# What is Malaga like?



## Cheekyboi (Jun 5, 2014)

Hi everyone.

Been thinking about moving to Spain but I'm not too crazy about the whole British expat scene as I have visited my aunt in the Costa Blanca a few times before and never found it too appealing.

I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about Malaga and the surrounding areas. I'd be quite willing to mix with the Spanish as I spent the last 5 years learning the language and even made some Spanish friends at home. I wouldn't mind finding British people to talk to, but I'm looking to avoid Little Britain. Also, are Nerja, Fuengirola, etc., not dead in the winter?

Thank you.


----------



## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Cheekyboi said:


> Hi everyone.
> 
> Been thinking about moving to Spain but I'm not too crazy about the whole British expat scene as I have visited my aunt in the Costa Blanca a few times before and never found it too appealing.
> 
> ...


Nerja isn't dead in the winter, although some of the restaurant and bar owners do take holidays during the quieter season (not all at once, though!). I wouldn't say it was quite Little Britain, but there are a lot of British permanent residents and you won't get too much opportunity to practice your Spanish there as almost everybody working in shops, bars, etc. speaks English. 

Malaga capital certainly isn't dead, it's never been more lively (in a good way) or appealing - have you thought about renting an apartment there for a holiday, you could use that as a central base to have a look at both sides of the coast to see where most takes your fancy.


----------



## WomBatt (Sep 10, 2012)

Yes, fine idea to rent a week or two in Malaga city and see the surrounds. It is your public transport hub to almost everywhere in Andalucia. 
And if trying to avoid 'Little Britain' do not be looking solely at the coast.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Little Britain is alive and well in many inland towns. Places like Coin and the Alhaurins springto mind.
This phrase amuses me. I think of Poles visiting the UK and saying to each other ' We must avoid Little Poland'.
Little Britain seems to me to be a state of mindrather than a geographical location. It can be found in the remotest pueblo.


----------



## Turtles (Jan 9, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> Little Britain is alive and well in many inland towns. Places like Coin and the Alhaurins springto mind.


Pot Kettle Black!
We're the real deal here. We get kept awake all night by dogs, chickens and fat andaluzas shouting in the street. That's the real Spain!


----------



## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> Little Britain is alive and well in many inland towns. Places like Coin and the Alhaurins springto mind.
> This phrase amuses me. I think of Poles visiting the UK and saying to each other ' We must avoid Little Poland'.
> Little Britain seems to me to be a state of mindrather than a geographical location. It can be found in the remotest pueblo.


Mary girl,it depends what your definition of Little Britain is.You want to get in your ''Land Rover Discovery'' LOL and have a nice run inland.Come and have a look around Mesquitilla,El Saucejo,Martin De La Jara,Almargen,Casariche etc.etc.etc.Yes you will find English dotted in these villages and towns but you won't find English bars,restaurants,supermarkets.Not like your beloved Estepona.The port is full of English bars.Carrefour in Estepona full of English products.


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

It's always nice to have people around who speak your language, and there are advantages to having a thriving expat community nearby. But some people prefer to live in a community where the locals don't need to make concessions for them. Fortunately Spain has plenty of room for all types.


----------



## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Turtles said:


> Pot Kettle Black!
> We're the real deal here. We get kept awake all night by dogs, chickens and fat andaluzas shouting in the street. That's the real Spain!


Are you saying that unless all that happens, (dogs, chickens etc.) it's not the real Spain?

I wonder what the smart set in Madrid or Barcelona or San Sebastian would think about that?


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Turtles said:


> Pot Kettle Black!
> We're the real deal here. We get kept awake all night by dogs, chickens and fat andaluzas shouting in the street. That's the real Spain!


I get that too - well not the Andaluzas - but Valencians 


& 55% of my town are non-Spanish nationals... & we're on the coast too


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Turtles said:


> Pot Kettle Black!
> We're the real deal here. We get kept awake all night by dogs, chickens and fat andaluzas shouting in the street. That's the real Spain!


I know. Our neighbour Juan has chickens and an annoying loud rooster, everyone has a dog or two or three and although it doesn't happen that often, people do have loud conversations in the street at all hours, usually around 8 a.m.
Maybe we should move to Little Britain?

Isn't it odd though that some Brits just love their quaint little 'real' Spanish pueblos, nary a Brit in sight...yet deplore people in the UK who are unsettled when their small town or village even suddenly receives a huge number of Eastern Europeans?
Pot, kettle, black, as you say..


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

soulboy said:


> Mary girl,it depends what your definition of Little Britain is.You want to get in your ''Land Rover Discovery'' LOL and have a nice run inland.Come and have a look around Mesquitilla,El Saucejo,Martin De La Jara,Almargen,Casariche etc.etc.etc.Yes you will find English dotted in these villages and towns but you won't find English bars,restaurants,supermarkets.Not like your beloved Estepona.The port is full of English bars.Carrefour in Estepona full of English products.


I never visit Estepona Port. There are bars frequented by the English who live there but I don't know of a single 'English bar' or restaurant. But then as I said I don't go there.
Carrefour is not full of English products...it has one very short aisle with stuff like Branston pickle. It also has German and Russian products but all of this takes up one-hundredth of the space, probably less.

I don't go into Estepona in my LandRover Disco by the way. I go by bus, only one euro forty-four and no parking worries. That's when I don't take the Rolls, of course. 

So Brits are OK but not their nasty bars or supermarkets??? There are many Brits living in villages who stick together and are much less involved in their local communities than those in larger towns and cities. There is no special merit in being a Brit in the boonies...


----------



## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> I never visit Estepona Port. There are bars frequented by the English who live there but I don't know of a single 'English bar' or restaurant. But then as I said I don't go there.
> Carrefour is not full of English products...it has one very short aisle with stuff like Branston pickle. It also has German and Russian products but all of this takes up one-hundredth of the space, probably less.
> 
> I don't go into Estepona in my LandRover Disco by the way. I go by bus, only one euro forty-four and no parking worries. That's when I don't take the Rolls, of course.
> ...


The nice thing about being a bit Brit in the Boonies is I don't have self opinionated people like you around me.You have lived here 5years and you are gods gift to Spain.Oh we have got a Rolls now.What a load of tosh.I'll say one thing in your favour Mary,you are good for a laugh if nothing else.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

soulboy said:


> The nice thing about being a bit Brit in the Boonies is I don't have self opinionated people like you around me.You have lived here 5years and you are gods gift to Spain.Oh we have got a Rolls now.What a load of tosh.I'll say one thing in your favour Mary,you are good for a laugh if nothing else.


Two Rolls, a Ferrari and a Maserati. And a LearJet for the longer trips. The servants are currently sweating in the sun, polishing them.

Yes, my opinions are my own. Yes, I've lived here five years. Please tell me when I'm entitled to voice an opinion. You have opinions too, you know and you voice them. Some I agree with, some I don't.

I'll say this: I lived in a rural community in the UK for very many decades. I have no wish to immerse myself in the same kind of life in Spain as I did in the UK.
Another point: there is no big deal about where anyone chooses to live in Spain. People who live in larger cities often are more involved with the everyday life of the community than those who live in small rural communities. 
There is often an implied sense of cultural superiority about living in 'non- Brit' areas. 
People are entitled to live where and how they want when they come here be it Benidorm, Estepona, Alicante, Madrid or Malaga without being told they are not in the 'real Spain'.
What bollocks.
To the OP: Malaga is a big city and like all big cities is nice in some parts, horrible in others.
As you would expect, the suburbs are a bit grim.
The centre seems really lovely, though, but I don't really know it, mainly from photos.


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Isn't it odd though that some Brits just love their quaint little 'real' Spanish pueblos, nary a Brit in sight...yet deplore people in the UK who are unsettled when their small town or village even suddenly receives a huge number of Eastern Europeans?
> Pot, kettle, black, as you say..


I don't know of anyone who wouldn't be sympathetic to that. But don't these East European hordes usually head to the cities? I doubt they could afford to live in villages, even most English people can't!


----------



## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

I used to live in Estepona port. It is not 'full of' English bars at all - at the last count there were two (out of a hundred or so businesses) - one of which is open about three mornings a week. soulboy must be thinking of somewhere else. 

And of course there are places inland which aren't 'little England'. Mary's point was that there are some which are, and she's right.


----------



## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> Two Rolls, a Ferrari and a Maserati. And a LearJet for the longer trips. The servants are currently sweating in the sun, polishing them.
> 
> Yes, my opinions are my own. Yes, I've lived here five years. Please tell me when I'm entitled to voice an opinion. You have opinions too, you know and you voice them. Some I agree with, some I don't.
> 
> ...


Hey Mary girl,you have forgotten your sons Jaguar.Big deal.So you lived in a rural community in the UK.Big deal.so you lived in Prague.Big deal.Real Spain,I haven't told anybody that they are not in the real Spain.There is no real Spain anymore.Even when me and the other half came nearly 20years ago things were changing drastically then but like I said you are good for a laugh Mary as we don't know what crap you are going to come up with next.Enjoyed the video someone has put on youtube about you.Don't know where they got the photo's from.Whoever made it certainly had a sense of humour.Don't think you will find it amusing though.LOL.


----------



## tarot650 (Sep 30, 2007)

jimenato said:


> I used to live in Estepona port. It is not 'full of' English bars at all - at the last count there were two (out of a hundred or so businesses) - one of which is open about three mornings a week. soulboy must be thinking of somewhere else.
> 
> And of course there are places inland which aren't 'little England'. Mary's point was that there are some which are, and she's right.


Don't know when you were last in Estepona port but there are more than two I can assure you.Was down there just over a week ago delivering a rig which I had built for somebody and the person in question asked us to meet him on the port so we could then follow him to his home and it's what's peoples definition is of Little England is .Yes there are towns inland with English bars and supermarkets but there are a damned site more without but at the end of the day horses for courses.


----------



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Back on topic: San Pedro might be a good place for the OP. It's what I call a 'working Spanish town', very quiet, neighbourly, cheaper to rent there than in Marbella and great choice of properties, on the coast but thirty minutes from the Serrania de Ronda.

soulboy...my son does have a Jaguar and a Aston Martin although it's not a new one.
My old LR is dented and scratched but as it's like the one the Queen drives I'm happy.

I can only repeat that I don't go to Estepona Port but I don't believe it's full of English bars and if it were, so what? As you said, horses for courses....


----------



## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> I don't know of anyone who wouldn't be sympathetic to that. But don't these East European hordes usually head to the cities? I doubt they could afford to live in villages, even most English people can't!


 Certainly up here in Scotland, small towns and villages are chock full of East Europeans. They are everywhere where there is manual work - a factory or farm work. It's a shame because these small communities obviously don't have many properties for rent but they are now in such demand that rents are sky high, in line with city prices. Small schools, etc can hardly cope. Students can't return to their small towns, live at home and get a job for a few months in the local factory during Uni holidays and weekends - those jobs are already taken. Instead students have to rent year round and stay in the city to have any chance of work- and, of course, it's barely worth their while because their pay is spent on rent instead of free digs at home.


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

brocher said:


> Certainly up here in Scotland, small towns and villages are chock full of East Europeans. They are everywhere where there is manual work - a factory or farm work. It's a shame because these small communities obviously don't have many properties for rent but they are now in such demand that rents are sky high, in line with city prices. Small schools, etc can hardly cope. Students can't return to their small towns, live at home and get a job for a few months in the local factory during Uni holidays and weekends - those jobs are already taken. Instead students have to rent year round and stay in the city to have any chance of work- and, of course, it's barely worth their while because their pay is spent on rent instead of free digs at home.


Thanks for that information, I had no idea.


----------



## Claire la richarde (Jul 6, 2009)

brocher said:


> Certainly up here in Scotland, small towns and villages are chock full of East Europeans. They are everywhere where there is manual work - a factory or farm work. It's a shame because these small communities obviously don't have many properties for rent but they are now in such demand that rents are sky high, in line with city prices. Small schools, etc can hardly cope. Students can't return to their small towns, live at home and get a job for a few months in the local factory during Uni holidays and weekends - those jobs are already taken. Instead students have to rent year round and stay in the city to have any chance of work- and, of course, it's barely worth their while because their pay is spent on rent instead of free digs at home.


The same is true in some areas of rural Wales.


----------

