Have you bought a property and if so, how did the purchase go ?
Yes we bought a small villa, just off the coast, about 2 miles inland. We paid about £80,000 for it and it was a bargain. Compared to the price of our bungalow back in England, its a mansion at half the price. We found a reputable estate agent who took us to see more than 20 properties before we decided on this one. He was very helpful and helped the purchase go through smoothly. We had no surprises at the end of the day and he has since been to see us several times.

Have you any advice for people thinking of coming to live in Spain ?
Well, if they are thinking about it - don't think too long. Just do it. We wish though that we hadn't been so quick to sell all our furniture. We should have had it shipped over. However, we would have had to have storage until we bought. Make sure you keep on the right side of the law when it comes to work contracts, and make sure you fit in with the wonderful Spanish lifestyle, here in the sun.

Thankyou.

 

Steve and Christine came to Spain to semi-retire in June 2001

We came to Spain to semi-retire in June 2001. We had been talking about it for some three years and finally made our decision back in March. We sold a business two years ago and after a not particularly rewarding year in the UK, the decision was fairly straightforward. After coming to Spain for almost 30 years, the choice was very easy.

We moved here lock, stock and barrel and have enjoyed our time immensely. I quickly got involved in setting up the sales division of a UK telephone company and what I thought was going to be a fairly leisurely lifestyle, changed quickly.

We offer low-cost telephone services, mainly to ex-pats and get the opportunity to meet a lot of customers from all over Europe. We are always looking for new distributors and its rewarding seeing people enjoy a part-time business. I suppose the disappointing thing is that we spend little time with 'real' Spaniards and my commitment to perfecting my Spanish is taking a back seat. Christine is French so most of our contacts are either English, Scandinavian or French speaking.

I have started teaching Spanish to English residents at a 'No Smoking Club' and enjoy that too. Christine is involved with gyms and fitness training and has settled in well and has made great strides with her Spanish. I am having to speak French too, and that's fun.

Compared with Hertfordshire and London, we find the prices of eating out exceptionally reasonable and enjoy the superb seafood which is available almost everywhere. If anyone has any specific queries, I'll always try to help. shall@telforce.ws

Steve and Christine

 

Pete and Jenny moved to Spain in 1997 and bought a bar on the Costa del Sol

We decided we were going to put our savings into a business in Spain as we wanted life in a warmer and happier place. We had heard nightmare stories about bars in Spain and everyone tried to talk us out of it, but we had to do it to get it out of our system. Looking back it was the best thing we ever did. Our two small children settled immediately into Spanish schools - they are now fluent and teach us Spanish at nights. The bar took six months to pick up and we went through various stages of depression and regret, but we stuck with it. Our bar is now the busiest in the area and we have so many friends here we would not even think about going back. Life here is not a 52 week holiday, but it can be hard work. We still love it though.

Anthony and Marion Sands
I first stumbled across idealspain.com in April 2002 and spent hours, night after night reading about Spain. I fell in love with Spain via the internet and enjoyed reading Steve and Sandra's comments and reports. From Idealspain I found Fiesta Property which I discovered is the property company owned by Idealspain. I decided that I was going to buy a bar on the Costa del Sol and Steve and Sandra helped me find the right bar. I moved over in the July and opened my bar in August and since then I have not looked back. It was a daunting thought, moving to Spain, even more so buying a bar in Spain - something I had never done before. Steve and Sandra gave me immense help and encouragement and have made me realise that there are nice people out there if you know where to look. I am so happy with my life in Spain, I wish I had done it when I was younger. I have now been here over a year and have discovered that most people on the Costa del Sol are not to be trusted. However, I have no hesitation in recommending Steve and Sandra who give a totally unique service. I have since discovered that they also help with buying residential properties and they are assured of my custom. - Well done !