It’s not true

There are people who would have you believe that all the Brits who originally came to live at Villas Andrea have either sold up or have their houses currently on the market; that is simply not true. The majority, like Pam and I, are happily settled in their new environment and have no desire to leave.

When we came to Bigastro, Pam and I had not expected things to be the way they were. For one thing, we thought that the majority of the houses would be sold to people intent on living here permanently. We were therefore surprised to find the number that were bought as holiday homes. We also thought that the majority of people would have come from similar backgrounds to ours and again were surprised to find, for example, the diversity of where people came from.

It is true that, since Pam and I first came here in 2004, a number of the original residents have sold their houses and moved on; some for financial reasons, some for health reasons, others simply could not settle to the Spanish way of life, yet others miss the friends and families they left behind. A number of the original residents simply got “itchy feet” and moved on. Those people probably never settled anywhere in particular when they lived in the UK.

Not all the leavers have returned to the UK, some have moved to other parts of Spain or other European countries. For sure, the flood of people, particularly pensioners, leaving the UK to live in Spain and other European countries has slowed down to a trickle; that probably has more to do with the worsening exchange rate than the quality of life here. Because of that, many of the houses that have sold recently have gone to Spaniards which is not a bad thing because it makes for a better mix on the estate.

Sadly it is unlikely that the people selling at the moment will see a return on their investment let alone make a profit because house prices in Spain are at an all time low. You can now buy a nice three bedroomed house on a decent plot of land for the same price you would have paid for a two bedroom apartment a few years ago.