Ribeira Sacra
When we started looking at Galicia, we looked at all of it. We compared houses, prices, climate, all the usual things. To us, the whole region is beautiful, but there are small differences between the areas, and a lot of that comes down to what is actually nearby. Where the bigger towns are, where the services are, that kind of thing.
We left the Netherlands after yet another stretch of grey, wet weather, and one of the things we were actively looking for was somewhere that rains less than the Netherlands does. A few regions in Galicia turned out to get even more rain than home, so those were out immediately.
Neither of us is really a big city person either. Cities are fun for a day out, but by the end of the day I am always glad to leave again. Personally, I find that in a city I am constantly on alert: traffic, crowds, all of it. I would simply rather wake up to birdsong than to traffic noise, although I know that is different for everyone.
The coast is genuinely beautiful, but between the rain and the somewhat higher house prices, it fell off our list.
Having an airport within about an hour and a half’s drive mattered too. In practice, we usually end up driving to Porto instead, which is closer to three hours, because it works out a lot cheaper than the closer airports when flying to the Netherlands. That is something I had not fully accounted for when we were still searching. Outside of summer there are also no direct flights from Galicia to the Netherlands, so you are usually looking at a stopover in Madrid or Barcelona. The last time we flew back, the price difference came to about 300 euros per person compared to flying from Porto. For that, I will happily drive the extra hour and a half.
While I was looking into all of this, I also checked the maximum summer temperatures. Almost everywhere it was much the same: the occasional day touching 30 degrees, but generally around 28 in summer. Pleasant enough. Although this year has been a bit different. We have already had a few days at 35.
All of this together is what led us to the Ribeira Sacra: a rural area with peace and quiet and plenty of beautiful nature, with three or four larger towns within driving distance. Not really big towns by any stretch, but everything you need is there. House prices are also somewhat lower here than along the coast.
Looking back, none of these reasons on their own would have been enough. It was the combination that made the difference, and so far it has held up. We still get the occasional rainy week and the airport drive is still a drive, but the quiet, the space, and the nature around us make that an easy trade.
