alig2010

After various trips and trawling for information, it looks like we will be moving to Alicante next February. In general we prefer city living, so we are torn between living in the city itself or going for the (possibly) safer option of Javea for the links to a bigger expat community and activities.

We are a couple in our mid-forties, no children and aren't looking to work locally as we commute to the UK/work from home.

Can anyone help with some information about Alicante city please?

How easy is it to link in with other EU expats in the city? Are there any particular expat hang-outs in the city?

Any information about the different areas in the city would be very helpful.

We are thinking of doing a 2 month short-term let while we look for a longer-term let and try out the city - any short-term let agencies/apartments that will be available in February?

Does anyone have any experience of the local language schools as we want to continue to take Spanish language classes?

Thanks in advance

Ali

tuk-tuk

Hi Ali,
I personally hate Alicante as it's very hectic. Have you thought about Santa Pola or Campello?. As you will be commuting to the uk regularly they are close to the airport, (worth thinking about?)
Cheers Ed.

Mitzyboy

Sorry Ali, I tend to avoid Alicante city. I think the city and the surrounding area is horrible. Lunar landscape.

You'd probably do better in Javea. The area up here is far better with beautiful countryside, beaches and still only an hourish from Alicante or Valencia airport.

lynnxa

what he said

although if you prefer city living & have no kids I can see why Alicante might appeal

Grebo

I love Alicante, but not city living. We live about a 15 minutes drive away.
There are lots of places close to Alicante that may be more suitable than right in it. San Juan, El Campello, Mutxamel for a start.
One thing to seriously consider if you are thinking about city / town life. Are the fiesta's particularly in the city many roads get closed & can be up to a week or so for the bigger one's like hogueras where large statues get built then burnt where they stand. Bangers & fireworks are very common. Not to put you off but it is a fact of life here.
All great fun unless you have to get to work or like sleeping at night
If you are looking for expats I would say Javea would be better, if you want to learn Spanish, jump into Alicante you won't have a choice.
IMOP Leave your stuff packed up & do some short lets, also bear in mind that there is a HUGE difference in population during the year. Think of doing a whole year of hopping about before you make your mind up. Also if you work from home, do you need a good internet connection ? Something else to check.

HBG

Alicante is a busy city/port, much the same as Valencia, Barcelona and Malaga, though smaller. Few expats actually live in the city itself, but you’ll find tens of thousands of them within a half-hour drive in any direction but mostly to the south.

You’ve got busy docks, beautiful promenades, long beaches and all the things that come with them, the ferry goes direct to Algeria and doesn’t come back empty. Like any city it has its good and bad parts, reflected in the rental prices. The apartments overlooking the port are good places to live, as well as the streets immediately behind, all the way up to Corte Ingles. The further away you go, the rougher it gets.

I know that one forum member lives there, but maybe his computer’s blown up.

alig2010

Thanks for your replies everyone. Some useful information there that can go into the mix.

We have indeed considered each town from Santa Pola up to Gandia - and each of them have had their pros and cons. I agree that the countryside is more beautiful up the coast and it may be that eventually that will be a priority for us, but for the moment ...

We do like city living and realise that you won't really know until you try it. So that is what we are hoping to do; use the city as a base and venture further afield from time to time.

Grebo - thanks for the reminder about the vagaries of the Spanish phone and internet services, it is on the list. As is the noise factor - they do like things noisy don't they! We will be checking out San Juan and the surrounding areas when we have more time in February.

We would prefer not to have to have a car while we are here so that is also a factor in our decision at the moment. Transport in and around the city seems relatively good. Javea to Alicante is 3 hours by transport - although at least it can be done.

If anyone has a personal recommendation for a local removal company that does safe storage I'd be grateful.

Thanks again for all the useful info

HBG

I can’t disagree with Javea having a much better scenic appearance, and the motorway going past Alicante does run through a lunar landscape. But if you turn off the motorway at almost any point and use a normal road you will soon find yourself in much the same landscape as the rest of the Alicante province.

A case in point is the Aspe turn-off, you really could be on the moon there, but the beautiful Hondon valley is only minutes away,

A few miles further on if you’re travelling south, you will see the sign for Torrevieja which strikes fear into the hearts of people who have never been. But if you decide to visit, over the next ten miles you will find yourself in lush green countryside with orange trees almost within reach if you slow down enough.

Almost every roundabout, as well as having the working girls there, will also take you to some quaint Spanish villages and towns, minutes away.

When you run out of roundabouts at the end of your journey, lock your doors and keep going straight. You will soon come to a stunning promenade which runs on for miles. Follow the signs for the car park at the port.

After you’ve parked your car and switched the alarm on you have a choice. The fishing boat harbour is right in front of you as well as a mile long walk-way out to sea if you’re fit.

I you walk the few steps back to the promenade, you have another choice. There are two blue-flag beaches to the right, and another two to the left. Directly in front of you are pedestrianised streets that take you to the town hall square with its beautiful old Church.

The impressive new Church is several streets away to your right but don’t walk past the music palace, there’s a sniper up on the roofs somewhere taking pot shots at people walking below. It’s only an air rifle, but a powerful one, at least one person has been hospitalised.

If you take the promenade from the new Church back to the car park, watch out for the hundreds of lookie-lookie men, some of them turn violent if you’re rude to them. The pickpockets are also active there so keep your hand on your wallet.

Hopefully your car will still be there, if you’ve left anything on show and they’ve put a brick through your window, the Guardia Civil are situated roughly between the two Churches but a bit further up the hill. Again, avoid the music palace area.

I really don’t know why Torrevieja gets such a bad press.

Mitzyboy

I dont doubt that ... I've visited Elche and other areas around .... but the OP is asking about living in Alicante City, and I still say the city and the immediate area around it are not what I'd like to live in

alig2010

Thanks HGB!!!

We have avoided the big T and the big B because of all the bad press and because it doesn't sound as if what we are looking for will be found in either of those places.

I agree with the fact that turning off a main road along the way will often result in an unexpected view and glimpses of the different ways of life in Spain. We do it quite often - although mainly due to ambiguous signposting on the roads.

Thanks for the info and I think that we will save the day trip to T for a nice blustery February afternoon when the snipers, pickpockets et al might be otherwise engaged.

Mitzyboy

If you like city life, have you looked at Valencia? The train line runs from Gandia to Valencia, is regular and a cheap, so any of the towns along the way would give you excellent access to the city

poolboy

The train from Denia to Alicante is an hourly service & cheap as chips.

I can't drive at the moment so today went to Benidorm from Denia, 5.7e return & 1 hour journey.

There were bus connections at Calpe, Altea & Benidorm.

The train was really busy, couldn't believe it but good news as it proves it is viable.

I'd choose somewhere with good public transport links as driving everywhere is not much fun.

I'd also get someone local to each place you consider to show you the good & bad, well worth a lunch & a bit of cash.

HBG

I’ve done the trip many times in the past and used to get off at various stations to sample the local scenery. My favourite place was Altea, from the station you can walk to the top and enjoy amazing views.

I’ve read articles praising the quality of the light at this location which didn’t mean much to me, but I’ve got some amazing photographs where that quality is apparent.

At the opposite end of the scale, Villajoyosa has a horrible station and the town isn’t much either unless you like cats. There are thousands of them on the sea front, I’ve got photographs of them too.

alig2010

Thanks again each of you for all the info.

Mitzyboy - we weren't so fond of Valencia for some reason. It just didn't 'feel' right for us the last time we visited. Also, the airport at Alicante has the right access to the UK for us. But we won't discount it if Alicante doesn't work out.

Good to know about the train - whichever place we live in we can use it to get out and about rather than rey on the bus.

Just got to sort out moving our things into storage and a short-term let and we'll be there before you know it

tim1963

I live in Moraira just down the coast from Javea. I've tried my best to like Alicante but just can't seem to find anything special to fall in love with. Valencia on the other hand is a city worth taking the time to explore. However, for air travel Alicante is the better option - Valencia's airport is surprisingly small for such a big city and there's nowhere near the options that Alicante has. I've done the trip to the airport many times and in many different ways. Driving of course is the most convenient - exactly one hour door-to-door and parking is cheap. The Denia train is more of a scenic tourist train than a real option. It takes forever to get to Alicante and then you've got to schlep your stuff from the train station to get the airport bus that in turn does a tour of the city before eventually getting there. It's ok to do this once but you'd quickly tire of it if you were making it a routine. The best option I've found is to catch the bus to Benidorm bus station and get the direct airport bus from there. If you get the timing right it's perfect but the airport bus only runs every 2 hours after 4 or 5pm which can mean a lot of sitting around.