After five trips to Spain in 12 months; I have found the "real Spain"(sorry, I get to define real); it is out in the country among the people making a life for their families and trying to stay connected to the traditions.. I have visited too many big cities; so this last trip I flew into Malaga and went immediately to the car rental and headed for parts unknown... just one hour inland there is what may be the real Spain; families who for generations have lived in the same villages, done the same work and have a great appreciation for their traditions.. in 15 days I drove 2400 miles without leaving the Cordoba/Malaga provinces except to go to Granada for one day to pick up my new custom classical guitar... big cities, museums, art, crowds, tapas bars, tourista flamenco...been there done that... give me a quick breakfast(300pts) in a bar in a town of 1500 wonderful people(who can't believe I was were I wanted to be); cruise the backroads to see the ruins and miradors(lookout towers all over the countryside), lunch in a big village of 3-4,000(400pts) stop by the second largest resevoir in Spain and enjoy the cool water; dinner in a country bar that served a fantastic ensalada mixta; lightly battered fish(rosada?) cold beer(600pts) listening to the farm workers recount the day...hey it is suddenly 8:30p.m. and I head back to a B&B that is $17/night(has pool and good company).. I am returning in September to finalize the purchase of a "townhouse" in a small village(Villanueva Algaidas) and furnish the place for subsequent visits... this locale is one hour from Granada, two hours from Seville, one hour from Cordoba, one hour from the Malaga airport; a one hour flight to Madrid or Barcelona or Bilbao... the weather is much to my liking hot in summer and very tolerable in winter... THIS MUST BE SPAIN!!!!!

Oh come on!!! Do you ENJOY torturing people, jllawson??

But seriously folks, this really does sound wonderful. 5 trip in 12 months. My god. 99.9% of us only dream of such ability.

And purchasing a town house, eh? I noticed you didn't invite us all there for the winters. heheehe.. I don't blame you. We'd NEVER leave!! Good for you, jllawson. Good for you.

Sounds like a very enjoyable trip. I agree that we should all "get outta town" once in a while, leaving the cities for the backroads of Spain. Yes, you HAVE found real Spain, jllawson.

Saludos, MadridMan

jl,

Make sure you let us all know when you've closed on the property, we want to be ready to move in with you

Heck, some of us (us old people not included) don't even mind sleeping on the floor

I want to put my request in for squatters rights from the middle of September to the middle of October if it's okay with you

Wolf (Who always seeks out new friends)

Way to go jl. I would love to get more information on your purchase of the townhouse, like price, size, mortgage availability, etc. Thank you and enjoy it.

Let me explain that I describe the house as a townhouse... actually eastern u.s. folks would call them row houses... in the small villages the houses are built immediately next to each other(row house style)...two stories high, three bedrooms, 1 bath(adding two more $1500us), prices range from $8,000 for a small two bedroom in need of repair to as much as you want to spend... $30,000 to 50,000 could be typical(mine was $11,000 plus repairs, new bathrooms and furnishings... less than my new Chevy pickup) I paid cash, however, mortgages are available beginning at 80% loan to value... usually the mortgages are at 50%ltv; appliances are "cheap" furniture modestly priced... I am considering making space available to agreeable travelers..will let you know about that later.. maybe I could start a chain of puebla blanca casitas for all the board members...

Maybe you should look into having the townhouse thoroughly "inspected" by "experts". I just happen to have a credencial carnet de inspeccionador de casas rurales. Let me know when you need me to go over there and take a look at the place. I only charge room, board and transportation costs. One more thing: Although I eat a lot of tortilla española (charged to you), I guarantee that the house will be the most thoroughly inspected it will ever be. You can log onto my website at www.imahugeloaferandaprettylargeleech.com.

Thanks.

Hey, jl--
Need a housesitter?

It sounds lovely, and you've piqued my curiosity...if one can buy a place for so little (not that it's small change, but in comparison to housing prices here, WOW!), I want to do that!!

What do board members know about buying a second home in Spain? I have dreamed about it, but it would be amazing to be able to actually do such a thing!

So...a few questions...
1) are there residency requirements? (do you have to inhabit the place for a particular portion of the year?)
2) can any old American buy a place?
3) what are taxes like?
4) most importantly, what are the drawbacks?
I would love nothing more than owning my own little plot of land in Spain!

Thanks--
Tara

WOW--I, too, am impressed. Years ago we had dreamed of "semi-retiring" in Spain but, thinking that prices had become outrageous, had given up on the idea. Perhaps there's hope!

jlawson, I have just the book for you! "Eternal Spain The Spanish rural Landscape," with photographs by Robert Frerck and Text by Alastair Reid. My father bought it for me when I got back from Spain and was reeling from Nostalgia. The photos are lovely and the descriptions of rural Spain are enough to make you ache to hop on the next plane.

Unfortunately, I never spent as much time as I would have like in the small, rural towns and hope to do more of that when I go back.

I was hoping I wasn't the only board participant who had interest in rural Spain.. I am 55 and looking to "semi-retire"; I am in the process of opening an internet cafe in Sevilla(it looks like a long process); and to continue my real estate business in Idaho... those of us who are non-EU members have significantly more restrictions and processes to observe/satisfy before doing most anything in Spain.. let me say that I have spent a lot of time(literally hundreds of hours) and five trips to Spain to pick my locations and explore the possibilities... you can buy property once you have the NIE..an indentification number..something like social security number... you need the number just to rent, buy a car, get a cell phone(they call them mobiles), sign up for utilities, get a driver's license, checking account, most anything that quasi official... the price you pay for a house in the pueblos is directly related to distance from the large cities and the number of "english" living in the immediate area.. my find does not seem to be unusual as I had multiple choices of properties... if you folks can remain patient I will be getting a real estate license in Spain(I am a mortgage broker/real estate agent in Boise, ID)