|
| So
you've visited Sitges and now your dream is to live there, eh? |
|
|
| Well,
it gets a lot of us the same way, and some of us actually take the plunge!
Sitges is a wonderful place to live, but it's not for |
| everyone.
This page is based on my experience and whilst I'll attempt to be as accurate
and neutral as possible, please don't take it as |
| gospel. |
|
|
| Before anything, you
should consider this: You came in the summer on vacation and it was
buzzing with people and you had loads of |
| fun but remember this, Sitges
is only lively for 6 months of the year. The 300,000 people packed into
Sitges in the summer drops to a |
| mere 30,000 residents in
the winter and a good chunk of those vanish until the following summer. |
| Many of the bars shut down
and most of those that do stay open, only open at weekends. For the whole
month of November even the |
| winter bars shut. It's the
traditional business owners get away month in Sitges. Overall, from late
October to early May, Sitges is a |
| ghost town and you'd better
be someone who likes bumping into the same faces all the time. Sitges life
is a village life. |
|
|
| Personally I love winter
in Sitges. It's a good time to talk to the friends you didn't have much
time to see in the summer because either |
| you or they were working
all the time. That said, it can drag on and can get boring at times, but
then there's always Barcelona to go to. |
| Another thing you should
consider is that Sitges is very transient. You will make new friends but
before you know it, they're moving |
| away. It happens all the
time. Don't underestimate the impact of it. Of course it can make life
very interesting too. Always meeting new |
| people. |
|
|
| Ok. You're still convinced
Sitges is for you, and it may well be. I love it all year round, so you
may do too, but you should stop and think |
| about the down side because
for as many as enjoy Sitges life, an equal amount can't take the peace
& quiet for 6 months a year. |
|
|
| Once you decide you're going
to make the move, your first priority is to find somewhere to live, either
rent or buy. I strongly suggest you |
| rent for the first year
to give yourself time to aquaint yourself with Sitges and get a feel for
whether it's for you or not. |
|
|
| Long term rental.
It's going to depend on your budget as to how easy it is. Apartments for
600€ are available but very hard to find and |
| usually out of town. 700€
will make your search easier but you're still not looking at anything particularly
great. 800€ and up and you |
| won't have a problem. |
|
|
| If you are going to buy,
you've decided to buy property in Spain's 3rd most expensive town. (Only
the city centres of Madrid and |
| Barcelona are more expensive)
Prices have also soared over the last 3 years, which doesn't help. Want
an apartment overlooking the |
| sea? You'd better be a millionaire.
A villa, a multi millionaire. Maybe just a town house away from the beach
will do you? They're under |
| a million. Oh well, at least
you can get a decent apartment for a mere half million! Yes you can buy
cheaper, but you're going to need |
| to have a good, hard look
around. |
|
|
| Port Alguadolç
Advisory. You may come across what appear to be bargain properties
in Port Alguadolç but watch out. All properties |
| there are leasehold and
the leases run out in 2022, at which time you will have to pay a fee to
keep your property until the next |
| leasehold expiry date. We
don't know how much the fee will be but you can count on it being a tidy
sum. |
| Note. This only applies
to Port Alguadolç and not Alguadolç addresses. 'Port' is
the key word. |
|
|
| For a list of Real Estate
Agents in Sitges, see GoSitges.com |
|
|
