# Southern Spain Location ideas....



## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

Hey,

Totally new to the forum and we are after a little bit of advice please.

We are a couple in our 30's and we are considering moving to Spain and we would like some suggestions from you guys on what areas would suit us best. We have been looking mainly in Andulucia, particularly the Malaga province.

We are looking to live in a house and have holiday lets (either chalet accomadation or yurts) within the same site so it would have to be somewhere that would easily accessable for our guests. Because of this we would prefer it to be no more than an hour from a main airport and close enough that we (or our paying guests) could drive easily to the coast. 

We don't think we'd like it to be completely rural so within 10 mins of a bigish village or town. It would be nice to have some Brits around us, but we are not looking for warmer Southend-on-Sea...

We have read a lot about Coin on various sites of the area, but if there are people that actually live there, on this site, could you tell us what it is really like.

We are obviously open to suggestions and would like honest opinions please.

Many thanks in advance and feel free to ask me any further questions.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Hi and welcome to the forum!!! I live in a town called Alhaurin de la Torre, which is about 20 mins from the airport, 20 mins from the beaches - torremolinos, benalmadena and pretty much in the countryside. We're about half an hour from Coin. I'm personally not a fan of Coin, there are alot of industrial units scattered around, I find the town centre, altho fairly typical spanish is quite scruffy and ........ dare I say it, there are a lot of British !!??? But you need to come over and have a look! A fact finding mission with a hire car and take an objective look around

Jo xxx


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## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

jojo said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum!!! I live in a town called Alhaurin de la Torre, which is about 20 mins from the airport, 20 mins from the beaches - torremolinos, benalmadena and pretty much in the countryside. We're about half an hour from Coin. I'm personally not a fan of Coin, there are alot of industrial units scattered around, I find the town centre, altho fairly typical spanish is quite scruffy and ........ dare I say it, there are a lot of British !!??? But you need to come over and have a look! A fact finding mission with a hire car and take an objective look around
> 
> Jo xxx


Hi Jo,

Many thanks for your quick response. We have been a few times and done the hire car fact finding mission, but have as yet not found our ideal. We headed north of Malaga, and we found it too moutainous, and getting to most properties in that area, was a bit hairly with shear drops. The area that your talking about, the is east of Malaga then, yes?? Is Alhaurin de la Torre near a main town, or is it classed as a town??? We have a read up of this area though....so thanks


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Alhaurin de la Torre is a main town. It is referred to as "Málagas bedroom" as it has a lot of commuters who work in Málaga. Its clean, modern, Spanish and has everything that you could want. (I dont work for the AdlT tourist board, honest lol) Further up the road is Alhaurin El Grande, smaller, more "spanish looking" with a high proportion of British. The countryside around here is beautiful. The towns are sort of at the foot of the mountains so not too high up. There are also the costalish towns, Mijas, Benalmadena pueblos???

Right, further west of Málaga there is Nerja which is also lovely, a fair few Brits, but hey, thats what we are lol!!!

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Jimbobwoo said:


> Hey,
> 
> Totally new to the forum and we are after a little bit of advice please.
> 
> ...


welcome

I don't live anywhere near there so can't give specific area advice, but wherever you end up be very careful to get all the correct licenses & permissions - don't believe the estate agents when they tell you 'no problemo' (that's not even Spanish anyway) - check with planning authorities yourself & get an abogado to check it out too


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## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

jojo said:


> Alhaurin de la Torre is a main town. It is referred to as "Málagas bedroom" as it has a lot of commuters who work in Málaga. Its clean, modern, Spanish and has everything that you could want. (I dont work for the AdlT tourist board, honest lol) Further up the road is Alhaurin El Grande, smaller, more "spanish looking" with a high proportion of British. The countryside around here is beautiful. The towns are sort of at the foot of the mountains so not too high up. There are also the costalish towns, Mijas, Benalmadena pueblos???
> 
> Right, further west of Málaga there is Nerja which is also lovely, a fair few Brits, but hey, thats what we are lol!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


I was beginning to think that you must be on a commision rate with the tourist board...lol...

Thanks again for your reply....do you feel this area could benefit from what we are wanting to do and how strict is the town hall (permissions) in your area.

We are not too bothered about Brits being around us, cause as you say, thats what we are, but we are not looking for the typical package holiday area with every other bar/resturant offering Full English Breakfast....and also areas that suffer from petty crimes and organized crime.

After having a bit of a scout around, it seems Alhaurin de la Torre is slighty more expensive than Alhaurin El Grande. Does that sound right to you? We will have a brief look also at the other place you mentioned, Nerja.

Many thanks again for you advice and help.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Hi all.

You will see that I have provided a useful map that shows that the Alhaurins are WEST of Malaga and Nerja is to the EAST



malaga - Google Maps


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## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> welcome
> 
> I don't live anywhere near there so can't give specific area advice, but wherever you end up be very careful to get all the correct licenses & permissions - don't believe the estate agents when they tell you 'no problemo' (that's not even Spanish anyway) - check with planning authorities yourself & get an abogado to check it out too


Hi xabiachica,

Thanks also for responding....how friendly is this forum 

Are you saying check that licenses and permissions can be achieved before buying a property to develop in the way we want to for letting accomadation?? But you are right about the estate agents....I would not believe a word any of them say....all they are interested in are their commisions...I have found online a company call OLG (Overseas Living Group) which also has offices in the UK...the site seems to have a vast amount of properties within the areas that we are thinking about....


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## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

jimenato said:


> Hi all.
> 
> You will see that I have provided a useful map that shows that the Alhaurins are WEST of Malaga and Nerja is to the EAST
> 
> ...


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## djfwells (Sep 28, 2009)

Jimbobwoo said:


> Hey,
> 
> Totally new to the forum and we are after a little bit of advice please.
> 
> ...


I did something similar, at a similar age 6 years ago (only Costa Blanca).
- My advise would be to put your plans on ice until you have had at least one or two holiday / short breaks over here 'for research purposes'. Be sure to stay in a few different types of B&B / Villa / Guest House in a few different locations to get a clearer idea of exactly what it is that you are searching for (... and come with an open mind aswell ). Be sure to look at websites such as Ownersdirect to compare what the demand & Competetion for the type of accomodation is in the areas that you are searching for, together with what prices you can realistically charge.


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## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

djfwells said:


> I did something similar, at a similar age 6 years ago (only Costa Blanca).
> - My advise would be to put your plans on ice until you have had at least one or two holiday / short breaks over here 'for research purposes'. Be sure to stay in a few different types of B&B / Villa / Guest House in a few different locations to get a clearer idea of exactly what it is that you are searching for (... and come with an open mind aswell ). Be sure to look at websites such as Ownersdirect to compare what the demand & Competetion for the type of accomodation is in the areas that you are searching for, together with what prices you can realistically charge.


Many thanks for your advice djfwell....but I can assure you the research side of things has already been in full swing (I have been a successfull businessman in the UK for 15 years). We have already been on 2 fact finding trips to various B&B's north of Malaga, but obviously not found the right area for us to settle, hence the questions on here....but areas that are suggested on here by kind peeps, will also be heavily investigated, and if they still look interesting, the areas would indeed be visited by us before we do anything. 

The open ended questions are sometimes put on but we may already know the answers, but we want to hear it from people that have lived there, rather than agents doing their sales speal.....

It should be noted that we are not doing this as such to run a full on business, just more living costs, and bills excluding a mortgage...there will be no mortgage involved.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Jimbobwoo said:


> I was beginning to think that you must be on a commision rate with the tourist board...lol...
> 
> Thanks again for your reply....do you feel this area could benefit from what we are wanting to do and how strict is the town hall (permissions) in your area.
> 
> ...


Yes, Alhaurin de la Torre maybe a little more expensive than El Grande, I suppose without wishing to sound snobby, its posher!!!! Its nearer to the beaches, airport, motorways and it appears cleaner, more modern and is more affluent! 

Have a look at google maps, you can take a good look at the streets and the areas, it'll give you a good idea of the feel of these places

Jo xxx


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## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

jojo said:


> Yes, Alhaurin de la Torre maybe a little more expensive than El Grande, I suppose without wishing to sound snobby, its posher!!!! Its nearer to the beaches, airport, motorways and it appears cleaner, more modern and is more affluent!
> 
> Have a look at google maps, you can take a good look at the streets and the areas, it'll give you a good idea of the feel of these places
> 
> Jo xxx


I will have acloser look. Thanks very much for all your advice Jo...

Just out of interest, with it being so near to the airport, is there any problems with noise from the planes???


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Jimbobwoo said:


> I will have acloser look. Thanks very much for all your advice Jo...
> 
> Just out of interest, with it being so near to the airport, is there any problems with noise from the planes???



No, occasionally when the wind is in the wrong direction you can here a slight rumble every now and again, but we're not on the flight path. Actually its quite fascinating cos you can see them coming into land in the distance and watch them drop below the line of the mountains (little things et al!!). It works well for me cos my husband works in the UK and when its time I can just about see the airline logo on the plane and know its time to go and pick him up!

But no, theres no major noise or disturbance!!!

Jo xxx


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

There are some nice country properties near Sevilla with lots of land. They are at good prices too!!


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## Jimbobwoo (Sep 27, 2010)

Cazzy said:


> There are some nice country properties near Sevilla with lots of land. They are at good prices too!!


Thanks Cazzy....I will have a look in more detail at that area, but I did hear that it is a bit marshy around that area...with lots of flies and mozzies....but also heard that there are some nice areas as well....but as yet haven't looked in detail...so thanks....


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Jimbobwoo said:


> Thanks Cazzy....I will have a look in more detail at that area, but I did hear that it is a bit marshy around that area...with lots of flies and mozzies....but also heard that there are some nice areas as well....but as yet haven't looked in detail...so thanks....


South of Sevilla province around the Guadalquivir basin this may be true, but take a look at the Sierras! 
Sierra Norte Natural Park, Flora and Fauna of Andalucía, Southern Spain.


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

Jimbobwoo said:


> Thanks Cazzy....I will have a look in more detail at that area, but I did hear that it is a bit marshy around that area...with lots of flies and mozzies....but also heard that there are some nice areas as well....but as yet haven't looked in detail...so thanks....


We have friends that live 20 mins to the east of Sevilla. They don't seem to have any problems.


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