Move to Spain for health?

[IsTheGrassGreenerEver]

So DH has awful psoriasis & psoriatic arthritis which is just worsening with age. We're considering moving to a warmer, sunnier climate to help. DD also has some health issues & I think a warmer, less damp/mould prone climate would benefit her too.

We're considering Spain but tbh I've only been a couple of times to quite small areas, not anywhere I'd like to live. We're used to a big town/small city vibe, with plenty of restaurants, theatre, etc. Also, with plenty of open space. Currently, we live in a village 15mins drive to a small city with plenty going on. We definitely want a community feel, whether that's through ex-pats or locals. Any suggestions on where we could look so we can plan a holiday to research.

@TheLeadbetterLife thanks this is what I wanted to hear! We live on the outskirts of a small village atm but only 15mins drive from a small city. We like the mix of semi-rural & access to city life.

But it's mainly about the health aspect. Both DD & I also have autoimmune conditions. It'll be a few years till we can realistically move but we need that time to visit & research locations. We've lived abroad before so know holidaying somewhere is completely different to living there.

Faro is on our list to checkout & I've been looking at Loule as well. Any info is very welcome. What are the winters like? I prefer the summer temps there as personally I don't cope too well above 30degrees so I'm not convinced southern Spain will be right for us

@thinkfast yes ideally we'd spend some time wherever we're considering first. We want to spend the next few years researching & narrowing down our locations.
Interesting point about the water. Do locals drink the tap water or is it all bottled? I love that we don't have to buy litres of the stuff here & hate doing it on holiday but it's necessary

I was going to suggest Loulé as an option, it's a really lovely town and well-connected. Lots going on in that general area and it's close to Faro.

Winters here are on paper really nice, and short! We get several hours of sunshine most days and average temps are around 15 degrees or so. February is like a UK spring and it often gets to 20 degrees.

I say on paper because Winter is also the rainy season, December in particular can be quite wet (relative to the rest of the year, not like the UK). If you have a house with poor insulation it can feel damp and cold, and you have to be careful to manage it properly else you get black mould. It's an issue for us as we have such a house. Many properties are like this.

It's just a matter of getting used to it though. In Winter we let the sun in and air everything out every day, and shut it all up to keep the heat in before the sun goes down.

It's surprisingly seasonal - it feels autumnal now, even though we're still getting to 28 degrees in the afternoon. Food is amazing, and because it's a farming area it's local and fresh and there's so much produce grown. Again, very seasonal - I really look forward to the different fruits coming in. At the moment it's pomegranates. Chestnuts and walnuts will be in the supermarkets soon. Our diets are so much healthier here.

Re: tap water. I don't know how chlorinated the mains is in this area (we're in central Algarve, about 20 mins from Loulé). Lots of people drink bottled water but I don't know if it's necessary. We are lucky to have a well, which we treat with a UV steriliser, so we drink our tap water.

@TheLeadbetterLife amazing thank you.
Those are definitely temperatures that would be easy for us to live with. We live in an old house here where ventilation is very important & do exactly as you describe with opening windows early in the day but closing in an attempt to retain some heat.
Will definitely be adding Loule to our list.

@TheLeadbetterLife how lovely to have your own well. Bound to be so much nicer than treated tap water!

It is delicious water, though we had to lower the pump recently as the level has dropped. We've got an ongoing major drought and councils are talking about restrictions on the mains next year if we don't get enough rain this winter. Water scarcity is becoming an increasing problem - something to consider, costs-wise, as the councils will likely raise rates to encourage people to ration.

Where we go in southern Spain, there's a filter fitted to the kitchen tap so you can drink it. We would usually use that water for cooking or for tea or coffee though. There's also often a water point / pump in town squares etc white you can fill up bottles with drinking water and refrigerate it. If we want to drink fresh water we usually get bottled.

We're in Spain. My brother moved out here a couple of years ago and has found his psoriasis much worse since he got here!

Bear in mind that many houses in Spain get terrible mould problems due to lack of insulation, central heating and ventilation, so be very careful with property. It is uncomfortably hot in summer and can be uncomfortably cold in winter, mainly because the houses aren't built for cold weather. Healthcare is better here. Valencia sounds like a good fit for you but if I were in your position I'd definitely be looking at Portugal, Italy or the south of France instead.

Used to live in southern Spain. If you don't like heat its not for you although you could live in a cooler mountain town and travel down to a city like Malaga or Valencia, although these would obviously be colder in winter and it can get very cold in winter. If you chose the Valencia area, I understand your daughter would need to learn Valenciano, even at an International school, that was certainly the case when we were looking at that area.
I found the health service generally very good. Lots of elderly expats who used to return to the UK if their health deteriorated are now choosing to stay in Spain as they have found the care so good and are worried how they would get on under the struggling NHS.
Good luck wherever you choose.