November 2010 – The University of the Third Age.

Retiring is a daunting prospect for anybody who has had a long working life, especially for those who have had really busy, involved jobs. Add to that the idea of retiring to a different environment (in our case The Costa Blanca) and the whole thing has to be approached very carefully.

I was asked many times during my last few months at work “Won’t you get bored retiring to Spain?” and my answer was always that I would rather be bored in Spain in the sunshine than sitting in the cold climate brought on by an English winter. This is a very glib answer and only partially true.

Yes it is far more pleasant sitting in the sunshine wondering what to do with yourself but the question is still there. We quickly found the answer when we discovered the University of the Third Age or U3A.

Kathie read about the organization in a local newspaper and so made enquiries. To quote from their official site “U3As are self-help, self-managed lifelong learning co-operatives for older people no longer in full time work, providing opportunities for their members to share learning experiences in a wide range of interest groups and to pursue learning not for qualifications, but for fun.”

The Torrevieja branch is no different. All Learning Groups are organized and operated by the members who share their knowledge gained from Industry or Vocational occupations. Teaching is very informal and can be used to help in your daily life (languages, confident driving), provide a hobby (calligraphy, water colour painting) or just for fun and exercise (walking, tai chi). Many groups are free to take part in, but some impose a small charge to cover the cost of room-hire or materials used etc. At the last count we had 34 different Learning Groups.

In addition to Learning Groups the U3A acts as a great social club enabling members to meet each other for events and outings or even fully organized trips to other countries. In 2011 there is a week-long trip planned to Germany for a pre-Christmas holiday.

We signed ourselves up and quickly became involved in some of the groups. We learn about Spanish History, we attempt to improve our knowledge of Spanish with the Beginners Spanish Group, we have attended the Tai Chi Group, the Walking Group organizes a hike once per month (although I had to drop out of the last hike with only half a mile to go – cartilage trouble), Kathie attends the Cross Stitch, Patch Work, and Debating Groups, we both attend the weekly Classical Music Appreciation Group, and the monthly Art Appreciation Group. There are others which we are planning to join including Calligraphy and Water Colour Painting.

I offered my services to begin a Computer Skills Group and they were accepted. This Group begins its activities in January with a promised attendance of 12 members. We will meet once per week. As a result of this the Chairman asked if I could manage the U3A website and I am to take it over in the New Year. Watch these blogs for news of its completion.

The U3A is a great organization to belong to. We have already been on two trips with them to a Bodega where wine is made, and a trip along the coast where we had a visit to a large local market followed by lunch (naturally).

Kathie and I have gone from the proverbial wondering what to do with ourselves to being glad to have the occasional day off (in a nice way of course!!)

_______________

October 2010 – The Broadband is not so broad on the Costa Blanca.

Broadband speed on the Costa Blanca depends very largely upon the area in which you live. The cable infrastructure owned by the Spanish equivalent of BT, Telefonica, is not consistent. Some areas can get 10Mb from their ISPs and some can get only 0.5Mb.

The problem we have as consumers is that all the ISPs advertise in the local newspapers and the minimum speed they state is 3Mb with an alternative of 6Mb for extra cost. The ISPs however will not state up front what speed they can actually achieve on your particular phone line.

When I arrived in Spain I signed up with Europa who tested my line and offered me the 3Mb package. I was achieving 2.6Mb with their service which was acceptable. Their problem was one of inconsistency and my Internet kept dropping out.

Another ISP began a big advertising campaign, EWTelco, who promised a fantastic combination of Internet and Telephone with good prices. There were quite a lot of (unadvertised) conditions attached which made the deal not quite so attractive but still better than I had been paying. I duly signed up but noticed an immediate drop in line speed which could not be cured. The speed never exceeded 0.80Mb. After many complaints they agreed to release me from my contract.

Compared to the UK the costs in Spain are very high. Packages start at €35 per month for 3Mb compared to as little as £18 in the UK for 10Mb.

I took advice from “The Phone Shop” in Torrevieja who have access to all the local ISPs and what speed they can offer. In my area it turned out that nobody can offer anything much so we decided upon the more expensive Vodafone route. It was stated that Telefonica are making attempts to improve their quality of cabling and so in 18 months when my contract with Vodafone ends we will examine the situation again.

There are Companies now who are offering reasonable speeds of Internet, Telephone, and Television packages which are received by radio communications from a mast. The only problem is that the receiver in your home has to be in “line of sight” to the mast so not everybody can receive their signal. This service is spreading however and more masts are being erected so it could soon be the answer. Their packages start from only €20 per month so it is an excellent scheme if you can get on it.

In the meantime I would advise anybody looking for an ISP and Broadband to be careful and extract a minimum performance level before signing with anybody.

-------------------------