Look deeper than the current timetables when buying a holiday home or living and working abroad
The area you´ve identified as suitable for a permanent or holiday home may look great on paper, and it may seem suitably convenient for travel connections, but when buying property abroad you need to look quite deeply into transport options. This is especially the case if you are thinking of living and working abroad when time and efficiency may sometimes be the priorities.
How permanent is the low-cost flight option to your holiday home?
Both the European tourism industry and the overseas holiday home markets have benefitted enormously from the growth of low-cost flights in the last decade. In fact, the next hotspots for Brits buying property abroad can often be guessed by tracking where budget carriers have most recently negotiated landing rights.
While cheap flights have many benefits for holiday home owners, no one buying property abroad should commit to a new permanent abode or holiday home purely on the basis of a convenient schedule by a budget airline. These airlines are quick to pull the plug on routes that cease to add to the corporate coffers. Where would this leave your overseas holiday home, and your enjoyment of it? Such concerns are less of an issue if you are living and working abroad, but you should not ignore the possibility.
Whether or not a low cost flight operates to the region where you are thinking of buying property abroad, you need to study all the options for carriers, routes and nearby airports. Is there a feasible and cost-effective route for a short trip to your holiday home? Is there a worthwhile loyalty scheme for regular passengers? Are there advantages to travelling to or from a less convenient airport? Look out, also, for seats on charter flights when buying property abroad. Most Brits living and working abroad soon become quite knowledgeable of the options, so check out some expat forums, too.
Trains may not always take the strain when living and working abroad
Some countries may have punctual, comfortable trains and reasonably-priced fares, but the service may be too inconvenient or limited in distance to be of much use for regular travel. So, if you want the option of reaching your holiday home by train, or are thinking of living and working abroad, study the timetable.
Don´t assume anything. For example, you might think the high-profile high-speed French TGV network can rush you to your holiday home in the remotest French village in nanaseconds. It can´t. In fact, the TGV is only of use if you are travelling to major towns via Paris. Try getting from Rennes to Brest, the two principal towns of Brittany and just 100 miles apart, in less than five changes, or from Perpignan to Biarritz (250 miles) in under eleven hours!
If your holiday home is in town, get to know the buses, trams and taxis
Depending on where you are buying property abroad, you may find the locals think in terms of buses, not trains. Brits visiting their holiday homes in Florida, for would be labelled eccentric if they used Amtrac to travel around the state. Buses are second only to the car in the southern USA.
Bus (or tram) also tend to be the preferred mode of public transport for most people living and working abroad in urban environments. Travelling conditions may sometimes shock sensitive Brits buying property abroad, but while they may be crammed full and even smoky, these networks are often reasonably efficient and cheap. Get hold of a route map and research the regular and discounted fare structure. If the city where you are buying a holiday home is famed for its nightlife, make sure to note the times of the first and last services for future reference.
Find out, too, how taxi fares are calculated and how to hail a cab - waving your arm and shouting ´Taxi´ doesn´t work everywhere! You may have to phone or present yourself at a designated taxi rank.
Take to the road to explore the hinterland when buying property abroad
For pure flexibility and (usually) convenience, there can be no better method of getting around than driving. If you are going to be living and working abroad on the near continent you might consider importing your current car, in which case you will need to research both the costs and legalities of doing so. The options further afield are to buy a new car, or simply hire a car when you need one. Depending on where you are buying property abroad, you may even be pleasantly surprised at the low cost of car hire.
The cost of petrol, road tolls and taxes should be taken into the equation, as should badly maintained local roads and, in some countries, dangerous driving habits. You need to weigh up these factors based on your reason for buying property abroad, your planned lifestyle and your needs. If you are buying property abroad as a resort-based retirement home you will have different needs to a young family looking for a holiday home in the countryside and different needs again to a single urban-dweller living and working abroad.
Whether you are buying property abroad as a holiday home or because you are planning on living and working abroad, you will want to explore your new surroundings, so do your research and discover the options. Then get out and about, and enjoy your new environment.
