Carol and Tony Roberts

Tony and Carol and their beloved dogs

 It's a lifestyle choice

It was a big decision moving abroad but Tony and Carol Roberts haven't looked back - they enjoy running their own successful property business and are enjoying an easygoing lifestyle in the year-round sunshine, writes Julie Venus

  

across the pool to side of house

dining room

It can take courage to move abroad especially when laden with commitments. Tony and Carol Roberts had been running their own business in the UK for 25 years - a responsibility which they found was beginning to take its toll on their health, and at the same time both Carol and her sister Shirley, would tend to the needs of their mother - a fiercely independent woman of 88 - everyday.

But the Roberts took the first giant step - they disposed of their business; Tony worked as a quality inspector for Asda whilst Carol took on a range of selling and promotional work for a couple of years. Not having to deal with the stress of running a business, which had become increasingly demanding, was something that they both enjoyed.

When Carol's mother reached a point when she needed constant medical care and attention and was admitted to a nursing home, the Roberts' decided it was time to move abroad.

"Life isn't a rehearsal, you only get one go at it," muses Tony. "And we always knew that we would move abroad eventually."

"At first we were planning to move to France but after discovering how expensive both property and living costs are in France, we had to go back to the drawing board," says Tony

the morning room leading to the back garden and swimming pool

  "We didn't want to move anywhere too "exotic" -so Spain seemed like the obvious choice. It met all of our requirements: excellent weather, a stable currency, reasonable property prices, low living costs, better medical facilities and it's easily accessible to the UK"

"My son Jonathan had a small beach bar near Mojacar in Almeria, which we had visited on a couple of occasions, and we really liked the area"

The Roberts' felt that, unlike some of the other Costas, Costa de Almeria and Costa Calida are still akin to the "real" Spain:

"Both regions used to be difficult to get to, but thanks to improved motorway infrastructure and the regular cheap flights to the UK, getting there is now much easier. The properties are also really good value for money - another reason why we chose this area"

about us