Take Me To A Place In The Sun
and don't spare the horses. Why I dream of fincas, hot days and tapas plus what you can buy in the sunshine for the price of the average UK semi.
This week, the sun shone, the windows were opened and for the first time in MONTHS, I turned the heating down. There was sunrise at 6am, the joy of light making me jump into the shower in the morning with a spring in my step and even my 14 year old started speaking entire sentences rather than singular syllables prior to getting on the school bus. The daffodils bloomed outside our house, the rays hit the disco ball in the courtyard and everything felt, well, GOOD. It is absolutely astonishing how the signs of Spring and longer days can boost the mood, more than anything else.
As an adult, I have wanted to live in the sunshine for as long as I can remember. As a child in the 1980’s, we spent four years living in Hong Kong where life was easy and it was always, ALWAYS hot. My Dad would BBQ on the balcony of our 22nd floor flat near Aberdeen (home of the famed Jumbo floating restaurant, not the whiskey); we jumped off junks and swam in the sea every weekend, slept under constantly whirring ceiling fans due to the stifling humidity and rarely wore shoes unless absolutely necessary. We holidayed in Relax Bay on Phuket when it was still tourist free, in little bungalows on the beach with not a ping pong ball in sight (IYKYK). We visited Rantau Abang in Malaysia in order to get up at 2am to see the leatherback turtles lay their eggs, staying in lagoon huts on stilts where crocodiles swam beneath and decapitated bats would land on our beds at night after flying into the fans. Good times.
When I met Joe, my husband, I immediately informed him of my need to leave the country for sunnier climes at the earliest convenience and he was more than happy to oblige. Over the next ten years, however, we were thwarted at every turn. We were scheduled for Cairo before a coup made it more of a danger mission than a lifestyle change. We had enrolled the children in Singapore schools before it fell through at the last minute. And we were pretty much en route to Shanghai when my Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer which stopped us in our tracks. Then finally, I myself was diagnosed in 2012 which meant treatment, multiple operations and recovery time. Before we knew it, the kids were due to start secondary school and the window of opportunity had been shut with a bang. GODAMMIT.
At this point, Joe was offered a job in York. Okay, it wasn’t QUITE such a tropical location and there certainly was no requirement for a ceiling fan, but Bridlington beach was very pretty and I had barely been North of Watford so it ticked the new experience box that I craved, albeit we could get there up the M1 in three hours rather than via Heathrow. And as any one who has had cancer will know, it was quite nice NOT to be the pity person in the playground. People are lovely, yes, but there is only so many times that you can deal with the smiling head tilt without wanting to punch them in the gob. Anonymity was joyous.
Fast forward a decade and it is safe to say that my urge to emigrate (for at least part of the year) has not gone away. Nope, the flames of my desire to throw it all in for a finca remain strongly burning. My dreams of warm breezes, hot tapas and cold rose sit alongside our current plans to downsize our current Grade II listed Georgian home to move to something smaller and this time, IT WILL HAPPEN. I’ve been manifesting this, mostly by repeatedly harassing my husband but also by scouring Rightmove Overseas and Idealista on a daily basis and setting up folders of possible properties. Never let it be said that I don’t throw myself into a project, even five years in advance of it happening. Ha.
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to see what was out there should any of you harbour similar urges for the sunshine lifestyle. A quick Google shows that the average UK house price is £336,000 so using this as my guide, I have pulled together eight of my favourite finds so that you can join me in harassing your own partners, should the urge take you. Enjoy. And tell me which one YOU’D buy if circumstances allowed.
1. Four Bedroom House, Autignac, South Of France £323,000
The bones of this 19th century townhouse are crazy good - amazing features and right in the centre of the town, only a 25 minute drive from the South coast. It needs some love but it’s in the South of France where the weather is most certainly much better than Yorkshire and only 15 miles from Bezier Airport.
2. Four Bedroom Townhouse, Sa Pobla, Mallorca £268,00
The Mallorcan dream. A three storey traditional townhouse dating back to 1870 with two balconies, high ceilings, wooden beams, ALL the good stuff. Yes, yes, it needs a bit of work to transform it into a family home but it would be well worth it just for those original features.
3. Three Bedroom Apartment, Kalkan, Turkey £269,000
My kids would literally bite off my hand to buy this - a central Kalkan apartment with its own pool and roof terrace. This modern apartment would be easy to make your own and is steps from all the action. Amazing views across the water and close to all the beach clubs that Kalkan is famed for.
4. Two Bedroom Townhouse, Malaga £324,000
An actual dream of a house that is set over multiple levels and also has A POOL. On a roof terrace. In the centre of a village! And also the coolest kitchen and shuttered windows. *moves in immediately.
5. Seven Bedroom Trulli, Puglia, Italy £333,000
Okay, so this is a WIP but at only forty minutes from Brindisi airport and less than a kilometre from the village with bars, restaurants and shops, this seven bedroom (SEVEN) historic trulli is ripe for conversion into a five bedroom family home with a guest lodge too. It’s also only 15 minutes from the beach and set in gardens of 4000 sqm. A dream.
6. Three Bedroom Villa, Kefalonia £329,000
A ten minute stroll from Katelios, a fishing village with lots of bars and tavernas, and a 15 minute walk from the beach, this three bedroomed villa has a pool and is only a short distance from busy Skala. Also perfect to rent out when you’re not living the life of dreams by the pool.
7. Three Bedroom Villa, San Vincente, Cape Verde £200,000
I’m not acquainted with Cape Verde, I admit, but this little villa is a beaut. With a roof terrace and a shared swimming pool, it’s got a huge panoramic window that looks out to sea and interior stone walls. Very lovely.
8. Three Bedroom Villa, Koh Samui £249,000
A mere one minute from the beach, the living space of this house is set over three pavilions in glorious green gardens to live the full indoor/outdoor lifestyle. There’s an outdoor shower and it’s set on a fully managed estate so you don’t need to worry if you’re not there. What a life.
Which is your favourite? Let me know in the comments below.
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The Holdovers is an absolute gem of a movie. You will love! American Fiction is good, too. You must also watch Zone of Interest. Chillingly good.