Penlan Villa

One chapter closes and another one opens

Our return conversation came up unexpectedly one evening, we were by the pond having a drink, and I’m not even sure how it started or what we were talking about. All I really remember was Theresa saying, “How long have you been thinking about it?” It came as a surprise to both of us as neither had realised that the other had had similar thoughts. We talked about the possible different weather conditions, like you do, and both realised that it would be a different type of life and would mean many changes, but we put a lot of thought into this move, the weather being only one important aspect.

Spanish bureaucracy and the language has always been with us here and leaving that behind is a plus, even though we have coped with it. Brexit was in no way an influencing factor, but it was there and impacted on our timescales, especially for tax reasons. Getting older and not being able to do as much is real and being closer to family is a benefit, though we do not want to be too close.

Searching for a house

We had a look around via the internet at prices and areas, and as we still want to have a place with reasonable garden/land, and preferably no very close neighbours if at all possible, but we did want to be in or on the edge of a small town or large village as we want to be able to walk to local facilities; so would be somewhat of a compromise.

We decided that it will be in Wales, as the properties here are not as expensive as other parts of the UK for what we are looking for. We were looking mainly in South and West Wales as Theresa wanted to be about 3 hours maximum of Swindon, so it’s not too far for her to drive, but the train may be the better (and environmentally friendly) option.

After visiting Wales for a second time in April, it became clear to us that is was a small Market Town we wanted to be in, and top of our list was Newcastle Emlyn, it is a lively town with what seemed everything we want.  We ended up buying Penlan Villa here!

We had been in Tenerife for over 13 years and enjoyed our time there, it was just the right time for us to move back!