LIVING THE DREAM IN SPAIN

Living the dream in Spain for one couple has meant a total change of lifestyle. Linda and John Ryllo now spend their time between their home in the UK and their park home in the hills above Loja- Southern Spain.

It was back in July 2004 that Linda and John Ryllo decided that they would buy a second home abroad. As John approached retirement in 2006 the couple wanted a place where they could escape to relax and enjoy the weather. As John said “Having holidayed in various countries across Europe, we thought about the practicalities of travelling to and from our new home, how convenient were road or flight routes and ultimately the cost of that travel.” The couple looked at many different countries including villas and apartments in Cyprus and France but in the end decided upon buying a park home in Southern Spain.

There were many reasons for making this decision – the relatively low cost of living, the climate, the accessibility and cost of travel, the amazing value and quality of park homes and most importantly the fact that John and Linda fell in love with Monte Vista – Breakaway’s hillside park.As John puts it “As soon as we drove onto Monte Vista we were amazed at the stunning views and tranquil surroundings. I would challenge anyone not to fall in love with the beautiful location”  

Monte Vista is a Greenfield development designed by Breakaways head of design and development Keith Young. It has been cleverly designed to ensure that the park sits sympathetically within its surroundings, streams, clever planting, pathways, concealed lighting and the planned terrace pool and restaurant/bar with views of the distant Sierra Nevada mountains. All Europarks Group parks are spacious and well designed and meet the high standards demanded by the company. Europarks Group  has parks all over Andalucia – in Antequera, Granada, Costa del Sol, Costa Calida, Costa Blanca, Alicante, Seville. 

The Ryllo’s purchased their park home from Europarks Group and were one of the first to reserve a plot on Monte Vista.  There home is towards the top of the park and from their deck they enjoy wonderful views. Linda describes the view “From our home we look down across fields of olive and almond trees towards Granada” John can get quite poetic about his home describing the view of the distant mountains as where “white clouds kiss the top of the snow capped peaks”  This is the real Spain - which brings out the poet and romantic in every man.

John and Linda’s home was transported from the factory in the UK in two halves and joined together on site by Breakaways skilled team of installers. It has two bedrooms, a large open plan living area, a large luxury bathroom with bath and shower and a kitchen complete with American style fridge. John and Linda love their home “To look at it you would say it looked like a typical bungalow. It has everything you would expect in a modern home and arrives fully furnished.”

Prices for mobile homes full installed start from around £35,000 whilst park homes can cost anywhere between £79,000 to 99,000 pounds. The whole process of buying and owning a mobile or park home is relatively hassle free – all transactions are done within the UK in sterling, there is no difficult legal paperwork and the homes are designed and built within the UK to British taste. The Ryllos do not regret their decision of buying a park home over an apartment or villa and says “The advantage of a park or mobile home in our opinion exceeds those of bricks and mortar. In the area around Monte Vista, there are very few properties that would give us the same types of view. There are also the issues of land ownership and the associated problems that we hear about in the press. Our Park Home would be a design of our choosing, put onto a location of our choice and a t a cost within our budget. In our opinion we have the best of both worlds, a modern house with all the amenities but with the flexibility that if ever we wished to change its location this would be possible”

The Ryllos have found the cost of living a lot cheaper than the UK and as Linda says “the shops are full of fresh produce and seasonal fruits and vegetables are excellent value for money. This is fantastic, for example, in the summer when we can have freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast every day and can indulge ourselves on local cheese and wine. Rioja has now become one of favourite tipples.”John and Linda’s dream of owning a second home abroad has on balance worked out very well for the couple and they plan in the future to spend more and more time at their second home in the Sun.


Fact File

-Yearly rents vary from £2,500 – £4,000 pounds depending on plot size
-No council tax
-No ground maintenance costs included in rent
-No legal costs or lots of paperwork with purchase
-All homes come fully furnished
-A mobile or park home requires little or no maintence
-All parks have excellent fully serviced facilities including swimming pools
-Mobile homes come in one two and three bedroom versions in sizes that start from 28 x10 to 40 x 14 feet
-Park Homes are constructed differently to mobiles and internally can be designed to the customers specifications and layout  Larger than mobiles, park homes sizes start at 24x20 up to 45x22.3 feet But they can also be produced as single sized units.