I have stated that I'm a glass-half-empty person which won me no friends on the subject here and elsewhere, but my case for buying property in France/Spain/Portugal/Italy:-
1. Investment:- Can work and can be profitable and requires relatively little work. What you want to earn and within reason is up to you. Summer Rentals can provide mouth watering income if managed coldly.
2. Sunshine:- Guaranteed for almost all of the year. Warmth especially in the off season is most welcome for us in colder and wetter climes. If there is a history of arthritis in the family, Spain is your best friend.
3. Cost of Living:- Much cheaper than Ireland. Believe me if you are in any doubt as to what to eat (in Spain) take note of what the Spaniards buy. They eat healthily and frugally. Supermarkets are good, but the Spaniards use the Bakers shop daily for fresh bread. They tend to use stale bread for gaspacho. Very little food is wasted there. And you won't find your neighbour Pedro eating the tasteless sliced stuff we eat.
4. Lifestyle:- (a) Even in the off season you'll spend more time in shorts and tee-shirts reverting to long pants and long sleeves in late evenings only from mid December to mid February.
(b) You may not want this, but as the weather is better, you tend to walk longer distances every day stopping off at whatever café and have a mug of good coffee along with a glass of orange juice + glass of water with two small doughnuts always thrown in for €1.50 or less. It's Operation Transformation without the tears. You learn your first word of Spanish = Tapas - it comes up in every conversation.
(c) New friends are made more easily; they share what you've done and unlike many here, share experiences and information.
(d) Still you have BBC and ITV television channels. If you want RTE you can get that too, but needs satellite dish alignment (many urbanisations do not allow satellite dishes) or you can pay monthly for the "extra" Irish channels on cable tv.
(e) Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on the terrace:- If you wish enjoy, breakfast in sunshine, believe me sitting on your warm terrace enhances the occasion. No more breakfast in one hand and car keys in the other. You get hooked on the lifestyle and spend longer at the table and in more conversation. Within a fortnight you'll not even answer your mobile while at the table. The sea and mountain views are terrific too.
(f) If you enjoy wine:- The first thing you'll learn in Spain is that the Spaniards wouldn't touch the stuff you can buy in supermarkets in Ireland for around a tenner. Under strain, they might use it for cooking occasionally, extremely occcasionally. They call it paint stripper and they can buy such wine (our brands too) for under €1.00. Pay €3.00/€4.00 for a bottle of wine in Spain and you're drinking stuff that you would buy in Ireland for €35.00 per bottle. (I can nearly hear the reader saying "Stop there Lep, we're on our way . . .").
(g) Drinking + "Bad" Behaviour in Public:- There are outdoor terraces in most restaurants where people meet for a pint (€1.50 San Miguel, Levante etc). You seldom see Spaniards drinking on the street. In fact, you seldom see Spaniards drunk and messy in public streets. Young Spaniards start drinking wine at home with their parents and are alcohol savvy from a young teenage age. Yes, there are discos and Spaniards tend to drink heavily in such environments, but once the disco is over they return to their buses and head for home (around 5.00am). Lewd objects (stag and hen parties) are prohibited in public. There is a higher presence of police in Spain and arrests of transgressors actually happen. For the record drinking and driving is well policed too and you'd be taking more of a chance there hopping into your car after a "skinful."
(h) Spanish motorists are more sympathetic towards cyclists.
(i) Getting back to the terrace(s), one tends to read more, relax more, even listen to Radio Nacional (Equivalent to RTE1 radio but without Senor José Duffio). You find yourself listening to the Spanish equivalent of Lyric FM too (but without my hero Marty in the Morning).
(j) You'll have more callers to the door which can be a neighbour you don't know who'll have a bottle decent wine to share. These callers tend to call around 1.45pm and won't stay beyond 3.30pm. You'll be expected to call to them too (and leave by 3.30pm), but don't show up with a bottle of plonc costing €1.00.
(k) You might even put a few plants on your terrace(s) and they usually thrive on neglect. Visiting garden centres in Spain is fab even though you may know nothing of gardening. The colour and range on display is nothing short of an enormous work of art. If you're having a moment of bad form, visit a garden centre and the mood improves.
(l) Many restaurants/hotels have a bring-a-book-take-a-book system so you shouldn't find yourself short of reading material. Books in English in Spain are more expensive.
(m) The beach is 2 mins walk if you don't feel like using the pool.
(n) The pool area probably has its rules (no football, shouting etc during siesta 2.00pm - 5.00pm). Believe me you don't want a bleary eyed Spaniard on your case screaming at you in his underpants from his terrace. He doesn't appreciate loud singing of "You'll never beat the Irish . . . " Neither do they appreciate bunting of green white and orange along with politically presented tricolours.
(o) You find yourself becoming less Irish and more Spanish and start to learn Spanish and it opens up doors you never knew existed. You tend to drive the Spanish way too i.e. driving home fast coming up to siesta (not stopping at zebra crossings etc and driving slower after siesta and nearly parking the car to allow pedestrians the right of way at zebra crossings).
(p) You may not retire to bed at night until around 2.30am again glued to your terrace and watching for fallen stars which are more visible in Spain.
(q) If you enjoy colourful sunrises then you are onto a winner. You have them every morning if you wish.
(r) You always have a holiday to look forward to and each one gets longer than the last.
An Add-On (couple of hours after original post):- Would I sell the apartment even for the amount we originally paid. Answer:- No!
That's the Case-For. Perhaps the reader can add?
1. Investment:- Can work and can be profitable and requires relatively little work. What you want to earn and within reason is up to you. Summer Rentals can provide mouth watering income if managed coldly.
2. Sunshine:- Guaranteed for almost all of the year. Warmth especially in the off season is most welcome for us in colder and wetter climes. If there is a history of arthritis in the family, Spain is your best friend.
3. Cost of Living:- Much cheaper than Ireland. Believe me if you are in any doubt as to what to eat (in Spain) take note of what the Spaniards buy. They eat healthily and frugally. Supermarkets are good, but the Spaniards use the Bakers shop daily for fresh bread. They tend to use stale bread for gaspacho. Very little food is wasted there. And you won't find your neighbour Pedro eating the tasteless sliced stuff we eat.
4. Lifestyle:- (a) Even in the off season you'll spend more time in shorts and tee-shirts reverting to long pants and long sleeves in late evenings only from mid December to mid February.
(b) You may not want this, but as the weather is better, you tend to walk longer distances every day stopping off at whatever café and have a mug of good coffee along with a glass of orange juice + glass of water with two small doughnuts always thrown in for €1.50 or less. It's Operation Transformation without the tears. You learn your first word of Spanish = Tapas - it comes up in every conversation.
(c) New friends are made more easily; they share what you've done and unlike many here, share experiences and information.
(d) Still you have BBC and ITV television channels. If you want RTE you can get that too, but needs satellite dish alignment (many urbanisations do not allow satellite dishes) or you can pay monthly for the "extra" Irish channels on cable tv.
(e) Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on the terrace:- If you wish enjoy, breakfast in sunshine, believe me sitting on your warm terrace enhances the occasion. No more breakfast in one hand and car keys in the other. You get hooked on the lifestyle and spend longer at the table and in more conversation. Within a fortnight you'll not even answer your mobile while at the table. The sea and mountain views are terrific too.
(f) If you enjoy wine:- The first thing you'll learn in Spain is that the Spaniards wouldn't touch the stuff you can buy in supermarkets in Ireland for around a tenner. Under strain, they might use it for cooking occasionally, extremely occcasionally. They call it paint stripper and they can buy such wine (our brands too) for under €1.00. Pay €3.00/€4.00 for a bottle of wine in Spain and you're drinking stuff that you would buy in Ireland for €35.00 per bottle. (I can nearly hear the reader saying "Stop there Lep, we're on our way . . .").
(g) Drinking + "Bad" Behaviour in Public:- There are outdoor terraces in most restaurants where people meet for a pint (€1.50 San Miguel, Levante etc). You seldom see Spaniards drinking on the street. In fact, you seldom see Spaniards drunk and messy in public streets. Young Spaniards start drinking wine at home with their parents and are alcohol savvy from a young teenage age. Yes, there are discos and Spaniards tend to drink heavily in such environments, but once the disco is over they return to their buses and head for home (around 5.00am). Lewd objects (stag and hen parties) are prohibited in public. There is a higher presence of police in Spain and arrests of transgressors actually happen. For the record drinking and driving is well policed too and you'd be taking more of a chance there hopping into your car after a "skinful."
(h) Spanish motorists are more sympathetic towards cyclists.
(i) Getting back to the terrace(s), one tends to read more, relax more, even listen to Radio Nacional (Equivalent to RTE1 radio but without Senor José Duffio). You find yourself listening to the Spanish equivalent of Lyric FM too (but without my hero Marty in the Morning).
(j) You'll have more callers to the door which can be a neighbour you don't know who'll have a bottle decent wine to share. These callers tend to call around 1.45pm and won't stay beyond 3.30pm. You'll be expected to call to them too (and leave by 3.30pm), but don't show up with a bottle of plonc costing €1.00.
(k) You might even put a few plants on your terrace(s) and they usually thrive on neglect. Visiting garden centres in Spain is fab even though you may know nothing of gardening. The colour and range on display is nothing short of an enormous work of art. If you're having a moment of bad form, visit a garden centre and the mood improves.
(l) Many restaurants/hotels have a bring-a-book-take-a-book system so you shouldn't find yourself short of reading material. Books in English in Spain are more expensive.
(m) The beach is 2 mins walk if you don't feel like using the pool.
(n) The pool area probably has its rules (no football, shouting etc during siesta 2.00pm - 5.00pm). Believe me you don't want a bleary eyed Spaniard on your case screaming at you in his underpants from his terrace. He doesn't appreciate loud singing of "You'll never beat the Irish . . . " Neither do they appreciate bunting of green white and orange along with politically presented tricolours.
(o) You find yourself becoming less Irish and more Spanish and start to learn Spanish and it opens up doors you never knew existed. You tend to drive the Spanish way too i.e. driving home fast coming up to siesta (not stopping at zebra crossings etc and driving slower after siesta and nearly parking the car to allow pedestrians the right of way at zebra crossings).
(p) You may not retire to bed at night until around 2.30am again glued to your terrace and watching for fallen stars which are more visible in Spain.
(q) If you enjoy colourful sunrises then you are onto a winner. You have them every morning if you wish.
(r) You always have a holiday to look forward to and each one gets longer than the last.
An Add-On (couple of hours after original post):- Would I sell the apartment even for the amount we originally paid. Answer:- No!
That's the Case-For. Perhaps the reader can add?
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