# Moving to Southern Spain- Village/Area Recommedations



## kebabby (Nov 20, 2016)

Hello

We are a UK couple moving to Spain later this year for retirement and are both in our mid-forties without children or pets.

We are initially looking for areas inland with good views and walking distance to a traditional Spanish village with basic amenities, bar/cafe/restaurant etc. and 1 hour access to Airports with connections to Manchester and/or Leeds.

Our aim is to eventually buy a country house with large plot of land to tend and grow our own vegetables and small amount of livestock, essentially a self-sufficient lifestyle as much as possible. Our budget is around €300,000

At first we want to spend time renting and assessing various areas, we are in no particular rush to buy and for rental we will consider anything as long as we can rent in or within walking distance of the villages we are considering - so we can use as a base to explore.

We do not speak Spanish but will be crash-coursing it - so somewhere we can be schooled would help also. I have previously lived abroad in a foreign speaking country - so I realise how essential learning the language is.

We would be grateful if anyone has experience and can recommend any beautiful traditional Spanish villages to explore. We realise we are casting our net wide but we have no particular fixed area in mind. We will be living year round - so would prefer the warmest winter climate but we do have options to go back to the UK during summer if it is too hot.

Any help is appreciated, even if it is a "try here" - so we can start researching.

Thanks
John


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## Ifn (Jan 29, 2017)

Although I don't live in Spain, I have traveled through many areas. In the south, some of my favorite places have been Carmona, just north of Sevilla and Ronda, a really beautiful town/city. I've also visited a large town called Guacin, near Ronda. It is one of those lovely white villages and seemed to have a number of expats living there. Good luck!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

kebabby said:


> Hello
> 
> We are a UK couple moving to Spain later this year for retirement and are both in our mid-forties without children or pets.
> 
> ...


Where we live (Ontinyent or Onteniente) may not suit you but there are many nice villages around that would seem to meet your criteria. 

We like this area because it's so much greener than 'way-down-South' and we don't get the hoards of tourists.

Both Valencia airport and Alicante airport are an hour away. The coast at Gandia is just over 30 minutes whilst Javea, Calpe etc are about 1.5 hours away.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Where we live (Ontinyent or Onteniente) may not suit you but there are many nice villages around that would seem to meet your criteria.
> 
> We like this area because it's so much greener than 'way-down-South' and we don't get the hoards of tourists.
> 
> Both Valencia airport and Alicante airport are an hour away. The coast at Gandia is just over 30 minutes whilst Javea, Calpe etc are about 1.5 hours away.


Why does it take you longer to get to Javea than to Alicante


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> Why does it take you longer to get to Javea than to Alicante


Because the A7 is a direct 'motorway' from us to Alicante. To get to Javea, we have first to go to Gandia (30 minutes) and then down the N332.

I suppose we could go to Javea via Alicante but then it would still take 1.5 hours.


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## kebabby (Nov 20, 2016)

Thanks so far, we have added these to the areas to have a look at.

Any more recommendations are most welcome.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

snikpoh said:


> Because the A7 is a direct 'motorway' from us to Alicante. To get to Javea, we have first to go to Gandia (30 minutes) and then down the N332.
> 
> I suppose we could go to Javea via Alicante but then it would still take 1.5 hours.


wow - it takes an hour to get to Alicante from Jávea too (picking up the AP7 in Teulada, 15 mins from Jávea) , & maybe 20 mins longer to Valencia - that's why I was confused


I keep forgetting that Ontinyent is so far inland


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## Kathi (Jan 26, 2017)

*What about Jimena de la Frontera?*


We have a holiday home in Jimena de la Frontera, about 45 mins inland from Gibraltar. It was one of the white hilltop villages along the frontier live during the many wars with a Moorish castle on the top (being restored) but it has grown and grow over the past 20 years or so and now id a large town. This has its advantages for the many services and facilities it offers and it has a very large English expat community many of whom are musical or artistic. There were Music festivals there every year with famous artist playing, but recently it was dropped due to cuts. 
It is in a convenient location and is surrounded by the larges Cork forest in Europe with a river running around the base of the hillside. A train station in the next village takes you to Ronda, etc. 

Worth researching I think!


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