# Anybody living all year round near Torrevieja?



## heidi2765

Hello again,

We are thinking to move to Spain in about 2 years, the only problem: we don't know which area. We are going over for 3 weeks beginning of May to have a look, for this we have rented a villa and will use it as a base to explore! Somehow the Costa Blanca is the place we would like to stay, but are a bit frightened of choosing a place that will be empty in winter.

Are there any forum members living in the Torrevieja, Murcia, Alicante area? Any advise or perhaps interest in meeting for a coffee or a drink? 

I hope some of you have the time to write or a meeting in May.

Thanks:ranger:


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## stevec2x

heidi2765 said:


> Hello again,
> 
> We are thinking to move to Spain in about 2 years, the only problem: we don't know which area. We are going over for 3 weeks beginning of May to have a look, for this we have rented a villa and will use it as a base to explore! Somehow the Costa Blanca is the place we would like to stay, but are a bit frightened of choosing a place that will be empty in winter.
> 
> Are there any forum members living in the Torrevieja, Murcia, Alicante area? Any advise or perhaps interest in meeting for a coffee or a drink?
> 
> I hope some of you have the time to write or a meeting in May.
> 
> Thanks:ranger:


Hi Heidi

We moved from Glasgow to Torrevieja in May 2012 - and you are right about not choosing a place that will be empty in winter - we got that wrong. However, we did decide to rent so it was, of course, very easy to move on. We only moved to Punta Prima, about 4 miles from our original location, in November, but as a result we now have a lovely (and growing) collection of friends even though it is winter.

A lot of the Torrevieja area looks a bit dire at first - Spain has an economic crisis you know! But there are lots of VERY nice properties to be had on a long-term rental basis - you just have to decide what you're looking for.

It's hard to be more helpful when I don't know anything about you - age/family/work etc

You're welcome to ask questions - though as I say, we've only been here since May, so I won't have all the answers

Cheers

Steve


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## samthemainman

My advice here would be to make every effort possible to explore as much of Spain (or not the entire Valencia or Murcia regions) to see what other options are available. Its horses for courses and of course it depends what you're looking for (actually it would really help if you could clarify that). If you're looking for a bustling expat community, a good public hospital and a busy tourist season, Torrevieja and the surrounding areas may be for you.

I have inlaws who have a place in Cabo Roig just a few minutes away (next to La Zenia, Punta Prima and Campoamor). The beaches are fantastic (Campoamor especially but they're all good) and I hear there is a great new shopping centre in La Zenia. But personally, I really would not want to live there myself. Yes there are some nice places but so much accommodation in that area is build on the cheap. Urbanisations may have their appeal for some, but I know around the Cabo Roig area, many streets are incomplete, rubbish sits on the streets for days, many apartments/villas lie empty, burglaries are fairly high in summer, and some (though not all) are those kind of places where you see expats having bought off plan, their walls have started to crack, their drains are blocked, they have cockroach infestations (more than normal for Spain) and it just isn't that great when you have a wonder around. Lots of cheap chinese supermarket lucky lucky shops mixed in with a few half decent restaurants.

On the plus side you could live there for 20 years and never really need to speak any Spanish! I'm trying to be balanced in my view - and the beaches really are stunning - but otherwise I struggle to recommend I'm afraid. Torrevieja as a town itself is disappointing. It has a Benidorm style prom, but the beach (if you can call it that) is nothing special at all. I'd actually recommend Benidorm over Torrevieja - much better beaches and better infrastructure for expats if that's your bag.

Have you thought about Denia, Gandia or Javea instead?


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## stevec2x

samthemainman said:


> My advice here would be to make every effort possible to explore as much of Spain (or not the entire Valencia or Murcia regions) to see what other options are available. Its horses for courses and of course it depends what you're looking for (actually it would really help if you could clarify that). If you're looking for a bustling expat community, a good public hospital and a busy tourist season, Torrevieja and the surrounding areas may be for you.
> 
> I have inlaws who have a place in Cabo Roig just a few minutes away (next to La Zenia, Punta Prima and Campoamor). The beaches are fantastic (Campoamor especially but they're all good) and I hear there is a great new shopping centre in La Zenia. But personally, I really would not want to live there myself. Yes there are some nice places but so much accommodation in that area is build on the cheap. Urbanisations may have their appeal for some, but I know around the Cabo Roig area, many streets are incomplete, rubbish sits on the streets for days, many apartments/villas lie empty, burglaries are fairly high in summer, and some (though not all) are those kind of places where you see expats having bought off plan, their walls have started to crack, their drains are blocked, they have cockroach infestations (more than normal for Spain) and it just isn't that great when you have a wonder around. Lots of cheap chinese supermarket lucky lucky shops mixed in with a few half decent restaurants.
> 
> On the plus side you could live there for 20 years and never really need to speak any Spanish! I'm trying to be balanced in my view - and the beaches really are stunning - but otherwise I struggle to recommend I'm afraid. Torrevieja as a town itself is disappointing. It has a Benidorm style prom, but the beach (if you can call it that) is nothing special at all. I'd actually recommend Benidorm over Torrevieja - much better beaches and better infrastructure for expats if that's your bag.
> 
> Have you thought about Denia, Gandia or Javea instead?


I don't disagree with you Sam - but I have to point out that Cabo Roig is in Orihuela, not Torrevieja - there's an invisible political diving line somewhere between La Zenia and Punta Prima - probably somewhere around Burger King! I find that street cleaning etc is much better here within Torrevieja

I agree that I wouldn't want to live in Cabo Roig either (although there ARE some nice bits). One thing that may be relevant is that the buses out of Cabo Roig are few and far between.

Sam, you mention buying off-plan - I don't think ANYBODY should consider that these days - there are literally millions of empty properties in Spain - why would anybody buy off-plan? In fact, right now I ask, why would anybody want to buy at all when renting can be so cheap?

I find that Punta Prima is very cosmopolitan - I've met/made friends with Danish, Norwegian, Irish, Australian, Hungarian, Dutch and Spanish of course - even a Taff! lol The common language, needless to say, is English.

The new shopping centre is fantastic and seems to be transforming the immediate area around La Zenia - blimey, I've even seen builders at work again!

Cheers

Steve


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## heidi2765

stevec2x said:


> Hi Heidi
> 
> We moved from Glasgow to Torrevieja in May 2012 - and you are right about not choosing a place that will be empty in winter - we got that wrong. However, we did decide to rent so it was, of course, very easy to move on. We only moved to Punta Prima, about 4 miles from our original location, in November, but as a result we now have a lovely (and growing) collection of friends even though it is winter.
> 
> A lot of the Torrevieja area looks a bit dire at first - Spain has an economic crisis you know! But there are lots of VERY nice properties to be had on a long-term rental basis - you just have to decide what you're looking for.
> 
> It's hard to be more helpful when I don't know anything about you - age/family/work etc
> 
> You're welcome to ask questions - though as I say, we've only been here since May, so I won't have all the answers
> 
> Cheers
> 
> 
> Steve


Hi Steve,

We will be moving from Glasgow too. We only moved to Glasgow ca. 3 years ago because my son is studying here. We have lived in Portugal before, there they had a crisis since the 90s. We (son +I) left Portugal in 2002 to live in Canada, he graduated there and we came back because 5 months of snow was too much. As you can imagine we have quite a lot of experience in moving. 

The idea is to rent for a while and then perhaps buy. We both speak 4 languages and trying to improve our Spanish, I must admit I am a bit lazy....I wait until I am there...lol.
I am a translator and do most of my work on the net. My son will try to get a job through a company here in the UK. He has still two years to go, but he is talking to them already.
We are looking for somewhere that has expats and some Spanish. A little International flair plus the locals would be great. We are not blue eyed because we got quite a shock when we saw Alicante last autumn. And let's face it, life there will be different to having a fun filled fortnight!
Any tips and hints to a "normal place" would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Heidi


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## heidi2765

samthemainman said:


> My advice here would be to make every effort possible to explore as much of Spain (or not the entire Valencia or Murcia regions) to see what other options are available. Its horses for courses and of course it depends what you're looking for (actually it would really help if you could clarify that). If you're looking for a bustling expat community, a good public hospital and a busy tourist season, Torrevieja and the surrounding areas may be for you.
> 
> I have inlaws who have a place in Cabo Roig just a few minutes away (next to La Zenia, Punta Prima and Campoamor). The beaches are fantastic (Campoamor especially but they're all good) and I hear there is a great new shopping centre in La Zenia. But personally, I really would not want to live there myself. Yes there are some nice places but so much accommodation in that area is build on the cheap. Urbanisations may have their appeal for some, but I know around the Cabo Roig area, many streets are incomplete, rubbish sits on the streets for days, many apartments/villas lie empty, burglaries are fairly high in summer, and some (though not all) are those kind of places where you see expats having bought off plan, their walls have started to crack, their drains are blocked, they have cockroach infestations (more than normal for Spain) and it just isn't that great when you have a wonder around. Lots of cheap chinese supermarket lucky lucky shops mixed in with a few half decent restaurants.
> 
> 
> 
> On the plus side you could live there for 20 years and never really need to speak any Spanish! I'm trying to be balanced in my view - and the beaches really are stunning - but otherwise I struggle to recommend I'm afraid. Torrevieja as a town itself is disappointing. It has a Benidorm style prom, but the beach (if you can call it that) is nothing special at all. I'd actually recommend Benidorm over Torrevieja - much better beaches and better infrastructure for expats if that's your bag.
> 
> Have you thought about Denia, Gandia or Javea instead?


Hi,

Yes, we were deeply disappointed when we saw Cabo Roig, not our thing. I just want to have a look what Torre has to offer. We will be renting a car and taking a look in land as well. As I said in my answer before there is only so much celebrating you can do....BUT if you want to, it is there!

I would like to make the move to Spain my last one and the area has to offer what we need. Ex-pats and locals. We will go to the North Costa Blanca a few months later to have a look. 

Of course Infrastructure is important. I am sure we will find the right place, we know of course the problems that we will find in Spain, 12 years of Portugal has taught us a lot!
Meanwhile we are happy to listen and learn what the people on this forum have to teach.
Cheers,

Heidi


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## heidi2765

stevec2x said:


> I don't disagree with you Sam - but I have to point out that Cabo Roig is in Orihuela, not Torrevieja - there's an invisible political diving line somewhere between La Zenia and Punta Prima - probably somewhere around Burger King! I find that street cleaning etc is much better here within Torrevieja
> 
> I agree that I wouldn't want to live in Cabo Roig either (although there ARE some nice bits). One thing that may be relevant is that the buses out of Cabo Roig are few and far between.
> 
> Sam, you mention buying off-plan - I don't think ANYBODY should consider that these days - there are literally millions of empty properties in Spain - why would anybody buy off-plan? In fact, right now I ask, why would anybody want to buy at all when renting can be so cheap?
> 
> I find that Punta Prima is very cosmopolitan - I've met/made friends with Danish, Norwegian, Irish, Australian, Hungarian, Dutch and Spanish of course - even a Taff! lol The common language, needless to say, is English.
> 
> The new shopping centre is fantastic and seems to be transforming the immediate area around La Zenia - blimey, I've even seen builders at work again!
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Steve




Hi Steve,

That sounds pretty good and more or less what we are looking for. We will have a look around there and perhaps we could meet one day when we are there with you and yours?

Cheers,

Heidi


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## stevec2x

heidi2765 said:


> Hi Steve,
> 
> We will be moving from Glasgow too. We only moved to Glasgow ca. 3 years ago because my son is studying here. We have lived in Portugal before, there they had a crisis since the 90s. We (son +I) left Portugal in 2002 to live in Canada, he graduated there and we came back because 5 months of snow was too much. As you can imagine we have quite a lot of experience in moving.
> 
> The idea is to rent for a while and then perhaps buy. We both speak 4 languages and trying to improve our Spanish, I must admit I am a bit lazy....I wait until I am there...lol.
> I am a translator and do most of my work on the net. My son will try to get a job through a company here in the UK. He has still two years to go, but he is talking to them already.
> We are looking for somewhere that has expats and some Spanish. A little International flair plus the locals would be great. We are not blue eyed because we got quite a shock when we saw Alicante last autumn. And let's face it, life there will be different to having a fun filled fortnight!
> Any tips and hints to a "normal place" would be appreciated.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Heidi


Wow, you speak 4 languages - I wish I did as well!

re the net - it can be a bit slow out here, but that shouldn't impact on your translation

When we moved to Spain we looked on the web (obviously) for properties - but found that the reality was different when we got here - rental prices were much lower than we thought via the web

I'm not sure what you mean by 'Alicante was a shock' - but I've had a couple of days in Alicante and reckon it's not too different to Torrevieja

If you're here in May, we could arrange to meet up (with my missus I mean, not a date!) - on Fri/Sat/Sun afternoons there are live bands playing by the beach - always busy and entertaining - and a whole lot warmer than Glasgow! A nice neutral way to meet people - if we don't like each other we can run and hide! But that won't happen I'm sure

Steve


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## heidi2765

stevec2x said:


> Wow, you speak 4 languages - I wish I did as well!
> 
> re the net - it can be a bit slow out here, but that shouldn't impact on your translation
> 
> When we moved to Spain we looked on the web (obviously) for properties - but found that the reality was different when we got here - rental prices were much lower than we thought via the web
> 
> I'm not sure what you mean by 'Alicante was a shock' - but I've had a couple of days in Alicante and reckon it's not too different to Torrevieja
> 
> If you're here in May, we could arrange to meet up (with my missus I mean, not a date!) - on Fri/Sat/Sun afternoons there are live bands playing by the beach - always busy and entertaining - and a whole lot warmer than Glasgow! A nice neutral way to meet people - if we don't like each other we can run and hide! But that won't happen I'm sure
> 
> Steve



Hi Steve,

Well, I am not too sure if shock is the right word, I think you could notice the recession there more than in other places we have been recently, Torremolinos and Mallorca, holidays and no thought of living there!
I think there is a big difference between holiday and reality!

Meeting at the beach sounds great, let's hope it will be a lot warmer than Glasgow!! We will be there from the 5th to the 26th! Looking forward to meeting your wife as well, a woman's point of view will be great. I am sure we will have a long list of questions...lol.

I will be in touch before we leave....


Thanks.

Heidi


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## stevec2x

cool - see ya!


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## Johng7209

Can any one advise what is the best area to rent and any info about the area would be much appreciated...thank you


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## kaipa

I live in Torrevieja with my family. I lived here originally 17 years ago. First of all what British people refer to as Torrevieja isn't really what the Spanish mean. For most Spanish people when you say you live in Torrevieja you mean the town itself. La Zenia,Punta Prima, Playa Flamenca are really add-ons.( well actually some are in Oriheula ). Most uk Expats live outside the town and for me these areas are TOTALLY different from the town. Firstly the shop staff will speak English if you are outside of the town.( good if you don't speak Spanish!) Secondly the feel is completely different. In the town it is pretty much Spanish. The English bars that used to be in the centre (3) are now all gone apart from Monroe's and that is pretty much bilingual speaking now. My son goes to one of the local schools in the town and he is the only English speaking pupil in the whole school. If you want to find the expats you go to Habaneras and Carrefour. I love living here but we all speak Spanish and never use English. Incidentally the largest foreign group is now Russian not Brits. A huge number of Brits have left in the last 3 years being replaced with Scandinavians, Russians and French. My point is that when I tell people I live in Torrevieja they say that isn't really Spain and that it is some kind of British ghetto. It is not. It is as Spanish as Valencia, Madrid etc


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## kaipa

Bear in mind that Brexit is going to happen and we can assume that in two years time our positions in Europe will be different. (If you are a UK national). Of course no one knows for sure what it will mean but a safe bet is that if the UK opts out of free movement of people then that means restrictions in Europe will apply to UK nationals living in Spain. Of course we will be told that we don't need to worry that those people with existing residencias will not need to leave but that isn't the same as saying you will have access to free health care, that you will be able to work, that tax on non-Spanish incomes will not alter. It will be different and it will be harder to live here. If the UK makes it harder for Spanish people to live and work in the UK the same will apply to Brits in Spain. Just because you are retired and own a villa doesn't mean you will have the right to live here. Take a look at the requirement for non-EU citizens retiring in Spain at the moment. In other words don't burn your bridges in the UK to come out here.


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