# Our wish list - can you advise?



## Guest (Mar 5, 2012)

Myself and the soon-to-be Mr Meetloaf will be arriving in Spain early July for an extended tour in a motorhome to find the right place in which to settle. We have a wish list for that venue, although of course we're realistic enough to know that we won't find everything in one place. Our wish list would be as follows:

In sight of or in mountains
Near or within easy reach of the sea
Near a river
Plenty of cultural activity, art classes, groups, things to do.
Local Spanish community willing to mix with ex-pat Brits
Within reasonable reach of an airport
Winters that aren't too cold 
Good local shops and, e.g., a market (ie, not wholly reliant on a supermarket for expats in a complex)
Reasonably competent regional authority
Good restaurants, possibly a "foodie" culture

Schools are irrelevant and we are learning Spanish. Our leaning was towards somewhere around Barcelona but Mr Meetloaf has since discovered how low the temps can drop in winter in that area. I'm not so convinced that being by the sea is a necessity, so as I say - the end result will be down to prioritising.

What I'm asking is whether anyone recognises elements of that list in the place where they are (happily) settled. It might only be one element, e.g., in the mountains. However, this would be very helpful as we plan our route. Any help appreciated.


----------



## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

In a word Nerja


----------



## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

My house ... well, the area around it anyway


----------



## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

Apart from the colder winters (about 3 months out of 12, but this year a few weeks at most), *Granada province* is definitely worth a look.

*In sight of or in mountains* - Granada has the highest mountain range in Spain (but see my remark below...).

*Near or within easy reach of the sea* - Granada Costa is within very easy reach, but further inland, it would take about an hour or more to reach the sea.

*Near a river* - most here are dried up, but there are plenty of lakes. 

*Plenty of cultural activity, art classes, groups, things to do*. - the larger towns and the city of Granada itself have these.

*Local Spanish community willing to mix with ex-pat Brits* - shouldn't be a problem. 

*Within reasonable reach of an airport *- Granada airport at the moment has flights mainly to other parts of Spain since Ryan Air pulled out, but Malaga airport is about an hour's drive away.

*Winters that aren't too cold* - there you've got me  - the winters can get pretty cold at night, but the days can still be very sunny.

*Good local shops and, e.g., a market (ie, not wholly reliant on a supermarket for expats in a complex)* - Many towns and villages have markets (even our small village has a market once a week). And there are plenty of supermarkets, large and small. As in many Spanish towns, you may not find a local main street - shops tend to be scattered about all over the place. but you get used to that. 

*Reasonably competent regional authority* - They seem to be ok....

*Good restaurants, possibly a "foodie" culture* - depends what you are looking for. Most towns and many villages have restaurants and many _we_ think are good.


About those mountains....
Travelling around Granada Province (and many other mountainous regions in Spain) in a motor home will depend very much on the size of the vehicle.

When we travelled around Spain in our old Winnebago, we found some mountain roads difficult, if not impossible to navigate (in the end, we stuck to mountain routes where we knew the buses went, or hired a car if we wanted to look at somewhere more off the beaten track), but this wouldn't be a problem for a more compact RV.

There are several campsites in Granada - at least one in the city itself, another about two miles out of the city, another in the Sierra Nevada mountain range itself, and a few more further out. I can't remember exactly where off hand, but a good campsite directory (and browsing the internet) would help you there.

It's certainly worth paying a visit here, wherever you eventually decide to live.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Jávea


----------



## jules 123 (Apr 26, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> Jávea


Reasonably competent regional authority?


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jules 123 said:


> Reasonably competent regional authority?


OK - so I guess that cuts out all of the Valencia region..................

I reckon it will gradually come to light that it cuts out pretty much all of Spain though 

Jávea itself isn't too bad in the scheme of things


----------



## jules 123 (Apr 26, 2011)

xabiachica said:


> OK - so I guess that cuts out all of the Valencia region..................
> 
> I reckon it will gradually come to light that it cuts out pretty much all of Spain though
> 
> Jávea itself isn't too bad in the scheme of things


Yes, I would have included Strav's post but don't know how to multi-quote.


----------



## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Certainly not the Canary Islands, ours is an ocean


----------



## xgarb (May 6, 2011)

Nerja and further east is worth exploring.


----------



## Guest (Mar 6, 2012)

Thanks, everyone. I have my map out and am sticking little pins in it. Googling your recommendations has been exciting - I might actually be living in one of those places soon!!

Sol, you do a good selling job on Granada! That's a very good point you made about the motorhome and we need to bear it in mind when planning our route - if a bus can go there, we should be able to. Otherwise, beware. We are now members of every camping and vanning organisation known to man. We will be visiting Granada.

We'd already picked up on comments about the Valencia regional govt which initially was a big no, but on the other hand there are some really nice places in Valencia and as you comment, xab, in the current circumstances all kinds of inefficiencies may emerge from other regions. The Lonely Planet guide (our new bible) rates Javea highly as indeed it does the other suggestions. Thanks to your help our trip is starting to take shape. This is fun!


----------



## jules 123 (Apr 26, 2011)

meetloaf said:


> Thanks, everyone. I have my map out and am sticking little pins in it. Googling your recommendations has been exciting - I might actually be living in one of those places soon!!
> 
> Sol, you do a good selling job on Granada! That's a very good point you made about the motorhome and we need to bear it in mind when planning our route - if a bus can go there, we should be able to. Otherwise, beware. We are now members of every camping and vanning organisation known to man. We will be visiting Granada.
> 
> We'd already picked up on comments about the Valencia regional govt which initially was a big no, but on the other hand there are some really nice places in Valencia and as you comment, xab, in the current circumstances all kinds of inefficiencies may emerge from other regions. The Lonely Planet guide (our new bible) rates Javea highly as indeed it does the other suggestions. Thanks to your help our trip is starting to take shape. This is fun!


In that case, take a look at Denia just the other side of the mountain from Javea.


----------



## Dowror (Feb 2, 2012)

meetloaf said:


> Myself and the soon-to-be Mr Meetloaf will be arriving in Spain early July for an extended tour in a motorhome to find the right place in which to settle. We have a wish list for that venue, although of course we're realistic enough to know that we won't find everything in one place. Our wish list would be as follows:
> 
> In sight of or in mountains
> Near or within easy reach of the sea
> ...


We too spent some time touring from Denia to Marbella after being advised that winter weather is warmest in that area of Spain. My advice is to experience a winter here before making any decision on location.

I can recommend camping El Quinto in Mojacar, Almeria as a stopover on your tour. You will also find many of the elements on your wish list in this area.

Good Luck


----------



## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

meetloaf said:


> Myself and the soon-to-be Mr Meetloaf will be arriving in Spain early July for an extended tour in a motorhome to find the right place in which to settle. We have a wish list for that venue, although of course we're realistic enough to know that we won't find everything in one place. Our wish list would be as follows:
> 
> Our village is great. t is quite small near to Ecija which used to be the capital of Andalucia
> 
> ...


If you need to work it can be very hard to manage Inland as most of the work is on the coast, saying that we work more hours here than we did in the UK!!


----------



## jennifercase (Dec 3, 2010)

Hi

We live near L'Ametlla de Mar, Catalunya which is about 50 km south of Tarragona.

Certainly, the winters here are colder than we expected. The wind seems to make it feel colder than the UK. You certainly need central heating for at least a couple of months. 

The area where we live is known as being windy - OK so the wind turbines nearby should have given us a clue.

As the locals prefer to speak Catalan, being able to speak Spanish is not such an asset - although better than nothing.

Best of luck
Jennifer


----------



## mwells (Jan 6, 2011)

*Wish list*

Hi,

Where I live you could tick all on your wish list, well almost, unlikely as the media and popular belief would have it, I live inland a tad from the Costa del sol. We bought our house 8 years ago this month in readiness for our retirement, my husband retired in July last year and we moved here full time on 28th October last year. We have had 4 wet day since then and enjoyed our first bar b q of this year on Monday though we could have had loads as the weather has been absolutely fab.

I look out of our window and see the Sierra Mijas mountains, they change every minute and we never tire of watching that. We are 30 minutes, (ten as the crow flies) from the coast so in the event we ever feel homesick or missing a full English, we get in the car and go down there. It has to be said we have not suffered those feelings much as yet however quite often on a Sunday we take ourselves down to the coast, there are some fab eateries, (Spanish not English, we very very seldomly do English though the odd bacon butty goes down well now and again).

Our town, Alhaurin el grande, is very Spanish, that's not to say it is to the exclusion of any Brits however you will need to speak Spanish, or make an attempt to, the old town is lovely and Juan Sanchez's bar serves the best tapas in the world as far as I am concerned. There are a conglomerate of shops including a couple of supermarkets, all Spanish.

We do have several rivers here about however not much water in them I'm afraid.

Malaga airport is an easy 30 minutes away. Fab road into Ojen, Marbella and Malaga.

Were we live there are a large English population it has to be said but also there are Spanish, Swiss, Portugese, Dutch and my neighbours are from Norway.

As there is a large xpat population on and around the coast, (because this area has everything), there are clubs and associations for everything and everybody.

I must add here that we had never been to Spain for our holidays so it is not that we had a wish to come here because we were familiar with it, in actual fact, our love affair of this place only started when we used our home for holidays prior to retiring, it has grown and is still growing since then. When we go into town now we always see someone we know which in very comforting when away from family and old, long term friends, we count how many Spanish and how many English whom we know, on Monday when we were in town we met 3 Spanish and 2 English, I liked that, we felt right at home when one Spanish friend drove past and called out our names.

Good luck but don't forget to do plenty of research before commiting, to anywhere. Our story thus far and it is relatively early days, has been extremely successful however I have heard stories to the contrary.

Margaret



meetloaf said:


> Myself and the soon-to-be Mr Meetloaf will be arriving in Spain early July for an extended tour in a motorhome to find the right place in which to settle. We have a wish list for that venue, although of course we're realistic enough to know that we won't find everything in one place. Our wish list would be as follows:
> 
> In sight of or in mountains
> Near or within easy reach of the sea
> ...


----------



## jamescat (Sep 21, 2010)

meetloaf said:


> Myself and the soon-to-be Mr Meetloaf will be arriving in Spain early July for an extended tour in a motorhome to find the right place in which to settle. We have a wish list for that venue, although of course we're realistic enough to know that we won't find everything in one place. Our wish list would be as follows:
> 
> In sight of or in mountains
> Near or within easy reach of the sea
> ...


Hi, Myself, wife and 8 yr old have lived in Granada district for the past three years, 25 minutes from the coast in the mountains inland from Salobrena, a village called Guajar Alto, quiet but beautiful, search Google.
30 mins to Motril, 40 Mins Granada city, 90 mins Malaga. I would recommend a visit. Best of luck in your travels.


----------



## steveinspain (Aug 20, 2011)

*stevinspain*



meetloaf said:


> Myself and the soon-to-be Mr Meetloaf will be arriving in Spain early July for an extended tour in a motorhome to find the right place in which to settle. We have a wish list for that venue, although of course we're realistic enough to know that we won't find everything in one place. Our wish list would be as follows:
> 
> In sight of or in mountains
> Near or within easy reach of the sea
> ...


Hi there. We have lived in Denia on the Costa Blanca for 9 years. It is a 95% Spanish town with some other nationalities including UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium etc. But not so many. We have almost all of the requirements you list. There are mountains behind us, and the sea and beach in front. We are NOT a tourist destination apart from mostly spanish visitors from Madrid/Barcelona etc. in the summer. Culture is high on our list with all sorts of classes available. Our local spanish people are a delight, and both Alicante and Valencia airports are each 1 hour away. Winters are fairly mild and most acceptable. Shops and markets are plentiful and diverse. Local government is excellent so the town is clean and bright all year round. Restaurants are varied and represent all cultures from Japanese to Yugoslavian and everything in-between. Our missing item is the river, but there are a number within a 20 minute drive.


----------



## Pablo de Ronda (Dec 19, 2011)

I'm astonished that no-one has mentioned the Serranía de Ronda, the mountainous area around Ronda in Málaga province.

I would say it meets all of your criteria.

I've been coming to the area for a dozen years and finally settled here just over three years ago.

Definitely worth a visit, as is neighbouring Cádiz province (to the west).

Good luck!


----------



## Lunar-Tech (Nov 21, 2011)

Dowror said:


> We too spent some time touring from Denia to Marbella after being advised that winter weather is warmest in that area of Spain. My advice is to experience a winter here before making any decision on location.
> 
> I can recommend camping El Quinto in Mojacar, Almeria as a stopover on your tour. You will also find many of the elements on your wish list in this area.
> 
> Good Luck


I really do agree! everything on the list sees to be in that area. In fact I'm moving down there myself.

Downside is over an hour to the airports.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jules 123 said:


> In that case, take a look at Denia just the other side of the mountain from Javea.


yes, do - considering that they are so close together they are _very _different!


----------



## SueBrown (Dec 9, 2009)

*Wish list*

You are looking in the wrong place, try the Canary islands instead! On Fuerteventura you are always in the mountains, near the sea and the airport as its only 100 miles long! The only thing we haven't got is a river! 

The winters are mild, it doesn't really go below 16 degrees and the summers are pleasant as there is nearly always a breeze to cool you down. There are loads of water sports to try and spectacular competitions to watch or take part in. As an artist myself I take part in several markets selling only hand made goods and paintings and am one of teachers giving art classes to adults. 

We now have excellent supermarkets, including Lidl and Mercadona yet it is still possible to buy local produce from local shops. The expat community is scatterd amongst the numerous villages and it is a great advantage to speak Spanish here, as the locals love you to try, and will willingly sit and chat to you whilst you practise.

In many ways Fuerteventura is the least developed of all the Canary islands and that has its own charm. As long as you avoid property in Caleta de Fuste, El Castillo or Nuevo Horizante which is a man made resort mostly frequented by Brits, you should find exactly what you want here and at a bargain price as property prices have dropped substantially over the last 5 years.

The ajuntamientos (local councils) are forward looking and always looking at ways to improve the island's facilities whilst maintaining its rural nature.

In Corralejo, our nearest town, there are many many good restaurants to try and even in our village (Villaverde) there are two prize winning ones, El Horno and Casa Marcos, so we are spoiled for choice. Food is definitely an important part of the culture here and eating out on a sunday is a local tradition. 

There are still many traditional fiestas and carnivals each year, each village will have its own fiesta, which involves music, dancing,drinking, eating and dressing up, so if you haven't considered moving here. give it some though because we love it!
Sue







meetloaf said:


> Myself and the soon-to-be Mr Meetloaf will be arriving in Spain early July for an extended tour in a motorhome to find the right place in which to settle. We have a wish list for that venue, although of course we're realistic enough to know that we won't find everything in one place. Our wish list would be as follows:
> 
> In sight of or in mountains
> Near or within easy reach of the sea
> ...


----------



## Beachbumbler (Nov 6, 2011)

*Try Sagunto*

Xabiachica said "not the Valencia region, but we live in Sagunto and they're not too bad here.

We have the mildest winters on the mainland (this year only 2 nights down to zero).

Only 35kms from the airport at Valencia via the A7 motorway

On the beach but within site and easy reach of both the Sierra Calderon and the Sierra Espadà

Valencia City has all the culture, museums, concert halls,and good restaurants that you could wish.

The people here are wonderful, and there's NO ex-pat community! 

Market days in Sagunto - Wed, El Puerto de Sagunto - Thurs & Sats. 

The only thing we haven't got is a river. Well, we have a river (Rio Palancia, but the last time there was any real water in it was about 1953. But there aren't many rivers that reach the coast with water in them, as they're 'harvested' before they reach the sea.

AND we have our own Fallas, like Valencia city.

I live and work on a campsite, right on the beach. You can always PM me if you want to know more.


----------



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Beachbumbler said:


> Xabiachica said "not the Valencia region, but we live in Sagunto and they're not too bad here.
> 
> We have the mildest winters on the mainland (this year only 2 nights down to zero).
> 
> ...


I didn't say _not the Valencia region_ !!! - I specifically said Jávea seems to tick all the boxes & we're in the Valencia region - & we love it here 

yes there are some finacial problems - but as I said, individual ayuntamientos might well be OK - & it's really a Spain-wide problem - it's just that our region has had a lot of adverse publicity - I'm willing to bet that there will be similar problems just about everywhere

to the OP - if you want to know more about any area - keep posting & we'll all keep replying - no need to PM anyone - that way we all & future posters can access all the info at a future date


----------



## Beachbumbler (Nov 6, 2011)

I just didn't want anyone to think I was advertising the place I work, that's all. 

Sorry if I offended anyone :-((


----------



## gomezreger (Oct 25, 2011)

Like most say, Granada costa, west toward Nerja and down toward Gibraltar would fit your wish list. As for "Reasonably competent regional authority", come on, Meetloaf, this is Spain!!! Good luck with that!


----------

