My Life in Spain

Hi, my name is Paul and this is a brief introduction of who we are.
This is not a life story, just a brief history of who we are, why we are here and how Spanish Solutions became a reality.


So, how did we decide to leave Croydon & swap it for Jerez de la Frontera?

With my wife being Spanish, we had talked on many occasions about moving to Spain. We used to visit my in- laws a couple of times a year and each time we went, we began to enquire and ask more and more questions about what it was like to live in Spain. It did not take us long to realise that we could offer the children and ourselves a much better quality of life in Spain: better education, healthier diet, safer environment and family values, etc…
Our initial plan was to move close to my parents in-law, who live in the North West of Spain, but after holidaying in the Costa de la Luz in the Summer of 2001, we found the place that changed our minds. We fell in love with every town and village in the area and knew from that moment on that we had found the perfect place where we wanted to live and bring up our children!

WHY WE ARE HERE:

Having hired a rental car, we ventured out to the surrounding costal towns like Chipiona, Sanlucar de Barrameda & El Puerto de Santa Maria, each being pretty seaside towns & the latter more of a busy, historical fishing port. Eventually we drove inland to Jerez, we loved the drive, the rolling hills with fincas & cortijos dotted amongst the olive groves and acre upon acre of vineyards. We found getting to Jerez no problem but navigating all the one-way streets & actually trying to leave the city was quite an enduring, frustrating & difficult experience but it did not put us off!

It was the time of the autumn festivals and without knowing it both my wife & I were falling in love with the place. The city centre had (and still does have) an ambience of
historical wealth and the feeling of a city that was alive and that its people were proud of who they were & where they lived, the enthusiasm of people just talking in the street always brings a smile to my face and even more so now I can understand what they are talking about.
We went back into Jerez three times in all; it was like a magnetic attraction. We meandered around the back streets at siesta time, like all good tourists do. We sat outside in terrace bars, enjoying wonderful tapas and watching our son run around with Spanish children waiting to watch a puppet show, there are no language barriers when you are only two and half years old.

This was a city that didn’t overwhelm you, a city that intrigued you to discover more.
To me it felt more like a large town.

It didn’t take us too long to realise that we had found a place that we both thought would be a great place to live, an enigmatic city with culture, ambience, a place that was lively but with plenty of plazas (squares) where you could relax with a glass of beer or wine & watch your children safely play in car free zones.
All this, and just 15 minutes drive to the nearest beach; it really was possible to have your cake & eat it!

SPANISH SOLUTIONS. A REALITY:

Spanish Solutions was set up to help people like ourselves, primarily people who want to purchase a property & want to live in Spain on a permanent basis but we use exactly the same ethics & professionalism for those wanting to purchase a holiday home or a second home to let.
We have actually been in the business of buying & selling property in England but when moving to and buying in Spain you enter into a dangerous & potentially costly, minefield if you do not hire a lawyer, and one that speaks English if you don’t speak Spanish. We strongly recommend you do this and that you hire an independent lawyer rather than one used by an estate agent, should you be buying from one. We can also recommend independent Lawyers & Notaries.
Another piece of advice is that if you are not 100% sure of exactly where you want to live, do what we did & rent first, 3 to 6 months should be enough time. Again, we can find you a short-term rental if required.
Our aim is to alleviate the unnecessary relocation problems, experienced by many people who don’t have the right help & guidance. Fore-armed is Forewarned.
We have the experience in the purchase process & know how the property market works. We’ve made the move successfully and with our help, you can too.
We want to help people looking to come to this area, we live here, we work here & after 4 years we know the Cadiz Province very well.
No one offers you the whole package or service that we do, we don’t take a large commission for finding you a property and then say thanks, goodbye, now get on with it!
This is a business but we offer a very personal touch, through our After-sales Service & our Members Area, we want to stay in contact with the people who move or have a second home here for as long as they need us to. The Members Area has been set up to put people in contact with each other, no matter where they are within the Cadiz Province to share helpful information as well as being kept informed by us on what’s going on, Spanish classes, organised trips or just about anything that could be helpful.

And that’s the REALITY of Spanish Solutions.