It started in 2017 with Robin’s impending retirement and a throwaway comment
“If you’re going to live in a joke country it might as well be warm, dry and cheap!“
Robin had been an information security consultant and I’d been all kinds of things in the civil and public sector, plus an accredited Cambridge Weight Plan Consultant. Looking five years ahead, we decided we didn’t want to still be doing the same old things and it was time to try something different. So we did. Tons of research on different countries, estate agent websites, hours on Google Maps and a plane trip or two later and we found ourselves standing in the front garden of a folorn little house in Spain – in the most fabulous setting.
The house wasn’t what we were looking for but it captured our hearts. We signed an agreement, started a pre-Brexit rental contract and arranged essential works to make the house suitable – a new workshop/garage, secure fencing and gates, and a complete clean and paint inside. Back home we sold our house in Cumbria and got ready for a seriously downsized off-grid adventure! Robin arrived a week before me to unpack (and did an excellent job). I arrived 7 days later with the 4 dogs on October 7th 2019 on the return leg of a rescue rehoming trip run by friends at Ibizan Hound Rescue. On October 8th, thanks to the superb advice of Lifestyle relocation services in Malaga we got our residency card , and only a few weeks after that we had our health cards and driving licences!
Was life afterwards plain sailing? Nope! There were inevitable teething troubles with a property that had been effectively left alone for 4 years (things missing, breaking etc). These were compounded by a different language, culture, bureaucracy, not knowing where to get things from or which were the good tradesmen. 6 months in we were so fed up with a constant stream of problems that we were preparing to ditch it and return to the UK – but covid and lockdown got in the way. We were stuck!
Being stuck for over 12 months gave us no option but to get on with it. We learned a whole new set of skills and Spanish ways of fixing and mending things. Robin’s become extremely adept at plumbing water tanks and irrigation pipes. We are well versed in how to tend, prune and harvest olives. We’ve also learned the art of patience, steady nerves and stubbornness when dealing with Spanish bureaucracy and the total ineptitude of most Spanish companies.
We’d just finished all the main work to Casa Roja when our delightful neighbour Mary became ill. So we bought that house as well, because we wanted to control what happened to it. It wasn’t ‘in the plan’, but we now own 2 renovated houses that are almost entirely off grid, with minimal bills, that are move-in-ready.
The area here is beautiful. The people are warm and welcoming, though I think they affectionately consider us as “the crazy English with too many dogs“. It’s cheap to live. There are tracks all over the place you can walk on and pretty white hill villages around every corner.
Why are we selling? Three main reasons:
- We started off with 4 dogs when we moved (3 lurchers and a podenco). One has since died but we accidentally acquired 3 more so now we have 6. One was supposed to be a long term foster with not much left in the tank, but you know how it is with good food and proper care…..So the house is a little small for us and the current Furry Army.
- It’s no secret that it’s pretty hot here in Almeria in the summer. Being inland away from the coast makes it warmer by several degrees because the ground heats up more than the ocean. Average July and August daytime temperatures are 34-38c, but they do run into the low 40s for short periods. It’s dry heat so its more tolerable but it’s still pretty darn warm and we’d like to be doing a lot more on long sunny summer days. If you like heat, and dry summers (plus fairly dry winters) and to be surrounded by countryside, this is definitely the place for you!
Come and see us – and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have
Robin Sharman & Bev Nash
Casa roja almeria 