Pity the poor British people who, while having a lovely, historic and diverse place to live, also have the agonizing problem of deciding which sunny location they should turn to in order to rent or purchase a sunny spot to escape the grey and unpleasant weather that is a major part of their everyday lives. Spain? Greece? Malta? Italy? It brings tears to eyes of your editor (as we’re in rainy Canada and face a similar dilemma.)
It used to be that if you wanted to watch A Place in the Sun, you’d have to be in the UK and watch it when it appeared online each week. But, happily there is a half-way approach and is now there for everyone who has access to YouTube. If our somewhat wordy description doesn’t do the job, sit down with a nice glass of Tempranillo, kick off your shoes and imagine that it’s you who is pondering this big and thrilling decision.
Luckily, before the sun-seekers give up, they find themselves blessed with a show (now on YouTube as well) where they are guided from one place to another for them to view, muse and decide to buy. It’s A Place In the Sun and it’s been on for decades, giving sunny promises to grey prospects.
In this episode, delightful host Jasmine Harman is showing a couple around Benalmádena, certainly one of the most appealing places in sunny Spain. The ultimate goal of each episode is to find the right place for the prospective buyers. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. But it certainly is enjoyable to follow the process. Who knows, perhaps this might be you at some point.
Spain takes pride in keeping the beaches as good as they look.
If you do find this prospect exciting (we do) generally, there are few restrictions on foreign ownership of property in Europe. Countries like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK roll out the red carpet by allowing non-Europeans to enjoy similar rights as nationals. (Read more about that here.)
One thing you’ll want to do first is to visit Numbeo, the world’s largest cost of living database. Numbeo is also a crowd-sourced global database of quality of life data: housing indicators, perceived crime rates, healthcare quality, transport quality, and other statistics. It’s fantastic. Know before you go. Click here.
When in Europe, choose AutoEurope. Huge selection, convenient locations, great prices. Click here.
Click here for Eurowings, Lufthansa’s low-cost airline. Huge selection of routes, even overseas and more.
Click here for the Hotel Alay – Adults Only Recommended: relax while you plan your place in the sun.