h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My parents bought a flat in Spain when they retired - not to live there all the time but as a bolt-hole away from Scotland when the cold winters draw in. Initially the idea was with cheap flights they could just pop over at the drop of a hat but it hasn't worked out that way so now they go over for months at a time instead of the odd long weekend.

They chose Benidorm because of the large ex-pat community. It forms a safety net for them with English-speaking tradesmen and the professions readily available. I visited for the first time recently and was a bit disappointed to have my pigeon-Spanish constantly corrected into English by the locals

I think that's the kind of community my mum's looking at tbh swl.

One of my stepdad's customers is currently selling a house in a gated mainly English-speaking community. His wife died last year and he no longer has the heart for it. He's offered them the house for a week's holiday to check it and the local area out so they're starting there.

Deb

I printed this conversation and gave it to my mum on Friday. I spoke to her this morning and she said thanks for the great advice & comments, and especially thanks to bobstafford for the renting advice. They'd never even considered that but have now discussed it and decided they're going to do that before they leap onto the property market there.



Deb

That was a fairly common practice among our military folks - see about rent or lease for 6 months to a year. "Feel out" the new locale and determine where and what to buy ... if at all.

"I printed this conversation and gave it to my mum on Friday" [Deb]

I hope I didn't embarrass myself with the comment on the rain in Spain . I like to see humor in life.

Not at all paulh

Deb

Thanks.

I'm reading "Don Quixote." Gosh, there's more violence in it than I expected. I mean, I expected the sheep and the windmills, but there's much more .

I read the novel during the week of my most recent wedding. The bride and her parents were going mad, and needed none of my opinions.

Coming on 29 years ago now - and I have read the book twice more. AND - got it in my Kindle

I loved the musical .

There is one more point that has not been mentioned Deb, in all my travels no matter how close to the UK they decide to live despite all the promises family do not visit regularly. Time and time again I have had this confirmed by others.

So if they want to see family the further south you the less likely the visitors are to come, I think its the hassle of air travel, I hate air travel car parking customs, delays, cramped conditions if they can easily drive or use the train. I love the drive its a mini holiday in its self with things to see and do. Its a 4 day drive to Spain though (the area around Barcelona is lovely cooled by the nearby mountains) so that is a problem check the French train connections the TGV is excellent.

The art is to somehow make them want to come the secret of which I have so far failed to discover, but annual festivals, sports (skiing, sailing and motor racing work) and events help.

If you want them to fly make it worth while settle in Australia or New Zealand and make the trip worth it.


I hope this helps a little.

Hola Deb,

I´ve just read this. Variety is the first word that comes to mind to describe Spain. Someone said, it´s hot and dry... well it depends on the area you choose. The north is cool in summer. Greens everywhere, lots of rain... there´s even celtic folklore, the bagpipe is a traditional instrument there.

I go every summer to the sub-tropical coast of Granada. Summers are not too hot, you get used soon , and winters are just perfect. There´s a small community of foreigners, not just British. It´s not so famous as the Costa del Sol or Benidorm, but prices are not as crazy and in those areas. There´s plenty of tropical fruits, many from ecofarming. It´s a paradise.

If I were they, I´d travel around Spain, a real treat in any case, whatever they choose eventually.

In Granada I´d recommend to visit the Alpujarra, a cool place for summer nights. Part of the area has an Alpine climate ( it´s near SIerra Nevada) La Alpujarra is a group of small villages with a very peculiar architecture. It was a kind of secret paradise for many north europeans hippies around the 70s. It still keeps that serene atmosphere of wildness. It´s lovely.

The British writer Gerald Brennan was living there for a lot of time. He wrote books about Spain and about Las Alpujarras.

I could go on telling you about many other areas, like the Aracena Hill, in Huelva, El valle del Jerte in Cáceres... all those are places in montains and valleys, not the sea, but are fully peaceful, attractive for the landscape and the gastronomy... and cheaper, at least they are worth a visit.

Tell them to study the geography of Spain, that can help them to have a good idea. Spain is not just hot and dry. That´s not true at all.
And people are hard, Bob? I´m sorry for your experience. I avoid to make generalizations, but most people is pretty affable with tourists.

"Someone said, it´s hot and dry... well it depends on the area you choose. The north is cool in summer. Greens everywhere, lots of rain."
[Maria]

I got that impression when I was reading Hemingway's "For whom the bell tolls." I like the Spanish language, though I don't understand it nearly as much as I would like.

That's a very good point bobstafford. My brother's already been looking at flight costs and discovered it's more expensive than he'd hoped in the school holidays. Mum will miss her grandkids if they don't visit frequently. Although I suspect we'll stagger our visits so my brother can take the kids out there then leave them for me to pick up and bring home

Maria, thank you for that information, I shall certainly pass it on. With a couple of years until they retire, there's plenty time to explore a bit first

Deb

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