Our Spanish Dream - Part 8: Back to the Jungle...

So we found ourselves back on the coast.  We figured if we were going to buy in the ‘concrete jungle’ then we wanted to be sure we were buying the right property in the right location.  We held a family brain-storming session on exact requirements, with three teenagers to consider we thought there may be problems accommodating all our ‘must haves’ but we made the list anyway.  We figured that if it managed to fulfil all our buying requirements then it would suit other families looking to rent it for a holiday.

13 year old son: must be next to the pool so he could go there independently (he is severely visually impaired and loves to swim).

18 year old son: no major roads, or preferably none at all, to cross between house and nearest bar and absolutely must be walking distance to the beach.

19 year old daughter: good shopping (and she doesn’t count supermarkets in that!)

Mum: Walk to supermarket and range of shops, must be local cafes and restaurants, must be able to see youngest son when in pool from terrace, plenty of sun and shade areas to choose from in good size outside space, large enough to accommodate all family and not in a position where you can shake the hand of the person living opposite without either of you leaving your own property.  (I’m not really a demanding person!)

Dad: Within budget.

And so the search began.  It was 2006, prices still rising and the building boom was still booming.  There was talk that the ‘bubble would burst’ at some point, but everyone was confident that the prices wouldn’t fall, just a slowdown in the rate of new building.  The exchange rate was a heady 1.45+ euros to £1. Cafes, bars and restaurants were thriving and life in the sun was good.

Dave and Bev Townsend have two homes, their main one in Norwich and a second home in Playa Flamenca in south Costa Blanca, Spain which they also let as a holiday rental www.house-by-the-pool.com   They run a property finding business offering a free service for those seeking to buy a property in the Costa Blanca (Alicante) or the Mar Menor area of the Costa Calida (Murcia) www.SpanishDreamProperty.com   Bev has family in Spain and they intend to move there full-time in a couple of years.