# La Marina - What are your impressions?



## stevesainty

Whilst reading another thread about OAP moving to Spain the urb. La Marina came up.
Funnily enough we have been researching that area ourselves recently. It seems to tick most of our boxes.

A good part of the urb. is a comfortable walk to the sea.
There are shops/bars/restaurants within a short walk.
The area seems to be fairly flat.
There seems to be a limited bus service most of the year and a better one during the summer.
The housing stock both for renting and buying seems plentiful and varied at reasonable if not downright cheap prices.
Two airports within an hour away, and a modern hospital within half an hour.

Apparently it is home to a large British expat community so I would imagine that there are a lot of groups/clubs/activities going on, it even has its own theatre.

What I am wondering is are there a large amount of other nationalities living there also. I know that there is a German sort of Boots/Superdrug shop, Schlecker, in the village of La Marina.

We visited the village last September and were impressed with the village and beach area.

Does anyone live on the urb. or has knowledge of it. We would like to know if there are any downsides, ie a sewage farm with nasty smells for some of the time.

Well maybe not that bad but it does seem to have a lot going for it so there must be some sort of catch. At one time in our planning we felt is was an absolute no no to live in a large expat community but we have warmed to the idea after hearing all the views on here and other forums. especiall the idea of community support when we are old and doddery.

However, although life is what you make it, I would not like to think of myself living in Little Britain in the sun. I would like to see and interact with other nationalities not least the Spanish.

May we have your views please?


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## Guest

I just asked Spanish OH whose parents have a home here and he commented "It's the British and they don't tend to integrate. British businesses for the British." 

I've only been there once and had a hard time figuring out what language to speak. There seemed to be a bunch of northern Europeans as well.


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## Pesky Wesky

stevesainty said:


> Whilst reading another thread about OAP moving to Spain the urb. La Marina came up.
> Funnily enough we have been researching that area ourselves recently. It seems to tick most of our boxes.
> 
> A good part of the urb. is a comfortable walk to the sea.
> There are shops/bars/restaurants within a short walk.
> The area seems to be fairly flat.
> There seems to be a limited bus service most of the year and a better one during the summer.
> The housing stock both for renting and buying seems plentiful and varied at reasonable if not downright cheap prices.
> Two airports within an hour away, and a modern hospital within half an hour.
> 
> Apparently it is home to a large British expat community so I would imagine that there are a lot of groups/clubs/activities going on, it even has its own theatre.
> 
> What I am wondering is are there a large amount of other nationalities living there also. I know that there is a German sort of Boots/Superdrug shop, Schlecker, in the village of La Marina.
> 
> We visited the village last September and were impressed with the village and beach area.
> 
> Does anyone live on the urb. or has knowledge of it. We would like to know if there are any downsides, ie a sewage farm with nasty smells for some of the time.
> 
> Well maybe not that bad but it does seem to have a lot going for it so there must be some sort of catch. At one time in our planning we felt is was an absolute no no to live in a large expat community but we have warmed to the idea after hearing all the views on here and other forums. especiall the idea of community support when we are old and doddery.
> 
> However, although life is what you make it, I would not like to think of myself living in Little Britain in the sun. I would like to see and interact with other nationalities not least the Spanish.
> 
> May we have your views please?


If you live in an area like this you'll be likely to have little contact with the Spanish, which does seem to be a shame if you're living in their country. However, you have to think about the realities of life too. Are you likely to reach a fairly good level of Spanish or do you speak Spanish now? And I don't mean just asking for a coffee. If you don't, then you're probably going to find it difficult to reach the kind of level for everyday chatting that would build into a relationship of some kind, so communicating with people in English is probably the best bet. Otherwise you might feel very isolated.
What do other people think?


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## stevesainty

Pesky Wesky said:


> If you live in an area like this you'll be likely to have little contact with the Spanish, which does seem to be a shame if you're living in their country. However, you have to think about the realities of life too. Are you likely to reach a fairly good level of Spanish or do you speak Spanish now? And I don't mean just asking for a coffee. If you don't, then you're probably going to find it difficult to reach the kind of level for everyday chatting that would build into a relationship of some kind, so communicating with people in English is probably the best bet. Otherwise you might feel very isolated.
> What do other people think?


I am in my third year of Spanish classes at my local college, 2 hours per week in term time. I have all the building blocks for the grammar and tenses, I need to learn tons more vocabulary and learn to congugate more quickly. I can read Spanish text and get the gist without resorting to the dictionary although I would probably miss the detail of the article. I can hold my own in shops, restaurants and hotels, although for specific tasks I usually bone up beforehand on how the conversation is likely to proceed. When in Spain I speak only Spanish, or at least I try, outside of the apartment, even if I get spoken back to in English. My main downfall at the moment is that I cannot hear Spanish spoken at normal speed. my brain is still busy with the first few words and so I miss the next bit. If I rewind soundbytes several times I do ok. 
I do at least 20 minutes a day working through excercise books mainly and doing my set homework from college. I intend to work hard at getting as fluent as possible even though it may take years. I am not afraid of making mistakes and if I do not know the right words I try and get round it by using the words that I do know.
We are coming to Spain with the intention of never going back, it may not work out that way but that is our plan. We have moved around quite a bit in the UK and do not intend to do so in Spain when we finally settle on a place. This is why it is important for us to get our logistics right for when we are unable to drive. We do intend to rent for at least a year before we a) decide to rent forever or buy somewhere and b) to make sure we are mobile if we chose the wrong place initially.


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## Pesky Wesky

stevesainty said:


> I am in my third year of Spanish classes at my local college, 2 hours per week in term time. I have all the building blocks for the grammar and tenses, I need to learn tons more vocabulary and learn to congugate more quickly. I can read Spanish text and get the gist without resorting to the dictionary although I would probably miss the detail of the article. I can hold my own in shops, restaurants and hotels, although for specific tasks I usually bone up beforehand on how the conversation is likely to proceed. When in Spain I speak only Spanish, or at least I try, outside of the apartment, even if I get spoken back to in English. My main downfall at the moment is that I cannot hear Spanish spoken at normal speed. my brain is still busy with the first few words and so I miss the next bit. If I rewind soundbytes several times I do ok.
> I do at least 20 minutes a day working through excercise books mainly and doing my set homework from college. I intend to work hard at getting as fluent as possible even though it may take years. I am not afraid of making mistakes and if I do not know the right words I try and get round it by using the words that I do know.
> We are coming to Spain with the intention of never going back, it may not work out that way but that is our plan. We have moved around quite a bit in the UK and do not intend to do so in Spain when we finally settle on a place. This is why it is important for us to get our logistics right for when we are unable to drive. We do intend to rent for at least a year before we a) decide to rent forever or buy somewhere and b) to make sure we are mobile if we chose the wrong place initially.


Well, you've said a few important things in that post.
One, that you've already started learning, and that you've had the determination to do 2 years and are carrying on for a 3rd. You obviously know that you don't just pick up a language, that you have to work at it and be consistent. 20 mins a day is great, IMO (as an English teacher of more than 20 years) it's the best way of doing it.
Your realisation that you need to keep at it and that language learning isn't smth you do and cross off the list like 
paint ceiling
do the shopping
learn Spanish...
is very important.
I've seen quite a few posts on here where people say things like I'm coming over for the summer/ for a year/ to do a course and *when I've learned Spanish *I'll get a job, and ... and of course it doesn't happen like that.
As far as listening and speaking goes, well you'll always understand more than you can actually produce yourself. It tends to be the same in our native language. The only way you're going to get better is by more exposure (= more holidays in Spain ). Have you tried short videos on the net?
Try this from the BBC which is very good, , but unfortunately they're not updating it
BBC - Languages, Spanish - El Mensual, Spain and Europe
Also from the BBC, videos with an article. However, I suspect this will take you more than 20 mins, and the accents seem to be South American, but mild.
BBC Mundo - Noticias - El secreto del "hombre más feliz del mundo"
Lastly, not being afraid to make mistakes is one of the best ways to learn.
So keep at it, and enjoy working toward your goal


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## ohlson

Hi
We live here on La Marina and would not want to be in any other area of Spain. It has a good mix of Spanish and English and people from many other countries. It is like many areas in Spain but we feel that having other Brits around us is a good thing. I did a video last year of one of th beach areas it is at There is also a very local chatter box forum that covers La marina to get it try putting into your google toolbar aspainshlife but be warned up there you will see the good the bad and the ugly. Good Luck


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## Pesky Wesky

ohlson said:


> Hi
> We live here on La Marina and would not want to be in any other area of Spain. It has a good mix of Spanish and English and people from many other countries. It is like many areas in Spain but we feel that having other Brits around us is a good thing. I did a video last year of one of th beach areas it is at There is also a very local chatter box forum that covers La marina to get it try putting into your google toolbar aspainshlife but be warned up there you will see the good the bad and the ugly. Good Luck


I think this is just the kind of info Steve, and others need!

From there I've just watched a video from ITV about La Marina. Halydia, you've got to watch it...

It's only just struck me from watching the video that it's not just the food and the language that Brits need around them when they immigrate to places like this, it's the whole way of life. Seeing them play bingo, karaoke, playing bowls - it's just so foreign. I can't see my MIL or OH's aunts and uncles doing any of those things. OK, all of things exist in some way or other in Spain, but it's not how the older generation tend to spend the bulk of their time, nor is it how they tend to spend their holidays, at least it's not what the people I know do, whereas in the UK I *do* know people who retire into this lifestyle.


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## ohlson

Pesky Wesky said:


> I think this is just the kind of info Steve, and others need!
> 
> From there I've just watched a video from ITV about La Marina. Halydia, you've got to watch it...
> 
> It's only just struck me from watching the video that it's not just the food and the language that Brits need around them when they immigrate to places like this, it's the whole way of life. Seeing them play bingo, karaoke, playing bowls - it's just so foreign. I can't see my MIL or OH's aunts and uncles doing any of those things. OK, all of things exist in some way or other in Spain, but it's not how the older generation tend to spend the bulk of their time, nor is it how they tend to spend their holidays, at least it's not what the people I know do, whereas in the UK I *do* know people who retire into this lifestyle.


We started life out in the country at Crevillente but after about a year we had to face reality, that was that as nice as it was we were never going to be that good at Spanish. So we did all the tours visited every where of interest, but socialy for an evening out we ended up often at La Marina, so in the end moved down there. It was little things that convinced us like the medical side of things, the Spanish doctors here on La Marina do speak English it is not until you experiece that side of things that you realise how VERY inportant that can be. The video by the way is somewhat over the top. I was the local person who helped to make that for ITV. It was meant to show to Brits that there were things other than the sun for them to enjoy. Once again I will say to hear about what realy goes on try the local gosip shop put into your google search aspanishlfe that will and could encourage you or realy put you off. But we love it here and have many fiends.


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## ohlson

One other good point about La-Marina is that we even have a British Councillor who represents our interests at the Town Hall. 
Do not whatever you do get the idea that shops and Bars are all British run that would be a long way from the truth, but a high percentage of them have staff who do speak English if needed. The breakdown of people on the Urbanisation is as follows British 6,262 Spanish 3,181 German 1,433 Other Europeans 1,023 Other Nationalities 455. So there it is just the plain facts. A video showing one of the beach areas can be seen at La Marina middle beach One of Costa Blanca Best Retreats.MP4 - YouTubeLa Marina middle beach One of Costa Blanca Best Retreats.MP4 - YouTube Beaches tend to be used more by the Spanish than us foreigners. Plus of course there are so many very Spanish places one can visit from La-Marina, even the Airport is only just over 30 minutes drive away.


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## stevesainty

ohlson said:


> One other good point about La-Marina is that we even have a British Councillor who represents our interests at the Town Hall.
> Do not whatever you do get the idea that shops and Bars are all British run that would be a long way from the truth, but a high percentage of them have staff who do speak English if needed. The breakdown of people on the Urbanisation is as follows British 6,262 Spanish 3,181 German 1,433 Other Europeans 1,023 Other Nationalities 455. So there it is just the plain facts. A video showing one of the beach areas can be seen at La Marina middle beach One of Costa Blanca Best Retreats.MP4 - YouTubeLa Marina middle beach One of Costa Blanca Best Retreats.MP4 - YouTube Beaches tend to be used more by the Spanish than us foreigners. Plus of course there are so many very Spanish places one can visit from La-Marina, even the Airport is only just over 30 minutes drive away.


Hi ohlson, I must admit my heart sank when I saw the video. I do not want to be immersed in a continual holiday camp for Brits.
However your breakdown of the people living on the urb. is more encouraging. Do you have a rough idea of the percentages who live year round, ie it is their permanent home for the moment. Have all the areas got a mixture of nationalities or are there approximate British, Spanish & German sectors?
What La Marina town like, when I was last there the businesses seemed to be mostly Spanish owned.


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## Pesky Wesky

ohlson said:


> We started life out in the country at Crevillente but after about a year we had to face reality, that was that as nice as it was we were never going to be that good at Spanish. So we did all the tours visited every where of interest, but socialy for an evening out we ended up often at La Marina, so in the end moved down there. It was little things that convinced us like the medical side of things, the Spanish doctors here on La Marina do speak English it is not until you experiece that side of things that you realise how VERY inportant that can be. The video by the way is somewhat over the top. I was the local person who helped to make that for ITV. It was meant to show to Brits that there were things other than the sun for them to enjoy. Once again I will say to hear about what realy goes on try the local gosip shop put into your google search aspanishlfe that will and could encourage you or realy put you off. But we love it here and have many fiends.


Well, it sounds like you found the right place for you as you seem happy and settled. It's very important to try things out if you can, and not pack up and go if you don't find "the" place from the start.
Of course some people can't afford that luxury neither in time nor economically, but each persons limits, tastes and needs are different, aren't they?
It would be nice if you could stick around because I think you and your partner's experiences will be interesting for a lot of people on the forum-.


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## ohlson

Hi
That video only gives an idea of what one of the beach areas is like. Unlike the UK here in Spain we get a lot of good weather hence beaches are a major attraction to catch the cool breeze coming in from the Mediterranean. But even so it is the Spanish themselves that use it far more than us foreigners. As strange as it may seem Brits seem to still walk around in the mid day sun rather than cool off on the beach. One thing our area is not is any kind of continual holiday camp for Brits.

Ref breakdown of figures I am not very sure how they breakdown into who lives here all year, but I do know that a lot of Brits do go home in the two hottest months of the year. As to mixture of nationalities there is not any sectors that any one nationality have settled into the urb is a total mixture more a less of races with the exception of a very small section where the Swedes have a Pertanc Club and quite a few live in and around that area Once again it is so different here people tend to do so much more out of doors than you can in the UK. When a Spaniard enquires about a property one of their main first questions is often how large is the veranda or how much outside space is there and by the way Spanish tend to buy North facing properties Just thought this could be of interest to a few A Spanish Life - La Marina


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## Guest

Pesky Wesky said:


> From there I've just watched a video from ITV about La Marina. Halydia, you've got to watch it...


Where can I find it?


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## Guest

stevesainty said:


> Hi ohlson, I must admit my heart sank when I saw the video. I do not want to be immersed in a continual holiday camp for Brits.
> However your breakdown of the people living on the urb. is more encouraging. Do you have a rough idea of the percentages who live year round, ie it is their permanent home for the moment. Have all the areas got a mixture of nationalities or are there approximate British, Spanish & German sectors?
> What La Marina town like, when I was last there the businesses seemed to be mostly Spanish owned.


I was going to comment that all but one of the Spanish families that have homes on OH's family's do not use La Marina as their primary residence. They're from Madrid, Bilbao...


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## Pesky Wesky

halydia said:


> Where can I find it?


Here
Videos to Help - Actual Facts about Living in Spain - My Spanish Life
Look at La Marina Information as seen on ITV

or here directly on youtube
La Marina on TV! (24.06.09) - YouTube
It was really difficult to find!


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## xabiaxica

Pesky Wesky said:


> Here
> Videos to Help - Actual Facts about Living in Spain - My Spanish Life
> Look at La Marina Information as seen on ITV
> 
> or here directly on youtube
> La Marina on TV! (24.06.09) - YouTube
> It was really difficult to find!


oh boy..................I just watched the second one 



I recently discovered I have a couple of cousins living in Spain - I neither know about the cousins, nor that they lived in Spain


they live in La Marina................


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## jimenato

Ha Ha!! I'd heard such places existed but have never come across one. They seem a happy bunch - good for them!:clap2:


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## Guest

I'm glad we're having this discussion because after visiting La Marina with the in-laws, I had thought that a lot of the coast was similar. With the comments many of you are making, I assume I am incorrect? 

I had to laugh when I saw the pub quiz sign. I remember seeing that and wanting to go. 
"Problem" is, OH doesn't speak English so we found something else to do.


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## xabiaxica

halydia said:


> I'm glad we're having this discussion because after visiting La Marina with the in-laws, I had thought that a lot of the coast was similar. With the comments many of you are making, I assume I am incorrect?
> 
> I had to laugh when I saw the pub quiz sign. I remember seeing that and wanting to go.
> "Problem" is, OH doesn't speak English so we found something else to do.


no - most of the coast isn't like that at all!!!


here, where out of some 33,000 residents, less than half are Spanish (about 15,000), about 9,000 are British - yes, there is evidence of the Brit population - but it isn't 'in your face'

there are clubs run by & aimed at brits - but all nationalities including the Spanish join in

there are few 'exclusively Brit' bars & restaurants - most though are used by all nationalities - some do indeed have Bingo & quiz nights in English - the Spanish don't seem to want that

yes, there are (mostly food) shops aimed at the Brit/German/Dutch/South American et al population - but there is such a mixture that none really stand out - the vast majority of businesses are Spanish run

it's not 'little England' or anywhere else

it's almost like a mini world - very _international_, & yet you do _know_ that you're in Spain


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## Guest

xabiachica said:


> it's almost like a mini world - very _international_, & yet you do _know_ that you're in Spain


As I said I was confused as to what language I should speak in La Marina. I figured "Heck, I'm in Spain I'm speaking Spanish."


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## xabiaxica

halydia said:


> As I said I was confused as to what language I should speak in La Marina. I figured "Heck, I'm in Spain I'm speaking Spanish."


at certain times of year here you'd be better off speaking French......


different nationalities seem to come for their hols en masse at different times of year - in the summer though it IS more Spanish as so many valencianos & madrileños have holiday homes here - & lot of the foreign (especially Brit) population goes 'home for the summer'


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## Pesky Wesky

halydia said:


> As I said I was confused as to what language I should speak in La Marina. I figured "Heck, I'm in Spain I'm speaking Spanish."


A while ago there was a thread on here that mentioned Orihuela. I went there with a Spaniard, an Algerian, an American (and me, Brit). Between ourselves we speak mainly Spanish and some English. In the bars we tried speaking Spanish, but found that MOST waiters, bar staff etc couldn't cope. They prefered to speak English, but English wasn't their native tongue either!

I also mentioned in this thread trying to get a Spanish paper to be told in English "No we don't carry the Spanish press" The men trying to find a bar to see the football to be told, no we only have British matches, we don't have Spanish television...

It was actually very depressing from where I was looking, not least of which because many of the bars, restaurants etc were closing down or half empty because the British population that they were relying on were packing up and going home. That was about 18 (??) months ago.

However, someone said something about the people looking happy (maybe) it was in the video. It's smth my friends who have a house that they rent out in Orihuela also remark on. The British immigrants there seem to be very happy with their life in general, so they're doing something right somewhere!


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## Lucie123

> oh boy..................I just watched the second one


i got through the first few minutes. how embarassing. i have to say its a fine example of what put me off spain for years. of course theres so much more than places like that. but its a hard sterotype to shift


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## xabiaxica

Lucie123 said:


> i got through the first few minutes. how embarassing. i have to say its a fine example of what put me off spain for years. of course theres so much more than places like that. but its a hard sterotype to shift


I have never been to a place like that............except Southend


if I had thought Spain was all like that I would never have come to live here...........if I'd wanted that I'd have_ gone_ to Southend - I had some great holidays there as a kid


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## Pesky Wesky

Pesky Wesky said:


> However, someone said something about the people looking happy (maybe) it was in the video. It's smth my friends who have a house that they rent out in Orihuela also remark on. The British immigrants there seem to be very happy with their life in general, so they're doing something right somewhere!


The brackets on this bit didn't come out right. It was supposed to be

However, someone said something about the people looking happy (maybe it was in the video). 

Anyway, hundreds, maybe thousands of brits come here to live this kind of life, including some people who post on here and are very happy with it, I'm not sure if I would criticise them for it.


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## xabiaxica

Pesky Wesky said:


> The brackets on this bit didn't come out right. It was supposed to be
> 
> However, someone said something about the people looking happy (maybe it was in the video).
> 
> Anyway, hundreds, maybe thousands of brits come here to live this kind of life, including some people who post on here and are very happy with it, I'm not sure if I would criticise them for it.


nor me

it's not what _I_ came here for


but as someone else said.............horses for courses........and they _*must be *_ net contributors to the economy if their income is from the UK & they spend *all of it* in Spain


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## MaidenScotland

Actually I know someone who is in the video.. and he doesn't live in La Marina


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## Pesky Wesky

MaidenScotland said:


> Actually I know someone who is in the video.. and he doesn't live in La Marina


But he must have been having a good time, 'cos there weren't any miserable people featured on the vid!


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## MaidenScotland

Pesky Wesky said:


> But he must have been having a good time, 'cos there weren't any miserable people featured on the vid!




I think Dave always has a great time, he has actually just had a book published about his life in Spain... doing well, even available on Amazon,


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