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What’s it like to live in…Spain - Murcia

Maureen Hagan and husband Joseph, both in their 60s and both former City traders, sold their house near Dover and bought a villa near Murcia, on Spain’s Costa Blanca

We wanted to live somewhere with a warm climate but where we had easy access to our family. We’re only two hours away; you could almost be in England really.

We didn’t want to be in one of the big resorts, though. We heard this area was affordable so we came out for a couple of weeks and it seemed ideal.

It’s not sunshine 52 weeks a year but the point is that you’re never cold – and that gets more important as you get older.

Also, we never had time to relax when we were working. Everywhere in England is so expensive and crowded that you couldn’t enjoy your time off anyway.

Now we can get up whenever we want and stroll down and sit on the beach for a few hours, or go on the train to Barcelona or wherever. The trains here are great, although we’ve now bought a car and plan to explore the rest of Spain.

There are a few things newcomers should be warned about over here. When you’re buying in Spain you have to be wary of people ripping you off – like some of the estate agents who run inspection trips to pressure you into buying places.

And there are outfits that try to charge you for getting British TV channels illegally.

We do miss our family; I also miss the banter with work colleagues. But when we go home and see their miserable faces, we remind ourselves how lovely it is here!

Fancy a break in Spain to find out if it's your dream place in the sun? Visit Saga's holiday pages

This article was created: 18 July 2006.
This article was last edited: 13 November 2006.

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