5 Great Things You Should Know About Living in Spain.

27 Jul 2017

Ever wondered why Spain is the number one choice for Brits buying abroad? Here we list five key reasons why you should head to the Spanish Costas if you're ready to start a new life or own a holiday home in the sun.

1) Cheaper Way of Life

Not only is property cheaper in Spain, but the cost of living in Spain is too. According to consumer price website Numbeo.com, Spain is 19.9 per cent cheaper than the UK in terms of consumer prices; eating out and groceries are 29.5 per cent and 16.5 per cent cheaper respectively. It's not uncommon to pay €12 for a three-course 'menú del día', including wine and sea views. One euro for a coffee in a café is also not uncommon.

The costs of utilities are not hugely different, but in the warmer parts of Spain, you'll spend less on heating! A real bonus is council tax, known as IBI or SUMA, which is much less than the UK – for example, for a typical two-bedroom apartment in the Costa del Sol budget approximately €500 a year.

2) Healthy Lifestyle

Move to Spain and your life should get longer as well as more enjoyable. According to the OECD, life expectancy there is 83.2 years, the highest in Europe and two years more than in the UK. A combination of the Mediterranean diet, relaxed al-fresco lifestyle and balmy climate mean Spain is regularly rated as one of the healthiest countries in the world, including by the World Health Organisation.

The Costa Blanca, in particular, is noted for its idyllic climate, where low humidity levels are known to relieve certain health conditions, including arthritis and respiratory diseases. Especially reassuring for retirees, Spain's healthcare system was rated eighth best out of 192 countries in the 2017 Healthcare Access and Quality Index. This puts it ahead of the UK (30th), as well as Italy (12th), France (15th) and Portugal (31st).

3) Affordable Homes

From multi-million-euro villas to bargain beach apartments and rustic fincas to chic city pads, the Spanish property market caters for all tastes and budgets. Average house prices are far lower in Spain, so selling up in the UK should mean you can purchase a home in the Costas and have some cash left over from the proceeds – a common scenario with expat retirees.

Low-interest rates in Spain and the wider Eurozone mean euro mortgages are especially good value right now. Resorts along the Costa Blanca, home to Torrevieja and the fashionable resort of Jávea, offer the whole spectrum of price ranges. Other affordable options include Almería, Murcia and the Costa Cálida, where a budget of €80,000-€100,000 will bag you a two-bedroom apartment near the beach comfortably.

Most people buy on a complex or urbanisation with one or more communal pools and gardens. Some choose to be next to a fairway and part of a golf community. For a more authentic Spanish lifestyle where your money goes further, head inland to a rustic finca with olive trees or townhouse in a whitewashed village.

4) Diverse expat population

In most resorts along the Costas, it doesn't take long before you bump into another British person. Despite Brexit, Britons remain the largest group of foreign buyers in Spain, accounting for around a fifth of all property purchases made by non-Spaniards in 2016. There are communities in the Costa Blancawhere the UK population outnumbers all other nationalities.

You're sure to come across other foreign expats though, especially French, German, Swedish and Belgian homeowners. For many people, being amongst fellow countrymen and other foreign expats is both reassuring and fun. It helps that English is often the common language!

5) Plenty of flights

Few countries can rival Spain for choice of flights to and from the UK. Low-cost carriers, such as Ryanair, easyJet, Monarch, Norwegian Air and Jet2, now link regional airports across both countries. Key airports include Alicante for reaching the Costa Blanca, These excellent air links make it cheap and easy for friends and family to come and visit you, and for you to nip back to the UK, for example at Christmas.

So, could Spain be the place for you?



Testimonials

Kamal

"I would thoroughly recommend Lee at the Resale Centre. Polite, efficient and effective. Turned our sale around in a matter of weeks. Delighted with the service ...
5.0
2019-05-09T009:30:00+01:00
Kamal
"I would thoroughly recommend Lee at the Resale Centre. Polite, efficient and effective. Turned our sale around in a matter of weeks. Delighted with the service ...

Lynne and Anna Turvey

"​We are very happy with the personal service we received from Resale Centre, and would strongly recommend your service to people looking for property in Torrevieja. Kind regards, Lynne and Anna Turvey ...
5.0
2019-04-08T009:30:00+01:00
Lynne and Anna Turvey
"​We are very happy with the personal service we received from Resale Centre, and would strongly recommend your service to people looking for property in Torrevieja. Kind regards, Lynne and Anna Turvey ...

Niall & Deborah Kerr

"Cannot thank Resale Centre enough for their time and advice in finding our dream Spanish home, they went over and above what you would expect to help us out. They listened to our requirements and found us various properties in different areas to view showing us all the places of interest that would fulfil our needs. They also gave us excellent advice ...
5.0
2019-03-20T009:30:00+01:00
Niall & Deborah Kerr
"Cannot thank Resale Centre enough for their time and advice in finding our dream Spanish home, they went over and above what you would expect to help us out. They listened to our requirements and found us various properties in different areas to view showing us all the places of interest that would fulfil our needs. They also gave us excellent advice ...

Brian and Joyce Marland

"Many thanks for your assistance in finding and buying our pequeña casa in El Chaparral. We appreciated the unhurried attention you gave when viewing the house and the offer of your local knowledge when we come to need tradesmen to fix a few things up. Your dealings with the lawyer, on our behalf, was helpful and much appreciated ...
5.0
2019-02-01T009:30:00+01:00
Brian and Joyce Marland
"Many thanks for your assistance in finding and buying our pequeña casa in El Chaparral. We appreciated the unhurried attention you gave when viewing the house and the offer of your local knowledge when we come to need tradesmen to fix a few things up. Your dealings with the lawyer, on our behalf, was helpful and much appreciated ...

C & D Winstanley

"We have just completed on our property in Algorfa Spain. Lee from Resale Centre took us to view properties, what we thought was going to be a stressful time was totally the opposite. There was no pressure very friendly, even introduced us to a lawyer who completed the transaction again with no stress ...
5.0
2019-01-30T009:30:00+01:00
C & D Winstanley
"We have just completed on our property in Algorfa Spain. Lee from Resale Centre took us to view properties, what we thought was going to be a stressful time was totally the opposite. There was no pressure very friendly, even introduced us to a lawyer who completed the transaction again with no stress ...

John and Wendy Houghton

"Dear Lee, Thank you for the excellent service and support during the sale of our apartment. Your straightforward advice and knowledge was invaluable and very much appreciated. We would highly recommend your services. Regards, John and Wendy Houghton ...
5.0
2019-01-30T009:30:00+01:00
John and Wendy Houghton
"Dear Lee, Thank you for the excellent service and support during the sale of our apartment. Your straightforward advice and knowledge was invaluable and very much appreciated. We would highly recommend your services. Regards, John and Wendy Houghton ...

Liberty and Jesus

"Thanks Lee and Terry. Having contacted Resale Centre last minute having been let down by other agents in the area we really appreciative of how he listened to our budget and requirement and found us suitable properties to view and eventually purchase!! As a young determined ...
5.0
2019-01-08T009:30:00+01:00
Liberty and Jesus
"Thanks Lee and Terry. Having contacted Resale Centre last minute having been let down by other agents in the area we really appreciative of how he listened to our budget and requirement and found us suitable properties to view and eventually purchase!! As a young determined ...

Elaine and Gary Sutton

"I understand that the sale of our property was completed last Friday the 16th November. I would just like to thank you both for helping to sell our property. We can now look forward to purchasing some more property in Spain that will suit our needs more than that ...
5.0
2018-11-19T009:30:00+01:00
Elaine and Gary Sutton
"I understand that the sale of our property was completed last Friday the 16th November. I would just like to thank you both for helping to sell our property. We can now look forward to purchasing some more property in Spain that will suit our needs more than that ...

John Whittaker

"Given the short notice of a couple of days Lee managed to introduce us to the local real estate market and before we had finished our trip with his help managed to secure an investment property in Torrevieja. Once we had left Spain they helped us through the whole ...
5.0
2018-06-28T009:30:00+01:00
John Whittaker
"Given the short notice of a couple of days Lee managed to introduce us to the local real estate market and before we had finished our trip with his help managed to secure an investment property in Torrevieja. Once we had left Spain they helped us through the whole ...

Andrew and Angela

"Lee and Terry have been marvellous in the recent sale of our Spanish property. We bought it through them many years ago and there was no competition at all in our minds as to who we would ask to sell it for us. Friendly, approachable and professional at all times ...
5.0
2018-05-14T009:30:00+01:00
Andrew and Angela
"Lee and Terry have been marvellous in the recent sale of our Spanish property. We bought it through them many years ago and there was no competition at all in our minds as to who we would ask to sell it for us. Friendly, approachable and professional at all times ...

Paolo

"Hi Lee, Happy to endorse you as you did a great job from start to finish. Your firm was really efficient and made the sale very straightforward. You were supportive and took the time to explain things. I would happily recommend you to anyone. Regards, Paolo ...
5.0
2018-04-26T009:30:00+01:00
Paolo
"Hi Lee, Happy to endorse you as you did a great job from start to finish. Your firm was really efficient and made the sale very straightforward. You were supportive and took the time to explain things. I would happily recommend you to anyone. Regards, Paolo ...

Barry and Jane Cooke

"We have just sold our bungalow in Torrevieja through The Resale Centre. Lee sold the property to Swedish buyers and the sale was completely hastle free and the bungalow sold for a fair price in under six months, which was alot quicker than we expected considering the current housing climate ...
5.0
2018-03-27T016:30:00+01:00
Barry and Jane Cooke
"We have just sold our bungalow in Torrevieja through The Resale Centre. Lee sold the property to Swedish buyers and the sale was completely hastle free and the bungalow sold for a fair price in under six months, which was alot quicker than we expected considering the current housing climate ...

Robert Legowski

"Contacted Lee from the Resale Centre late 2017 by email and he advised me and my girlfriend to come over for a few days to look at the area and several properties. Lee picked us up from the hotel and showed us the area and many properties, we found from the start everything was professional and relaxed ...
5.0
2018-03-20T014:30:00+01:00
Robert Legowski
"Contacted Lee from the Resale Centre late 2017 by email and he advised me and my girlfriend to come over for a few days to look at the area and several properties. Lee picked us up from the hotel and showed us the area and many properties, we found from the start everything was professional and relaxed ...

Lynn & Jamie

"We were interested in purchasing a property in Torrevieja and had been in email contact with Lee at the Resale Centre prior to viewing some properties. He picked us up at our apartment on the Friday morning and took us to view properties we had seen online - as well as throwing in a couple ...
5.0
2018-02-28T016:30:00+01:00
Lynn & Jamie
"We were interested in purchasing a property in Torrevieja and had been in email contact with Lee at the Resale Centre prior to viewing some properties. He picked us up at our apartment on the Friday morning and took us to view properties we had seen online - as well as throwing in a couple ...

Helen Hinchy & Paul Ebsworthy

"I contacted the Resale Centre in June 2017 and within a very short time I had a meeting set up with Terry. After having a gruelling day with another agent looking at properties that did not match our needs we had the pleasure of meeting Terry. Wow! He just got us and within minutes ...
5.0
2018-02-14T009:30:00+01:00
Helen Hinchy & Paul Ebsworthy
"I contacted the Resale Centre in June 2017 and within a very short time I had a meeting set up with Terry. After having a gruelling day with another agent looking at properties that did not match our needs we had the pleasure of meeting Terry. Wow! He just got us and within minutes ...

Kevin Smith

"Less than 4 weeks after giving my property to the guys I got a call to say they had a buyer. I couldn't believe how quickly they had found a buyer as my experience with the previous agent hadn't been a good one. I had only given them the property at the very end of October and with ...
5.0
2018-02-06T009:30:00+01:00
Kevin Smith
"Less than 4 weeks after giving my property to the guys I got a call to say they had a buyer. I couldn't believe how quickly they had found a buyer as my experience with the previous agent hadn't been a good one. I had only given them the property at the very end of October and with ...

Paul Crosby

"Our experience on selling our apartment with The Resale Centre in Torrevieja. We went to The Resale Centre in Torrevieja and we were greeted by Terry and Lee we explained to them we want to sell our apartment in Torrevieja. Terry came to view our apartment the very next day and explained all ...
5.0
2018-01-22T009:30:00+01:00
Paul Crosby
"Our experience on selling our apartment with The Resale Centre in Torrevieja. We went to The Resale Centre in Torrevieja and we were greeted by Terry and Lee we explained to them we want to sell our apartment in Torrevieja. Terry came to view our apartment the very next day and explained all ...

Steve Byrne

"If a move to Spain is your dream but your afraid to take the leap then fear no more, I was in that situation when I came across the Resale Centre, Lee reassured me every step of the way and I was kept fully informed of everything to do with the purchase by Lee and his legal team who were equally ...
5.0
2018-01-16T009:30:00+01:00
Steve Byrne
"If a move to Spain is your dream but your afraid to take the leap then fear no more, I was in that situation when I came across the Resale Centre, Lee reassured me every step of the way and I was kept fully informed of everything to do with the purchase by Lee and his legal team who were equally ...

The Bryan family

"Thanks for all your help and advice, found us our dream property on the Orihuela Costa. Introduced us to lawyers / banks and currency companies that have all been superb. Thanks again The Bryan family ...
5.0
2017-12-16T009:30:00+01:00
The Bryan family
"Thanks for all your help and advice, found us our dream property on the Orihuela Costa. Introduced us to lawyers / banks and currency companies that have all been superb. Thanks again The Bryan family ...

Shirley Brien

"100% reccomend. We bought a property in Spain through the Resale Centre we dealt with Terry & Lee. The service was second to none, I would 100% reccomend buying through this agency, they made the whole process so easy and quick. Shirley Brien ...
5.0
2017-12-05T009:30:00+01:00
Shirley Brien
"100% reccomend. We bought a property in Spain through the Resale Centre we dealt with Terry & Lee. The service was second to none, I would 100% reccomend buying through this agency, they made the whole process so easy and quick. Shirley Brien ...

Mrs Julia Reeves

"Good afternoon folks. This is to thank you all for helping me with the sale of my property on La Siesta ... I do miss the place. The final monies reached my account here in the UK today ... all done and dusted now ... once again, thank you again for your help. Regards, Mrs Julia Reeves – ex.Calle ...
5.0
2017-01-23T009:30:00+01:00
Mrs Julia Reeves
"Good afternoon folks. This is to thank you all for helping me with the sale of my property on La Siesta ... I do miss the place. The final monies reached my account here in the UK today ... all done and dusted now ... once again, thank you again for your help. Regards, Mrs Julia Reeves – ex.Calle ...
5.0
21

Subscribe to our newsletter

×