Avoiding UK winter by living abroad

youth_leader

Thanks for bringing this up, following with interest. After the weather we've had this autumn/winter, and now my beloved dog has died, I'd also like to do a winter somewhere warmer. 

NoodleDoodleMan

A few practical issues to be considered -  will their property be unoccupied over the period in question ?

For example home insurance cover is generally for no more than 30 continuous days.

djp64

I have friends who do this. 90 days in Tenerife for Jan Feb March. 

They rent an apartment privately (but there are lots of agencies who can organise rentals but at higher cost). They initially rented through an agency but from being there several times have, by talking to others doing the same, found a better, cheaper private rental (owned by UK residents)

Two bed apartment with shared pool costs @ £1000 a month. 

Flights are more expensive than a 2 week break (2-3 times as much).

Travel insurance (as both over 65) is around £600 - both have minor health conditions.  They don't rely on the GHIC

They don't rent a car as too expensive for 3 months and they wouldn't use it much but do rent in proximity to a decent bus route.

House insurance in UK is fine with a declared 60 day absence.  They keep heating on low (12) and run a dehumifidier permanently set to 66%

Total costs for the 3 months are @ £6000.  Mix of eating in and dining out.

I've thought about it but wonder if I'd get bored without home comforts / entertainment : )

MikeJXE

djp64 said:

I have friends who do this. 90 days in Tenerife for Jan Feb March. 

They rent an apartment privately (but there are lots of agencies who can organise rentals but at higher cost). They initially rented through an agency but from being there several times have, by talking to others doing the same, found a better, cheaper private rental (owned by UK residents)

Two bed apartment with shared pool costs @ £1000 a month. 

Flights are more expensive than a 2 week break (2-3 times as much).

Travel insurance (as both over 65) is around £600 - both have minor health conditions.  They don't rely on the GHIC

They don't rent a car as too expensive for 3 months and they wouldn't use it much but do rent in proximity to a decent bus route.

House insurance in UK is fine with a declared 60 day absence.  They keep heating on low (12) and run a dehumifidier permanently set to 66%

Total costs for the 3 months are @ £6000.  Mix of eating in and dining out.

I've thought about it but wonder if I'd get bored without home comforts / entertainment : )

There are plenty of entertainment at the pubs

I got fed up waking up to the sun everyday for 18 months although it was refreshing when/if we had a rain shower, probably half a dozen in that time 

J_B

We own property in Cyprus

A while back, we had a British couple who rented our place for three months for the winter.

It suited us and them very well and they're still on our Christmas card list now!!!

sand_hun

Hi all and thanks for the replies. Firstly to answer a couple of questions - they are looking for an apartment/rental rather than a hotel. They’re not in receipt of benefits and their house won’t be unoccupied while they are away.

I also had an update from my parents in terms of locations - whilst warmer weather is definitely a consideration they are considering the mainland since that way, if they did get bored, it would be easier to travel around the country and elsewhere in Europe.....so I think they would be prepared to sacrifice year round good weather in order to have the option to explore elsewhere.

However nothing is off the table at this point as they also expressed an interest in Cyprus, despite it being an island!  

Voyager2002

sand_hun said:

Hi all and thanks for the replies. Firstly to answer a couple of questions - they are looking for an apartment/rental rather than a hotel. They’re not in receipt of benefits and their house won’t be unoccupied while they are away.

I also had an update from my parents in terms of locations - whilst warmer weather is definitely a consideration they are considering the mainland since that way, if they did get bored, it would be easier to travel around the country and elsewhere in Europe.....so I think they would be prepared to sacrifice year round good weather in order to have the option to explore elsewhere.

However nothing is off the table at this point as they also expressed an interest in Cyprus, despite it being an island!  

I think that both Cyprus and Crete offer sufficiently many interesting things to prevent anyone from suffering boredom, despite being islands.

Come to that, Britain is an island.

Doshwaster

Voyager2002 said:

sand_hun said:

Hi all and thanks for the replies. Firstly to answer a couple of questions - they are looking for an apartment/rental rather than a hotel. They’re not in receipt of benefits and their house won’t be unoccupied while they are away.

I also had an update from my parents in terms of locations - whilst warmer weather is definitely a consideration they are considering the mainland since that way, if they did get bored, it would be easier to travel around the country and elsewhere in Europe.....so I think they would be prepared to sacrifice year round good weather in order to have the option to explore elsewhere.

However nothing is off the table at this point as they also expressed an interest in Cyprus, despite it being an island!  

I think that both Cyprus and Crete offer sufficiently many interesting things to prevent anyone from suffering boredom, despite being islands.

Come to that, Britain is an island.

My first choice of winter sun would be the Canaries but the downside is that it is further away from anywhere else and not bursting with history or culture.

The weather in Cyprus can get cold and wet during the winter. 

Maybe take this year as an opportunity to take some short breaks to places on their shortlist. Also look outside of the Schengen area so that you don't need to count the days.

Indout96

Also make sure they can get insurance, we are with Staysure and the rules are 
Age 0-70 max 50 days per holiday
Age 71 + Max 35 days per holiday.

Also a lot of home insurance limit your time away from home to 30/31 days.

elsien

Doshwaster said:

Voyager2002 said:

sand_hun said:

Hi all and thanks for the replies. Firstly to answer a couple of questions - they are looking for an apartment/rental rather than a hotel. They’re not in receipt of benefits and their house won’t be unoccupied while they are away.

I also had an update from my parents in terms of locations - whilst warmer weather is definitely a consideration they are considering the mainland since that way, if they did get bored, it would be easier to travel around the country and elsewhere in Europe.....so I think they would be prepared to sacrifice year round good weather in order to have the option to explore elsewhere.

However nothing is off the table at this point as they also expressed an interest in Cyprus, despite it being an island!  

I think that both Cyprus and Crete offer sufficiently many interesting things to prevent anyone from suffering boredom, despite being islands.

Come to that, Britain is an island.

My first choice of winter sun would be the Canaries but the downside is that it is further away from anywhere else and not bursting with history or culture.

The weather in Cyprus can get cold and wet during the winter. 

Maybe take this year as an opportunity to take some short breaks to places on their shortlist. Also look outside of the Schengen area so that you don't need to count the days.

They can always head into the mountains and take up ski-ing?