# Relocating to Javea



## Diwy78 (Feb 15, 2016)

Hello,

My husband and I have just come back from a 3 day trip to Javea which we were visiting with the idea of relocating here. My husband had visited 6 years early and spent many recent weeks researching Javea as a place for us and our 2 children to relocate to.

We had a very informative 3 days, met someone lovely people and spent some time looking around villas in Cap Marti, Costa Nova, El Tosalat and Balcon de Mar as well as visiting the Lady Elizabeth School. We really like Javea but I have one burning question which I can't seem to answer. Why is it so quiet??? We realise that it's quieter in winter and very busy in summer but we found there was an almost eerie silence up in the residential areas with most villas being closed up with no sign of life. We had read that were is a population of nearly 30,000 in Javea so where was everyone?? And where were they living?? We found it equally as quiet in the commercial centre and the old town. Even the supermarkets seemed unusually unoccupied.

Were we looking in the wrong areas for villas? Maybe people live in different suburbs to the ones we looked at? We love the idea of relocating here but I really felt it was a bit too quiet unless we were just in the wrong area??? Do other people find their villas are surrounded by unoccupied villas 6 months of the year?


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Diwy78 said:


> Hello,
> 
> My husband and I have just come back from a 3 day trip to Javea which we were visiting with the idea of relocating here. My husband had visited 6 years early and spent many recent weeks researching Javea as a place for us and our 2 children to relocate to.
> 
> ...


We have been on an urbanisation just 3 minutes from the Arenal and, yes, it is very quiet. When looking at property in the area, it has been obvious that most villas are for holiday or owners just coming for a few weeks at a time. It can be very lonely with no neighbours around, even in a reasonably built-up area! We have looked at properties in all the areas you mention. My advice to date - buy somewhere south facing and which gets the sunshine all day if possible, as if you are staying over winter, it can get cold and damp. We are in a villa going up a hill and get lots of glorious sunshine, but it can still be cold. Our friends who live a road away and further down the hill, find their villa a lot colder than ours. If you find somewhere you like, keep going back at different times of the day to get a better feeling of the place.
I think that the restaurants are now getting ready to open again, although there are still lots open.
Probably the port and old town are ot so quiet to live in.
Both myself and the OH find most Spanish towns look as though nothing is going on, but I am sure it does behind closed doors! Maybe we don't go to the right ones!!!
At the end of the day, it all depends upon what you are looking for. We like the Pinosol/Pinomar areas. Parts of Adsubia are nice, but some of the roads are like rabbit warrens and it looks a bit run-down in some parts.
I believe the more Javea gets into the 'season' the more lively you will find it and by all accounts, it might get too noisy and you will be craving some peace and quiet.


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## Diwy78 (Feb 15, 2016)

Thanks very much for this information. It is a bit of a shame that it is so quiet. There would be times when my husband would be working away if we lived there and I think that I would be lonely up on those hills surrounded by empty villas.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Diwy78 said:


> Thanks very much for this information. It is a bit of a shame that it is so quiet. There would be times when my husband would be working away if we lived there and I think that I would be lonely up on those hills surrounded by empty villas.


Spain is a big country, try elsewhere, theres bound to be somewhere that will tick all your boxes.


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## Gazeebo (Jan 23, 2015)

Unfortunately, many urbanisations are the same. Maybe you should look at a town environment or even a city. Urbanisations can be quiet during the winter. However, although you may not have immediate neighbours to communicate with, you can still be involved with the life in Javea.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Diwy78 said:


> Thanks very much for this information. It is a bit of a shame that it is so quiet. There would be times when my husband would be working away if we lived there and I think that I would be lonely up on those hills surrounded by empty villas.


The majority of us live in the port & the town. Yes of course some live in the urbs in the surrounding hills, but the vast majority of those properties are owned by second-homers. 

We chose to live in the port when I was here alone with my young daughters & my husband was working away. Now my girls are grown up (one still living with me, the other moving back in a couple of weeks) & I'm widowed, I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else. 

Yesterday I had lunch in a restaurant in the port & they were waiting for tables. I live right in the port, surrounded by restaurants, & they were all busy yesterday. 

I just left a different one & it was packed. It's Monday evening. 

I don't use the restaurants in the town quite so much (there are so many to choose from in the port), but a few weeks ago I had dinner in the town, & again, that restaurant was packed & turning customers away. 

I pretty much never go to the Arenal. It's too touristy for me, so I couldn't comment on how busy it is this time of year.

Don't forget that the supermarkets are built to cope with what can be triple (or more) the population in the summer - so they will indeed seem to be empty this time of year.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Diwy78 said:


> Hello,
> 
> My husband and I have just come back from a 3 day trip to Javea which we were visiting with the idea of relocating here. My husband had visited 6 years early and spent many recent weeks researching Javea as a place for us and our 2 children to relocate to.
> 
> ...


All of those urbs are almost exclusively holiday homes. Even in summer you hardly see any lights there at night! You're definitely looking in the wrong place if you want neighbours.


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## ExpatWannabee (Jul 6, 2011)

My landlord has an apartment in Denia (about 12 minutes by car from Javea) and says he prefers it there because it's more of a year-round town. I've never been to either place, so can't offer an opinion of my own. But no doubt others can advise you of the pluses and minuses of Javea vs. Denia.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

Diwy78 said:


> Thanks very much for this information. It is a bit of a shame that it is so quiet. There would be times when my husband would be working away if we lived there and I think that I would be lonely up on those hills surrounded by empty villas.


You would be lonely up there!

I strongly recommend that before you buy you observe the difference in temperatures between the various areas. I was showing somebody last week using the wunderground.com site. The Port is often 5 or 6 degrees higher than those hills, especially those where you have a view of the Moraira side of the coast.

South facing over there is an absolute MUST.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

Around here all the urbs are also pretty empty from October to June, and burglars have a field day in these areas, as they know most are empty. I would be terrified living in the middle of nowhere with no lights and no neighbours. If you want neighbours, you'll be looking in the wrong places.


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## Guest (Feb 15, 2016)

ExpatWannabee said:


> My landlord has an apartment in Denia (about 12 minutes by car from Javea) and says he prefers it there because it's more of a year-round town. I've never been to either place, so can't offer an opinion of my own. But no doubt others can advise you of the pluses and minuses of Javea vs. Denia.


Denia is busy throughout the year. Whilst it is a tourist town it is also a town with its own settled population, both local and foreign, and is never quiet. You might also want to consider some of the inland villages such as Jalon, Pego, Orba or Pedreguer, where there are some but fewer holiday villas. Don't get me wrong, I like Javea and enjoy our excursions there but I think the fluctuation in population in Denia is less pronounced seasonally.

However…. lonely? quiet? I wish! There is a huge amount going on out here but you have to tap into the local networks to discover it. Then, you are longing for a couple of hours to yourself.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

meetloaf said:


> Denia is busy throughout the year. Whilst it is a tourist town it is also a town with its own settled population, both local and foreign, and is never quiet. You might also want to consider some of the inland villages such as Jalon, Pego, Orba or Pedreguer, where there are some but fewer holiday villas. Don't get me wrong, I like Javea and enjoy our excursions there but I think the fluctuation in population in Denia is less pronounced seasonally.
> 
> However…. lonely? quiet? I wish! There is a huge amount going on out here but you have to tap into the local networks to discover it. Then, you are longing for a couple of hours to yourself.


Denia has more people living in and around the centre but the outskirts are similar to Javea's outskirts, lots of empty villas and a lot of space between them means you only know your immediate neighbours. The slopes of Montgo on Denia's side feel about as lonely as Balcon, and even colder in the winter.

I think the issue is more about the style of housing that the Op is going for. Villa living can feel isolated in many places around here. I know people who own villas and rent them out all year, and use the money to rent apartments near the shops, sports centre, park, etc. because they found villa living too remote.

Of the other places you listed the only one I know is Jalon. I've been there many times at different times of the day and have found it to be like a ghost town on most occasions.

If you don't mind sharing what your budget is Op, I can suggest the most populated place you'll get a villa for the amount of money you want to spend.


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## Diwy78 (Feb 15, 2016)

Do you think things will have picked up by Easter? We are thinking maybe we should come out for another look, closer to summer. i could handle a couple of months with a quieter town but if it would be more like 6 months without many people around then that would be too much. Looks like we should have looked at the Port area but there was very little available for us to look at when we came over so we just went were the agents took us.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Diwy78 said:


> Do you think things will have picked up by Easter? We are thinking maybe we should come out for another look, closer to summer. i could handle a couple of months with a quieter town but if it would be more like 6 months without many people around then that would be too much. Looks like we should have looked at the Port area but there was very little available for us to look at when we came over so we just went were the agents took us.


It's been quite busy with half term last week, even though the weather wasn't that great. Easter is pretty early this year, at the end of March.

The summer season gives a false impression though. The population multiplies several times, & most of us residents just put up with it - we can't wait to have our town back! We put up with it because we know that we need tourists  Some residents actually leave for the summer.... 

Of course a lot of the restaurants take advantage of the off season to take holidays, & some will close a couple of days a week - from mid June until mid September they might not get a day off at all! However there's always something open, all year round.

If you want a private villa with a pool you won't find one in the port nor the town - although there are some gated urbs with spacious modern apartments & town-houses with communal pools on the edge of the port & the town. 

So many people (including us) start in a villa with a pool in the urbs in the hills - that's the 'dream home' after all -... eventually a huge number end up in the port or the town though! I know lots of families & older couples just waiting to sell the villa so that they can move down here.


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