Expat favourites for retirement relocation to Spain

Published:  9 Aug at 6 PM
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For Brits dashing to get settled in Spain before the Brexit door slams in their faces, choosing a favourite location is the first priority.

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, almost 50 per cent of the 300,000 Britons living in Spain are retirees over the age of 65. They’ve arrived for the warm climate, the lower cost of living and the security blanket of established British expat communities in favourite destinations. In addition, Spain’s healthcare system is rated in the world’s top ten, living costs are 20 percent less than in the UK and property is still selling at very attractive prices compared with similar British homes.

Spain isn’t just the Costa del Sol with a few historic cities such as Barcelona and Madrid thrown in for good measure, and its beach resorts aren’t all given over to replicas of Southend and Blackpool complete with cheap booze. Many of its smaller cities and large towns offer charm and peace along with activities and amenities. For example, Alicante, set south of Benidorm on the Costa Blanca, is charming, relatively quiet and a great deal cheaper than Barcelona and Madrid. Another larger and more cosmopolitan city is Malaga on the Costa del Sol, boasting year-round sunshine and a classic Mediterranean lifestyle. If you’ve decided on city life, at least for a while, historic Barcelona is a cultural hub boasting examples of Gaudi’s inspirational architecture, musical and theatre events, great shopping and vibrant, sophisticated nightlife.

The capital of Andalusia, Seville, is a memorial to the Moorish occupation of Southern Spain, with magnificent buildings, charming streets and alleyways and night haunts complete with flamenco dancing. For a glimpse of how the other half lives, Mallorca’s Palma is now a hub for the rich and famous, although it’s a pricey place for retirement. The new kid on the block as regards expat favourites is Valencia, set along the Orange Blossom coastline. It’s very much up and coming, and getting in before it arrives and prices soar is worth a thought. Right now, and hopefully during the two-year post-Brexit readjustment period, it should be possible for UK retirees to move to Spain unencumbered by the need for complicated and probably expensive retirement visas.
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