# Help needed! Where to live in Costa Blanca South



## Simmi2

Hi we are looking to retire in Spain on the Costa Blanca South. We were thinking of Villamartin, Terreviaja or Campasol, anyone got any advice or recommendations? We are social animals so want to meet and mix with other people but would prefer a semi or detached property. Any help would be appreciated. X


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## stevesainty

Both villamartin and Campasol are purpose built holiday home areas. The former is in Orihuela Costa and is administered by Orihuela City. It has lost of amenities including shops, bars, restaurants and supermarkets. There are lots of people of all nationalities live there although mainly during the summer. There are some nice beaches and coves nearby but you will need a car or taxi as the public transport is virtually non existant.

Campasol is a huge development divided into separate sections. The whole urbanization is very much self contained with all the amenities including doctors and pharmacies. It is a mix of all nationalities although very little Spanish. You could easily get by on Campasol without speaking a word of Spanish. There is a huge community spirit there with endless clubs and societies and self help groups especially for the more elderly or thos that have had a period in hospital. There is an excellent liaison with the emergency services as the urb. is very sprawling and getting the correct address may be essential. It is a bit far from most places with no public transport and so a car would be essential. There are lots of good trails for walking and cycling. You also get a lot of property for your money and there is a lot of property to choose from to rent or buy.

Torrevieja may not be everybody´s cup of tea, indeed there are some regular members on this forum that do not like the place based on a few visits. I however am very biased because it is the town where we have settled. It is a large mainly Spanish town with a wonderful beach front and has 7 blue flag beaches. The total residency is 55% Spanish who mainly live in apartments in the town itself and 45% other nationalities being English, Scandinavian, Moroccan, Dutch, German, French and Russian in that sort of order. These other nationalities, apart from the Moroccans, live mainly on urbanisations on the outskirts of the town. Two streets away from the beachfront you would need to speak some Spanish and certainly with most of the officials of the town hall. The Utility companies do have some English speakers though. It is quite a cultural town with several theatres, an auditorium and a few museums. It has its own philharmonic orchestra and several choirs. One of the biggest draws for us was it is very flat and makes for easy walking especially when we get old and doddery. It also has a brilliant local bus service, totally free for residents, with buses every 40 minutes year round on weekdays and every hour on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. There is no rail or tram link but there are good coach links to Alicante airport and railway station as well as cities further afield. The council really looks after its residents with regular street cleaning including removing poop and chewing gum and modernisation projects. The housing stock has something to suit every pocket whether to rent or buy. We love the place.


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## jeff4051

Have been holidaying there for last 20 years, moving out next year, Playa Flamenca, La Florida, a lovely mix of Brits Irish Spanish Norwegians, Torrevieja not for me .


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## Dreamwork

Hi Jeff, please can you explain why Torrevieja is not for you? We are hoping to come to Spain to rent/buy but first looking into and holidaying in different areas.


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## lebesset

Dreamwork said:


> Hi Jeff, please can you explain why Torrevieja is not for you? We are hoping to come to Spain to rent/buy but first looking into and holidaying in different areas.


I can understand why anyone wouldn't like torreveija , it's hardly the most beautiful town in spain but talk about convenient ! if I wanted to retire in the area I would live in one of the housing estates[ urbanisations ] just inland , free buses as stated , best shopping on the coast , nice new hospitals [ private or public as you require ] , bus to the airport ; thing s that are important to people in their 70's like us !

may I make a suggestion ? about 5Km inland for torre [ as it is known ]is an urbanisation called san luis which is in 2 halves divided by the main road inland ; the northern half contains the bowls club / local footaball club supporters club , bars etc and house property from a terrace bungalow at £50k to a nice villa with a pool and a ferrari outside ; go to the bar with the bowls club and someone will know where there is something to rent while you explore a 100Km radius 

you pays your money and.......

ps ...last year I met a lady in a charity shop who lived on camposol told me she had been trying to sell for 3 years but no one will buy there , many problems including subsidence apparently


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## stevesainty

lebesset said:


> I can understand why anyone wouldn't like torreveija , it's hardly the most beautiful town in spain but talk about convenient ! if I wanted to retire in the area I would live in one of the housing estates[ urbanisations ] just inland , free buses as stated , best shopping on the coast , nice new hospitals [ private or public as you require ] , bus to the airport ; thing s that are important to people in their 70's like us !
> 
> may I make a suggestion ? about 5Km inland for torre [ as it is known ]is an urbanisation called san luis which is in 2 halves divided by the main road inland ; the northern half contains the bowls club / local footaball club supporters club , bars etc and house property from a terrace bungalow at £50k to a nice villa with a pool and a ferrari outside ; go to the bar with the bowls club and someone will know where there is something to rent while you explore a 100Km radius
> 
> you pays your money and.......


How did you know we live in San Luis?  Brilliant, just brilliant.


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## stevesainty

lebesset said:


> ps ...last year I met a lady in a charity shop who lived on camposol told me she had been trying to sell for 3 years but no one will buy there , many problems including subsidence apparently


That is only true of some parts of Section D and E. Section A & B the oldest sections have their own commercial centres and are lovely. Campasol has had a lot of bad press in recent years and most of it unfounded. Most permanent residents, I believe, are very happy to be there. The nearby Puerto Mazarron is stunning.


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## lebesset

stevesainty said:


> That is only true of some parts of Section D and E. Section A & B the oldest sections have their own commercial centres and are lovely. Campasol has had a lot of bad press in recent years and most of it unfounded. Most permanent residents, I believe, are very happy to be there. The nearby Puerto Mazarron is stunning.


well , whatever the reason camposol has turned into a nightmare for most residents that I have talked to 

a couple of years ago I had a chat to the british estate agent next to the charity shop in puerto , he told me that things were bad because the business from camposol had dried up ; last time I was there a year ago he had shut down , and so had the german agency 

anyway , too far from casa ventura !


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## jeff4051

The urbanization outside Torrevieja is lovely, but the town itself is mainly apartments, I could be wrong but I would say mainly Spanish. Out side as I said a good mix of many nationalities. Take a holiday or rent have a good look around. Dont forget have a look in winter as well, some areas tend to be very quiet mostly used in summer months.


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## Pam2017

Simmi2 said:


> Hi we are looking to retire in Spain on the Costa Blanca South. We were thinking of Villamartin, Terreviaja or Campasol, anyone got any advice or recommendations? We are social animals so want to meet and mix with other people but would prefer a semi or detached property. Any help would be appreciated. X


My husband and I are doing the same. But, we also want to look around Cadiz and the CdS. I feel like I may be leaving out other good coastal areas, but it's hard to know from what I read online. We are planning a trip there in November. But, I'm having a tough time figuring out where to go.

If you don't mind my asking, what made you decide on Costa Blanca vs. other coastal areas, Simmi2?

Pam


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## lebesset

Pam2017 said:


> My husband and I are doing the same. But, we also want to look around Cadiz and the CdS. I feel like I may be leaving out other good coastal areas, but it's hard to know from what I read online. We are planning a trip there in November. But, I'm having a tough time figuring out where to go.
> 
> If you don't mind my asking, what made you decide on Costa Blanca vs. other coastal areas, Simmi2?
> 
> Pam


see you are in portugal ...why do you want to move ?


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## Simmi2

Mainly you seem to get more for your money, but as the saying goes you get what you pay for. We really wanted a semi or detached than an apartment for when we have family to stay.


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## Pam2017

lebesset said:


> see you are in portugal ...why do you want to move ?


Lebesset, we are not in Portugal. We are in the US. We had initially considered Portugal but really started to think about whether or not Portuguese would be the best language for us. We have many ties to Spanish speaking relatives (Mexican) and our oldest granddaughter is Guatemalan. Plus, I've spent many years studying Spanish (though I'm barely even conversational) and I believe I could improve rather quickly. 

Funny thing was when I started trying to learn Portuguese, I was translating from Portuguese to Spanish to Engligh. Talk about the long way around to fluency!  

Also, we were concerned that there would be nothing, like volunteer work, to do there. Seems that Spain has more visible volunteer opportunities. I could be wrong... 

Lastly, if Spain doesn't work out, our second choice would likely be Mexico or Guatemala...so all my hard work in Spanish would still be useful!


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## Jesnat

Have you considered the Mar Menor/Costa Calida area – it’s just a little south of TorreV. We recently moved to Los Alcazares which is quite lively but still very local outside of the main drag. There are some really pretty towns along the Mar Menor e.g. Santiago de la Ribera. It's also really well connected to Murcia city and Cartagena. We are renting for a year before making any long term decisions which gives us plenty of time to get to know the area.


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## Evelyndo

stevesainty said:


> Both villamartin and Campasol are purpose built holiday home areas. The former is in Orihuela Costa and is administered by Orihuela City. It has lost of amenities including shops, bars, restaurants and supermarkets. There are lots of people of all nationalities live there although mainly during the summer. There are some nice beaches and coves nearby but you will need a car or taxi as the public transport is virtually non existant.
> 
> Campasol is a huge development divided into separate sections. The whole urbanization is very much self contained with all the amenities including doctors and pharmacies. It is a mix of all nationalities although very little Spanish. You could easily get by on Campasol without speaking a word of Spanish. There is a huge community spirit there with endless clubs and societies and self help groups especially for the more elderly or thos that have had a period in hospital. There is an excellent liaison with the emergency services as the urb. is very sprawling and getting the correct address may be essential. It is a bit far from most places with no public transport and so a car would be essential. There are lots of good trails for walking and cycling. You also get a lot of property for your money and there is a lot of property to choose from to rent or buy.
> 
> Torrevieja may not be everybody´s cup of tea, indeed there are some regular members on this forum that do not like the place based on a few visits. I however am very biased because it is the town where we have settled. It is a large mainly Spanish town with a wonderful beach front and has 7 blue flag beaches. The total residency is 55% Spanish who mainly live in apartments in the town itself and 45% other nationalities being English, Scandinavian, Moroccan, Dutch, German, French and Russian in that sort of order. These other nationalities, apart from the Moroccans, live mainly on urbanisations on the outskirts of the town. Two streets away from the beachfront you would need to speak some Spanish and certainly with most of the officials of the town hall. The Utility companies do have some English speakers though. It is quite a cultural town with several theatres, an auditorium and a few museums. It has its own philharmonic orchestra and several choirs. One of the biggest draws for us was it is very flat and makes for easy walking especially when we get old and doddery. It also has a brilliant local bus service, totally free for residents, with buses every 40 minutes year round on weekdays and every hour on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. There is no rail or tram link but there are good coach links to Alicante airport and railway station as well as cities further afield. The council really looks after its residents with regular street cleaning including removing poop and chewing gum and modernisation projects. The housing stock has something to suit every pocket whether to rent or buy. We love the place.


We love Torrevieja too, totally argeed with you Steve.


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## Simmi2

*Info on areas*

Hi 
We have set up some viewings for various places in a couple of weeks. We are hiring a car and organising viewings with the agents. We are staying in an apartment in Cabo Riog, we wanted to organise things independently so as to not feel obligated to any agency.
Any info that anyone can provide would be most appreciated.
We have viewings in Hacienda del Alamo, Villamartin, Sucina, Los Alcazares and Balsicas.
I know this is a bit of a mixed bunch! 
A big thank you for the responses you have made so far.


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## Pesky Wesky

You might like to read this recent thread about Torrevieja
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...s-living-spain/1065634-torrevieja-so-bad.html
And this has some interesting comments too
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/la-tasca/884170-places-you-would-not-live-3.html


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## Simon22

My advice is look and see, we were advised how lovely Villamartin was but I hated it, each to their own!


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## Simmi2

*Thanks*

Thank you Simon22, that is good advise. I liked the house we viewed online at Hacienda del Alamo but not sure because it is on a golf course. We liked one online that is in Sucina but wonder how quiet it is. But it is like you said, we will have to go and see.


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## Simon22

Simmi2 said:


> Thank you Simon22, that is good advise. I liked the house we viewed online at Hacienda del Alamo but not sure because it is on a golf course. We liked one online that is in Sucina but wonder how quiet it is. But it is like you said, we will have to go and see.


We looked at some golf places and some were really nice and some seemed to think their fairway was in our garden. haha. 

Good luck with your search!


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## Simmi2

*Thank you*

Thanks for that, I can imagine some golfers would act like that! ha ha


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## welshduo

Have you had a look at Pinar de Campoverde?


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## Simmi2

No, I will look into it. Thank you.


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## Chrisl1

hi

can i ask how you got on? we have been twice now looking in that area we were advised that hacienda del alamo is a bit of a ghost town though?


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