Hurrah for a New Series of A New Life in the Sun
I always get excited about a new series of A New Life in the Sun on Channel 4 and this one looks as good as ever. I love watching Brits follow their dreams and seeing if things work out for them. I also love the array of couples and families they follow, all with different ventures and different dreams.
Building a new life in the sun definitely takes some guts and so many people don’t do it because the prospect of failing seems too scary. It’s also very hard to think about leaving everything you know and are familiar with and heading somewhere new and very unfamiliar to start a new life. However, for those that make the big leap it can turn out to be the best decision ever. And who wouldn’t want to live in the sun and wake up to blue skies most days?
This episode follows the endeavors of a family in Portugal building a holiday village, a couple who move to France to rent out motor homes and a couple who have moved to the Costa del Sol in sunny Spain to set up a guesthouse. They all seem like great characters and I hope things work out for them! In future episodes in this series they also feature a brewery in Spain and a B&B in Italy so they should be exciting to follow too!
Kirsty and Simon in Spain
But back to episode one. Kirsty and Simon are partners who have made is very clear they have moved to Portugal for the SUN!! They paid £320k for a gorgeous scenic villa in the Guadaloupe Valley with amazing views. The villa has 4 ensuite bedrooms alongside 2 separate apartments and all of this accommodation is going to be used as a guesthouse. Both Kirsty and Simon are keen on making the place feel like a relaxing retreat (but without things like Yoga), more just a nice place to come and enjoy the sun and get away from it all.
To fulfill their ambitions of running the guesthouse they decorated it all and had everything completed and set up for their first season. Sadly the pandemic hit and they lost around 90% of their bookings overnight. As they had put everything they had financially into the villa they were down the last of their financial cushion and Kirsty said they only had about a month left before that would run out. Thinking on their feet they have turned to offering food as an alternative to bring in some income. The sample cakes and tarts that Kirsty made looked delicious so it looked like that could well be a success for now! Until the guesthouse bookings come back anyway. Kirsty makes no secret of the fact that they are “flying by the seat of their pants” as they have no catering experience at all. Good luck guys!
Richard and Tony Move to France
In France, the programme visits Richard and Tony from London. This ambitious pair have always loved travelling in motor homes as they love getting out on the open road and seeing the real parts of the area. They decided to turn their passion for motor homes into a business and took out a big bank loan to buy a fleet of them. Having taken out debt to start a business you have never done before and have no experience in must be super scary! The financial pressure of having a loan rather than using your own capital must make you want things to work even more as there is more at stake.
Back in the UK Richard drove a petrol tanker while Tony worked in the rail industry. Very different to their new life in France. The couple seem to get on really well and both seem really up for the challenge and the adventure.
Their home in France is a 4 bedroom very pretty traditional looking house that they fell in love with due to it looking like the type of dream house you draw as a child and hope you might live one day. They spent a further £30k on making some additions to the outdoor living space and also added a hot tub adding a touch of luxury! They actually bought this home back in 2017 as a holiday home but after the improvements they loved it so much they decided to make it a full time home for them – and who can blame them? It is a gorgeous house in a glorious area of France. I’m really looking forward to following the progress of these two and the motor home business.
A New Life in Portugal for Steve and Tina
Another couple looking for the outdoor lifestyle have chosen the Algarve in Southern Portugal as their new home. Right on the south coast this area is well known for it’s delicious food as well as plenty of sunshine. The village of Paderne suited this couple due to it’s friendly atmosphere and home from home feel.
Tina first visited Portugal with her parents on holiday in 2014 and loved it so much she decided to stay for a few years. Now she’s returned with her husband and their two children Patrick and baby Joseph. A big draw for the move was spending more time together as a family. Many people can relate to this when you work long hours in the UK and have to pay for childcare. They basically felt as though they were paying other people to bring up their kids.
So they took the leap towards their dream life in Portugal! They spent just under £400k on a villa with a large 3 acre plot. The plan is to turn the whole thing into a holiday village. It’s an ambitious plan but the couple do have a large budget. The house came with a pool which was a big bonus but they have added 2 cool safari lodges, a chalet, bar and kids play ares. And they have even more plans including a pond, bridge, snooker tables and a huge 7 metre pirate ship. It sounds amazing especially for families and children! How cool would it be to grow up as a kid in a holiday village in Portugal?
One amusing thing from this episode is the bar name Flatleys which is named after Steve’s hero the river dancer Michael Flatley!
Having spend £171k to date on the project they estimate another £25k will be needed to complete the holiday village. This will take them £15k over their original budget. This is something we see again and again and it turns out that renovation projects are nearly always more expensive than they first appear.
Covid also hit during this time but travel restrictions lifted for Portugal earlier than much of Europe. This meant that their extended family could visit which would be a big boost for them and they are excited to show off what they have done so far. Tina gets emotional when talking about their family visiting and their dream becoming a reality as they have worked very hard and put everything into it. They are determined to stick to their timescale and get the holiday village completed on time!
Apperently Michael Flatley said “Follow your Dreams” and that is exactly what this family are doing.
