Wednesday 11 April 2012

Here in sunny France!

Well we have been here 6 days tomorrow and I can’t believe that the holiday is almost over.  Tomorrow is the last full day as we have to be up bright and early on Friday to start our journey back to England.

Here are a couple of photos.  The first is our fifth-wheeler on the site at Parc Verger and the second is the view from our bedroom window of just a little of the gorgeous countryside that surrounds us here in the Limousin.

campsiteinFrance

champagnacderiviere

 

We have had some sunshine but there have been a lot of showers this year and even a couple of claps of thunder.

I have kept busy though.  When the internet has been on (a bit hit and miss at times) I have been researching and working on my sites.  When the internet has been off or I wanted to just relax I have been getting out my paints.

One big problem though is our close proximity to the Spanish border.  How I wish we could just carry on down South and across the border into Spain, not helped by the fact that I have been painting a flamenco dancer!

We have once again met up with people who have just up and left the UK.  Selling their property in the UK they decided to wait no longer and have packed all their belongings into their RV and gone full time.

I am not as brave as that, I still wish for a solid foundation and my own garden.  But I don’t blame them and I admire their courage.

Monday 2 April 2012

Time to get serious about living in Mallorca

Well the time has come when I should really start planning seriously now. I looked at some notes that I had made previously and could not believe that nearly two years had gone by!

Since that time Mick has reached 65 and while I am supposed to work until I am 65 I will give it about another 18 months by which time the mortgage will be paid off.

Somehow I have to make it work by that date for if we wait until my 65th Mick will be 72 and we don't want to wait until that age before we start enjoying our retirement living in our adopted home. We have already waited 25 years, I think that is long enough!

As usual finances play a strong part in how soon we can move. Mick does not have a private pension and although I do the estimated annual pension is not very much. My state pension will not start until I'm 65 so we have to bridge the gap. I have studied the cost of living in Spain and from what I see if I take an average in the UK then it should cover expenses in Spain.

If we are expected to live on the state pension in this country then we should be able to in Spain. My little private pension will be just a little extra.

Now what we would like to buy to live in will be the problem. Mallorca is a very expensive island on which to buy a property but it is an island that we feel at home in. We have many friends there and know our way around it almost as much as where we live now.

Looking at property prices in Mallorca selling our house here would probably only raise enough to buy an apartment or a small finca in need of modernisation. Of course there are also the charges and moving expenses to take into account.

So I have a lot to think about and while we are taking a break in France over Easter I am going to have to do a fair amount of number crunching... If only it was France we were in love with then property prices would be much more affordable. Oh well you can't choose what country you love anymore than what person to love. Much to contemplate I think.