Hi from Alicante Spain

benjus

I have heard tell that when there is precipitation in your adoptive home country, it is mostly confined to regions of flat topography. Can you confirm this?

margaretclare

We enjoyed a short stay in Alicante in the autumn of 2013. Loved it. The vast majority of the people on the flight from our local airport were not staying in Alicante, going on to Benidorm!

Even for a few days only, I always try to learn the basic essentials of any language in whatever country. How to say good morning/day/evening, please/thank you, and the very basics of ordering food and drink. And eating/drinking whatever the country has to offer. That, to DH and me, is what a holiday is all about. It's a little adventure!

I could eat fish and chips down Southend seafront if I wanted to, I see no point in flying to another country to do it. We loved all the Spanish food. Sauntering along the Explanada de Espana under the shady trees and looking at the harbour. Spanish breakfast buffet in our hotel, to die for. Local hams, cheeses, breads, who wants a 'full English' outside of England?

tonymar

margaretclare wrote: »

We enjoyed a short stay in Alicante in the autumn of 2013. Loved it. The vast majority of the people on the flight from our local airport were not staying in Alicante, going on to Benidorm!

Even for a few days only, I always try to learn the basic essentials of any language in whatever country. How to say good morning/day/evening, please/thank you, and the very basics of ordering food and drink. And eating/drinking whatever the country has to offer. That, to DH and me, is what a holiday is all about. It's a little adventure!

I could eat fish and chips down Southend seafront if I wanted to, I see no point in flying to another country to do it. We loved all the Spanish food. Sauntering along the Explanada de Espana under the shady trees and looking at the harbour. Spanish breakfast buffet in our hotel, to die for. Local hams, cheeses, breads, who wants a 'full English' outside of England?

Glad you enjoyed your stay in Alicante , yes its good to try local food etc !

I also like Benidorm too !

I see you are in Essex , we came from near Romford

Cheers Tony:)

tonymar

benjus wrote: »

I have heard tell that when there is precipitation in your adoptive home country, it is mostly confined to regions of flat topography. Can you confirm this?

We are in quite a dry part of Spain , in fact it is almost desert like

I have noticed the on the other side of the mountain range inland of Alicante is much wetter , think its a bit of a rain shadow effect .

But when it rains it is normally short and sharp and can cause flash flooding as the water runs off the mountains filling the dry river beds

Fraise

I was advised by a friend who's actually an estate agent abroad, that the best way to relocate to the Med is to rent out your home in the UK, and to then rent a place abroad. That way you burn no bridges, your property in the UK (depending where it is) will rise more than properties abroad, you'll have no foreign legal headaches with their unfamiliar laws, or get done over by greedy agents/developers.....and if the you suddenly found your new home abroad was being built up with thousands of similar villas/flats and became loud, noisy, undesirable..you can just up sticks and move.

No headaches when coming over to the UK about the state of your foreign property, as that's the landlords problem.

Also, there's been terrible problems trying to resell properties abroad due to the zillions of new builds constantly being built, and all the legal process can be a dreadful problem. You often sell for less than you bought too

I think hanging on to your UK home and renting abroad has to be a win win situation, and if things go wrong you're not trapped out there.

tonymar

Fraise wrote: »

I was advised by a friend who's actually an estate agent abroad, that the best way to relocate to the Med is to rent out your home in the UK, and to then rent a place abroad. That way you burn no bridges, your property in the UK (depending where it is) will rise more than properties abroad, you'll have no foreign legal headaches with their unfamiliar laws, or get done over by greedy agents/developers.....and if the you suddenly found your new home abroad was being built up with thousands of similar villas/flats and became loud, noisy, undesirable..you can just up sticks and move.

No headaches when coming over to the UK about the state of your foreign property, as that's the landlords problem.

Also, there's been terrible problems trying to resell properties abroad due to the zillions of new builds constantly being built, and all the legal process can be a dreadful problem. You often sell for less than you bought too

I think hanging on to your UK home and renting abroad has to be a win win situation, and if things go wrong you're not trapped out there.

Yes it is a good idea to keep your UK house

But also another good reason to buy is to free up capital , prices are so low here you could sell an Average UK semi , buy a Detached house with a pool and land , and put a load in the bank


I guess every one has their own idea of what is best !

Fraise

tonymar wrote: »

Yes it is a good idea to keep your UK house

But also another good reason to buy is to free up capital , prices are so low here you could sell an Average UK semi , buy a Detached house with a pool and land , and put a load in the bank


I guess every one has their own idea of what is best !

Yes, you could do that, but you've still got the problems of reselling abroad, which isn't always possible. At least, not at a profit - as you're displaying now with all these cheap houses for sale. And you have all the foreign bureaucracy, dodgy workmanship...it can be a minefield.

Sure, if you sold your UK property you'd free up capital, but interest rates aren't good and that capital would soon fritter down....

Much better to rent out your UK property (rents are so high now!) and with that money rent a place abroad AND have lots over to have a good time...without losing a single penny, as you'll still own your UK home, and it will still be rising in value, and you know if you ever want you will be able to sell it..unlike foreign properties which can take years to sell, and you might only get peanuts for.

tonymar

Fraise wrote: »

Yes, you could do that, but you've still got the problems of reselling abroad, which isn't always possible. At least, not at a profit - as you're displaying now with all these cheap houses for sale. And you have all the foreign bureaucracy, dodgy workmanship...it can be a minefield.

Sure, if you sold your UK property you'd free up capital, but interest rates aren't good and that capital would soon fritter down....

Much better to rent out your UK property (rents are so high now!) and with that money rent a place abroad AND have lots over to have a good time...without losing a single penny, as you'll still own your UK home, and it will still be rising in value, and you know if you ever want you will be able to sell it..unlike foreign properties which can take years to sell, and you might only get peanuts for.

Or another option would be to sell your main UK home , buy a place in Spain while the prices are low and the exchange rate is good , and instead of putting the left over money in the bank buy a flat or smaller house in the UK and rent it out for an income.

I guess it is best for the individual to do what they feel suits them best .

I do feel you are stereo typing foreign property a bit and take the UK as being a superior country , its funny but after living here for so long I some times think in reverse that the UK is the odd one out in Europe , ie didnt adopt the euro, rhd cars etc.

I see new people that come to Spain still think everything Uk is best , they even buy stuff like washing powder , toothpaste , bleach etc as if the Spanish equivalents don't exist . Very Strange !

I think it takes time to realize many Spanish products as just as good as Uk ones also I guess the ability to translate what the packet says is also a factor

Think the funniest example of Uk stuff for sale in Spain was -
when I was in a
Spanish branch of Iceland there were some oranges for sale , grown in Spain , packed in the UK - for sale in Spain ,

Why ---- because Oranges from the Uk are better of course !!!

Tony:)

seanwinf

Just out of curiosity where is best to start when looking at a holiday apartment/flat. Ive read the online guides but all seem to be made by people who want to rip you off. Been looking at rightmove and lots in alicante for around £20k which would suit us just for a week here and there. Have no knowledge of alicante apart from airport always been closer to the sea than inland.

tonymar

Well I guess it depends on if you want to be in a Spanish or mainly English area

If you want to be quite near the airport there is a big Urbanisation called Gran Alicant ( which has a holiday feel as plenty of expats and tourists

But if you want more Spanish , Campello is very nice , its our favourite local beach

for the real bargains you will probably have to look more inland , the 20k ones in Alicante City may not be in great locations ( poorer rougher areas )

what area have you seen them ?

I did see a town house for 13k the other day , but needs a bit of work and was in Onil inland of Alicante

Cheers Tony