I would highly recommend a relocation expert in any of the towns you are considering to get a real feel of certain neighborhoods that would be most attractive,( and you may not find quickly on your own) have a city tour and also see a few apartments in the price range you are hoping to stay within. This can all be done in a long morning and is a very popular service.

I also think Valencia is a good match, but I am biased as I live and work here!

Since you like to cook, you may be interested in this fun place I frequent!

http://www.foodandfun.es/

EURA, the European Relocation Association has a list of all bonafide relocation agencies across Europe.

http://www.eura-relocation.com/?p=find.members

A Swiss ( Schengen participant since 2008) passport holder has free movement in all other Schengen countries.

Paperwork for the spouse can be consulted at the Spanish Embassy .

I forgot to add that Valencia has most of the requirements you posted. The transportation system is excellent. Our cultural activities trail Madrid and Barcelona, but we have numerous museums, opera and lots of music events.

Half way between Madrid and Barcelona makes it a lovely triangle. A quick ferry or flight over to the islands.. 5 hours to Granada.

Now we have non-stop seasonal flights to New York as well as Istambul so , things are looking up!

Oh dear, Lin, now I also want to move to Valencia!!

come on over! Rental prices have come down.

Hi Lin!!! We will be spending at least 4 days in Valencia in the upcoming trip. It is high up in our list of possible locations to launch pur Spanish adventure from.

When DH moved to PR we took our own sweet time deciding where we wanted to live, and I was a local! We became our real estate agent's worst nightmare. We rented for a full year and continued shopping before deciding on a house. Must say that 15 years later we are still happy with it, we just feel that the overall quality of life in PR is declining fast and its time to explore something new. So we would do first a short term rental in the selected city and then either move on or look into long term rental. I dont think we would purchase in the near or midterm future. At this point we are just querying for good options.

And yes, the relo agent is excellent advice.

As I have family in spain and lived in Malaga, if you like the ocean and a warm climate near the ocean, I would live on the outskirts of Malaga, perhaps "Rincon de la Victoria" which is beautiful! Lots of Brits around that love the area as well.

Ah I envy those who make the move. What about being near an airport to fly to anywhere else in Europe?

Exactly. Renting, of course, IS the logical approach. A relocation agent is not the same as a real estate agent.

Good luck. Hope your trip is as informative s possible.

Near Málaga would also be wonderful. Better weather, too, in general.

scrb11, she mentioned that as one of her priorities. Fairly easy to comply with in Spain.

chapla, thanks for the blog. I also studied in Salamanca. Love reading about her adventures!

Lin, DH is very interested in Málaga too. I'm trying to work out an itinerary to include it but, after all, its only 3 weeks vacation and we want to enjoy. I'm pretty sure we'll make at least one more scouting trip before making any kind of move.

Studying in Salamanca.........hummm. A class here and there wouldn't be bad. Something more to ponder upon.

Thanks to all once again!

marigross,

I don't know what kind of "decline" in Puerto Rico has troubled you, and I don't know how much you keep abreast of European economic issues, but Spain is facing very difficult economic times with a lot of reason to believe that only dramatic changes in EU policy that are out of Spain's control could begin to make the situation better. There is near-25 percent unemployment (with youth unemployment almost double that) and a political commitment to greater austerity rather than greater growth.

I'm not warning you against relocating to Spain, nor am I suggesting you would fare better in another EU country (least of all Italy), because Spain's problems, unless they are solved, will cause the rest of Europe difficult problems. But your reconnaissance really should include following the economic turmoil. Just today, The Financial Times ran a news report headlined: "Spanish Economy: Gathering Gloom." It is worth reading, as the entire paper is regarding the EU and the euro, on a daily basis.

I know you will not be looking for work in Spain, and renting rather than buying, but the present course of austerity is on track to affect public services and quality of life in significant ways, especially if no course-correction is made -- and right at the moment, no one course-correction is in sight.

PS, to my fellow European posters,

Please don't read my post as singling out Spain as having problems. I see these problems as EU-wide, and I also see Spain as a country with tremendous resources, both economic and social, to weather a crisis. But a crisis it is, with much working against what might be a positive outcome. I have no intention of living anywhere else but Europe -- in fact, I would enjoy living in Spain, I'm sure, a beautiful country with a marvelous culture. My point is that people concerned about "decline" need to assess what is going on in the European economy if they are considering moving here.

zeppole, thanks for the post, it does point out a crucial factor for any relocation. We are very much aware of Spain's (and overall EU) financial crisis. DH is a financial news junkie.

What I referred to when I wrote about 'Puerto Rico's decline' is directly related to violent crimes as we plummet into narco-state status and the professional class bails out at alarming rates. Matter of fact, PR has been referred to many times in the news as the U.S.'s Greece.

We know that no country will be perfect and will have its share of problems. Also that what is a good fit at the time might turn out not to be so great after 5 years. We'll see how this goes.

You may want to start reading the local papers online. El Mundo, El Pais, Las Provincias, etc. I am unaware of the name for the Malaga paper.

Unhappily, Spain is experiencing the same problems as PR. As Lincasanova said, read those papers online, plus The Olive Press. When one is a tourist, the problems aren't so evident. When one is a resident, it's another story.

Whenever I walk by a real estate office, I look at the listings.

I've gone to Spain every year for the past 5 years or so. The crisis isn't evident as far as real estate prices -- supposedly the real estate boom is one of Spain's problems.

Italy seems to be the same case, though they didn't overbuild like Spain did and their prices are really high in the popular towns.

House prices here have declined in general terms for the last three years.Last year was especially bad. The crisis is not good but most Western economies are not that different.Here the big ptoblem is unemployment. Yes there are crime problems in certain areas but no different from other countries in Europe.
Personally I wouldnt be put off by the crisis OR.....history has shown they are always cyclical.If you have no need to work and live in a normal area life here is good.

Thanks again, I have been reading El Pais for a while (the Iphone app is not bad) but I'll certainly look up the other ones.

DH really liked The Olive Press link, his Spanish is not 100% so he appreciated the English info.

scrb,

Just as an aside, the real estate "market' in Italy is really not akin to any other real estate market I have ever seen, a sort of quirk of Italian history. There was no real estate boom here, or private sector banking-lending crisis akin to Spain or Ireland, although there has been a bank capitalization crisis due to 'contagion' problems around the eurozone, blah blah techo-babble. I think Italy -- and Europe -- has benefitted mightily from having Mario Monti replace Silvio Berlusconi, but everything remains fragile. Marigross has said they don't intend to buy property in Spain but be renters, which will offer a lot protection.

marigross,

Sorry to hear the utterly idiotic war on drugs has made things more difficult in Puerto Rico.

I browsed some online listings in Tuscany. Site was clearly for foreign buyers as all the listings showed how far it was to drive to the nearest airport.

It seemed like the ones closer to the airport were priced higher than a comparable property further away.