Hi There,
We are ex UK nationals, I'm a pensioner, my husband has a pension, and will work in Hk for a few months each year part-time, as he finishes work in HK full time in May this year. So no worries for us about unemployment here. I would be a bit concerned if we had to look for work here as that is very difficult for anybody, due to recession in spain and High unemployment.
We bought our first holiday home in Spain while we were both In UK and working in UK, but it was further south in Murcia were it is quite flat and arid compared to where we live now in Javea. We always planned to have a bigger home in Spain when we retired, big enough to accommodate family in in the UK when they holiday with us.
We liked this area as soon as we drove north from where we used to live, Green trees, mountains, such a beautiful area. We had already checked out the weather etc locally, and it is a good climate, and air quality is brilliant and clean, I can see stars at night which I couldn't see in HK at all. Also if you are prone to any arthritic condition it is far healthier and better to be here than in England or HK, as it is damp there, my joints don't hurt as much, and the swelling in my husbands fingers reduces when he is here more often.
Javea has a beautiful beach,Kept very clean called the Arenal, sometimes the waves are good enough for surfing, lots of people have boats near here. All along the beach there are restaurants, and many in the town and just out of town on the Jesus Poble rd, lots to choose from.
Javea also has a port area, with more shops and restaurants
Javea has a Historic town centre, with lots of interesting shops, pretty streets, out of the historic town there are lots of Supermarkets, with great local fresh foods in season.
Social activities--- lots to get involved in, golf just up the road from us, playing bridge, getting involved in charity work,many people cycle, and there are running clubs, involvement in Am. Dram/singing societies, many restaurants to wine and dine with friends. I love to do oil/acrylic painting and there is plenty of beautiful scenery to paint round here, we live in the Montgo area-- The Montgo is a big mountain behind our house, I will paint it one day.
When moving here we came from Hk, and although all our furniture had previously been bought in the Uk, then in Hk for four years, then shipped here, we had a mass of red tape and paperwork to get it here, we employed a gestor to help us with that. They wanted to charge a large tax just to get our furniture here and said it could be impounded, luckily I had photo's of it in our UK house before we went to HK, and also most of the original UK receipts, in the end it was sorted and I got my furniture delivered.
As we already had NIE, which we registered for when we bought out house in Murcia 2004, we didn't need to get that again, and we transferred our padron form St. Javia in Murcia, to Javea at the council offices.
Because we had been resident on and off using our holiday home, and I was moving here to oversee work which needed doing on our house,- so more permanently, I was able to get my full residencia last September, as we have been residents and paid taxes for both our houses etc the first house for nearly 8yrs, and this one for 3 yrs. Our solicitor sorts out our taxes for us. A gestor helped with the residencia by taking us to the police registration place in Denia. My husband will be working part time from Hk, after May this year, so will apply for his residencia early next year.
Although I am turned 60, and have a small NHS pension, as I worked all my life for the NHS. I do not receive the Uk state pension until July this year, because Uk is changing its retirement age in stages, which also means I am not entitled to any Spanish State Health care, as I have also lived out of Uk for 4 yrs in HK before coming here, but we do have private health Insurance.
The health care might effect you differently, depending how long you have been in Canada for.
If you are a British national,law abiding, then you may have similar 'steps' of red tape to fulfil,and there is lots believe me, but it is worth it in the end, Spain and its lovely people make it worthwhile, plus if I can learn Spanish at my age then there is hope for anyone else.
