Tracy and Doug Harding were meant to start their new life in Spain in March 2020. Few of us will ever forget the date when Covid-19 hit the UK and changed our lives irreversibly. For the couple from Weston-super-Mare in Somerset had to put their retirement plans on hold, but only until May that year.
“As ever, the timings didn’t go quite as we planned and doing it during the pandemic has been quite a challenge but we are glad we did it now – I love NOT going to work and the weather just makes such a difference to the quality of daily life,” says Tracy, 56, who worked for Hitachi Rail Europe.
The couple had been talking about moving to Spain before the Brexit deadline since 2019. They’d holidayed on the Costa Blanca for 15 years and loved the area. “Initially the plan was for us to spend half the year in Spain, but then Doug’s retirement [as a building surveyor] got delayed and then of course we knew that Brexit rules would make that plan harder so we’d need to commit fully to getting residency.”
The couple had been renting a property in Benissa Costa and found a property in the Jalon Valley in January 2020. Seeking a peaceful location away from the summer crowds of the coastal resorts, yet not too quiet in the winter, this rural area of vineyards, almond and orange groves seemed ideal.
Benarrosa Gardens is a well-kept urbanisation in Alcalali just 25 minutes from the coast and five minutes from Jalon where there’s a market, supermarket, medical centre and other useful amenities. The couple had a budget of €350,000 for a turnkey home with a swimming pool (no renovation required) and scope for a stairlift if ever needed - Doug is 70, and they were keen to future-proof their new home.
They found a three-bedroom house with a separate one-bedroom apartment (and a pool) for €370,000 through Jacaranda Property Sales.
“We were meant to be down-sizing but in the end we bought somewhere bigger than our British home! At least there is plenty of room for our family coming to stay – my parents will visit as well as our grandchildren [the couple have two sons],” says Tracy.
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The purchase process – overseen by Rob Park at Jacaranda – went smoothly, even if it took longer because of the emerging pandemic. But moving to a new country was challenging, suggests Tracy, with refreshing honesty. “I would say it’s taken us a couple of years to adjust. I think I was quite blasé about it, but it was a big wrench. During the pandemic – when we went into further lockdowns – it was both hard being away from family and meeting new people.
“They key aspects of village life that help integration – Spanish lessons and festivals – have only really properly got going again quite recently. We had a lot of doubts about whether we should have done it, especially when we saw some airlines going bust.”
But vibrant village life is returning and Doug has joined a motorcycle group and made friends that way, enjoying trips around the area’s stunning Sierra Bernia mountains; whilst Tracy has set up a litter-picking team in the area. She adds: “The fact that we’ve been able to spend some quality time here with the rest of our family – and for the next few years - has made it really worthwhile.”
