Galicia, a few questions

[Draughtsman]

Hi,

Newbie here.

Galicia is one of the areas ive been looking at when thinking about moving to spain, id appreciate a little advice from any expats who have experience of the area.

1. How well is the area served from UK airports, the area i eventually decide to buy in would need to be within an hours drive from an airport, ideally on a route from manchester airport as i live only 10 mins away.

2. My good lady speaks a little spanish and i am about to learn. But is spanish the main language in this area or do most folk speak galacian. the web does not give a clear answer.

3. Any general advice on the area would also be welcome. esp from someone local from anything from the weather, things to avoid, things to look forward too, decent areas etc.

As for what we are looking for, we would love to find a semi rural property, inland or coastal.
At present we are not looking to move to spain full time so this would be a home from home for a few months of the year with friends and family using it on occasion. We also dont intend to work (apart from on the house) in spain so we dont have the problem of looking for jobs.
Weve had property abroad before in more tourist type areas and this time fancy putting down a few more roots and making it more of a home. Hopefully spending more and more time there each year.

All the best from Very Wet Manchester

Steve

[jojo]

Originally Posted by Draughtsman

Hi,

Newbie here.

Galicia is one of the areas ive been looking at when thinking about moving to spain, id appreciate a little advice from any expats who have experience of the area.

1. How well is the area served from UK airports, the area i eventually decide to buy in would need to be within an hours drive from an airport, ideally on a route from manchester airport as i live only 10 mins away.

2. My good lady speaks a little spanish and i am about to learn. But is spanish the main language in this area or do most folk speak galacian. the web does not give a clear answer.

3. Any general advice on the area would also be welcome. esp from someone local from anything from the weather, things to avoid, things to look forward too, decent areas etc.

As for what we are looking for, we would love to find a semi rural property, inland or coastal.
At present we are not looking to move to spain full time so this would be a home from home for a few months of the year with friends and family using it on occasion. We also dont intend to work (apart from on the house) in spain so we dont have the problem of looking for jobs.
Weve had property abroad before in more tourist type areas and this time fancy putting down a few more roots and making it more of a home. Hopefully spending more and more time there each year.

All the best from Very Wet Manchester

Steve

Hiya, well we have a few posters who live in that area and know it very well! I dont, so I'll leave to them to talk to you about it!! They'll be along shortly

Jo xxxx

[Suenneil]

Originally Posted by Draughtsman

Hi,

Newbie here.

Galicia is one of the areas ive been looking at when thinking about moving to spain, id appreciate a little advice from any expats who have experience of the area.

1. How well is the area served from UK airports, the area i eventually decide to buy in would need to be within an hours drive from an airport, ideally on a route from manchester airport as i live only 10 mins away.

2. My good lady speaks a little spanish and i am about to learn. But is spanish the main language in this area or do most folk speak galacian. the web does not give a clear answer.

3. Any general advice on the area would also be welcome. esp from someone local from anything from the weather, things to avoid, things to look forward too, decent areas etc.

As for what we are looking for, we would love to find a semi rural property, inland or coastal.
At present we are not looking to move to spain full time so this would be a home from home for a few months of the year with friends and family using it on occasion. We also dont intend to work (apart from on the house) in spain so we dont have the problem of looking for jobs.
Weve had property abroad before in more tourist type areas and this time fancy putting down a few more roots and making it more of a home. Hopefully spending more and more time there each year.

All the best from Very Wet Manchester

Steve

Hi Steve ... welcome

I believe we have experts who can help with Galicia and Im sure they will be on the forum over the next couple of days!

Usually you would get replies on here pretty quickly but given its August! lots of us are juggling the forum with work / heat / kids / school holidays / heat ! heat and more heat!!

Sue

[jojo]

Originally Posted by Suenneil

Hi Steve ... welcome

I believe we have experts who can help with Galicia and Im sure they will be on the forum over the next couple of days!

Usually you would get replies on here pretty quickly but given its August! lots of us are juggling the forum with work / heat / kids / school holidays / heat ! heat and more heat!!

Sue

Very true Sue. Tallulahs the one I think who would normally be along first, but she's got her parents over from the UK right now, but she still pops in every now and again! She's lived in Galacia for about 6 years I think, is married to a Spanish chap who's entire family live there and so she's really knowledgable and then her friends from that area come on here too... Just give em time

Jo xxx

[Chica]

Hi and to the forum. I too know nothing of Galicia only a visit one time. Very green, pretty much like UK with lots of rain!!

We had thought about moving up there at one time as I struggle with the heat down here in the south and Tallulah, who I am sure will post shortly, suggested Sada just outside A Caruna. There are a couple of others that I'm sure will have some input too and love it

Keep looking in.

Chica. x

[Tallulah]

Originally Posted by Draughtsman

Hi,

Newbie here.

Galicia is one of the areas ive been looking at when thinking about moving to spain, id appreciate a little advice from any expats who have experience of the area.

1. How well is the area served from UK airports, the area i eventually decide to buy in would need to be within an hours drive from an airport, ideally on a route from manchester airport as i live only 10 mins away.

2. My good lady speaks a little spanish and i am about to learn. But is spanish the main language in this area or do most folk speak galacian. the web does not give a clear answer.

3. Any general advice on the area would also be welcome. esp from someone local from anything from the weather, things to avoid, things to look forward too, decent areas etc.

As for what we are looking for, we would love to find a semi rural property, inland or coastal.
At present we are not looking to move to spain full time so this would be a home from home for a few months of the year with friends and family using it on occasion. We also dont intend to work (apart from on the house) in spain so we dont have the problem of looking for jobs.
Weve had property abroad before in more tourist type areas and this time fancy putting down a few more roots and making it more of a home. Hopefully spending more and more time there each year.

All the best from Very Wet Manchester

Steve

Morning Steve! Nice to "meet you"....and thanks girls!

I'm in Galicia - La Coruna province. There are four provinces in the region of Galicia : La Coruna, Orense, Lugo & Pontevedra. We moved over here four years ago with our three children and built a house on some land my OH has. OH is Spanish, although was raised in the UK from the age of 8. And the girls are right - we're surrounded by his side - and it's a VERY big family!! Seriously though, it's a wonderful place and we love it here.

Your question:1. How well is the area served from UK airports, the area i eventually decide to buy in would need to be within an hours drive from an airport, ideally on a route from manchester airport as i live only 10 mins away.


Well....La Coruna province is served well by two airports : La Coruna and Santiago de Compostela - they have direct flights to Heathrow and Stansted (Clickair & RyanAir). There are two other airports that are also used to travel to Galicia from the UK: Vigo and Porto (yes, Porto is in Portugal but is only a short distance from Pontevedra) - I am afraid I have no knowledge of where they fly to, but a quick google and you'll find out I'm sure!

Your question:2. My good lady speaks a little spanish and i am about to learn. But is spanish the main language in this area or do most folk speak galacian. the web does not give a clear answer.


Learn Spanish! Castellano is spoken everywhere, but there is the language of Galicia which is Gallego. Once you have a handle on Castellano, you'll be able to recognise and work out Gallego. You will hear and see Gallego pretty much everywhere - in the ayuntamientos, schools, doctor's surgeries/hospitals, any official paperwork, etc - but don't let that put you off!! Castellano is spoken too - in fact it's more prevalent in some areas and anything official should be shown in the two languages anyway. Depending upon where you go in Galicia, there are small enclaves of expats - but I should also let you know that a lot of the older generation are "retornados" - in that they returned from places like the UK etc following Spain's return to democracy and better times - so you will suddenly be surprised by someone hearing you speak in English and starting up a conversation. The people as a result are incredibly warm and friendly and extremely helpful as they usually had a good experience in the UK.

Your question:3. Any general advice on the area would also be welcome. esp from someone local from anything from the weather, things to avoid, things to look forward too, decent areas etc.

I couldn't really say what to avoid I'm afraid - we love where we are which is pretty much rural but within a five minute's drive of gorgeous beaches and then towns and schools etc within a short distance also. I'm not a fan of cities - been there and done that and not planning to return anytime soon! - so it's horses for courses really.
The weather : well, at the moment it's fantastic! However, Galicia is very green and lush so that can only be the result of one thing - rain!! Yes, we do get rain here ,much more than the South but the winters aren't too harsh where we are (although those in the more mountainous areas suffer more) and the summers are not as intense heatwise as the south - there are lots of areas here with their own microclimates and we're lucky in that we can still find ourselves going to the beach during the winter months (OK, not maybe in a skimpy bikini, but certainly with a light top and enjoy a picnic!). Galicia is a celtic region and you will see a lot of references to that - especially culturally and musically. The food is incredible - meat, fish and seafood - lots of specialities. The wine - too many good ones to mention! Aguardiente (orujo or cana - fire water!!). Blue flag beaches.....so I'd better post a link for you otherwise it could go on and on :
GALICIA-TURISMO-TURGALICIA

Your question :As for what we are looking for, we would love to find a semi rural property, inland or coastal.
At present we are not looking to move to spain full time so this would be a home from home for a few months of the year with friends and family using it on occasion. We also dont intend to work (apart from on the house) in spain so we dont have the problem of looking for jobs.
Weve had property abroad before in more tourist type areas and this time fancy putting down a few more roots and making it more of a home. Hopefully spending more and more time there each year.

Great to see that you don't have to work - so you'll be in a good position to just get on and restore that property!! There are lots of good websites regarding properties - just have a google once you've decided on an area you fancy. Otherwise - inmocoruna, tukasa - a couple of good ones - I don't have others to hand at the moment (and I need a coffee!!)

There are a few others of us Galicia folk on here and perhaps they'll reply about their particular areas for you to give you another insight.

Anyway, any more questions and I'd be pleased to help where I can. Good luck in your search!

Tallulah.x

[Expat Ben]

Hello Steve

Galicia is very green and beautiful.
I know Galicia very well and each province is very distinct.

The most attractive city by far is La Coruna and the most visited city is that of Santiago de Compostela (very touristic) with flights to the UK e.g. Liverpool

Note: Santiago de Compostela is very cold in winter (extremely cold)

That said, there are major differences in terms of climate between the the Rias Altas (La Coruna and Lugo) and the Rias Bajas (Pontevedra & Ourense)

The Rias Bajas have much warmer temperatures in the summer

I think if I were to live in Galicia I would choose the province of Pontevedra as apart from the better weather in summer; it's also near to Vigo and not that far from Santiago de Compostela (2 cities within 45 minutes drive)

Property wise, there are thousands of old properties in dire need of restoration that could snap up for a reasonable amount of money; but I suppose you need to solve the problem of where you want to be before you look for property

I think a few fact finding visits are in order as only you can decide where you want to live. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Ben

[Draughtsman]

Hi,

1st let me say thanks for the welcome, just sat at work over lunch and thought id see if anyone had replied, im mighty impressed.

Special thanks to Tallulah & Ben, ive only had time for quick read through and your advice is very interesting. I'll digest it in full tonight when im home and let you know a few of my thoughts.

once again...many thanks

steve

[Draughtsman]

hi, once more

ive had a little time to digest some of the info you have provided.

with regards to the language, 'Learn Spanish' was the answer i was looking for, so thats a good starter. i'll be booking myself onto a local spanish course at some point in the near future, id like to learn a little asap.

with regards to flights to galicia it seems the area is well served, i checked out skyscanner unfortunatly for me manchester isnt the best place to travel from it seems, the london airports seem to offer a better deals, but i'll look into that in more detail. if theres good deals out there ill track them down

part of the reason im interested in this area is its cooler climate, basically im not looking for endless sunshine, but i would like a few half decent days of sunshine during the summer, something we seem to be getting less and less at the moment in manchester, its not the rain thats the problem its just the endless dull day after dull day :-)
in july and august what percentage of days would you say are good clear sunny days (not a chance of any rain type days).

im aiming to do a load more internet snooping on the area in the next month or 2 then may take a trip over there in the autumn or next spring....ill have a load more questions im sure.

cheers

steve

[Chica]

The BBC weather site is good for following patterns. Here's the link if you haven't got it. BBC Weather | United States of America If you enter western europe it's fairly accurate. Although the link says USA I think you will find that it's Spain. You can see what the weather is doing now