# Area above Alicante deserted in winter ?



## Jewel003 (May 24, 2010)

I realize it's almost summer and you most likely wanna forget the past cold winter months but.....


I have read conflicting information on the internet about the area north of Alicante being mostly deserted in the winter months. (among other areas)
Can you give me your views on this, and how deserted does deserted mean ? 

Are we talking, 50% of all restaurants.bars.stores closed ? 60% ? 70% ? more? less ? 

I understand that in the major cities like Malaga, Sevilla, Madrid, etc, this is not such a problem, but I prefer to live closer to the north and more coastal. 

Oh, and something very important to me...how are the internet connections there ?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Jewel003 said:


> I realize it's almost summer and you most likely wanna forget the past cold winter months but.....
> 
> 
> I have read conflicting information on the internet about the area north of Alicante being mostly deserted in the winter months. (among other areas)
> ...


It's not deserted here - although other towns nearby are like ghost towns in winter


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Depends where you mean? Certainly a few of the bars close in January when they seem to go on hols. Some may even close earlie5r than usual if theres not a lot of custom . We're not short of Restaurants though so theres no real problem, apart from Monday evenings!


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## dunmovin (Dec 19, 2008)

we are well inland (Alcoy area) and the only thing that close for the winter is some(not all) of the icecream shops.

Internet connections ...well your at the mercy ofthe most God awful company on the planet... Telefonica, whose slogan should be "putting the pain in Spain"
They can find every excuse there is not to give you a landline, which leaves you with optin of using a dongle. I have been using one for over year now and it (mostly) works fine


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## neilmac (Sep 10, 2008)

Jewel003 said:


> I realize it's almost summer and you most likely wanna forget the past cold winter months but.....
> 
> 
> I have read conflicting information on the internet about the area north of Alicante being mostly deserted in the winter months. (among other areas)
> ...


It is much quieter when you get north of Oliva until Valencia since the resorts in this area tend to be Spanish holiday resorts. However we visit the beach more in the winter as we like it quiet and have never come home hungry or thirsty. The towns of Oliva, Gandia and to some extent Cullera have year round residents and they are well catered for.

Being inland by about 20 minutes we are well served with a full ADSL connection and whilst it may be a mistake I think the bill went down last month!:clap2: Maybe they will put it right next month but am ever hopeful that Telefonica (now working under the Movistar banner according to our last bill) has realised that they can provide our service a little cheaper!?


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## Jewel003 (May 24, 2010)

area around Javea, Moraira, Denia, definitely no more than half an hour from either Xenia intl school or lady elizabeth school

it doesnt really matter whether its more inland or near the coast, just as long as its in an area with good spanish state/private school (for the youngest) and the intl school for the eldest. 
On top of which I REALLY need a good internet connection

these 3 are on the top of my list 





Stravinsky said:


> Depends where you mean? Certainly a few of the bars close in January when they seem to go on hols. Some may even close earlie5r than usual if theres not a lot of custom . We're not short of Restaurants though so theres no real problem, apart from Monday evenings!


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## perdiu83 (Apr 24, 2010)

Jewel003 said:


> area around Javea, Moraira, Denia, definitely no more than half an hour from either Xenia intl school or lady elizabeth school
> 
> it doesnt really matter whether its more inland or near the coast, just as long as its in an area with good spanish state/private school (for the youngest) and the intl school for the eldest.
> On top of which I REALLY need a good internet connection
> ...


Certainly when you consider the three areas you have mentioned, Moraira is certainly the place with the least going on in winter, followed by Javea which will only have a few of the bars that may close, while Denia is a much bigger town and is lively all year round.

All three towns have a 30 or 40 minute drive to the international schools.

Mac


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## Jewel003 (May 24, 2010)

just checked your link concerning the B&B for sale, it looks gorgeous! shame its too far away from the intl schools  





neilmac said:


> It is much quieter when you get north of Oliva until Valencia since the resorts in this area tend to be Spanish holiday resorts. However we visit the beach more in the winter as we like it quiet and have never come home hungry or thirsty. The towns of Oliva, Gandia and to some extent Cullera have year round residents and they are well catered for.
> 
> Being inland by about 20 minutes we are well served with a full ADSL connection and whilst it may be a mistake I think the bill went down last month!:clap2: Maybe they will put it right next month but am ever hopeful that Telefonica (now working under the Movistar banner according to our last bill) has realised that they can provide our service a little cheaper!?


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## Jewel003 (May 24, 2010)

good to know, thanks. ! 






perdiu83 said:


> Certainly when you consider the three areas you have mentioned, Moraira is certainly the place with the least going on in winter, followed by Javea which will only have a few of the bars that may close, while Denia is a much bigger town and is lively all year round.
> 
> All three towns have a 30 or 40 minute drive to the international schools.
> 
> Mac


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## neilmac (Sep 10, 2008)

Jewel003 said:


> just checked your link concerning the B&B for sale, it looks gorgeous! shame its too far away from the intl schools


Thank you! We are not involved with schooling as our kids are grown up (well, they think they are ) However, apparently there is an international school in Gandia - a quick internet search came up with 'CasaLaSafor Consultancies' who say:

"Schooling:
Excellent schools range from pure state schools, semi-private schools and finally private schools at a fraction of the cost of an English private school."

The guy who runs it, Nick, is an author and journalist who knows far more about such things - you can find his site here.

Good luck with your continuing research.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Jewel003 said:


> area around Javea, Moraira, Denia, definitely no more than half an hour from either *Xenia intl school* or lady elizabeth school
> 
> it doesnt really matter whether its more inland or near the coast, just as long as its in an area with good spanish state/private school (for the youngest) and the intl school for the eldest.
> On top of which I REALLY need a good internet connection
> ...


you mean Xabia International College, don't you?


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## Jewel003 (May 24, 2010)

ooops, yes that's what I meant 





xabiachica said:


> you mean Xabia International College, don't you?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

neilmac said:


> Thank you! We are not involved with schooling as our kids are grown up (well, they think they are ) However, apparently there is an international school in Gandia - a quick internet search came up with 'CasaLaSafor Consultancies' who say:
> 
> "Schooling:
> Excellent schools range from pure state schools, semi-private schools and finally private schools at a fraction of the cost of an English private school."
> ...


I don't know of an International school in Gandia:confused2:

I had a bit of a google (it was bugging me) & all I could come up with was this one in Xativa http://www.bsalzira.com/infobsx.pdf

which I know nothing about, but it's not a member of National Association of British Schools in Spain - Nabss

it's true though, that private International schools are a fraction of the cost of private schools in the UK - but also bear in mind that they are frequently no better than (or even not as good as) state schools in the UK


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## Jewel003 (May 24, 2010)

I willl definitely check his site out. I saw on google maps that Montichelvo is only 26 mins driving from Gandia so if the intl school is there (initial search of intl school in Gandia didn't give me any hits) then that would be awesome!

Whats the weather like in Montichelvo in the winter ? Is it a lot colder than on the coast ?





neilmac said:


> Thank you! We are not involved with schooling as our kids are grown up (well, they think they are ) However, apparently there is an international school in Gandia - a quick internet search came up with 'CasaLaSafor Consultancies' who say:
> 
> "Schooling:
> Excellent schools range from pure state schools, semi-private schools and finally private schools at a fraction of the cost of an English private school."
> ...


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## neilmac (Sep 10, 2008)

Jewel003 said:


> Whats the weather like in Montichelvo in the winter ? Is it a lot colder than on the coast ?


Well we are going to be a few, and I mean only a few, degrees different to the coast. Until this last winter I would have said that February has been the coldest, dampest and greyest month of winter. We do quite a bit of walking in the hills and mountains behind our village and this has been in tee shirts in Nov, Dec, and January - as long as the sun is out! When the sun is down or hidden it can feel pretty chilly especially as old Spanish houses aren't really built for the cold, we just dress accordingly and order some extra logs.


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