Living abroad during a UK winter...?

k6chris

Looking at retirement from a broader perspective, does anyone have any experience renting a property abroad, for example Spain or Portugal, in the off-peak season and for a couple of months? Are properties readily available? Is it cost effective? Is it regularly done??

Just toying with the idea, but no idea how realistice the idea actually is.....

Thanks

bigadaj

Probably best to find an expat board for the relevant country you are looking at, it's a pretty common thing for some people at least though.

Many areas will have plenty of cheap accommodation available outside the traditional holiday periods, but remember it can get pretty cold around much of the med.

You need to consider how long would you preferably want to go for, probably best to stay initially for a shorter period or just a holiday initially.

Also need to consider your uk property, extend holidays can create issues with insurance for example.

chucknorris

k6chris wrote: »

Looking at retirement from a broader perspective, does anyone have any experience renting a property abroad, for example Spain or Portugal, in the off-peak season and for a couple of months? Are properties readily available? Is it cost effective? Is it regularly done??

Just toying with the idea, but no idea how realistice the idea actually is.....

Thanks

We were about to do this in Southern Spain and/or the Algarve, but when I handed my retirement notice in last Summer, they asked me to continue working one day a week, which really suits me. That made us postpone going away for 3-4 months every winter, but I can still get away for over 5 weeks, which we intend to do. I'm sure you will know this but the max ave temps are about 16/17 degrees and it rains about once a week, but that suits me fine, as I'm not looking for heat, just someone to walk, hike, cycle, jog and play bowls and avoid our cold and wet winter weather.

A few years ago we rented a one bed bungalow for about £225/week for 3 weeks in Nerja during October. At the time I also searched for long term winter rentals and I found some very cheap deals. We were thinking of buying a holiday home over there (early stage thinking only), but when we saw how cheap winter rentals were we forgot about doing that. Although if we found an area that we really liked, it is possible that we might end up buying, nothing to do with costs, everything to do with having a home from home that we make our own.

brewerdave

Don't know about the financial feasibility now (with the £ @ 1.16 euros) but about 5 years ago, an ex work colleague and his wife, were closing up their house for 3-4 months after Xmas and escaping to Spain in a long term let in an apartment block, paying very little per month.
At the time they reckoned that they were quids in,as they weren't using heating in the UK home (other than background) ,electricity or water and the cost of living in Spain was far lower than UK.
HOWEVER, I think that the exchange rate was a bit better then.

chucknorris

brewerdave wrote: »

Don't know about the financial feasibility now (with the £ @ 1.16 euros) but about 5 years ago, an ex work colleague and his wife, were closing up their house for 3-4 months after Xmas and escaping to Spain in a long term let in an apartment block, paying very little per month.
At the time they reckoned that they were quids in,as they weren't using heating in the UK home (other than background) ,electricity or water and the cost of living in Spain was far lower than UK.
HOWEVER, I think that the exchange rate was a bit better then.

I was going to mention the heating/other bills contributing towards costs, but for us it is more about enjoying ourselves. I'm an outdoors type person, so I (we) would enjoy Spain much more than the UK during the winter.

missile

You are not the first to have that idea. Many people do it.

Be aware many Spanish properties are poorly insulated and it can feel very cold when the sun goes down, you will need heating.

gfplux

k6chris wrote: »

Looking at retirement from a broader perspective, does anyone have any experience renting a property abroad, for example Spain or Portugal, in the off-peak season and for a couple of months? Are properties readily available? Is it cost effective? Is it regularly done??

Just toying with the idea, but no idea how realistice the idea actually is.....

Thanks

We live in Luxembourg and also own in the South of France. We have also rented for one month in Spain and London more than once.

The things you should consider.

1) Property is readily available.
2) Beware of internet scams.
3) Holiday accomadation is not insulated for noise or for cold weather it is better to rent property that was designed to be lived in 12 months a year.
4) With Britain leaving the EU medical insurance will become very important.
5) Consider renting in places other than Spain/Portugal holiday resorts. I don't know where you live in England but what about renting in Cornwall or London!!
6) Out of Season can mean empty, desolate, lonely, cold, alone and nothing open.
7) Townies do not naturally take to the country and visa Versa.
I suggest you go on holiday to your chosen destination and visit your intended rental BEFORE signing a two month contract.

Good luck.

Snakey

I have absolutely zero personal experience but I do recall reading an article a few years ago about older people living in Spanish apartment hotels off-season. It was cheap because all the amenities were closed - no swimming pool, no on-site entertainment - and they did make the point that you should not expect "hot and sunny" but more like "warmer and lighter than being in the UK".

I remember thinking that while reading a book on your balcony, even if you did need to wear a cardi, would be nicer than being huddled in a cold flat in the UK watching it get dark at 4pm and not wanting to go out in case you slip on the ice/get soaked through, a resort in the off-season is not going to be like being on holiday. And also that you'd find it hard to get away from whoever happened to be also staying there.

I have mulled over the possibility of "wintering" in e.g. Thailand (or somewhere that's definitely going to be hot and sunny), given that the main cost is the flight and so the longer you stay the cheaper it works out per day. But for me this is sufficiently far in the future that I haven't done any research.

ex-pat_scot

My parents do exactly this, for a month or two each winter.
Even factoring in flights, rent etc the total cost is much lower than staying in UK.
The bonus is that lots of family come out to visit (lots of relatives healthy but retired, so can flexibly change plans).


It's not a bad position to be in.


The downside is that language can be a barrier, and that cheap resorts in winter are very lonely / sparsely populated at that time of year.

Apodemus

Having gone to camp sites in the south of France in May one year, I found that a lot of the folk I met were retired Brits with camper vans, who head south in January and by May were heading back north before tourist rates set in.

sandsy

A relative of mine did it for around 8 weeks from mid-January to mid-March for a few years in the suburbs of Cape Town after retiring. Hired a car to see the sights, played lots of golf, did lots of walking - having spent a few years there myself, I can see myself doing something similar when I retire!