine after 4 years.
They had two people further down who didn't want any walls/fencing, and the dust build up was crazy in comparison, especially in the pool..
The locals usually know what works, the villa above was in the mountains away from the coast, absolutely amazing for star gazing.. so if you see locals with a nice setup that keeps clean, just follow them!
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My parents second (or third) Villa was in a similar open dusty area: This was the view just outside their front gate:
All the villas had short white walls, some put bamboo matting on, but just the basics interrupted the otherwise sprawling dust
I wondered why everyone had 'white' as that seems counter intuitive, but it kept surprisingly clean.. Just a weekly wash down in certain areas, no more than 20 minutes a week and it was fine after 4 years.
They had two people further down who didn't want any walls/fencing, and the dust build up was crazy in comparison, especially in the pool..
The locals usually know what works, the villa above was in the mountains away from the coast, absolutely amazing for star gazing..
That looks awesome.
I think long term the plan is to put up some kind of small wall like you have above. Our main issue is the size of the plot and so don't want to put up a few initially only to knock it down later on when we can afford to do things properly.
Soldato
Fair play OP for embracing your dreams and doing it. I've been giving it lots of thought myself, I'm sick to death of the climate here and the country is in the toilet after decades of mismanagement. I am leaning more towards Portugal though, I love the sun but July-Sept in Spain is just too much and I wouldn't be keeping anywhere to live in the UK. I think the money goes a bit further in Portugal as well property wise. They still seem more welcoming to Brits with no EU passport as well.
Soldato
I would definitely prioritize the wall if at all possible. Our area is considerably less dusty than yours, and we normally have to vacuum the pool every couple of weeks to avoid too much dust build up on the bottom. At least with the system we have, the particles of dust are too fine to be caught by the pool filter, so you have to vacuum to waste which uses quite a lot of water.
I must say the climate was a major factor, and working with UK colleagues who are constantly complaining of the weather only vindicates the decision. I'm not sure if i've mentioned it, but the biggest benefit actually is the longer winter days. Even at the shortest point it was around 8am to 5:45pm. I know that gets offset without the long summer days in the UK, but being able to get outside in day light after work was a great feeling, and because the weather is still mild/dry you can actually do something.
I'm sure everyone will laugh when i'm crying at 45C temps in summer though!
I always thought Portugal was more expensive (and the language is regarded as impossible!), but i guess it depends on area. Spain is probably more popular with expats which creates the inflation, but moving to a less touristy area gets something cheap still. Similarly i think if you were to aim up towards the North you've got a better climate. Although the NE which probably has the best is very expensive. The NW is cheap, but then you get a lot of Atlantic rain.
I had thought Spain had caught up with regards to non EU citizens with the digital nomad visas being offered. I hadn't realised Portugal was still easier, but i can't say i investigated much.
Yeah, it's something i'll be building myself so just need to get my head around where to build the boundary. The place we rented didn't have any walls beyond the metal fencing and that wasn't horrific for dust. Maybe because of the hills/land terracing there are some natural barriers. I know there are certain times of year the Sahara dust gets blown up (March/April time), but that's just something you have to accept.
I'm half debating a salt water pool too, although can't decide on pros/cons completely. I was avoiding it for a pool cover, but i don't think i'm going to bother with one now. My parents have some and it just seems to trap dirt on top of the water/cover requiring extra maintenance and doesn't do enough to retain heat.
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Soldato
As I read this thread listening to the pounding rain and hail having not seen sunlight for three days, it's safe to say, I'm envious.
Soldato
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- 23 May 2006
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its not spain so i hope this isnt against the spirit of this thread.. but after Brexit i thought my dream of retiring to abroad (which had likely always been on of the canaries) was over.
however i have been looking into it a bit and it seems portugal at the moment may still be on the table. if i am reading it right so long as my pension is over 1000 euros a month i would be ok.
www.portugalresident.com
no inheritance tax either so i can leave the property to our child, and apparently it is very easy to just keep a uk bank account, get pension paid into that and then just live off that, presumably with a visa card with good foreign use bonuses.
£400k gets you a proper decent property as well so who knows.... maybe i will be able to relocate after all.
however i have been looking into it a bit and it seems portugal at the moment may still be on the table. if i am reading it right so long as my pension is over 1000 euros a month i would be ok.
How to retire to Portugal as a British expat
How to retire to Portugal as a British expat. The blissful weather, stunning scenery and excellent food provide an alternative to the year-round grey skies British people are used to.
www.portugalresident.com
no inheritance tax either so i can leave the property to our child, and apparently it is very easy to just keep a uk bank account, get pension paid into that and then just live off that, presumably with a visa card with good foreign use bonuses.
£400k gets you a proper decent property as well so who knows.... maybe i will be able to relocate after all.
Don't know if Martyn has a mutuelle for any additional health insurance benefits, but those costs would be my main concern for retiring to France, or EU -
great when my employer was paying; albeit, in UK lots of older relations use (e: semi) private medicine.
great when my employer was paying; albeit, in UK lots of older relations use (e: semi) private medicine.
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Soldato
There are a few common methods for dealing with the dust..
When they moved to the sea (literally 100 meters away from the beach!), it was popular to not have ugly railings/walls, but hedges, providing a great filter for the dust, and of course, some privacy.
The communal pool (just off camera to the left, was surrounded by shrubs/bushes etc to block the prevailing wind.. a hose down every week of the hedges was all that seemingly was needed.
Not yet. We did discuss possibly doing it but i only hear great reviews from the Spanish health system
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its not spain so i hope this isnt against the spirit of this thread.. but after Brexit i thought my dream of retiring to abroad (which had likely always been on of the canaries) was over.
however i have been looking into it a bit and it seems portugal at the moment may still be on the table. if i am reading it right so long as my pension is over 1000 euros a month i would be ok.
How to retire to Portugal as a British expat
How to retire to Portugal as a British expat. The blissful weather, stunning scenery and excellent food provide an alternative to the year-round grey skies British people are used to.
no inheritance tax either so i can leave the property to our child, and apparently it is very easy to just keep a uk bank account, get pension paid into that and then just live off that, presumably with a visa card with good foreign use bonuses.
£400k gets you a proper decent property as well so who knows.... maybe i will be able to relocate after all.
Awesome. Spain has similar in that you can move over on a "Non Lucrative Visa". Effectively you need £28k in the bank or proof of pension income to support youself. It just didn't apply for me as it doesn't give the opportunity to work. Good news on inheritance though. Spain is getting better but it's still a minefield from what i can gather.
Cheers. You should see the running/cycling/SUP pics on my Strava
Awesome. Spain has similar in that you can move over on a "Non Lucrative Visa". Effectively you need £28k in the bank or proof of pension income to support youself. It just didn't apply for me as it doesn't give the opportunity to work. Good news on inheritance though. Spain is getting better but it's still a minefield from what i can gather.
Cheers. You should see the running/cycling/SUP pics on my Strava
Don't you do it!
It's excellent. My friend contracted cancer out there and the early diagnosis and immediate treatment means she is now clear. They've been residents now about 20 years and have nothing but good things to say about it
Her daughter was also thinking about moving out as she's an embryologist and apparently the Denia hospital is widely recognised as one of the world's leading in that area.
We're going back out again in June for viewings, can't wait.
Oh that's great. My parents have nothing but good things to say about Denia hospital. Although i'm sure they'd have no need for an embryologist
Don't you do it!
I went down into town to grab some stuff from the post office and parked up by the beach. Was tempted to take a photo for you
The downside is i've got into a terrible habit (according to the wife), of going into a shop and buying a cold can of beer as i stroll around the streets. Made worse by the fact i did a quick run along the coast today before getting a beer for the walk back to the car. I must've just looked like a generic fat sweaty englishmen that can't handle the temperature since they wouldn't know i'd ran first
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Just as an add on thought to the above. It's actually been nice living at my parents place this last 2 weeks. Whilst it's been lovely having the beach within a 10 minute walk and we've gone down a few times after work to chill on the beach. It's really cemented that we're happier being inland.
Whilst they're in a very quiet urbanisation, you hear cars driving past outside and there's a speed bump so you hear the "bump bump" noise as cars go over it. Then also just how busy the roads are. As a cyclist it's been awful compared to the lovely empty roads i've grown used to.
It's great for a short period, and i'm sure for my parents who are retired and like to have things to do it's brilliant, but definitely not for us.
Whilst they're in a very quiet urbanisation, you hear cars driving past outside and there's a speed bump so you hear the "bump bump" noise as cars go over it. Then also just how busy the roads are. As a cyclist it's been awful compared to the lovely empty roads i've grown used to.
It's great for a short period, and i'm sure for my parents who are retired and like to have things to do it's brilliant, but definitely not for us.