Hi there
My wife and I live in what is known as 'The Heart of Galicia' - 'The Ribeira Sacra'. My wife is Dutch and I am English.
Before moving we looked at both areas. We found that Galicia is cheaper to purchase a property. Inland is cheaper than the coast. WE were looking to do something in the tourist industry, as it would give us an income. We did not want to run a bar on the Costa del whatever. After looking into various options and properties we picked this B&B ( http://www.ribeirasacra.com) and we have not regretted moving to this area. Whilst we earn some money form the tourist industry the area is not so touristy, it strikes that balance we were looking for.
The down side has been getting to grips with the paperwork (like taxes etc) but this would occur no matter where we live in Spain.
We have numerous links on our web site so that you can find out more about Galicia, but here are few more.
http://colindavies.net/here is another persons view on Galician life
http://www.quasarhomes.com/an estate agent based here in Galicia. We have not had any contact with them, so we do not know what their service is like.
http://www.gestinsa.com/ we purchased our house through these people. Service was ok whilst 'doing the deal' but nothing after. Ask for Carlos as he speaks English
Other local web sites:
http://www.lugotur.com/
http://www.crtvg.es/cgi-bin/welcomeflash.asp
http://www.pangalaica.com/ribsacra/welcome.htm
http://www.rutasembalses.com/
http://galicia360.fiestras.com/
http://members.tripod.com/~Halfmoon/Spain.html
http://www.telefonicainenglish.com/

If you want to write to us away from the notice board then contact us by PM.
Ian And Irene

**Edit to remove email address as per the terms and conditions of the site - Kath HT Admin**

Many thanks, Ian and Irene, I've enjoyed looking at the web sites! It definately looks like we will be house hunting in the near future and will probably book in at your BnB when we start searching seriously.
Galicia looks a wonderful place to live.
Regards,
Lindylou

I'm also in Galicia, La Coruna to be precise. Alot depends on if you need to earn money, if you have an income then you'll be OK. What's difficult is finding a job. Outside of La Coruna, Gallego is the language used by most people, even in the cities.
If you are looking for something you can do with regards tourism, think also about the Rias Baixas, basically the coast of Pontevedra, it's very popular with spanish and Portugese and one the Brits find it.... If you know anything about wine aswell, it's Albarino country. Not too far from Santiago airport. Also one for tourism perhaps would be around Finisterre. Up along the coruna coastline I would imagine that there aren't so many opportunites although the coastline is wonderful, with some great beaches. The water is mightily cold though. There are some great little villiages along the coast aswell.
As Ian mentioned, the Ribeira Sacra is becoming popular with ex-pats, also look out for places near the Camino de Santiago.

If you have young children, be aware that in Galicia there is not much for them when they leave school in the way of employment.

Thanks RiazorBlue,more places for us to look at! Fortunately we don't have to worry about finding work...just finding things to do to pass time! We are both looking forward to exploring the region as it sounds wonderful.
Regards,
Lindylou

LindyLou,

I know you posted this ages ago, but if you are passing through the area, take a look at Las Piedras Negras in San Vincente do Mar near O Grove in the Rias Baixas. We passed though there the other day and it's fab. No idea how much it would cost to buy a place there though.

Thanks for the tip! We are planning a "reccie" later this year,so thats another place on the (ever growing) list. Any more suggestions greatfully received!

Thanks for remembering RiazorBlue.

Lindylou