Hi Scouse, hope you like the look of our place on the blogspot site. There’s a lot of information about the Alpujarra there but if there is anything you’d like to know specifically let me know.  It can get very cold in winter at 1,200 metres and pretty damn hot in summer, though a lot less humid than the coast.  Spring and Autumn are perfect.  House prices and general expenses are a fraction of coastal prices and the quality and character of life is completely different - you would either love it or hate it. 

To make this relevant to the thread however - you can’t compare a ham-producing mountain village with an urbanizacion on a retirement golf complex.  Brits who say Spain is “better” or “worse” than Britain in general are often comparing the experience of a very artificial lifestyle - I’m not criticising, it just is - with the reality of life at home.  Apples with oranges, in fact.

Thought your blog was great, your house looks pretty cool as well. The village life is what we’d be trying to find.

We’re past the laying out on the beach stage of our lives (Stick a fork in me to see if I’m done!) and I hated what the Watney’s Red barrel and fish & chip brigade did the the coast in the 60’s and 70’s.
The urbanization on a golf course, retirement, gives me the willies…:) I’m older than a few people though and just never got into golf.
I’d like to walk to the corner cafe in the mornings sit out and enjoy the day or spend the evening in a good tapas bar with friendlly people and a congenial host.

I’ve built several homes and remodeled some as well. One was of logs at 2.100 meters up in the rockies.  In fact the house we live in now I happen to know every nail in it intimately. Tiling and plumbing I like to do. In other words we’re not afraid of fixing up a “ruin”, or starting from scratch.

Sounds like living near a place that turns pigs into ham and has an almond festival can’t be that bad.

I’ll be flying from Seattle on Friday to see my old mum and enjoying the fleshpots of Liverpool…:)

Thanks for replying.
Ken

Hi Ken!

If you’re looking for a climate in Spain that is similar to the climate of the Pacific NW, the Atlantic coast of Spain seems to be just that -the coastal parts of Pais Vasco, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia to be specific. You & your partner won’t have to worry about sun-stroke here since it’s quite rainy! Here you’ll find rolling green hills, forests, beautiful beaches (although the water’s usually too cold for comfort). It doesn’t get too hot in the summer nor does it really snow or freeze in the winter. There aren’t a lot of immigrants or tourists around here though, which could be good or bad depending on what you’re looking for -you’ll have a more ?authentic? Spanish experience in these parts, but other foreigners are hard to come by.

Have a great trip back to England. By the way that’s an interesting pic of…a geographical bottom?? 😊 hehe

Hi there

With regard to your question iam from the UK my wife was american and we lived in Delaware on the beach, sadley she died last year aged 40 i returned to the uk and then decided to move to Spain where i have a lot of friends why Spoain the pace of life for one the people and the climate.
I will miss my parents but its not that far i wont miss the rain or the crazy price we pay for petrol will miss the green grass lol lol.
I must say i really like americans bit sad the post got hijacked but there we go .

Take care guys
Chris

For my family and I, our move was to achieve an overall better quality of life.

My wife and I lived in Cornwall, which is a trully beautiful part of England, but given property prices and cost of living are amongst the highest in the UK added to the fact the average wage is also one of the lowest, there was never any chance of us getting on the property ladder, without eternally being in debt.

My mother in law was also retiring and came with us, the cost of living here being substantially less enough to let her retire on her modest savings and live comfortably.

So for us, primarily a financial decision in some respects, but also the opportunity to live, rather than just visit, life in another culture. We’ve settled in well and enjoy excellent relationships with the locals.

My own business activities have grown steadily and I’ve personally found running a business here far easier than back in the UK.

I find that we all miss little things about our former home (like Melton Mowbray Pork Pies for me 😛 ), but we all see Spain as our home now. I’ve only been back to the UK once in the last three years and like when I used to travel alot beforehand, I did so a little grudgingly heh!

Why did we move to Spain from the UK?
Because we could no longer afford to live in the UK.  We were both working long hours for little reward, even though we are both reasonably well qualified, and our living costs were shooting up and up…...  So we looked long and hard for somewhere else to live where (a) we liked the country, climate, culture, (b) where we could afford to live, and (c) where we would be allowed to live permanently.
Spain came up with all the goods.
Since that decision we have struggled no end to live here in Spain and I still have to go back to the UK on a regular basis to work (as my lack of language skills and poor employment prospects in our area make UK work the only option), but I would never want to go back to live in the UK permanently.
The other reason is that we were both sick and tired of the corrupt political system in the UK, plus the ‘24/7 work ethic’ which had grown there (all very similar to the US…?).  Yes, there are things which could be better in Spain, but it wins hands down in relation to Britain.

What do I miss about the UK?
Seeing my children as often as I would like to.
That’s all.

Hi Zania, I adore Spain too, and I wish we could spend more time at our place in the Alpujarra - well, maybe soon.  I’m amazed though that you mention the “corrupt political system” in the UK as a reason for moving to Spain. I could write a very long list of things that Spain does better than the UK (with ham being close to the top), but the honesty of public servants wouldn’t be on it!

MartCross - 04 December 2007 03:15 PM

Hi Zania, I adore Spain too, and I wish we could spend more time at our place in the Alpujarra - well, maybe soon.  I’m amazed though that you mention the “corrupt political system” in the UK as a reason for moving to Spain. I could write a very long list of things that Spain does better than the UK (with ham being close to the top), but the honesty of public servants wouldn’t be on it!

Hi Martin,
Yes, I agree you with you when it comes to certain ‘public servants’ in Spain. 
I suppose I was talking more about the whole ethos of ‘it’s ok to lie and get away with it’ that has appeared in droves within UK politics, particularly at the highest levels, within the last few years. 
I am also very concerned, on my frequent visits back to the UK at how totalitarian the particular regime’ in the UK is becoming and how (in my opinion anyway) it links to what is also happening in the US, with ‘reasons’ and ‘examples’ being given for more oppressive power structures that are suspect at the very least.
But then I’m just a dyed in the wool socialist 😉

Nice blog by the way.  I’ve just been back to have a second look.
We thought about buying in the Alpujarras, but the remoteness of the area kind of defeated that plan (I don’t drive).
Lovely area though.

Don’t worry, I lean to the left as well, and I’m as happy with Zapatero’s government as I have been unhappy with Blair’s (and now Brown’s).  But remember the last Spanish government lied shamelessly about the Madrid bombings, trying to pin it on ETA instead of admitting that their Middle East policy might have had something to do with it…..
Thanks for the comment about my blog. Tell your friends - we need bookings!

MartCross - 05 December 2007 01:46 PM

................ But remember the last Spanish government lied shamelessly about the Madrid bombings, trying to pin it on ETA instead of admitting that their Middle East policy might have had something to do with it…..
.............

Yes Martin, and they were punished three days later (3/14) losing the elections. Until that day, they (PP) had a marginal advantage. Today, the Zapatero Administration keeps an advantage. I do not know yet if it is clear enough. Martin

martin79 - 05 December 2007 02:25 PM

MartCross - 05 December 2007 01:46 PM

................ But remember the last Spanish government lied shamelessly about the Madrid bombings, trying to pin it on ETA instead of admitting that their Middle East policy might have had something to do with it…..
.............

Yes Martin, and they were punished three days later (3/14) losing the elections. Until that day, they (PP) had a marginal advantage. Today, the Zapatero Administration keeps an advantage. I do not know yet if it is clear enough. Martin

Let’s hope it is.