Why residential parks are perfect
The primary reason residential retirement communities are so attractive is the support they offer.
Residential retirement communities are, by their nature, around 1 hour away from the coast. This is because, if it were any nearer, it would have to include camping facilities. Something a true residential park home community does not want to offer.
The Good Life:
La vida bonita in Spanish means “life is good” in English. The weather also makes Spain perfect for mobile home parks.
July is the hottest month in Malaga, with an average temperature of 25°C (77°F), and January is the coldest, at 13°C (55°F). July also has the most daily sunshine, with an average of 11 hours per day.
The wettest month is November with an average of 101mm (4 inches) of rain. By November, however, Spain needs it, having gone months without seeing a single drop. The fact that there is so little rain is what pet owners love about living in Spain. The mobile home parks are all pet-friendly, subject to rules. There are many good walks around the parks, including by the lakes.
The best website for a precise weather forecast is the Spanish equivalent of the Met Office. They are called AEMET, and their website is aemet.es/en/eltiempo/prediccion/municipios
The Best Parks
Residential retirement parks like Park La Posada make moving to Spain both easy and affordable. Their service is second to none, which is why there are 159 mobile homes on the park with a settled community.
The cost of living is mitigated by the absence of council tax. Utilities are well priced, with water costing 10 Euros per month for 10m3 over a two-month period. Internet connection costs only 24 Euros a month, making it easy to stay in touch with friends and family.
The park fees at La Posada are 387 Euros a month, and for that, you are living in a first-class park with facilities to match. The service is second to none because the park handles everything in Spanish. Not speaking Spanish is never an issue. In the park, everything is in English, and the reception deals with everything from utilities to deliveries. Each resident has their own postbox.
Antequera Spain
The town of Antequera in Spain has become a firm favourite as the central location of mobile home parks. It all started with Park Saydo in the village of Mollina, followed by Park La Posada in the village of Alameda. The last park to open in the area was Park Corrales. All three mobile home parks are very different from each other.
Antequera is ideal. It has a shopping centre where you can buy almost anything you ever need. A modern hospital which has free parking, something unheard of in the UK. It also has a train station and a bus station, so getting around is very easy.
With well over 500 mobile home park residents in the Antequera area (there are four mobile home parks) you will meet many new people at the Wednesday car boot sale held at Saydo hotel.
This is the event that everyone enjoys because they get to meet up with friends who do not live on the same residential mobile home park. There is now competition between the parks themselves. They all offer a different lifestyle and service. The closest links are between Park La Posada and Park Saydo. This is because both parks have a bowls green.
The Spanish Economy
The villages of Mollina and Alameda are traditional Andalucian villages. The locals have got very used to their English neighbours. Spanglish is now the common language, based on English speakers adding O to every word and Spanish speakers using hand signals.
You do not need beaches when you are living in the Malaga lake district. There are five lakes to visit.
The Local Area
The mobile home parks in Spain are of course not next to the beach. If they were they would also have to be camping sites. They are however near quite a few lakes and reservoirs. The lakes are perfect for the way of life on the mobile home parks.
Residents have formed fishing clubs, golf societies and bowls clubs. Both Park Saydo and Park La Posada have bowls greens as part of the facilities. The lakes at Iznajar have gone even further. There is a beach down to the waters edge and you can drive right to the edge of the beach. Great for days out that include a picnic.
Residents who have been on the mobile home parks in Spain for years are only to happy to show new residents the local beauty spots. It is as much fun for them as it is for the people being shown around. On a nice sunny day in May there is nothing better.
Healthy Lifestyle
Spain is not just about the cost of living or a great social lifestyle. In every village that has a mobile home park there is a weekly street market. It is from there that residents can buy their fresh fruit and vegetables.
The Spanish way of life is very different to that in the UK. Most residents on the mobile home parks start out eating UK times with dinner between 6pm and 8pm. In Spain dinner starts at 9pm. This is because lunch does not start until 3pm.
Life is very different here in Spain. It is a very relaxed lifestyle and once a resident has settled into the mobile home park lifestyle they soon adjust. Health eating and a relaxed way of life. Nothing beats that. The perfect health service in Spain is there if needed but life style changes could easily mean less visits.
Mobile/Park Home Prices In Spain
The differences between the prices of mobile homes on parks in Spain and mobile homes on parks in the UK is also huge. In some UK parks, homes are almost twice as expensive.
This is all down to demand, of course. In the Lake District, good parks command a premium. There is also another major difference in mobile home parks in Spain. There is no set timeframe for how long the home can remain in the park. Provided the home and plot are kept to a good standard, it does not matter how old a mobile home is.
Ex-Pats Have Landed
Yes all the residents on all the mobile home parks are Ex-Pats, and of course they all have different stories to tell. That is why visiting the parks on a viewing trip is so important. You get to meet and talk to people who have actually gone and done what you are thinking of doing.
By now they know all the tricks of the trade. Most you meet will have been living in Spain for quite a while. Most will be settled in Spain and enjoying life to the full.
The question they get asked most by visitors is “can you see yourself going back?” The answer is always the same, “no way”. In fact most people selling their mobile homes in Spain are doing so because they now have the confidence to live in Spain on their own without the parks support.
That makes life easy. They know what they are doing now in Spain. Not possible when they first arrived of course four or five years ago. The support that the parks offer makes it possible to live in Spain knowing nothing about the language or the rules and regulations. The park reception becomes the guardian angel.