# Best place in Spain to move to



## augustbabeuk

Hi everyone mu husband wants us to move to Spain he wants to go to Murcia .
But I am so unsure can anyone give me their opinion on where are the best places to live I would want to be near the beach and can you tell me if the weather is as bad as UKs in winter . thanks


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## jojo

augustbabeuk said:


> Hi everyone mu husband wants us to move to Spain he wants to go to Murcia .
> But I am so unsure can anyone give me their opinion on where are the best places to live I would want to be near the beach and can you tell me if the weather is as bad as UKs in winter . thanks



Hi, well there is a beach all along the south coast of spain, it gets dearer towards the west ie Marbella etc and the coastal strip tends to be more expensive than inland, but in the present economic climate there are deals on rentals around, so it may not be too bad anymore, although money may not be an issue for you. 

The best place to live is near the things you want to be near and only you can know that. Maybe google a few towns and see what you think, narrow it down and visit them???

And yes, if this year is anything to go by, the winter has been as bad as the uk except we dont have the benefit of central heating, carpets or insulation in the houses over here. I've been horrified by how cold its been, I didnt expect to be scraping ice off my car in the mornings and spending my days sitting on top of an electric radiator!!!!!

Jo


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## nerja_boy

augustbabeuk said:


> Hi everyone mu husband wants us to move to Spain he wants to go to Murcia .
> But I am so unsure can anyone give me their opinion on where are the best places to live I would want to be near the beach and can you tell me if the weather is as bad as UKs in winter . thanks


nerja is lervly but as jo said its what you are after, for me it was a pure fluke i picked nerja, i looked on a map for place in europe that would give me snow and good waves within 2 ish hours in the sun lol typed nerja in google seen the balcon, thought well thats a better view than a drunk tramp, and off i went 
1year on living like a tramp in the campo how strange, i am freezing!

i seen a white looking guy in bauhaus today buying 10 electric heaters!


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## rowlandsbb

Mercia and Almeria near by is very nice and has probably the best winter weather in mainland Europe but the further inland you go the colder it gets
Lots of sun but in Dec Jan and part of Feb it does go cold at night-but mid Nov 08 in Palomaras Almeria we had 16/17 degrees at night
The older properties in general are low in insulation but if you buy a relatively new one you will find that the building regulations have improved and they are well insulated plus solar heating for hot water
It is also much cheaper here than near Marbella-in Almeria near Huercal Overa for example you can get a 2 bed villa on plots from 200 m2 plus from 138.000 € [ asking price!]
A touch inland but these villas have a fireplace and log fires keep you warm in the couple of colder months plus your air con...expect to pay circa 200/300 € for your logs during winter
You can be unlucky and hit a bad week but most if the time I go in winter I have a lot of sun, which is important even if the temperature starts to go down circa 4pm


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## SteveHall

Jojo has given you the best information - where is best for you would not be where is best for the next person who asks the question. 

You should write down a list of "Must haves","should have"," would be nice to haves" , "don't really want" and "can't have" and go from there. 

Schools, work, oncology department, private hospital, communications, beach, ski-ing, La Liga football, libraries, expat communities and infrastructure, big city or deepest countryside, fishing/hunting, theatre/culture are all things that might be on your list........but might not be on others! 

Where do you mean by Murcia? Do you mean the beautiful (IMHO) small city which is very Spanish or the expat enclaves dotted along the coast? Very different. I could live happily in one and less happily in the other. Guess which? You may be the other way around. You may even mean the Butlins-type resorts/golf villages that are IMHO ok for a holiday but not for 24/7/365 life. 

Murcia is trying hard to catch up with its neighbours in Anadlucía and the Valencian Community It has low cost carriers into expanding San Javier and a new airport in Corvera (reportedly opening in 2011) that will push prices up in that area. Historically, it was a poorer community and house prices are a litte cheaper than in Alicante. 

No major language issues there although the local accent murciano is not well thought of on a national scale. Apart from a tiny rural community, everybody speaks "Spanish". Good luck.


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## augustbabeuk

I am really worried if its that cold it may not be worth it as my Husband seems to think it never drops below 20 and my joints suffer in the UK winter . I have a brother whom lives in Murcia but I have only seen him twice in about 15 yrs . I would love to go to a warmer climate but I worry that after a couple of months and once the heat goes I would not want to be there. 
My husband thinks that it would be so relaxing ,warm , sunshine, no problems but I see the problems first .


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## jojo

augustbabeuk said:


> I am really worried if its that cold it may not be worth it as my Husband seems to think it never drops below 20 and my joints suffer in the UK winter . I have a brother whom lives in Murcia but I have only seen him twice in about 15 yrs . I would love to go to a warmer climate but I worry that after a couple of months and once the heat goes I would not want to be there.
> My husband thinks that it would be so relaxing ,warm , sunshine, no problems but I see the problems first .


I'm not in murcia, I'm further south in Andaluca. Today is actually warmer than it has been for a long time. its 11c and sunny, in fact sitting in the sun on a day like today is beautiful, its much warmer out than it is in here where I'm sitting now, so at the moment I'm wearing ski boots, jeans, a t-shirt, a hoodie AND I've got my outside coat on. Last week the temperature didnt go above 4c all day, there was ice in the puddles and on the windscreen. 

I dont know what Murcia is like but I would think its not too dissimilar - The houses are not designed to keep warm either, cold tiled floors everywhere, central heating is rare and the windows dont tend to be "sealed units" In Madrid last week they had 4 inches of snow. SPAIN HAS COLD WINTERS!

Murcia is an enormous place and incorerates many types of areas, so you need to do much more research before you or your husband plan a move or worry about the climate

Jo x


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## SteveHall

You are in for a BIG disappointment if you think it never goes below 20º It only averages above 20 for four months of the whole year!!!! 

Just check National and Local Weather Forecast, Hurricane, Radar and Report and type in Murcia + 3º last night 

I have a friend who owns a hotel in Moratalla and they close for three months as it is too expensive to keep the hotel heated for the number of guests that would go there. 

The only place you could get +20 is the Canaries.


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## rowlandsbb

The forecast for Garrucha Almeria is [day/night] Today 16/7 degrees, Thurs 14/9 Fri 14/12 Sat 13/8 and Sun 19/8 plus sunny most days
This is typical for this time of year and it will gradually get warmer as we move into Feb
So you have two chilly months but mainly with sun and the rest of the year is in general warm/hot
Most expats , who get through the initial settling in stage which is the majority, find the climate great....in a way the couple of sunny but chilly months is a bit of a rest from the heat!!!
And just love it in Spain


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## chris(madrid)

jojo said:


> SPAIN HAS COLD WINTERS!


Yup - today awoke to 5 below and freezing fog. 

It was my first BIG discovery in INLAND Spain. Day to Night temps in winter can vary HUGELY. And if it's sunny especially so. I've seen 25ºC midday and 5 below at night on the same day.

The coast is less dramatic generally - temp wise.


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## SteveHall

rowlandsbb said:


> The forecast for Garrucha Almeria is [day/night] Today 16/7 degrees, Thurs 14/9 Fri 14/12 Sat 13/8 and Sun 19/8 plus sunny most days
> This is typical for this time of year and it will gradually get warmer as we move into Feb
> So you have two chilly months but mainly with sun and the rest of the year is in general warm/hot
> Most expats , who get through the initial settling in stage which is the majority, find the climate great....in a way the couple of sunny but chilly months is a bit of a rest from the heat!!!
> And just love it in Spain



Have you EVER LIVED in Spain? Do you know how cold Spanish buildings get?

Most expats HATE the cold winter and there are MORE expats leaving Spain than arriving here. FACTS.

In February 1992 it rained every single day in Málaga. 

Let's start dealing FACTS here


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## jojo

rowlandsbb said:


> The forecast for Garrucha Almeria is [day/night] Today 16/7 degrees, Thurs 14/9 Fri 14/12 Sat 13/8 and Sun 19/8 plus sunny most days
> This is typical for this time of year and it will gradually get warmer as we move into Feb
> So you have two chilly months but mainly with sun and the rest of the year is in general warm/hot
> Most expats , who get through the initial settling in stage which is the majority, find the climate great....in a way the couple of sunny but chilly months is a bit of a rest from the heat!!!
> And just love it in Spain


With respect, I totally disagree - As an Ex-pat, I have been very dissapointed with the climate here. The warm climate was part of the reason we wanted to come here and I can honestly say that since mid October it has rained, been cold and very gloomy, with odd sunny days, which admittedly are warm - the Spanish sun is warmer than the UK - when its shining, but when it goes down, the nights are very cold. 

The warmer weather isnt going to re-appear til at least March/April. That is more than a couple of months respite from the heat

Jo


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## SteveHall

You are just more subtle than me.


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## chris(madrid)

What's more ime - the switch WINTER to* HEAT * is not gentle - Spring/Autumn are very short generally - Here anyway. 

Snow in central Spain in May is NOT unheard of.


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## augustbabeuk

Hi again Im very grateful for all your advice as this I hope will be a real eye opener for my husband as we watch all of the programmes on tv about moving abroad but I keep saying to him if its that warm in winter why are there never any people in the swimming pools when its on the place is always deserted lol.


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## thrax

It's all relative; in UK we think it is really hot when the temperature climbs to 21C. My wife's parents who have lived near Velez-Malaga for 6 years say that this winter is the worst they have known by a long way and I think it's the same for most of western Europe this year partly because of the positioning of the jet stream (the same reason why the last two summers in the UK have been the worst on record) and because of a weakening in the Gulf Stream (normal don't panic!!) and also because of a high pressure system that seems to be stuck in the wrong place causing sever icy blasts from Siberia etc. We were in the Torre del Mar region in December a couple of years ago and were sitting on the beach in 21C of sunshine in shorts and t-shirts - of course, all the Spanish were wearing thick winter coats and staring at the strange Brits. This winter has been very cold, for a change, but whether or not this has anything to do with global warming, only time will tell, and if it is by then it will be too late anyway.


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## SteveHall

chris(madrid) said:


> What's more ime - the switch WINTER to* HEAT * is not gentle - Spring/Autumn are very short generally - Here anyway.
> 
> Snow in central Spain in May is NOT unheard of.


Indeed, I remember being in Madrid at the end of September - gorgeous pavement cafe life . Three weeks later cold damp and all the madridistas (jeje) were saying,"xxxxx, that's it now until April. Don't believe me? Just look at the televised games. Pamplona - freezing fog! 

If you want HEAT - forget the costas try Madrid, Sevilla, Granada in July/August!

Gorgeous weather today though. Sing when we are winning!


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## chris(madrid)

I find this weather service surprisingly accurate www.accuweather.com. It is UNUSUAL in that it really does differentiate between areas. Type in a couple of places and see what it says. Their "realfeel" idea is a damn good indicator


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## chris(madrid)

SteveHall said:


> If you want HEAT - forget the costas try Madrid, Sevilla, Granada in July/August!


Indeed - I love it. I need a fleece at below 20ºC - Am happiest at 35ºC plus. - 50ºC is pushing it a bit though - even I'll admit that.

This said get into the sticks of Madrid Province and even in Summer there's often a wicked breeze that makes pool-dipping chilly (You've guessed, we don't have a pool!)


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## jojo

We've been banging on about the weather, but theres much more for you to think about and plan. You need to know what amenities - or not you want to be hear, town, country, expat area, spanish area, busy, quiet, big house, little house, flat, finca........ You also need to work out your budget, how much you'll need to live on, cos your husband wont be doing much relaxing if you havent got enough money and all areas variy as to living costs. All thats assuming that you have the funds in place cos if you need to work when you get here, then (without wishing to sound rude) dont bother coming cos there isnt any!!!

So do a bit of research and make some lists

Jo


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## crookesey

What is it with us Brits and our facination with the weather? I'm just the same as the rest of you especially when I'm in Spain and the weather is bad. In the UK I quite like very cold weather as long as the sun is shining and it's not raining or foggy, good Peak National Park walking weather, no muddy boots.

Where to move to is impossible for anyone but the op to answer, obviously not found the right place yet. All that I can say is try all the Costas and make your minds up from your own experiences. 

Good luck.


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## tigersharkjs

I think the only place on the planet (just about =) ) where it is actually warm all the time is Singapore or that area. Then you have the high humidity also. Even OZ has seasons.


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## SteveHall

Gorgeous here today - magnificent 

Just been for a coffee on a bar terrace and found myself dozing off in the sun! 

Happy Days


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