# Arboleas



## Brewerydave (Nov 28, 2012)

Greetings all

We are the very early stages of starting our property search in Spain, and currently favouring the Almeria area.

We have a motorhome and intend visiting the whole area in due course, and spending some time wherever we decide we like, and moving around to ensure we find the right place for us:fingerscrossed:

What has struck me - using the various online searches - is that one area in particular crops up more than any other for the type of property we are looking for (3 bed villa, pool, privacy, bit of land, within walking distance of a town with some 'life', bars and basic amenities etc.)

*Arboleas.*

Now I know everyone will have their own opinions of various area's - but the purpose of this post is to see if I can find out why this area in particular seems to feature highly in every search I do - and there do seem to be (on paper!) very many such properties in and around this town!

This post is specifically about this area, I'll doubtless seek further advice from your good selves in due course on all the other aspects of buying a property in Spain - and am doing plenty of reading and research in the meantime so no need to tell me to rent first, get an independent solicitor, make sure a property is 'legal' etc!!! I have scoured this forum and and am well aware of potential pitfalls - thank you all for the mine of information which is on here:thumb:

So - can you enlighten me - good and bad regarding this area and why there seem to be so many properties available there!!! etc!
Many thanks! 
Dave


----------



## Gareth54 (Nov 8, 2014)

One of the reasons could be that the IBI is tripling this year, also seem to be a lot of new villa's with (dodgy)!!?? licenses, don't know. This site might help.
Arboleas Live - Latest News


----------



## Leper (May 12, 2010)

Hi Dave, You probably love your motorhome, and that's OK. As a guy who has little or no vested interests in Spain I would advise you tread carefully in any part of Spain for a plethora of reasons. A month parked up in a backwoods beach is not the ideal way in which to do a recce for more permanent accommodation. No doubt this way will assist in reducing the areas in which you desire to live. But, then the real work starts. Do you like the road in which your permanent home is located? How are the neighbours? Does it suit all your requirements? (Supermarket, Airport, Centro Medico etc nearby?). Try the old successful and tested way - visit in the off season; weigh every consequence;if you find your dream home employ a gestor to act for you only.


----------



## Brewerydave (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks for the advice.
We intend coming out for a month in June to have a general look about the area - and currently deciding whether to drive out in the motorhome and stay on a campsite at Los Gallardos, or rent an appt. for a few weeks, and will hire a car either way. (The advantage of bringing the motorhome is we won't have to pack and hang about airports !!!)

We are not complete 'Spain novices' as have visited the Costa Blanca area for the past 5 years, and also had a family property in Mallorca for over 20 years! That said - I am well aware that holiday time is different from 'living' !

If we like the area - we will return off season in January/February for another recce, before making any decisions about the area! 

I'll be retired by then (and will only be 50!) so there will be no need to rush, and we won't have to return to the UK as we have no property to sell there!


----------



## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

We live in Arboleas, well, 7km up the Arroyo Aceituno out in the sticks as it were but we're still part of the Arboleas catchment.

There's plenty of properties in this area that might interest you but the first thing you must do if you have one in mind is go to the town hall where they will tell you all about it. We have a good team at the town hall (the envy of other councils around here), works are in progress to improve the place and to satisfy the EU regulations so that an innovation can be passed that will legalise every single property in the Arboleas area....... a pipe dream? .... maybe but they're definitely going for it (more info on the town hall website mentioned above).

Right, that's got the political gubbins (not my forte  )out of the way what's it like to live here? Well, we like it but as I said before we're out in the sticks. There's a lot of immigrants here (half the Arboleas population I believe), too many for me if I was brutally honest, but the local Spanish more than make up for that. They are wonderful people and are the main reason we are still here.

If you're looking for "action" then this isn't the place to be, there's naff all to do ........ which is why we like it but if you like your walks & wildlife, especially birds, then yes.

I could rattle on all day but you'll have to come & see for yourselves to see how many of your boxes the place ticks. If you want to meet up, or indeed come & have a look where we live, when you are here then you are very welcome. Just shout up on here & we'll arrange something.

The best of luck with whatever you decide.


Doggy


----------



## Dunpleecin (Dec 20, 2012)

Don't go in June. Go in January or February when it is cold, wet and very very windy there. You have to see somewhere at it's worst to enjoy it at it's best


----------



## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

Dunpleecin said:


> Don't go in June. Go in January or February when it is cold, wet and very very windy there. You have to see somewhere at it's worst to enjoy it at it's best



People keep banging on about the wind here ......... well, apart from a combination of lentils and the local beer going through me faster than a Japanese bullet train (very windy ) I don't think it's excessive but there we go. 



Doggy


----------



## Dunpleecin (Dec 20, 2012)

owdoggy said:


> People keep banging on about the wind here ......... well, apart from a combination of lentils and the local beer going through me faster than a Japanese bullet train (very windy ) I don't think it's excessive but there we go.
> 
> 
> 
> Doggy


Are they all wrong then? Or are you used to it now? To be fair though I think the past couple of years it's been windier all over per se.


----------



## Brewerydave (Nov 28, 2012)

owdoggy said:


> I could rattle on all day but you'll have to come & see for yourselves to see how many of your boxes the place ticks. If you want to meet up, or indeed come & have a look where we live, when you are here then you are very welcome. Just shout up on here & we'll arrange something.
> 
> The best of luck with whatever you decide.
> 
> ...


Many thanks Owdoggy. May well take you up on that!!!

Will definately be over in June for a general look see, then hoping to rent somewhere from Septmember and see how we go!


----------



## Lamplady (Dec 19, 2014)

Hello I just came across this thread and am wondering how Dave got on when he visited Arboleas. Hubby and I are retired and thinking of renting for a year or two in the Arboleas region, about 10 miles from Arboleas. We have never stayed in the region, always stayed in beach areas. But hubby isn't keen to live in that environment, too crowded and I agree to some extent. We both like peace and quiet. I write for my sins and hubby builds drones for his. We feel we need a change from the UK, somewhere to really kick back and enjoy the sun and a pool. How long does winter last in the region? How cold does it actually get? Would we be spending as much on fuel as we do here? Arbolease is only some 25 miles or so from Mojacar, which makes me wonder surely it can't get that cold. Are there cafes in the area where people can meet up to make friends? Do people mainly socialise at home? Any information would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lamplady said:


> Hello I just came across this thread and am wondering how Dave got on when he visited Arboleas. Hubby and I are retired and thinking of renting for a year or two in the Arboleas region, about 10 miles from Arboleas. We have never stayed in the region, always stayed in beach areas. But hubby isn't keen to live in that environment, too crowded and I agree to some extent. We both like peace and quiet. I write for my sins and hubby builds drones for his. We feel we need a change from the UK, somewhere to really kick back and enjoy the sun and a pool. How long does winter last in the region? How cold does it actually get? Would we be spending as much on fuel as we do here? Arbolease is only some 25 miles or so from Mojacar, which makes me wonder surely it can't get that cold. Are there cafes in the area where people can meet up to make friends? Do people mainly socialise at home? Any information would be greatly appreciated.


I'm not sure anyone from that region posted here, but it's worth a look,
You'll see that in general people living in the south of Spain agree it does get cold for some months of the year.
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/sp...837609-weather-spain-could-everyone-help.html


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Lamplady said:


> Hello I just came across this thread and am wondering how Dave got on when he visited Arboleas. Hubby and I are retired and thinking of renting for a year or two in the Arboleas region, about 10 miles from Arboleas. We have never stayed in the region, always stayed in beach areas. But hubby isn't keen to live in that environment, too crowded and I agree to some extent. We both like peace and quiet. I write for my sins and hubby builds drones for his. We feel we need a change from the UK, somewhere to really kick back and enjoy the sun and a pool. How long does winter last in the region? How cold does it actually get? Would we be spending as much on fuel as we do here? Arbolease is only some 25 miles or so from Mojacar, which makes me wonder surely it can't get that cold. Are there cafes in the area where people can meet up to make friends? Do people mainly socialise at home? Any information would be greatly appreciated.


Go to Google Earth, locate on the area you want, zoom in then go to street view. You can then do a virtual tour and look at what bars cafes etc there are, how fresh and vibrant or how run-down and scruffy they are etc.


----------



## deefitz (Apr 19, 2014)

baldilocks said:


> Go to Google Earth, locate on the area you want, zoom in then go to street view. You can then do a virtual tour and look at what bars cafes etc there are, how fresh and vibrant or how run-down and scruffy they are etc.


But remember some street images are several years old and things may have changed.


----------



## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

Lamplady said:


> Hello I just came across this thread and am wondering how Dave got on when he visited Arboleas. Hubby and I are retired and thinking of renting for a year or two in the Arboleas region, about 10 miles from Arboleas. We have never stayed in the region, always stayed in beach areas. But hubby isn't keen to live in that environment, too crowded and I agree to some extent. We both like peace and quiet. I write for my sins and hubby builds drones for his. We feel we need a change from the UK, somewhere to really kick back and enjoy the sun and a pool. How long does winter last in the region? How cold does it actually get? Would we be spending as much on fuel as we do here? Arbolease is only some 25 miles or so from Mojacar, which makes me wonder surely it can't get that cold. Are there cafes in the area where people can meet up to make friends? Do people mainly socialise at home? Any information would be greatly appreciated.


Brewery Dave posts on a local forum and seems to be sorted.

Cold in winter? yes, but it depends where you are. A place called Oria, just 20 mins drive from Arboleas, regularly gets snow (and sometimes quite a bit of it) in the winter but here where we are, about 7kms up the Arroyo Aceituno, we have seen snow once in six & a half years ........ and it wasn't a lot if I were honest. It's all to do with height.
The temperatures regularly drop below 5 degrees here in the winter but before you run off screaming it's a very short winter so they don't do it very much

You won't spend as much on heating if you do what most do around here & use a log burner. Remember that if you rent a modern villa then they're built to try & keep you cool in the summer...... not warm in the winter.

And speaking of summer, it can get very hot in this area (this summer has been mental!) so excessive heat is another thing you'll have to cope with and if you don't like using aircon then ...... er...... basically you're knackered unless you rent an old cortijo with all it's insulating properties or spend most of the day in the pool

Meeting people isn't a problem in Arboleas as it has at least seven bars. We stay out of the mostly Brit ones but then again we're a bit anti-social

Actually, looking at what I've posted, I haven't painted a very rosy picture but me & Mrs Doggy love it here and it is now "home" for us. 

As I said in an earlier post, I could rattle on all day but you have to come & see for yourselves, you might think it's awful........ but it wouldn't do for us all to be the same eh.


The best of luck to you. 


Doggy


----------



## Lamplady (Dec 19, 2014)

Thank you very much for your reply. Apologies for the delay in replying. I hear what you say about how the villas were built for warm weather. Hubby and I have spent most of the week discussing Spain and Arboleas area is not an option, as it will probably be too cold for us. We really were looking for somewhere warm in the winter, and hadn't realised how cold the region gets.
Thank you again.


----------



## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Lamplady said:


> Thank you very much for your reply. Apologies for the delay in replying. I hear what you say about how the villas were built for warm weather. Hubby and I have spent most of the week discussing Spain and Arboleas area is not an option, as it will probably be too cold for us. We really were looking for somewhere warm in the winter, and hadn't realised how cold the region gets.
> Thank you again.


Many parts of Spain get cold in the winter and many get very hot in the summer, This is because the land changes temperature very quickly even if it is only to a depth of a few centimetres. Water, on the other hand takes a long while to change temperature completely and it depends on its circulation. Therefore, the more inland you are, the more extreme the temperature range. If you want summers that are not so hot and winters that are not so cold, you need to be on the coast. You also need to understand that temperature extremes also vary with altitude so if you are in a river valley, it will be hotter in summer and probably colder in winter, especially if it is a "frost hollow."


----------



## owdoggy (Jul 23, 2008)

Lamplady said:


> Thank you very much for your reply. Apologies for the delay in replying. I hear what you say about how the villas were built for warm weather. Hubby and I have spent most of the week discussing Spain and Arboleas area is not an option, as it will probably be too cold for us. We really were looking for somewhere warm in the winter, and hadn't realised how cold the region gets.
> Thank you again.


De nada señora:yo:

Taking what Baldilocks says a bit further have you thought about the Canary Islands?
They don't have anywhere near the low temps we have here and even on the more popular islands it is possible to get "far from the madding crowd".

Just a thought.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.




Doggy


----------

