FRANCE BY TRAIN
Left: Orihuela Costa village; above: the Joneses’ apartment; below, Carolynn and George Jones
SPAIN BY TRAIN? IT’S A BIT OF A PAIN
W
hile some might choose to take the train rather than the plane to mainland Europe, for the
Joneses from Brighton it was a matter of medical necessity (with a phobia of fl ying involved, too). Carolynn and George bought a three- bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Royal Park Spa, a gated development on Orihuela Costa (Alicante), for €250,000 (£200,000) fi ve years ago, with a view to spending most of their time there. Since then, grandchildren have been born in the UK, elderly parents have become more dependent, and the Joneses have found themselves going backwards and forwards a lot more often than they had envisaged. With George suffering an inner-ear problem that means fl ying is out of the question, they have been making the
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900-mile journey by train, a lengthy and expensive process. What’s more, their younger daughter,
with three children, doesn’t like fl ying – and doesn’t drive – so she has only been able to make it over to see her parents every couple of years. “We’ve tried all different routes, tried putting the car on the train, ferry then drive, sometimes making it into a holiday by taking the sleeper train, but the fact is we are increasingly needing to get back to the UK quickly and the journey is just too long,” says Carolynn, 60, a former dancer with the Moulin Rouge. “Plus, it’s also expensive, costing £450-
£500 return each, although you can do it for half that if you’re able to book far in advance and use an economical car.” With a heavy heart – they are huge fans of Spain – the Joneses have decided to move to
a place that is more accessible by train: somewhere around Bordeaux in France. “Our problem now is speed, and if we can go from Bordeaux to Paris by train in three hours, then Eurostar to St Pancras, it’s much quicker than the 19-to-24-hour trek from Spain by car/train,” adds Carolynn. There is also the problem that they have
failed to sell their Spanish home, which they have now reduced to €160,000 (£128,000). “We love the development – it’s surrounded by golf courses, within walking distance to bars and the beach, and a nice mixture of nationalities – but Spanish house prices have taken a tumble. “Agents tend to be inundated with the
same cheaper properties, and this luxury development does not fi t into their market.”
* For more details, see
www.grupookendo.com, ref V1414
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