MORE THAN BRICKS AND MORTAR

A 675 word article

By

Nick Snelling

MORE THAN BRICKS AND MORTAR

One of the most striking aspects about Spain is the extraordinarily high quality of life now available to those moving permanently to the country.  Indeed, Spain provides an infrastructure comparable to the UK, Germany or Scandanavia.  It is this fact that is sometimes missed by people worrying about whether it is somewhere that they could live long term.

Spain provides superb value for money.  The property available may not be as cheap as in the emerging east European countries but, when you are looking at purchasing a new home, you are buying into far more than simply bricks and mortar.  Crucially, you are choosing a country with a proven record of economic and political security.  Few matters are more fundamentally important, particularly when you are thinking of investing your life savings or retiring permanently away from your home country.

Spain also has a long record of welcoming foreign visitors, whether tourists or those seeking to live in the country long term.  Almost all coastal regions are used to dealing with north Europeans and have adapted their own services to make them extremely user-friendly to expatriates.  Most banks have English speaking staff, many large stores stock UK foods and papers and there is no shortage of lawyers who speak English.  Many of the large utility companies have English speaking staff on hand and even the town halls often have an English speaker employed, at least part time, to take care of British issues in their local area.

Healthcare in Spain is universally recognised throughout Europe as extremely good with longevity rates amongst the highest in Europe.  According to the EU’s Eurostat department Spanish women live the longest in Europe (83.7 years) with men (77. 2), second only to Sweden.  The pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, put this down to the exceptional healthcare system and, reassuringly, a diet of olive oil and red wine.

There is an increasing trend for younger people to move to Spain to raise their families in a kinder social environment than the UK.  Spain provides an excellent, as of right, free education up to 16 with the country having an impressive 97% literacy rate.  Should your children continue their education and take the Baccalaureate then they will leave school with a highly regarded, internationally recognised qualification.  Critically, of course, they will be fluent in the second most extensively spoken language in the world, an argument, on its own, strong enough to justify choosing Spain over other European countries.

By comparison to the UK, property in Spain offers tremendous value for money.  According to the Land Registry in the UK the average house price in England and Wales on the 8th of August 2006 was £199,184.  This roughly converts to 300,000 Euros which, depending upon location, will buy you buy a great villa with a pool that would put an equivalent priced property in the UK, quite literally, in the shade.  Alternatively, there is an array of excellent cheaper properties on offer allowing you the luxury of setting aside any remaining money for a ‘rainy day’.

Many estate agents either specialise in relocating foreigners or are used to dealing with foreign buyers and are fully aware that their work goes well beyond merely selling a property.  They realise that part of their work is intimately involved in advising buyers on the most appropriate areas to move to given their particular circumstances.  Furthermore, a full after-care service is usually provided with the understanding that significant help will be provided over an extended period.  This is vital support that can make all the difference to your new life when you are grappling with an unfamiliar system.

To a large extent Spain has now become the perfect place for north Europeans to move to and is justifying its reputation as the ‘California of Europe’.  It is sophisticated and safe with an infrastructure that any north European would recognise from his own country.  The big difference is that the overall quality of life is significantly better within a charming nuclear culture and an utterly seductive climate.

ENDS