Wishing you all the very best with your move here.
I'm rubbish at finances so can't help you with your initial questions.
We've been here just over 5 years now but still have a property back in the UK that we are thinking about - sell, rent? Sell and buy a smaller property? Got to say, I'm quite nervous about the idea of not having a base back in the UK. If, in the future, for whatever reason, we have to move back, I'm not sure we would be able to afford the kind of property we'd want to live in permanently, bearing in mind the spiralling British property prices.
However, we have no regrets about our move here. Every day presents a new little adventure and life lesson.
Yes, the winters here can be difficult to bear as on the whole building construction is more geared towards staying cool than staying warm. However, luckily for us, the previous owners of our house had had the foresight to install central heating pipework and so after 2 winters here, we bit the bullet and had the radiators and system installed. We also updated the immersion heater in the water tank to ensure a steady flow of hot water. Very wise decision. As a consequence, we love the winters here - bright, sunny, crisp days that afford you clear far reaching views. Much reduced traffic, empty beaches, milky turquoise seas, snow covered mountains and lush plant growth all around. (There's also lots of rain and storms but they are also pretty spectacular).
Oh and there's no such thing as a stupid/daft question - if you don't know, you don't know, so ask away
