elle79

hi

my family and i are planning on moving to the benidorm area january next year,theres myself my husband and my 2 children ages 4 and 8.

can anybody give me any advise on what areas are nice to live,what schools are good in the area,etc etc
we plan on coming over soon to have a good look round,we have lived in spain before so we know some of what we have to do,im not sure on the schooling side as my son wasnt school age when we lived previously.

thanks elle

Madridboy

This area has been covered before on here but I suppose it depends on exactly what type of area you want. Busy or quiet, mainly Spanish or a mix of everyone, the work you will be doing over here, etc.

elle79

id like it busy ive lived in a quiet area in spain before and it wasnt for me.
id like a mix of everyone.me and my husband will be setting up a scooter, quad hire/sales aimed at the holiday makers.
close to schools,town,community etc

Mitzyboy

I must admit I don't know the living areas too well in Benidorm, but I know theres a huge area of flats and houses behind Finestrat and up on the road towards Guadalest at La Nucia

JLFS

I thought this was going to be a thread about the TV series.

You know the one where the mother rode round on an electric wheelchair and had a face like an old tabaco pouch.....

Mitzyboy

Which actually does Benidorm a great disservice. As I mention quite regularly I really enjoy going there from time to time. I do admit I avoid the Red Lion area and usually stay to the South, but its good fun

Dick Dasterdly

I like the one where she went around puffing a fag,sitting in her Popemobile and a couple of Spanish priests couldn't believe their eyes...

Last night there was a one off episode, which followed on from the wedding fiasco at the end of the last series....It was brill.

Don't think it does Benidorm a disservice,...just a somewhat exaggerated more hillarious version of what much of it really is,... and hope will be so again.

For me,its a great contrast from my own place, just to go down there for a week every once in a while, and enjoy the different atmosphere.

Madridboy

Don´t want to worry you but....you might want to re check your buisness idea. I remember someone with the same idea just 2 or 3 years ago who bought a lot of scooters then found he couldn´t get the insurance he needed to do this and ended flogging the scooters off cheap. This was not a runour as I knew someone who took advantage of this offer.

I lived in La Nucia and there are some very nice areas but it was very quiet, on the other hand you only had a 10 minute walk to Alfaz for a (little) bit of life and plenty of schools in these areas.

I remember when they started this series and I wasn´t watching it but the reaction from most was not very positive. While someone was telling me about it a tourist stood behind said she would have cancelled her holiday after seeing it but had been here before and knew it wasn´t as bad as they showed it.....funny that....I thought it was exactly as they showed the new town area.
I did like the wedding part, Garry that played the vicar is a genuinly funny guy....anyone know if he and Micheal still have The Rich Bitch?

elle79

thanks for your reply,we wont be jumping into this feet first,were coming over and we have arranged to see a financial advisor (spanish) and we will be crossing all these bridges b4 we come,if its not viable we wont be coming,we made that mistake e few years ago it didnt work,we have learned from our mistake.as for the insurance you must be able to get it as there is other scooter hire places in the area,but well see when we come over.
thanks elle

HBG

I knew Benidorm really well some 15 years ago, when it was packed in summer and winter. I still visit around a couple of times a year, and the change is amazing, it’s like the place has died.

There’s still a glimmer of light in the old town, but La Cala Finistrat is a ghost town, and the Levante New Town is not much better. The tourists nowadays are mainly elderly Spanish, it’s like they’re trying to take the place back from the Brits. And they’re succeeding.

jackytoo

That is happening on the CDS too. Many more spanish than foreigners even in summer. They seem to love places like Torremolinos and P.Banus.

18 years since I visited Benidorm, may go and see how it has changed one day.

jdr

Many more Spaniards visit Fuengirola too, can`t get on the beach in Los Boliches in the summer.

elle79

the reasons probably because of the "credit crunch" like many brits for the last couple of years havent been going abroad,maybe its the same for the spanish,things have to get better they couldnt get any worse.
i will have to do plenty of research before next year,and make sure its viable,if not i'll be staying put for a couple more years.

Dick Dasterdly

I recall a short holiday there back in the 70s.
To say it was a bit rough would be an understatement.
Arrived to find the hotel in chaos,...there had been break-ins on every floor,..some woman had just slit her wrist on the stairway,..the pool was full of rubbish....
Outside next morning and every morning,..great packs of huge,fearsome, possibly dangerous dogs roaming the streets everywhere.
Traders set up their stalls or open tables down the middle of streets everyday,many of which were laid out with huge assortments of dangerous flick knives,replica guns,(hope thats all they were),and various other lethal looking weapons,..the law and order situation in general seemed pretty bad.
In short, the whole place was a mess with rubbish everywhere, and I swore down never to return again.
However years later I heard good reports about it being cleaned up, and eventually returned about 10 year ago, and have since enjoyed many good times there.

spainrico

You are welcome to read my thoughts on Benidorm in my article here:

http://issuu.com/timadmin/docs/timfeb2010

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