Another of My 'Awfully Good Ideas'!!!

[Dreamers]

Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

HWMBGL (He Who Must Be Given Lists) is shuddering in the woodshed because I have had another one of my 'Awfully Good Ideas' - and am off on a mission!

Having planned for many years to move back to Scotland, buy a cottage on the west coast and sail into our 'third age' we have now come to the regretful conclusion that much as we love the place we don't think we could could stand the weather any more.

So, we have decided to look south and to buy a place in the sun, initially for short breaks and holidays but with a view to spending our dotage in warmer climes, but as usual these things are a compromise. We want somewhere not too expensive (actually I think the term is 'cheap'), near some really good sailing because we are intending moving the boat down to the sun as soon as we can decide where, accessible for short breaks and with an appeal to the kids (teenagers) as well.

Short list - for no other reason than we have friends who have already bought in these places - Costa del Sol, or around to Gibraltar area, but we have never sailed in Spain so know nothing, the Perpignan area around the Spanish/French border, but don't know much about the sailing there either and wonder if it will be warm enough out of season, or Greece because the sailing would be great - but then which bit of Greece.......?

Too much debate last weekend over the Chateau Migraine because the choices are too broad and the scope is endless, obvious solution - ask the Scuttlebutters as they can be guaranteed to have an opinion. We are all geared up to make some visits, ordered some pilot books from Amazon - but If you had the chance of doing this - where would you choose to start looking?

Or what about Croatia.................

 

[tcm]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

language is the key, so if you have no foreign languages, then that means spain or gib balearix imho, so at least you can talk to people. Bit boring out of season if nobody to talk to. Croatia is out as most of the conversation revolves around comparisons of war wounds and competetions to see how has the most bullet holes in their leg.

Of course, the best idea is not buy a med house at all. Praps just have a pad near the kids in UK if you have any. Otherwise, keep a house in uk cos they go up in value, and keep a bigger boat in med (key size is can it take a washing machine) and float about, pleasantly dithering from place to place every month or so. Which, on your current record (scotland ,ooh no, spain, ooh no croatia) would suit you fine, no?

 

[broadnorfolk]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

> keep a house in uk cos they go up in value

Mind you, houses and aprtments on and around the costa del sol are fairly rocketing at the moment thanks to the involvement of uk estate agents.

The smaller place here, bigger boat out there sounds like a good idea, but I guess you would need to work out the differences in ongoing costs between a property and a boat and consider tha appreciation/depreciation differences. Also, in the short term I guess you would want to think about the potential returns between letting out an apartment/house and chartering out a boat (or whether you would want to charter it out).

A while back I was pondering the possibilities of getting another boat out on the french rivers somewhere and effectively using/letting it as a holiday home, with the bonus that if I got fed up with one place I could move on without having to go through the hassle of selling up.

One option might be to get yourself a long let in an apartment/house out there over the winter to see how you get on without having to commit. There are always plenty of owners who will welcome a guaranteed rental income over the winter, so you should be able to get a good choice at a good price.

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

Lots of sense in tcm's post. We are in just this situation but we have lived abroad in a cold climate for six years. The thought of spending the rest of my life somewhere where English is not the first language is too much for us. We thought of Gibraltar but all the advice is against it. "Something of a dump and who needs all the border hassle" seems to be the consensus. Forget Balearics, too, if looking for somewhere cheap. So far as sailing is concerned, Perpignan area seems to have almost no wind, very high temperatures in summer and almost nowhere to go. One day along there, one day to come back. Next day go the other way. Southern Spain and Portugal seem a lot better in that respect.

We have almost decided to keep our house in Wales, sail the boat anywhere we like and leave it there over winter, buy a new camper van and tour southern Europe in winter. At least while health hold up and we've always got somewhere to come back to. Sailing is an excellent way of getting around and passing the time but far from the best way to see anywhere new. Mediterranean sailing is not very tempting in winter except on odd occasions and few ports are very attractive to remain in for months on end.

 

[Metabarca]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

Despite TCM's comments, living in Croatia is not dominated by the war - at least not on the coast, which for many reasons, remained relatively untouched. However, although the place is crowded from mid-July to end August, thereafter there's pretty much only the locals and it ain't exactly a Durrell-like bucolic existence. Plus, I'm not sure if foreigners can buy (yet) in Croatia, at least not without having some local as a front. In winter, the bora can blow hard everywhere north of Dubrovnik (and I mean hard: 150+ kph) which rather puts the dampers on sailing. On the other hand, it's certainly beautiful but don't imagine it's a Provence waiting to be discovered - it's not. Hope this helps!

 

[charles_reed]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

I can advise on two of your proposals - from a sailing point of view the Med IMHO is definitely inferior to the Atlantic seaboard.
In the summer it's hot, windless or blowing a hooly over a really nasty short vicious sea

The Costa de Sol is a mess, a series of ill-conceived apartment blocks and soulless marinas infested with hordes of Germans.

The Costa Brava is, scenically, considerably more interesting than the Costa de Sol and both are cheaper than over the French border.

The Cote Vermielle ends at Argelés and from then on its soulless flat beaches and etangs right up to Port Camargue.
The winds (Tramontane & mistral) blow for 3 - 9 days at a time and quite easily reach 60 knots - the Gulf de Lions is the windiest place in the Med with Port Leucate having the doubtful privelege of the windiest place in France. The Cote Vermielle is definitely scenic, with the foothills of the Pyrenees in the background, but the mean winter temperatures are very little different to the Solent area - the only difference is far more warmer, sunshine with cold nights and lots of wind-chill.

I would strongly recommend looking at the cheapest place to live, Portugal - the S Portugese and Spanish Atlantic coasts are reasonably undiscovered and Portugal cost-of-living is less than 1/2 the UK. The sailing is considerably better and more amusing than the Med, the marinas tend to be quite good (if you like that sort of thing).

I can't comment on Greece or the Adriatic, but the latter has been highly praised by many who've been there - again winters are colder than in the Algarve and in S Atlantic Spain.

I'd especially suggest looking at Ayamonte - I met a most charismatic Dutch Jew there (ex-Auschwitz), who was one of the Eichmann hit squad, before becoming a judge in Spain, who's doing some very attractive developments round the town.

If you want any more info e-mail me via the BB.

 

[wishbone]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

Depending on your finance, if you can afford to keep and let out your house in the UK with some sibling looking after your interest, and a live aboard in the med I like Greece, easy places to get to good ferry services between the Islands, fairly cheep if you buy local produce, and a very healthy lifestyle.

Good luck
Wishbone

 

[snowleopard]

Algarve...

looks like a good bet to me. once you get 5 miles inland you're away from the resorts and prices are v cheap but still easy to get to 'civilisation' of course you'll need to learn portuguese.

porto santo (near madeira) has a sizeable expat population and a good climate. easy travel to madeira.

how nice to have the choice!

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

You missed one point out when recommending Portugal. The Portuguese are in general very nice and very anglophile. I can never allow a whole year to go by without a trip to Lisbon.

 

[snowleopard]

and..

the food is much better than in spain!

 

[doris]

Forget Greece

IMHO it's got rampant inflation since the advent of the euro and is is corrupt and hostile to all foreigners. If you want to look at that end of the med S. Turkey has to looked at. The price of land etc. is v. low and as long as you are in a town/big village you should be able get good title. Otherwise you will not get any form of ownership as we know it. Brilliant place at the mom but in 5 years the politics could make it very different.
Portugal and Atlantic Spain are marvellous. Lisbon property is expensive but outside of there prices are cheap in our terms and the food if delightful. Problem is you will get a car and have such fun exploring on land you will forget how to sail. Easy and cheap to keep the boat there.

 

[Miles]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

Or what about Italy ? Lovely country, great climate, huge coastline, lots of boat builders and a strong sailing tradition. Yet it never seems to feature as a Mediterranean destination in the press as a holiday or cahrter destination.

 

[Metabarca]

Re: Another of My \'Awfully Good Ideas\'!!!

Re: Italy: true, but there are drawbacks. The east coast from Monfalcone down to the Gargano is flat, boring featureless and with few ports. Mind you, there's Dalmatia just a night's sail. The Gargano: great, but from there down, although very attractive, you have to be careful, with theft, if you're cruising, and with other problems if living. West coast? Probably a better bet for weekend sailing, with more dependable wind, but also higher costs and crowding. The cost of living is, I find, not v. different to that in the UK except for house prices, which are much lower