Life on the Costa del Sol

Notes from a Small Spanish village

One of my favourite books of all time is Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson and so when I was thinking about how I should share my experiences of living and working in the small village of Manilva on the Costa del Sol, I thought that I would call it Notes from a Small Spanish Village as a bit of a homage.

I do hope that I am not infringing copyright or aiming too high by aligning myself with one of the funniest, most observant authors, but hopefully he can inspire me to relate my tales in an entertaining way.

Let me begin by giving you some background. My partner and I have been living and running a marketing agency on the Costa del Sol for seven years, but always in the cosmopolitan town of Marbella. Whilst Marbella is a small place it has a real buzz, an International population, loads going on and great bars and restaurants and we loved the lifestyle there. However, when we wanted to capitalise on the property market crash and buy a property, our budget would only buy us a small apartment in Marbella, so we started to cast our net wider and see what was around.

Life’s a Beach on the Costa del Sol

There are many ways in which living and working in Spain is a really difficult challenge, and as a marketing agency on the Costa del Sol for the last 7 years, we've lived through a lot of up and downs. However, what is never in...

Trials of a working Mum – Kids holiday panic stations

[caption id="attachment_3644" align="alignleft" width="200"] My lovely son, ready for the Carnival this year. What are we going to do with him next week?[/caption] My son is three and last September started school in the Spanish state system on the Costa del Sol. Before then we'd had...

The secret to the mythical work life balance

The endless talk of the work, life balance in my experience leads to a lot of guilt and feeling of inadequacy, particularly in working Mums who want to give their all to their family and their jobs. Running a Costa del Sol marketing agency, as...

90 day Virtual tour of Spain!

On Sunday the 1st February 2015 Steve Hall, owner of the fantastic Spanish information website This is Spain, will set off on a 90 day virtual tour of Spain. He will visit all corners of Spain through the eyes of local hosts and writers. It will...

Trial shows that style sells houses

Before and after Nordica’s styling trial

We are all looking at the Costa del Sol property market with interest and are pleased to see that there are definite signs of recovery, particularly with buyers coming from Scandinavia with money to spend. I recently spoke to the team from Nordica, a Real Estate Agency specialising in sales and rentals in the Nueva Andalucia area, with over 20 years’ experience about their experiences to see if we could learn anything about the market and the way it’s responding.

They noticed that even with the improving market there were properties in good locations, with attractive features but which were not selling, so started to look at the influence of design and property dressing and how they could increase the chance of a sale with a few simple design changes. They undertook a trial with one of these problem properties, offering the owner a free furniture package and makeover to help it sell, rather than dropping the price. This property had been on the market for one year, but following the styling, there were three buyers competing for the property and it sold in just one week at full asking price.

This compelling evidence made Nordica decide to expand their service and launch Nordica Interior Design Group and open a dedicated office in Aloha Gardens. They believe that with this service they can style properties to sell, help sellers get the price the property deserves and create a home which buyers will love to live in.

2 bed holiday apartment for private sale

Our good friends at Nueva Andalucía Blog and Bleat have a 2 bed apartment to sell privately for a very good price with no agency fees. Here's Jo's description, you can find out more from their website. "The property is in La Maestranza, next to the Mercadona and walking...

Don’t forget your sunglasses

HOT sunshine, sandy beaches and a sparkling sea are all recipes for a great summer, but can cause problems for your eyes. The experts from Specsavers Opticas have released the following advice for keeping your eyes in top condition this summer.

1. Protect your eyes from the sun

Leighton Griffiths, Store Director of Specsavers Marbella, says: ‘Excessive exposure to UV rays causes a painful irritation to the cornea at the front of the eye. In extreme circumstances this can lead to cancer of the cornea, age related macular degeneration, cataracts and even blindness.’

Everyone should wear sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sun. Check sunglasses comply with UNE-EN 1836:2006 + A1:2008 or bear the CE kite mark and are marked UV 400. If you already have sunglasses and aren’t sure if they offer the right protection, take them into your local Specsavers to be UV tested. Look for styles which are large, or wraparound to minimise light entering the eyes from the side.

Patient Advocacy Arrives in Spain

For many years now the American public have been taking control of their health and solving problems with the medical system by using patient advocates. These individuals are contracted to fight any battles on the patients’ behalf, cut through red tape, explain diagnoses and options, seek second opinions and generally have the patients’ best interest at heart and be the strong yet calm voice during difficult situations.

However the concept has been slow to catch on in Europe, despite reoccurring frustrations with the health service and consistent reports of poor care, lack of information and no patient empowerment.

Personal experience and professional medical expertise led Cecilia Tacchi to decide to set up as the first patient advocate on the Costa del Sol.

Even though she was a native Spanish speaker, a qualified doctor and haematologist, she was surprised to find that during her pregnancy she was treated like she did not know what she was talking about, pushed into decisions she did not feel comfortable with and had to really fight to make her voice heard. She then experienced the frustration of a paediatrician who she did not feel was giving her son the care she wanted and many barriers were put in her way before they allowed her to change to a different doctor.

Costa del Sol Community Presidents’ Forum

Our client Urbytus are specialists in solving communities’ problems using smart online technology such as community websites. They are often asked the same questions and see Community Presidents facing the same problems, so they have decided to bring together experts from different sectors to explain their difficulties, ask questions and share solutions which have worked for their urbanization in the first forum for community Presidents and committee members on the Costa del Sol.

This informative and free event will take place at the Don Carlos Hotel in Elviria on 30^th May from 16.30. It will deal with the important issues of;

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