# valencia or andalucia



## karenangell (Feb 6, 2011)

Hi all, was just wondering to those that are actually living in the regions of the title of this thread, as to which region the weather is the worst when the winter sets in. What would you say has the worst floods etc, We are coming over to spain in the new year just finalising a few things to do with our house rental here in england, We did like the andalucian region of spain however having heard of the recent floods and catastrophes occuring i wondered whether going east was best, to the valencian region. many thanks for your thoughts

karen angell


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

Andalucia!!!


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## boxergirl (Nov 27, 2010)

The further south you go the warmer it is in winter. Some winters are wet and you have floods some are not. However in winter in Spain it can be warm in the daytime but cold at night, many houses are only designed to be cooler in summer and therefore are quite uncomfortable at night. If you want warm winters perhaps the canaries would be a better choice.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

both areas sometimes get localised floods


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## Leper (May 12, 2010)

If you are retired and not looking for a job or if you just can afford it well Andalucia wins hands down. The weather is warmer, drier and you have relatively easy access to the UK if you wish to visit. Property rental is at its cheapest for years there and works out for a centrally located apartment within minutes walk of a beach @ €500 per month for a two bedroom apartment (electricity charges would be extra).

The recent floods were the worst since the early 1970's and lots of things had to go wrong simultaneously over a long period for what happened.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

If the winter climate is your main criteria, perhaps you should consider the Canary Islands.

We don't do winters here


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## karenangell (Feb 6, 2011)

Hepa said:


> If the winter climate is your main criteria, perhaps you should consider the Canary Islands.
> 
> We don't do winters here


Thank you all for your replies. Yes i love all the canary islands, been to all except la palma and teneriffe. Will look into the rentals etc and schools

many thanks


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

karenangell said:


> Thank you all for your replies. Yes i love all the canary islands, been to all except la palma and teneriffe. Will look into the rentals etc and schools
> 
> many thanks


Really, what a surprise, you have been to El Hierro, amazing!!


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## mayotom (Nov 8, 2008)

Both area's can have flooding the weather varies enormously within the provinces due to the geography of the regions.

I also live in Andalusia, where we have Europe's only desert and Europe's only Rainforest, where you can be Skiing in -15 degrees and on the beach in 20 degrees in the same day.

I can be on the coast in 20 degrees in the middle of winter but 30 minutes drive into the hills and temperatures can be close to zero. You must also consider that Andalusia is about the same size as the Island of Ireland, a little smaller than England, therefore its like comparing Plymouth to Newcastle, London to the Lake district. You really need to spend time exploring or come up with a bigger list of criteria for what you really want from your move


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## karenangell (Feb 6, 2011)

mayotom said:


> Both area's can have flooding the weather varies enormously within the provinces due to the geography of the regions.
> 
> I also live in Andalusia, where we have Europe's only desert and Europe's only Rainforest, where you can be Skiing in -15 degrees and on the beach in 20 degrees in the same day.
> 
> I can be on the coast in 20 degrees in the middle of winter but 30 minutes drive into the hills and temperatures can be close to zero. You must also consider that Andalusia is about the same size as the Island of Ireland, a little smaller than England, therefore its like comparing Plymouth to Newcastle, London to the Lake district. You really need to spend time exploring or come up with a bigger list of criteria for what you really want from your move


Hi
We have been coming to southern spain for the last six years every year and we always go in december jan time, and its really pleasant. I just wondered whether valencia where i have never been experiences the same winters that was all, and we dont know entirely what to expect from any country we choose to emigrate to with regards to weather, and life until we actually live there, holidays are completely different, we understand the geography of spain and everything and realise the size in compared with england. We just wondered about the valencian winters thanks for your feedback


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Valencian winters are mild. Not a lot of raining, mostly sunny days all winter. You won´t go swimming, unless you like cold water, but you can easily go down the beach with a book and spend a couple of hours reading or walking in the sunshine. 

So far, I have spent 2 winters in Valencia and I can´t complain, I haven´t used jumpers, hats, scarves or anything like that since we got here from the UK. At the most, maybe a light jacket or light jumper. 

But then again, it is all depends on where you want to live in Valencia, mainland Valencia tends to go colder in the winter but if you stay near the coast and from Valencia down to Alicante, the weather is pretty much the same. 

Here are some historic temps for last winter


25/12/11 - 21.6 °C 
31/01/12 - 23.6 °C 
09/02/12 - 23.9 °C 
08/03/12 - 23.3 °C 

Check Históricos del tiempo para Gandía - eltiempo24.es

Go to Historics, add the dates (from and to) to find out the daily temps for every day last year.


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## CapnBilly (Jun 7, 2011)

Winters are certainly a lot milder than in the UK, and they start a lot later than in the UK. i would say the coldest months are generally December, January and February. When the sun goes down in these months it goes cold very quickly. As mentioned earlier the worst part is in the house, and in these months it's usually warmer outside than in,.

There are plenty of sunny days, and if you're walking in the sun, you can wear a tee shirt, but if you cross into the shade you'll need a thin jacket or jumper, because it's cold. When the sun goes down it gets cold very quickly. When we're out and about, we spend the summer looking for the shade, and the winter avoiding it LOL. I think the longer you live here, the more you notice the cold. We've been here about 6 years, and in March for example, I can walk round in trousers and a thin jumper, a Spanish person, will still have a thick coat and scarf, and the tourists will be in shorts and tee shirt. LOL.

Last year was pretty mild and quite dry, and although the number of rain days may not be high, they can be quite wet. So, it might rain for a week, and then not at all for the next three, so very different from the UK. As you travel around Valencia, notice how green it is, compared to the south - that's the rain.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

When it goes below 20ºc here, out come the heavy coats, gloves, scarves, fleeces, hoods, and lined knee length boots.

Makes us laugh, what would they do if it really got cold? The locals are nesh!


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## mayotom (Nov 8, 2008)

karenangell said:


> Hi
> We have been coming to southern spain for the last six years every year and we always go in december jan time, and its really pleasant. I just wondered whether valencia where i have never been experiences the same winters that was all, and we dont know entirely what to expect from any country we choose to emigrate to with regards to weather, and life until we actually live there, holidays are completely different, we understand the geography of spain and everything and realise the size in compared with england. We just wondered about the valencian winters thanks for your feedback


Hi Karen, What area's have you been to? what did you like about them?
In my local area for example there is a good year round community spirit, The winter months are as nice as the summer of course far less tourists which is great, but we get a lot of retires from northern Europe who spend the winter here, so most bars' restaurants etc are open all year, where as other areas of the coast tend to virtually close down in the winter months and it can be quiet eerie , if you are in cities like Malaga, the winter's are pleasant . Inland its the same people winter and summer, but the interior gets very cold. So I suppose my point is what do you really want from the area that you move too?


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## karenangell (Feb 6, 2011)

mayotom said:


> Hi Karen, What area's have you been to? what did you like about them?
> In my local area for example there is a good year round community spirit, The winter months are as nice as the summer of course far less tourists which is great, but we get a lot of retires from northern Europe who spend the winter here, so most bars' restaurants etc are open all year, where as other areas of the coast tend to virtually close down in the winter months and it can be quiet eerie , if you are in cities like Malaga, the winter's are pleasant . Inland its the same people winter and summer, but the interior gets very cold. So I suppose my point is what do you really want from the area that you move too?


Thank you all for your replies. I can imagine what you all mean, as when it gets cold here in england about october nov time then we still have the sun shining during the day, and its very pleasant. In the evening its quite nippy and we have to put heating on for about an hour just to take the edge of abit. I have been to marbella, malage, nerja estepona torrox, almunecar, mijas, all were very pleasant when we were there in december as we went for xmas and new year. This year we went back to mijas and went in september the 4th was boiling, but i did like the heat. When we got home it was 20C and we felt cold coming from temparatures of 32C and up. Also was terrible to hear about the floods, as we came back and then they happened. Does nerja have flooding every year or was this just a really bad freak weather system which hit the south.


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## karenangell (Feb 6, 2011)

Lolito said:


> Valencian winters are mild. Not a lot of raining, mostly sunny days all winter. You won´t go swimming, unless you like cold water, but you can easily go down the beach with a book and spend a couple of hours reading or walking in the sunshine.
> 
> So far, I have spent 2 winters in Valencia and I can´t complain, I haven´t used jumpers, hats, scarves or anything like that since we got here from the UK. At the most, maybe a light jacket or light jumper.
> 
> ...


Hi and thank your for your reply

Did you choose the valencian region for any particular reason, did you not like the south of spain? We just wanted to get some ideas as we are coming over to try the lifestyle for a year next year, we have only ever been to costa del sol region, ie marbella mijas nerja twice as we liked it there. Lots of other areas and it was nice but never been to valencia are we missing out do you think.

karen:confused2:


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## mayotom (Nov 8, 2008)

karenangell said:


> Thank you all for your replies. I can imagine what you all mean, as when it gets cold here in england about october nov time then we still have the sun shining during the day, and its very pleasant. In the evening its quite nippy and we have to put heating on for about an hour just to take the edge of abit. I have been to marbella, malage, nerja estepona torrox, almunecar, mijas, all were very pleasant when we were there in december as we went for xmas and new year. This year we went back to mijas and went in september the 4th was boiling, but i did like the heat. When we got home it was 20C and we felt cold coming from temparatures of 32C and up. Also was terrible to hear about the floods, as we came back and then they happened. Does nerja have flooding every year or was this just a really bad freak weather system which hit the south.


The flooding tends to be very localised, for example in Alora which is one of the worst hit towns the town is built on the side of a hill with the River at the bottom, homes at the top of the town have hardly been affected at all. From the list of towns you have mentioned it is clear that you are thinking of coastal locations, Mijas is a favourite of mine, however even in the Municipality of Mijas there are various climates, the Pueblo is about 600 meters above sea level and therefore has different weather to the likes of La Cala de Mijas, I have been up there in the evenings and needed a jacket/fleece, but 10 minutes drive to the coast and the extra layer is not needed. But that's not a major issue as the Charm and tranquillity of the Village makes up for that


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

We chose Valencia for a number of reasons, one of them because it was cheaper than the north, not too many tourists in the area where we live, also Valencia is the 3rd biggest city in Spain, we didn´t want Madrid or Barcelona. Good choices for transports, international airport, high speed trains and the weather. Only 3 hours both to Barcelona or Madrid (by car) and I have family and friends in Valencia. 

Initially I wanted Malaga, but it is too far from my family as they all live in Navarra and internal flights are pretty expensive. 

...and we have oranges and mandarinas for ´free´ almost all year round... lol!


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## karenangell (Feb 6, 2011)

Lolito said:


> We chose Valencia for a number of reasons, one of them because it was cheaper than the north, not too many tourists in the area where we live, also Valencia is the 3rd biggest city in Spain, we didn´t want Madrid or Barcelona. Good choices for transports, international airport, high speed trains and the weather. Only 3 hours both to Barcelona or Madrid (by car) and I have family and friends in Valencia.
> 
> Initially I wanted Malaga, but it is too far from my family as they all live in Navarra and internal flights are pretty expensive.
> 
> ...and we have oranges and mandarinas for ´free´ almost all year round... lol!


ola buenos noches 

wow how wonderful you have the oranges for free, and im sure you are enjoying your life out there im wel gel lol. Well we will probably go to nerja to start with and hopefully see how things go. We can travel to different locations once we are located permanently, as my husband loves driving he has no problema with the left hand drive which i on the other hand am nervous about even though in england i have been driving for twenty years. I suppose i will have to get used to it.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

We were worried too, (the driving) but it is only a matter of days, and soon you´ll get use to it, the spaniards are a bit mad driving, lol!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Just to put a slightly different slant on this ....

We live 30 minutes inland from Oliva and the temperatures last year were - -10c in the winter and +45 in the summer (as recorded by the weather station here).

Now, I agree that these are extremes but it does show that (a) it gets cold here and (b) it gets very hot.

I would say that on average (since we've been here), the winters have gone down to -3 every year and the summers up to 38 - on average, as I say.




As for the post where 'Karenangell' said "_Did you choose the valencian region for any particular reason, did you not like the south of spain?_", I would say that the Valencian region is still Southern Spain.


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## karenangell (Feb 6, 2011)

snikpoh said:


> Just to put a slightly different slant on this ....
> 
> We live 30 minutes inland from Oliva and the temperatures last year were - -10c in the winter and +45 in the summer (as recorded by the weather station here).
> 
> ...


What i meant when i said southern spain is the costa del sol not costa blanca which i believe is where valencia is situated. I think the valencian region is more on the south east cost i think thats right.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

I went to Ontiyent one day in August and it was 40-something! ... and it is only 30 mins from where we live! We came back home and it was a nice 33 degrees here. 

I don´t think I will go in the winter!

Oliva is pretty much the last ´village´ of Valencia, down south...


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Valencia is Costa del Azahar, supposedlyl (Blossom flower) because of the Orange trees and it goes all the way to Cabo de la Nao in Alicante, then the Costa Blanca starts. 

Although in reality Costa del Azahar is Castellon´s coast and Costa de Valencia would be from Valencia down. Costa Blanca starting in Denia (Alicante), we are about 20kms from Denia (north)


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

karenangell said:


> What i meant when i said southern spain is the costa del sol not costa blanca which i believe is where valencia is situated. I think the valencian region is more on the south east cost i think thats right.


I know what you mean 

I'd say it was more SE too - & I live further south in the Valencia region than snikpoh!!

Wiki agrees.......Comunidad Valenciana - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

snikpoh is very right though when he says that weather can vary from areas close together - I'm not far from him & it never gets as cold or as hot as it does there - & I'd add that parts of Andalucía will also have the same weather as where I live & others the same as where he does

I think really you'd need to be looking at individual towns & the weather overall there - even just in the next town from us it can be very different weather from what we get on a daily basis


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lolito said:


> Valencia is Costa del Azahar, supposedlyl (Blossom flower) because of the Orange trees and it goes all the way to Cabo de la Nao in Alicante, then the Costa Blanca starts.
> 
> Although in reality Costa del Azahar is Castellon´s coast and Costa de Valencia would be from Valencia down. Costa Blanca starting in Denia (Alicante), we are about 20kms from Denia (north)


the Cabo la Nao is in Jávea................


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Cabo la Nao in Alicante ... Provincia ( I meant to say ...) . lol!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lolito said:


> Cabo la Nao in Alicante ... Provincia ( I meant to say ...) . lol!


I suppose I can let you have that one.................

it's in Valencia too


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

True! Jávea is in La comunidad Valenciana.... gosh! whoever reads this, might end up very confused... 

Maybe YOU should explain it all. lol!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Lolito said:


> True! Jávea is in La comunidad Valenciana.... gosh! whoever reads this, might end up very confused...
> 
> Maybe YOU should explain it all. lol!


after 9 years I've only just got my head around it!!

I think


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