REALISM versus DREAMS  

Moving to Spain, particularly on the Costa's, for your retirement is a very attractive proposition for many reasons.
The cost of living, food, rates, petrol, heating and so on are significantly reduced. The weather, with sunshine for most of the year and on the Costa Blanca average temperatures of 18 plus degrees all year makes for superb living.

It may sound like paradise but as with the Garden of Eden there is a serpent!
If you are retired and on an 'old age pension' medical treatment is available to you in Spain free of charge, prescriptions are free of charge, as are visits to the doctor and hospitals
BUT
Similar to the way things are starting to go in the UK home support
for the elderly, the infirm and those with mental problems is almost non existent.
Certainly there is NO FREE home care
apart from a very small number of volunteer charity organisations
in the larger towns with severely limited resources and qualified helpers.

Care homes are very expensive, mostly specifically Spanish, often of poor quality and in very limited supply.
The language, when you are ill or in need of care, is often perceived as a real problem.

Recently we, at Open Door Foundation, are seeing an ever increasing number of people emigrating to this area with elderly relatives who often already have medical problems,
usually age related and limited financial resources.

The result unfortunately  is strain upon the family unit where the younger members of the family are being forced to cope at home, by themselves, with problems such as Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia.

At the Open Door Foundation we are aware of the increasing need
and are attempting to increase our availability.
Unfortunately we also have to charge a realistic rate for our facilities in order to
keep our staff and keep the service financially viable.

It is with considerable regret and sympathy that we are receiving more and more pleas for assistance where the people have no financial resources to support the assistance. These, where the location is suitable, are passed on to the already overstretched charity organisations who, all too often, are also unable to help.

On balance a move to Spain is still probably a good idea for the benefits we have outlined above but it is important to be aware of the facilities and lack facilities that may be available to assist you at home in times of need and crisis. It is also important to ensure that the necessary financial support is
available to assist in these times of need.

It is important to be realistic about the future!

Via this website and its forum you can freely get all the advice you need both from us and our independent visitors to make the decision to live or not to live in Spain.

Alternatively, if you would like to contact us, we can advise you on the
availability of services, support and the likely costs you will incur in the area of your choice
on the Costa Blanca.

We welcome comments on this article in our forum and if you have experienced the problems we have outlined above your solutions and experience would be much appreciated.