Thread: Living in Andalucia.

Hi everybody, New to this forum even though we have been in Spain over ten years.
We took early retirement after a personal tragedy and it was the best decision.
We love everything about it, hope to learn more, and maybe able to contribute as well.

Blue skies and Happy days.

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear that you had some personal problems, glad that you are enjoying your new life in Spain. Where in Spain are you living?
Kate

Hi Kate.
Thanks for your welcome. We live not far from Malaga in Alhaurin de la Torre. We think we are lucky to be only 20 mins from the beaches and within easy reach of airport, but away from too much hustle and bustle. Tom (hubby ) now speaks quite good Spanish and I can get by. Lovely circle of friends and plenty of things to keep us busy.
Losing our teenage son in a car accident prompted us to make the decision to do something we always talked about doing. It certainly helped us to cope as we had all sorts of things to sort out, keeping our minds occupied and busy .
Now we enjoy the rest of our family and friends coming to stay with us in the sun.
Babs

Hi Babs, oh I am so sorry for your loss, sometimes life can be so cruel
It sounds stunning where you live, have you any photos you can share?
What is the cost of living like compared to the UK?

Yes, Probably one of the cruellest things life can throw at you, but hey he made me one of the happiest mums for 18 years.

I am rubbish at posting photos but will get hubby to help. I really love it here and this really feels like home now.

You may have to bear with me whilst I get used to using the forum. What I like here is the fact that there are people from all over the world sharing experiances. I have a sister who has lived in Florida for the past 25 years although they have been very happy, they are still treated like aliens on many ways, now her health is not too good and it looks like they will be coming back to the UK. I have said to her not to worry she can come on long vacations to Spain and top up on the sun.
The cost of living is much cheaper here we find, but we have got really good at shopping, and eat lots of fresh stuff. Petrol is 4* 1.27 euros a ltr, our council tax(IBI) is only 240 euros a year for a decent sized house in a finca, so plenty of our own fruit etc.Wine and alcohol still very affordable. Cars expensive to buy though, cant understand why. We can book flights to the UK in advance and always get very good deals. So ++++ at the moment, hope things stay the same.
What is it like where you are Kate, and the cost of living.
Babs

Hi Babs
That's what you have to keep with you, the happy memories
Wow 25 years in Florida and they are still treat like outsiders, I think the Aussies are a lot more welcoming lol x
Would your sister not fancy moving to Spain?
It sounds very reasonable to live there, Australia isn't that bad, we find it swings and roundabouts, some things are cheaper in the UK (especially 2nd hand cars) and other things are more expensive.
Flights back to the UK are terrible, it would cost us $10,000 to go back for a holiday so we haven't bothered. Internal flights aren't bad although one of the budget airlines has just stopped serving Cairns so prices are going to rise again.
I love it here, we were in Melbourne for most of the time but moved to Cairns after visiting on holiday and falling in love with it.

I've stopped by Alhaurin de la Torre a few times (done bits of work there over the years), Nice atmosphere and a good mix of expats mixing well with locals. At one stage I was thinking of living there but the heat in July and August was a bit much being inland, well that was the "official line" I still reckon it was because the misses couldn't bear to be more than 15 minutes for marina banus and la canada.
I'm now back in the UK after 11 years there (appart from 1.5 yrs in some other place) but have'nt ruled out a return in a few years.

Hi Blueskies, welcome to the forum. Nice to have other members in Europe on here.

Aldo, i didnt realise you had not lived in the Uk for such a long time, I thought you'd only been in Spain a few years....wow I hope you can settle back in there.

Originally Posted by Tillyfloss

Hi Blueskies, welcome to the forum. Nice to have other members in Europe on here.

Aldo, i didnt realise you had not lived in the Uk for such a long time, I thought you'd only been in Spain a few years....wow I hope you can settle back in there.

I thought the same I thought UK to Oz then Spain then back

Things have changed a lot (since he's been gone)

Sorry babs, I will not hijack your thread anymore