not too cold, not too hot... any advice

COSTA TROPICAL, Almunecar..

http://www.costatropical.net/

Only Micro climate in Europe. stunning views, close to Granada, sierra Nevada for skiing ( 1 hour drive,November till April).. europes first and only 7 star hotel being built.. Yes its hot in the summer but this is south spain..very well traveled aroud the world and Spain and this is the jewel in the crown taking all into consideration in my opinion and many! others... best of luck :)

Too much "commercial" feedback.

Costa Tropicana = costa plastico

Kilometers of plastics .... and yes, of course we have to eat vegatables...

Be aware for the vieuws in the region between Motril and Almeria

No idea where you are coming from Serradal.. "costa Tropical" its a very! small area north of costa del sol.. yes north beyond motril is barron and plastic green houses, but Iam not on about north of Mortil..Each to their own of course but outside of parts of new zeland and california there is not much better on the whole and close to the UK etc, but again that depends on what you want..

Last week I drived from Motril to Almeria .... kilometers of green houses .... very nice, if you like it.

But I prefer some natural views.

lovely??? motril, Almeria and north?? wow..

We found Almoradi, a few kilometers inland south Costa Blanca, a lovely, very Spanish, town...with nearby Ciudad Quesada for those times we wanted to speak and listen to the English language...where we had the best Indian meal we have ever tasted.  Benimar was great for eating Chinese cuisine.  Here we enjoyed meals for two for only 9 euros including wine/beer! BUT...the whole area was spoilt for us by the ever-present Prostitutes sitting on plastic chairs at the roundabouts.  I guess it's a sign of the times that an increasing number of girls feel compelled to sell themselves just to get by financially.  They looked so sad...which is hardly surprising.  There have been some wonderful descriptions of places to live in Spain on this thread.  Are any of them free of street girls and purple-painted night clubs selling more of the same? 'Sleazy' is a good word to describe some of the areas south of Alicante airport. 

None of that sleaze around Ronda!

690k!  Has someone won the lottery?  You can buy a 3 bed, 2 bath, with private pool, in the Costa Calida, (Spain's unspoilt coast) for 105k!

 I would agree with Alexander 7 about the Costa Blanca north being the best area of Spain. The general area is is very agreeable but you may want to come a little further down from Calpe and Bennisa to the ancient town of Altea on the coast but in the lea of the Sierra de Bernia mountains which serves as a stunning backdrop to the whole area.
Altea has it's own micro climate staying cooler in the summer yet warmer in the winter. The area retains it's Spanish charm and Altea doesn't close in the winter like many parts of Spain.
Also, call me a snob if you like but you won't find any ex pat ghettos in this area. 
We love it there.Go to our community web site at: a l t e a n a t u r a . n e t where you can find further info about the area.

Rob.

Thanks Pablo.  So, Ronda is sleaze-free and, therefore, worth looking at.  Surely there are other sleaze-free areas in Spain?

Thanks for your input about Altea Rob. We went there on Friday for the day. It looks a bit rundown for me. The promenade concrete floor needs looking at and there was very little open. I was not impressed to be honest.

Hi,

Many of the coastal areas are a bit rundown, but they do get renovated periodically, so you neednt be to concerned about any of them really. Also, many of the smaller coastal areas do shut up over the winter months (October to April) and their will be very little to do. The bigger cities do stay open all year round (like Malaga & Fuengirola),  and their are some very nice communities in these areas aswell.

Also, have a look at a place inland called IZNAJAR. It is a really fantastic place but is also very old fashioned as if caught in a time warp. The town is based around a renovated 8th century hill-fort and is also virtually surrounded by a huge lake (37km long). Tourism hasnt really found this area yet, but it is fairly easy to get to from Malaga, Granada or Cordoba. Surrounded on all sides by mountains and glorious un-spoilt views to all directions. If your after a very pleasant, slow and comfortable way of life, this place is hard to beat.

 Murcia City, and surrounds. Its got everything and still very Spanish.

 Hello

Well I can only advice on the area that we have settled on/in. Our criteria was pretty much as yours when we started our search. 

Spain is such a diverse country with diverse climates. We chose the Northern Costa Blanca as it is in the middle so to speak. Costa Del Sol far too hot and Costa Brava too cold in the winter.

The weather here does get a bit too hot in the summer (mid thirties C) but there is always somewhere to get in the shade and if you have a pool, that helps. In the winter it can get cold and we do get the occasional ground frost. But mostly it is pleasant in the top teens and low twenties. We usually have our Christmas lunch outside. We live in Pedreguer which is about 15 minutes from the coast and the mountains. We have the best of both worlds. We have easy access to the resort towns of Denia, Els Poblets, Javea and Moraira.

There are loads of restaurants and bars, the people are generally very friendly and helpful. Of course it is always useful to try and speak a bit of Spanish. The airports of Alicante and Valencia are equidistant and about 1 hours drive away via the A7.

Living slightly inland gives us several advantages, especially with the cost of living. Our council taxes are incredibly  low and supermarket shopping is usually about 10-15% less than the resorts.

In the Orba Valley the fields are mainly Citrus indicating a slightly cooler climate that the Jalon Valley which is mainly Grapes, Olives and Almonds.

We have been here for 15 years now living in the countryside but always still close to a town or village.

Two years ago we got involved in real estate when my wife’s step mum was selling her house. She fell foul of a rouge agent and we stepped in to help and then other people asked for our help.

** EDITED - Against forum rules **

Good luck in your search.

Robert and Laurian.

** EDITED - Advertising **

 I have lived and worked in Spain for many years. For pleasure and also for my work as a property search director I have travelled the length and breadth of this country. There are so many beautiful places to visit but, for me, only one place to live - the Costa Brava and especially the northern part which is green and lush and has a great climate. Plus wonderful food and wine. Today, almost into December, the temperature is 12 º and it rarely goes much lower. The summers are hot but not scorching like down south. There are a lot of expats here as evidenced by the newspapers on sale but for the most part they don´t live in expatriate communities. They meet to play golf or petanca (a Catalan form of bowls) or for other activities organised by U3A. Another plus is that we are only.an hour and a half by motorway from the great city of Barcelona and on the doorstep of the rest of Europe and the U.K. This will be a big advantage when the high velocity trains start which should be in a year or so - most of the infrastructure is already in place.

John Hind

So the general concensus is that Murcia is best.  I concurr.

I don't think there is a consensus on Murcia at all ...

The point is most of us who live here like where we live, whether it's one of the costas, up a mountain or in a guiri ghetto - after all we chose to move there.

Everybody is different and Jon needs to do plenty of research and spend some time in the areas he's considering - not as a tourist, but as a "resident".

Good luck!

I know.  Just kidding!

I knew you were!