I joked on Twitter the other day that with the announcement of the general election this summer, and the deepening Brexit debacle I was seriously thinking about running away for a couple of months and hiding in a cave. I was only joking but off the back of a week in France where I had been reminded how much I love Europe I did begin to think about having a bolt hole abroad.
In fact every time we go on holiday I spend the first half of the trip getting to know the area and then the second half of the trip working out if I could live there. The plane journey home is spent thinking about what it would be like if the airport became a regular haunt and by the time I go to bed at home I have spent a good hour on the internet looking for the perfect house to buy in the town we woke up in that morning.
I do feel like I have grown up in Europe though, as have my children. I have mentioned before how my parents lived in France, not just a second home but their main home as they worked there for ten years. My children spent long lazy summers running around the vines on their vineyard and I only have the happiest of happy memories of barbecues and a real sense of a life lived outside whenever we were there. They also had an apartment in Cyprus that we were lucky enough to spend time in a couple of times and whilst the way of life in France and Cyprus is very different, at the same time it is all about eating locally sourced food, being a family and just slowing life down.
Which I could well do with. A lot. Our recent trip to the very southern corner of France gave me a glimpse of a life I would dearly like to lead and more than any other trip I before I have really been investigating the viability of living overseas. The children are at an age now where they are less dependent on us, Caity is getting married next year, Jonnie has a job that means he can work anywhere, and Ellie is having a year off and then off to uni. Mr B is, dare I say it out loud, only ten years from retirement. In theory we could all up-sticks and move to Europe. If not permanently now we could certainly look at getting a second home that has the potential to be our next home.
The more I think about it the more I think we could make it work.
The more I want to make it work.
But where?
Our current thinking is none of the above, or our beloved Barbados, but Spain. For the primary reason, we want to be on the beach. And if you want to be on the beach in the south of France, you have to pay huge amounts, ditto Cyprus and Barbados. In fact buying on the beach in Barbados is going to cost tens of millions, so when we went to Collioure in France and realised we were very close to Spain it reminded us that Spain might actually be the best place to be.
Which is how I have found Casas del Mar on the Costa Del Sol, one of a few developments built by Lifestyle Homes. A short drive from Malaga airport (where you can fly from Stansted for £45 return) this resort is right on the beach, and surrounded by a golf course. Mr B would be in heaven. I would be in heaven. The apartments all have sea views, and there are a couple of pools too. If I am honest I have never really thought about owning an apartment before, thinking we would look about buying a house but from a security point of view if the property is ever going to be empty it makes more sense to have an apartment. It is far safer. And far easier to lock up and leave.
Or unlock and arrive into.
Or let out as a revenue booster when we can’t use it.
Just look at these pics. Everything about this picture makes me happy. The sea. White buildings. Blue Sky.
And a sea view from the apartment and lounge
Seriously, what is not to like?
The idea of being able to wake up every morning and sea the see is something I have dreamed about for a long time and until recently it hadn’t occurred to me that it could be done so close to home.
Either with that being our second home just a two hour flight away, or the home actually being ours and where we wake up everyday.
I asked Mr B what his thoughts were on owning a home abroad and he said:
“…. Well, we like getting to know places, so there’s something to welcome you back. Don’t get me wrong, I like going to new places too, but when you already know where the supermarket is, there are fewer things to worry about. When you have hungry kids, life is tough. Get them fed and your holiday can start”
Which is so true. Not having to worry about where to stop en route, knowing exactly where you can grab essentials on the way, or knowing you left sun tan cream in the cupboard last time and that your favourite flip flops are in the wardrobe is a great way to start a holiday.
Grab a bottle of Rioja at duty free and it can start the minute you arrive in a place like this!
If I get my way we will be out looking at buying one of these before the end of the year.
Coming? It’s got a second bedroom for you
This is a collaborative post
No hablo Espanol!
Gibraltar?