Moses2013

While most people moved to Spain for sun and heat, do you think that will change in the future and we'll see people moving away from dry areas in Spain again? Apart from tanning that has gone in and out of fashion for various reasons, we also have other problems like water scarcity etc.. Of course sun worshippers will boast they have the best climate and won't be bothered as long as they have water, but will it be an issue for future generations and do people actually consider these things?

Retired in Euskadi

We get on average 1500mm annual rainfall, fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, but with less in the hot summer months.
We get hot days, with June to September averaging from 25-29C. I reckon that's ideal, especially for growing most crops. Even the beach lovers are satisfied.
We don't really need air-conditioning units either.
And we tend not to get forest fires.
So, all in all, I reckon we come off miles better than the scorching south.

Moses2013

I agree and sounds ideal really. Funny enough most people always talk about pensions, property values, their kids future and would consider things like not buying in flood prone areas, but it seems that our generation don't consider droughts to be a problem and increasing heat.




If you look back in early history many people actually avoided the sun and excessive heat, then we had the time when people would lay in the sun all day and it couldn't be hot enough. Now it seems that people use sun screen to protect themselves and the next generation might consider your location to be ideal, so in the long run a really good investment with environmental benefits.

Retired in Euskadi

Property values are relatively high here; perhaps a reflection of better job prospects.

You're right to think that water will be a major issue in future. We should always value it and spend money on infrastructures to preserve it; the one benefit that Franco bequeathed Spain was the amount of dams he had built. That's all I'll give him though!!

I'd like to think that this area won't succumb to the tourist boom that the south experienced/still experiences. We don't have 'guaranteed' sunshine 24/7, so hopefully that will deter people.

If Spain had the money, they might consider piping water from the north to the south, though judging from the almost daily corruption cases in the Spanish media (most of them from the south), best to forget it; the temptation to make a fast buck in concrete would be too great.

Countryboy1

We live in Moraira and have to say that over the past few years it has become very overcrowded. IMO there must be a limit. All services are stretched to the limit (including Internet!). The beach has become more and more crowded over the years and at some point I think it can't continue in this way before serious problems develop. Surely no resort can continue absorbing more and more visitors. Anyone visiting the town in the evening during the season will be surprised, to say the least, as to how unpleasantly
packed it is. Just a personal opinion of course.

Loafing Along

Go to Navarra, almost english climate just a few degrees either way, except for the wind..Beautiful countryside, wonderful food, not as expensive as the Euskadi for properties. Certainly not over-crowded and close enough to great beaches if you need them, either Basque coast or into France, about 40 minutes from Pamplona to San Sebastian.Many very pretty villages and attractive small towns.

Countryboy1

Who comes to Spain for an almost English climate!

marcbernard

Maybe Biffta is right. Moraira has become very crowded in the season, but this is not alone in the high season. Maybe we should all decry it as a terrible place to go, but that would not be the truth. Moraira is fantastic. I don't live in it but in the next village. It is far better than Javea in my opinion, and I used to live in Javea until 1997.
The increase in residents, whether full or part time, or even casual visitors, tells me that something is right. What maybe is not so right is the failure of the local authorities to take on board the need to develop facilities during the winter to ease future congestion. Such is the universal failure of councils everywhere.

Loafing Along

Fortunately individual tastes differ otherwise there would be 300 Million Europeans sat on the beach at the Costa del Sol every year.
My point was more about the discussion topic, green, well-watered and not over-populated

Retired in Euskadi

I agree; you have a variety of green and high rainfall in the north to landscape similar to Utah in the south.
But don't spread it around too much or the tourist industry will spoil it!

johnnyone

I am constantly surprised how green the coast north of Denia is compared with the coast south of Denia.
Whilst, obviously, not as green as the north of Spain it is surprisingly green considering the climate.
The water for the paddy fields must come from somewhere.

Moses2013

Maybe culture, different scenery, other opportunities, or maybe just change? Many people might go to Spain for the weather now, but maybe that will change in the future and you have to consider all things (resources, climate change, cultural differences).




As others have said, some places are already so crowded and they keep building more hotels, but at some point we might reach the stage where these places become so unattractive and unsustainable.


Retired in Euskadi wrote the following:
But don't spread it around too much or the tourist industry will spoil it!


I don't think we can avoid it and if you look at the world now, more people are actually looking to go to cooler climates and a holiday home where it's green is becoming more popular. A lot of Arabs actually go to Austria now Why Zell am See in Salzburg is so popular with GCC tourists

Bo S

I don't think water will be scarce anymore than it has been historically in certain parts of the world. No one has ever been concerned about what would happen if the sun stopped giving of its life sustaining rays. It could never stop doing this. Could it?

Retired in Euskadi

Your last two words imply doubt. Never assume things will go on being the same. Things change, as history teaches us.
Water is too precious a commodity to waste or take for granted. Those who have little value it, such as people who inhabit desert areas.
In other words, we all need to take responsibility.
Each household uses on average 4-500litres daily. In Spain I daresay more households than not have dishwashers. And all have washing machines.

As world populations rise and people demand basics such as water, there will be only so much to go round. We must plan for the future.

Moses2013

The problem is that it's already unbearable in many parts of the world and the sun is like a car engine that overheats. Eventually it will go, but until then it's getting hotter and hotter. While people in Spain are complaining about low birth rates, it's the opposite in other parts of the world and where will these people live? This is an interesting article https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...131_story.html
Imagine people complaining about the heat in Madrid when it's 30c, but in Basra it's over 50c today.