Pig farms v property - Page 6

Good on yer!  

I've been watching this thread for a while as I have a holiday home in Velez-Rubio,  and the house is fairly near to a pig farm (maybe 1 - 2 kilometres ).  However, I've yet to experience any nasty smells or excessive flies ( although they CAN sometimes be annoying as they seem to linger around you far longer than the "UK" flies )!

I find the whole area is a "hidden" gem... very few areas are as picturesque in Spain ( as you've, no doubt, already discovered)!

I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself here!

All the best,

Paul.

So pleased you have decided to go ahead with your purchase.  As I said before we have had our cortijo for 13 years and been very happy in Velez Rubio.  We are returning for a couple of months next week so perhaps we might meet in one of the many bars in town.  You will love it I'm sure.

Regards

Rosemary

That would be great Rosemary 

We are hoping to get there by the end of sept will let you know when we arrive 

Julie and cliff 

Hi Paul well can’t wait to see it now and no we haven’t been to the area at all bought with are hearts and a leap of faith but from the pictures we have seen it looks beautiful like I said before sometimes you just have to go for it we have lost bed in many places we had never been before and always made the most of it so here we go fingered crossed I’m sure we will love it 

Julie cliff 

J

I was following this post last year and was wondering whether you have settled in well in your new home and whether the smell and flies are a problem ?  We are hopefully moving to this area in a few years so am very interested in your opinion.  Thanks

Hi,

I thought I’d send our own experiences, Paul.

We have at last moved to Velez Blanco but only very recently, some 5 weeks ago, from Los Higuerales near Albox.  This is a spectacularly lovely area in every sense so after the big moving-in effort we have now started to settle and get to know people.  We spent a lot of time in the area whilst we were waiting for the house purchase to complete so we probably know our way around better than a 5 week period would suggest and although we’ve had a plumbing issue and the gates nearly fell off, the only really big issue we’ve had was in coping with the very high winds we’ve had here.  By all accounts, anyone living up here should over-engineer any project regarding pergolas or roofs!  We experienced 140km winds early this February and whilst I don’t think this wind speed is common, any work should be built to withstand the unexpected.

We have noticed daily farm-like whiffs (morning and night) but frankly it’s not a terrible smell and it goes away very quickly. If I had to guess, I’d say it is the result of sluicing out the sheds and (if true) means that farms here are clean.  And this IS the countryside......we expect a few smells for the privilege of living in such gorgeous surroundings.  You know, we actually had far worse smells from the fields growing barley, back in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, as the farmer sprayed strong effluence regularly and the disgusting smell lasted a week at a time.

No noise, apart from a couple of braying donkeys and the many guard dogs who call to each other at night.  The roads are actually busier here at the weekends when our Spanish neighbours work on their land.  We’ve checked on GoogleEarth and are in an area in the campo Between 2 small farms, with a vineyard directly opposite us.

It’s too early to comment on the fly situation.  However we have experienced flies last year when we lived very near to 2 goat farms and stables at our last property and we’re surprised we didn’t have troubles at all.  Just in case, we received tips on how to deal with nuisance flies from our Spanish friends that we are going to implement should we have problems.  Here we already have fly screens on windows and doors and we’re thinking of extra screens for the verandah, but we will see how this year goes first.  We are also removing shrubs and trees that attract insects as well as flies.

Hope this gives you a bit more info, Paul.  

Warm regards,

Chrissie

Hi Kerry and Steve

We moved into Velez Rubio at the end of September last year, as you are aware we were unsure and apprehensive  because of the location of a fairly large pig farm near to the property. My fears were of noise smells and all the bad stories you hear about pig farms. However, we worried about nothing as non of our fears were founded.

Although the farm is large and has pigs chickens and some bulls there it doesn't  cause any problems what so ever. It is a modern type farm that meets all current regulations. As Chrissie said you do get the odd whiff at feeding time and when the pigs are showered (apparently). Also the odd noise when pigs clash but generally we can't complain, Although we have passed older farms that don't comply with regulations and you do notice the difference. 

Velez Rubio is a farming community and is such a lovely town, that caters for all your wants and needs, it's serviced by a great motorway that can be reached in 5 mins. Like Chrissie we can't really comment on flies as when we arrived it was starting to get cooler, then again I think where ever you go in Spain and in the country you will experience flies. The only warning I can give you is be aware that when damp weather you do get a lot of smellie worms I don't know their name it was the locals call then and your very prone to them.

It does get windy here and chilly at night because we are about 1000m above sea lever, then again you will get a rest bite from the summer high temperatures. 

All I can say is that we love it here and would want to leave any time soon, it certainly beats Birmingham and the strong smell of drugs we would get when walking our dog. If you need any help closer to the date just let us know and if we can help we will.

Regards

Cliff

Hi Cliff  Thanks for your reply.  That's really helpful information. I have been wondering for a few months how you got on.  Really pleased that it has worked out for you.  We love the look of the area and are planning to visit this year with a view to moving in about 3 years time.  Wish it was sooner, but we will continue with our research in the meantime.

Hi

We was in a similar position where we planned to move at a later date when we was more financially stable, but decided to take the big step and retire 6 years early and make the move to Spain. As my mother in law used to say "you miss a lot of sunshine waiting for a rainy day" she was right. Although we have moved six years early we wouldn't swop it. We love the area the relaxed life style and our area where the views are stunning and people are friendly,not to mention the weather. 

I sure it will be the right move when you make it, just keep an open mind on your area of choice as someone will always have a negative view. There will always be many with a different point of view and at the end of the day this area is a farming community.

Take care

Cliff 

Thanks Cliff.  So pleased it has worked out for you and a farming community will suit us down to the ground, us and the dogs, which is why we don't want to live anywhere too built up.  We don't want to upset the neighbours lol.