Its easy to say think it all out before you make your decision but some of these things you could never for see. I mean today their was a piece on a woman who lost her husband to cancer and then had a stroke. I doubt she could have forseen that happening. She said that she didnt regret going to Spain because whilst they were there they had a great time. She just came back and moved into a Leicestershire care home. Something that would have happened if she'd lived in the UK anyway.

It seems to me that this BBC program didn't really offer anything. People who have moved abroad and then been struck by sudden illness or the death of a partner- dont want to move back to the UK but have to because care benefits are only available in the UK. What is the point of this. If you move abroad and get struck down by a disabling illness you have to come home or pay for private care abroad. It all seems very straw clutching for the governments media directive on halting silver migration.

What can be done for the ones stuck out there ... not a lot especially if they cannot sell............But the advice given by the BBC will help those thinking on making the move .........If the BBC wanted to halt the oldies , they could do it with just one program........................If the BBC wanted to finish off the costas they could ,,,,,[easily].....The BBC is probably the most powerfull and respected voice in the world ............................straw clutching.....Adi you're a nutter

Front page Costa Blanca News ..sep 8 2006.... part story.... more to come

Ha Ha Ha - I'm interested in how many young men you've mounted recently!

Kitty mate, look I have to say this in public....STOP SENDING ME EMAILS I AM NOT INTERESTED, OK YOU SAY YOU ARE CUTE (AND THANKS FOR THE PIC, DID´NT THINK A CUCUMBER WOULD FIT BUY HEY WEEL DONE FOR TRYING), SORRY YOUR JUST NOT MY TYPE.

So come on get over it, move on, you´ll find the right guy one day.....

xx

tower of power......!

Is all costa blanca that bad, been looking at moraira for a villa - what do you think?

Hi Sorted.....moraira......one of the best ......also one of the best /popular resterants on the C/B....monrows carvery.......but watch out for subsidence on villas ect ,built on the old orange groves.......crime is high on all the costas most goes unrecorded by the police... one of our friends works for a insurance comp she told us brackins and mugins are still high ... We still have friends down there in alicanti /altaia /and javia ....all are trying to return home but cant sell there houses.... there is very few brits buying a resale... new build holiday homes are the problem... [over built ] i hope you find what you are looking for

This is why I didnt choose Spain as a pure investment. Oversupply.

More and more agents and Spannish developers are hopping over to Morocco. Before you think 'Morocco is'nt safe', Im talking about the giant gated Plan Azure resorts which have more facilities that anything in Spain and have the magical golf / beach combination (unlike the 10 a penny Spannish golf rsorts that are inland, or if on the beach - mega costly)

This is like saying: you had enough cocaine, now try some crack...

Thats a good way of putting it,,,,,,,,,,, [Spain and Morocco] are not what there [cracked] up to be.........we returned from spain just over 2 years ago,[ we were lucky just about broke even after 3 years] but at least we sold ... . It was a toss up between the Kent coast and Cornwall/Devon , we opt for the Kent coast,,,,We paid £175.000.....just had it revalued at £210.000 Not bad ....and the weather is not that far of spain[ Alicante] infact last summer it was better ...hot but not to hot ..also this winter and spring looks to have better ,friends have told me its been crap down there since November ...Rain Rain Rain... and cold .............sometimes we go looking for things that turn out to be just over our shoulder ...................... look at the south coast first....... and no i am not a estagent ,just some one who was lucky to have survived spain .......... [near Alicante]........

Spain - like anywhere - has its good and bad points. Just because you didn't make it there doesn't mean others haven't or won't.

I wouldn't buy in Spain at the moment. If you are thinking of moving to Spain, rent first - for a year or two minimum. Rentals in Moraira are ten a penny. Then you won't buy at the top of a market and if it isn't for you then you can up sticks and move on without having to sell the unsellable (sorry, but so many Brits buy in haste and end up with properties that in the cold light of day you couldn't give away).

If you are coming with a family please note that the first language along much of the Costa Blanca is not Spanish. It might be in the seaside cafes, but in schools your children will be taught in Valencian. They will need to learn Spanish too. Two languages to learn - possible, but the older the kids the harder it is. Hence the fact that so many teenage British kids in Spain are getting no real education.

As for weather, don't kid yourself that Kent has better weather. The winter on the Costa Blanca was very mild and dry. Loads of sun. April has been a different story - wettest for over 50 years. July and August - I'd rather be in Kent.

Dont get into this one with Paul/Sally according to them it is colder in Spain, wetter in Spain and more expensive to live in Spain than the UK. Oh yes and they also claim that crime is worse in Spain. They left because they were annoyed when they found out that most of the restaurants in Spain only cooked Spanish Food and when they couldn't buy proper gravy and sausages (seriously!!)

Your post is spot on. Spain has good and bad areas to buy in as well as good and bad points. People need to choose wisely when buying in Spain. My advice as always is dont buy inland (Freezing Winters/Dustbowl Summers), don't buy on golf courses (inflated prices for artficially created resorts - soon to be big drops in Golf Resorts), Dont buy in Torrevieja. Personally I prefer the Costa Almeria because you cannot build above 3 storeys and this creates a less claustrophobic environment. Picking the right area is key to living in Spain. You also need to have the right attitude and approach to living abroad.

Hi, good morning all. Well it seems like the rubbish is still going on.
First MARGESIMPSON - I did not say the weather was better in Kent than the Alicante region, I said it was not that far off and that the spring has probably been better. That has been said in many reports including BBC weather reports (this morning). Read what was written and not what you want to see.
ADIBROWN - who in my opinion must have the memory span of about 10 seconds. Why ADIBROWN implies that we bought on the spur of the moment and implies that all we wanted to eat was sausage and mash, I will never know. We spent 2 years looking in Spain from north of Valencia to the Costa del Sol. At that time (in June 2000) everybody believed that the Costa Blanca would be a safe bet as people believe Almeria is a safe bet now. I have told this to ADI now God knows how many times. The bit about the sausage and mash - again ADI likes to twist things up to suit. All we said in the past is that we do like a lot of British products i.e. good bacon, good sandwich bread and that you pay through the nose for it down there. ADI knows this already from past discussions but as I said earlier - the brain has gone.
TO ANYONE COMING ON THIS SITE AND READING THIS. You can see from this what genuine reports and views about Spain (mainly the Costas) are up against. At this moment they (builders, investors and estate agents) are saying that certain areas of Spain are safer. Note the word SAFER. that is not the safe as SAFE. The confidence of foreign investors and buyers as you know has gone. Even down to programmes on TV telling people not to buy in Spain at the moment. Do you really think Almeria will survive this? Almeria could well be a very nice place but the confidence and the trust that is needed has gone. Who in their right minds would believe anybody who cannot even read what is put in front of them (like ADIBROWN and others).
Good luck to the thousands now trapped in Spain and good luck to the people that are still trying to prop the market up. But you don't stand a chance in hell. Again I will not be returning because the idiots are still about - may come back when they learn to read.

Well, who bought to stay will be OK.

Who bought because he/she was drunk during an inspection visit or at a realtwhore property show or because he/she was stupid and/or uneductaed or was purely sheeple , then good luck to them. Afterall it is only money...

Sorted, drove through Moraira yesterday. Seafront area still very nice, real village feel. A lot of money has been spent here in recent years. Lovely marina too.

The villas around the town are generally good too - although many are now dated (anything over ten years old avoid anyway).

One area I would avoid is Cumbre Del Sol. It has been hideously overdeveloped - a real eyesore now as you come down the valley into Moraira from the N332. The area on the hills between Moraira and Calpe also looks like it has been overdeveloped.

Even the Spanish are cashing in and moving out: http://www.landsnatch.com/europe/spainlookabroad.html