# Costa del sol



## Sandydaniels (Dec 30, 2012)

Greetings! We are from Dallas Texas. We are strongly considering moving to the costa del sol in Spain.I am 54 and my husband is turning 70 in june. We are semi retired, but will have an Internet business. With the unemployment rate being estimated 26pecent, we are concerned about the potential crime rate. If we live in a nice high rise secured building, how safe is it for Americans? Thank you so much for any advice. Best wishes, sandy


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

I would imagine Americans are as safe as anyone else who lives there 

Maybe reading this thread will help : http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...-living-spain/112914-crime-costa-del-sol.html


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Sandydaniels said:


> Greetings! We are from Dallas Texas. We are strongly considering moving to the costa del sol in Spain.I am 54 and my husband is turning 70 in june. We are semi retired, but will have an Internet business. With the unemployment rate being estimated 26pecent, we are concerned about the potential crime rate. If we live in a nice high rise secured building, how safe is it for Americans? Thank you so much for any advice. Best wishes, sandy


:welcome:

yes, as Navas says, there's no reason it should be any more or less safe for you as Americans than for anyone else


I guess you've started looking into what kind of visa you'll be applying for?

have a look at our _FAQs & useful info_ thread - there's a section about visas for non-EU citizens


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## Andrew2 (Dec 27, 2012)

Perfectly safe!!!
Subject to the usual caveats of course.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

In my rather bourgeois street of mainly large villas, mainly Spanish-occupied, every house including ours has been burgled.

There are, fortunately, no high-rises in our part of the Costa del Sol but I should think that there is no reason why Americans in particular should be more vulnerable to crime than any other nationality.

You have to understand that times are hard here, with up to 40% unemployed in our area. Normally law-abiding citizens can be driven to crime when money is short and children are hungry.


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## Andrew2 (Dec 27, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> :welcome:
> 
> yes, as Navas says, there's no reason it should be any more or less safe for you as Americans than for anyone else
> 
> ...


We've never been burgled or had any hassle.
Mind you, we live in a fenced, gated urbanisation with 24 hour security!!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Andrew2 said:


> We've never been burgled or had any hassle.
> Mind you, we live in a fenced, gated urbanisation with 24 hour security!!!


I haven't either - but I do know of recent burglaries in just such a place as you live in, very near to my gated urb

a few years ago there was spate _on _my gated urb


if burglars are determined, they'll get in - & sadly, it _is _more frequent now


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## Andrew2 (Dec 27, 2012)

Oh dear.
I'll check with our President.


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## Sandydaniels (Dec 30, 2012)

Greetings! Thank you all for your very helpful information! We live in a very safe suberb of Dallas Texas. We lived in orange county California for 30 years. We are in the wholesale jewelry business aand have to be very street smart wherever we travel to. One of the comments above mentioned 40percent unemployment...of course, that scares us. We would have to live in a secured high rise. My question also is this...is the police department corrupt...like in panama city, panama? I would love to live in Spain, and the costa del sol would be ideal for us weather wise, etc. We are also learning Spanish. I lived in Italy for six years as a child. I would love for us to live in Spain for a few years, maybe forever. Have there been robberies in restaurants? I hate to sound so paranoid, but my husband was held up three times in his jewelry store in Los Angeles and we just want to put the odds in our favor. How about Marbella? I greatly appreciate your help here. Cheers! Happy new year to my new Spain pals!


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## Sandydaniels (Dec 30, 2012)

*Crime in costa del sol*



Sandydaniels said:


> Greetings! Thank you all for your very helpful information! We live in a very safe suberb of Dallas Texas. We lived in orange county California for 30 years. We are in the wholesale jewelry business aand have to be very street smart wherever we travel to. One of the comments above mentioned 40percent unemployment...of course, that scares us. We would have to live in a secured high rise. My question also is this...is the police department corrupt...like in panama city, panama? I would love to live in Spain, and the costa del sol would be ideal for us weather wise, etc. We are also learning Spanish. I lived in Italy for six years as a child. I would love for us to live in Spain for a few years, maybe forever. Have there been robberies in restaurants? I hate to sound so paranoid, but my husband was held up three times in his jewelry store in Los Angeles and we just want to put the odds in our favor. How about Marbella? I greatly appreciate your help here. Cheers! Happy new year to my new Spain pals!


 have a great year!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Sandydaniels said:


> Greetings! Thank you all for your very helpful information! We live in a very safe suberb of Dallas Texas. We lived in orange county California for 30 years. We are in the wholesale jewelry business aand have to be very street smart wherever we travel to. One of the comments above mentioned 40percent unemployment...of course, that scares us. We would have to live in a secured high rise. My question also is this...is the police department corrupt...like in panama city, panama? I would love to live in Spain, and the costa del sol would be ideal for us weather wise, etc. We are also learning Spanish. I lived in Italy for six years as a child. I would love for us to live in Spain for a few years, maybe forever. Have there been robberies in restaurants? I hate to sound so paranoid, but my husband was held up three times in his jewelry store in Los Angeles and we just want to put the odds in our favor. How about Marbella? I greatly appreciate your help here. Cheers! Happy new year to my new Spain pals!


I don't know that there are the sort of 'secure high rises' that you want - maybe someone who knows Marbella well will know

as for crime & corruption - Spain's biggest ever corruption trial took place in Marbella Marbella: sun, yachts, and the stench of corruption - Europe - World - The Independent

the Costa del Sol was known as the 'costa del crime' for many years due to British criminals on the run making their homes there 

a quick google gives lots of crime stories - but then I was looking for them

New gangland wars in Costa del Sol prove crime is booming | The Sun |Features

Atraca con un cuchillo y una pistola una sucursal bancaria en Marbella | Andaluca-Mlaga | elmundo.es

Mugged nr 24 Hour Square - Benalmadena Message Board - TripAdvisor


to be fair though, you could probably look for crime stories anywhere in the world & come up with lots of them - Spain/the costa del sol/Marbella etc aren't likely to be any worse on the whole than most other places


well perhaps Marbella could be - it is/was the hang out of the _nouveau riche_, so might well attract more 

tbh I think you're focussing too much on crime - you really need to work out the logistics of moving here first - find out what visa you might be able to obtain - or do you have that in hand already?


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## Navas (Sep 2, 2012)

Police and corruption seem to go together wherever you live, be it the USA, UK or anywhere else in the world (a simple search with Google will reveal many instances). Having said that, my cousin happens to be a policeman in northern Spain and is one of the most honest people I know and highly respected in his community. To say there is no corruption in Spain's police force however, would be naive.
I know nothing about Marbella, but I'm sure others can help you more with that part of your question.
Happy New Year to you too!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I used to live fairly near Marbella and had friends there. Crime there seemed to be much the same as anywhere else - pick pockets, burglaries, the odd mugging etc - but no more than anywhere else. That said, I've heard that the crisis, coupled with the lack of a comprehensive benefit system has driven crime rates up along the costa del sol. I have friends staying in Nerja at the moment, they visit every year and have noticed that there is more talk of crime, business and bar closures this year

Jo xxx


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