“Our new life in Spain is great – we have had 12 lots of guests.”
David and Jesper from north London are married after meeting in a nightclub. Dreaming of a new life in Spain they flew out to Valencia a year ago with Jasmine looking for a villa with £200k. A very emotional show concluded with them having their counter offer of £226k accepted on property number three…
After the couple secured the house in Ontinyent that seemed meant to be, David and Jesper are now happily settled in Spain, enjoying a 23-degree day in November whilst Britain freezes in an historic cold snap. “It’s such a change, having this huge place to maintain after renting a one-bedroom flat in Camden,” says David, a former train driver.
The property, previously owned by an elderly British couple who were downsizing in Spain, was in a great condition, but the large garden had not been maintained for a while so that has needed attention, adds Jesper, who comes from the Danish island of Funen. “Every time we have some guests – and we have had 12 lots! – we give point them to the garden shed and say have a tool!”
The property completed at the end of last year and the couple moved out at the end of February.
“Someone advised us to live in the property for a year and get a feel for it before doing anything major,” he adds.
Yet every day they have found small jobs, he adds, but some have been more fun than others. Their 19 olive trees have been harvested and Jesper has been learning how to marinate olives (not as simple as one might assume, he explains - with several stages). “It’s great fun learning something new, and we’ll get our first olive oil when it’s pressed and bottled.”
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They also have some plans for the house such as knocking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room for more open-plan living and to put their stamp on the décor throughout.
Perhaps the most complicated bit was getting their paperwork sorted, both the residency card for Jesper, and the visa on the back of it for David, which took five months. “I am still waiting for my TIE card,” says Jesper who said his appointment at the police station to present his file of documents was ‘nerve racking’ but only took five minutes to get approved.
The couple are working on their Spanish, have made lots of new friends and their two rare-breed cats have settled in well, relishing their new outdoor lifestyle and room to roam (though one disappeared into the neighbour’s drain pipe for 24 hours, hiding from the dog). “We have bought a car here – mostly managed through Google translate,” says David, who admits that Jesper’s skill at languages is rather better than his. Jesper hasn’t given up the idea of not working at all – he says he has a massage qualification that he could put to use.
But at the moment they are pretty busy entertaining – and the garden casita (annexe) is rarely empty. “We have 15 people coming over from Denmark for Christmas, including five children,” says Jesper, nervously. It sounds like they really are making the most of their new home.
