When Barry and Leslie Needham met Sharon and Les Edwards, the owners of AndalucÃan estate agent - Spanish Inland Properties - they didn’t realise what a life-changing meeting it would be. Not only did Sharon and Les save the Chesterfield couple from sunburn and dehydration (!), they also introduced them to an area of Spain and way of living that Barry and Leslie have now embraced and made their way of life.
It is almost four years since Barry and Leslie arrived in Spain with just two suitcases and some money in the bank, planning to make a new life in the sun on the Spanish coast; but after a month in a bungalow near Torrevieja and a three day trip to Galera, they were on the move again. This time leaving the crowded and expensive coast and moving to a cave home in the peaceful AndalucÃan mountains. It is the small, quaint village of Los Olivos (just outside Castijellar) where they have settled and now call home. From their extensively renovated cave house, equipped with all mod cons, Barry and Leslie have set up their own business and now make a living looking after other peoples cave houses, doing maintenance work and odd jobs as well as cleaning the caves for people who rent them out or use them for holiday homes.
Back in England the couple had moved from Chesterfield to Nottingham where Barry worked as a hydraulic engineer and Leslie worked as a needlework teacher, also making bridal wear from their home. With no regrets since their move to inland Spain, the couple have no plans on returning to their hectic English lifestyle. The meeting with Les Edwards was purely by chance, Les rescuing the English couple from the midday Spanish sun in Galera and offering them a lift to wherever they were heading. The rest is history.
Barry explained: “We’ve never looked back since meeting Sharon and Les of Spanish Inland Properties. We are very lucky and class them now as our good friends; naturally it was Les we turned to when we wanted to move to the area.
It is through knowing the Edwards family that we have been able to set up our business and make a living whilst being here. There is work in the area but you have to be adaptable and I’d certainly say we moved here at the right time.†The Needhams were the first English couple to move to the traditional village of Los Olivos and found the Spanish residents more than accommodating, now classing many of the locals as their good friends. When Leslie broke her ankle last year, she found it was the locals that rallied round and came to the couple’s aid. “There are now twelve couples and families from the UK living in the village and the Spanish have done all they can to help us all settle in. It is very rural around here and not a very rich area of Spain; they have welcomed the boost to the local economy and extra work opportunities.†Barry and Leslie were one of Spanish Inland Properties’ early customers and are still grateful to Les and his team for their invaluable help when moving and settling in the area.
For more information Spanish Inland Properties, logon to the website at
www.spanish-inland-properties.com
Press enquiries
BeyondPR. Direct line 0114 296 7117. Mobile 07930 697773. e-mail: info@beyondpr.co.uk
Ref: SIP010   Barry and Leslie Needham
