Room With A View
Room with a view ...
When we left the UK and moved to Spain to begin our big adventure, we really had not one single thought of how we would proceed. I will clarify that (yeah that would be useful – Ed). So, we were moving to an area that we had really heard nothing about except what we found on YouTube and we had not been able to visit the property prior to purchase because of the, then, constantly moving restrictions due to Covid. Good thing to do? Definitely not! But we were lucky! The villa was everything we had been shown online and more. The view was amazing, looking up the valley, when we were used to the flat East Anglian prairie.
Of course, that brings both positives and negatives with it. Despite overlooking several villages and being ten minutes from town, you cannot walk to anywhere because of the steep little lane that leads up to the urbanisation. All two kilometres of it! You can´t just toddle off down the road for a loaf of bread or a coffee. You have to use your transport. Of course, because of this, we have the most amazing views from our terrace. You can sit on the side of the pool and look over four different villages up to five kilometres away and watch the weather change as it makes its way down the valley. Sunsets can be incredible and never the same twice. We look out over a range of hills and almost mountains. It´s quite wonderful. But you have to weigh in that, as I´ve just said, you can´t really walk anywhere. Added to which, of course all shopping and anything else that you purchase, has to be carried up the drive and then twenty-seven steps to the front door! Being in my early seventies and my wife a decade younger, we already occasionally find it a hard climb with several shopping bags.
But we live in almost a fortress. Because of the slope, our property has twenty foot plus walls all around bordering the road, to hold in the sloping drive and the fact that the villa is some twenty feet above road level. With just a double metal gate within a tight arch as the only actual entrance, means that we are very secure – and of course our beloved Wolfie is thirty-five kilos of dog with free access to everywhere! (Nice to be appreciated, Boss – Ed).
It´s lovely to show visitors our position at the top of the urbanisation, as they arrive for the first time. Especially at night, with our softly lit colours swirling across the rock face above us and the fairy lights demarking the fencing atop the surrounding wall. The welcoming twinkles over the arch leading to the steps and, of course, the pool sub aqua lights when they reach the house level.
We love our home dearly and never thought in our wildest dreams that we would ever live in such luxury. But after a working life of endeavour and both being relatively successful in our professions and gradually building up our hard earned savings and a paid off mortgage, we have proven that it can still be done without having to be millionaires. We don’t have the disposable income that many of our friends here possess, but we can and do live a very comfortable and enjoyable life, and, we feel, a superior one to that which we would have had if we had stayed in the UK.
What we also know now is that this will not be our forever home or at least is unlikely to be. As we age and movement and particularly the ability to climb stairs and steps becomes more of an issue, we will almost certainly move to a more 'on the flat' property, where it will be easier to access everything and everywhere, and be closer to shops and other facilities. But that is some way off and currently we love being at the top of the hill. Of course the other thing also being that because we had to do quite a fair bit of work to the property to bring it back to life and the fact that four years have now passed since we arrived, the value of our villa has risen quite nicely, so when that time comes, we shall be in a good position to buy a nice property to move into. That won’t be until my lovely wife reaches the age of sixty-five at least though. I have already passed that milestone, but until she is also on the other side of that benchmark, we would be quite heavily taxed on the profit we would make. Post the age of sixty-five, no capital gains tax is payable, and that can be a considerable sum!
So, why am I writing all this? Well, particularly with all the ''goings on'' in the UK at the moment, I´m sure that many of you, as we did, are seriously considering opting out of the sinking ship, that successive governments seem intent on filling with ever more holes and utterly incapable of doing what we all have to do, ie., live within their means. There has been so much negativity published by social media and so called official and knowledgeable press and media for some time now. Sure, no where is perfect. We learn that through life. But it is still perfectly possible to move to Spain and enjoy a good standard of living, lovely weather (most of the time), making lots of new friends, enjoying a great social life and actually doing it all without spending a fortune.
Property can still be purchased at much better prices than the UK. The health system works at least as well as it does in the UK, and often much better. Council tax is much cheaper, and you get proper regular rubbish collection (several times a week). You can go out for a bite of lunch and a beer and have change from the equivalent of fifteen quid for two of you. Yes, you can! We do, quite regularly. Road repairs and renewals take a couple of days at the most and there are practically NO potholes except in exceptional circumstances on out of the way tiny lanes. The police are super-efficient and plentiful and stand no messing about. Crime is very low level and always followed up rigorously. Shops are friendly and helpful (in this area) and in fact most of the local Spanish are very approachable and helpful. A little Espanol goes a long way! Petrol and Diesel prices reflect quickly and fairly, the barrel price. Bio diesel is already available, so your standard diesel engine is becoming VERY ecofriendly. It´s almost equal to the dratted EV. Electricity is MUCH cheaper than the UK and the average house fuel bill here is less than fifty per cent of the equivalent UK bill, as are the water and sewage charges. Car and motorcycle road taxes are tiny compared to the UK. We pay just over the equivalent of eighty-five pounds for the car and ten pounds for the scooter.
Against the above, Spanish bureaucracy has to be experienced to be believed. It can take forever to get a piece of paper signed. The banks like to sell you everything these days and are more like secret supermarkets. Banking services can sometimes be a nightmare. Both of these are easier to deal with as you get into the Spanish way of thinking. House insurance is reasonable and they cover all manner of things in fact you don´t need any separate insurances, generally speaking because it´s all covered in the house insurance.
The biggest thing, I will repeat again, is to talk to your realtor. They have all the contacts that you will need to get your feet on the ground safely and efficiently. Speak to them in good time. Don´t leave it until the last minute! That is fatal! Have a chat with Harry or his brother. They have lived here since they were children and know the systems inside out, apart from being fluent Spanish speakers. You may be amazed at how much worry and fear they can alleviate with just a chat. And maybe we´ll see you down the road in one of our favourite cafes one day.
Nos vemos amigos.
