It's Early, But . . .

[Richinoskie]

Hola, Each -- My name is Rich Schaplowsky and my wife (Gaye) and I currently live in Kansas, USA. I am retired, but Gaye continues to work and isn't planning to retire for another couple of years (hence the title of this topic). We are, however, already actively investigating places to retire to outside the US and Spain is one of the places that appeals to us -- especially Galicia. I am planning to visit Spain in October to check out possible places suitable for our remaining years. Since I have never been to Spain (but I've been to Oklahoma -- sorry for the American music reference), I am booked to fly into Madrid and spend a couple of days there, as I really want to visit the museums. Thence to Galicia.

I would like some guidance as to what particular cities I might wish to investigate as far as retirement locations. Pontevedra? Lugo? Santiago de Compostela? Vigo? Others? As well as places to stay when I'm there -- including in Madrid. As you can see, I haven't settled on any particular town and would really appreciate hearing from you as to which towns/cities would be the best use of my time in October. Although we have lived in large urban areas (suburban New York City, for example) we are really hoping to find a place that is less frenetic and more visually appealing. Any suggestions would be most welcome

I hope to hear from some of you and in any event would hope to actually meet with some of you during my visit in October. I will also likely be posting additional questions as the time gets closer for my trip.

Thanx in advance for you help. -- Rich

[casaquireza]

Hi Rich,

this is a very difficult question to answer, which is why you probably haven't got any replies yet! Here's my personal view...

A lot depends on what you want to achieve by moving out here. Obviously the cities have more going on than the countryside. Santiago de Compostela is quite 'international' and busy with visitors for most of the year. I like La Coruña, and parts of Pontevedra are pretty. Lugo is an internationally-acclaimed city of historic interest, but not one of my favourite places to visit. The coastal areas seem to be more expensive to buy initially and also to live in than further inland. Some parts of the 'countryside' can be quite vibrant, while others still seem to be living in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Many of the events revolve around the Galician culture and heritage - food and wine, traditional music and dance, folklore, religious festivals and traditional crafts and I think it is fair to say that anything written, spoken or sung will be in Gallego rather than Castelleno and occasionally in any other language, so it makes sense to be ready to learn enough of the language to 'get by'.

As for where to stay, that depends on your budget and tastes. In the cities you obviously have the hotels and guesthouses, but also the 'parador' or converted 'palace' or m'ansion'. The latter are subsidised by the Spanish government, are amazing places, but are quite expensive. Elsewhere there are country hotels and guesthouses. A good website to start of with is
http://www.turgalicia.es/default.asp?cidi=I, which wil give you details of a fair range of places to stay.
If you want more info on the paradors, the following is one of the many that give you details and a chance to book online:
http://paradors.historichotels.es/?gcli ... 1QodoBcGlQ

I'm afraid I can't make any comments about staying in Madrid, as I haven't done that yet - it's still on the list of 'to do'. Maybe someone else can help you with that one!

Good luck with the search and maybe we'll meet you both when you are over here!

Regards,
Margaret

[Richinoskie]

Margaret -- Thanks for your reply and information. I appreciate the leads and website links. I'll certainly follow them up. I realize that my post was very general, but even though I am doing a good deal of research on the 'net I unfortunately haven't yet been able to make my search any more specific. I do hope to reduce the scope of my planned trip somewhat so as to spend a bit more time in the destinations I finally choose. In that way I would probably be in a better position to evaluate our potential retirement site. Thanks again for your help. You may well be hearing more from me as the time for my visit gets closer -- Rich

[colinhughes]

In defence of Lugo city - first impressions can be misleading - ugly buildings on the periphery, and parking can be difficult - but you must see the Roman wall and the old parts of the city therein; also the banks of the river are pleasant.

A good website for travel, giving routes, maps and a broad price range of hotels at destinations:

http://www.viamichelin.com

Some photos of various parts of Galicia, including Lugo and surrounding areas:

http://www.panoramio.com/user/50820