Ysgf24

We are a younger active retired couple who want to move to Spain - we speak moderate Spanish and have visited Spain many times in the last ten years. Principal hobbies are art, drama and cookery (me) and golf and gardening (him). We had decided on the Costa Tropical region but are currently flirting with Peñiscola ... any comments or observations would be welcome.

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Moses2013

Looks like a decent area and never heard any complaints. You still have some green and not as overcrowded and dry as some areas further south. Was looking at plots/properties just below Tarragona at some stage and then realised that the nuclear power plant was too close for my liking. Peñiscola is at least over an hour away which is OK.

Ysgf24

Thank you, did not know about power station, will beware!

Moses2013

No worries, not close to where you'll be looking but wouldn't want to live in Calafat directly. It's called Vandellós II and the first Vandellós was shut down following a fire in 1990, according to web.

pwwm

We have lived on Costa Tropical now for almost 14 years and love it.

Bridie55

We visit Almunecar for up to 5 months a year and we love it here as well. It's such a friendly town lots going on for all ages.

FranE

Hello. My husband and I have been visiting Peniscola for 8 or 9 years and bought a house there 18 months ago.


The old town is charming but very touristy, it virtually shuts down in the winter. It's VERY busy in the summer months (which we as part timers tend to avoid anyway) but the tourists are largely Spanish. It's a popular destination for pensioner day-trippers arriving by coach. The "new" town is a less touristy, pretty limited for shopping but has most things you'd want incuding hairdressers, ironmongers, food including a couple of supermarkets, chemists, building supplies. Benicarlo is only a few miles away and has everything, all year round. We also love Vinaros a little further up the coast - small but sort of classy.


I saw on Spanish tv recently that Peniscola has 8,000 residents of which 3,000 are foreigners! From my observations I'd say they were primarily German, French and British, but there are all sorts here (we bought our house from a Hungarian family). There's a small "British bar" in town, and I know of a German bar in Benicarlo, but I think most of the foreign residents are pretty well integrated, as you need to be as there's not much English spoken except by eg bar staff. I'm not aware that there are any foreign "enclaves" so to speak, where the residents are primarily one nationality.


I'm not actually aware of any nearby golf courses, but wouldn't know anyway as that's not our thing. The Universidad Popular runs courses in most things, including art, cookery, keep fit etc. Again, you need to be able to at least get by in Spanish. You can find it via the Ayuntamiento site.


Good luck with your research.

Ysgf24

Fred James

I have never found parking to be a problem in Almunecar. There is a huge free car park at the top of the town and the metered blue zones work very well as the Spanish hate paying to park so you can nearly always find a space.

Ysgf24

Fred James

Yes, that's the one. You can't use it on Fridays as the weekly market is there. You must be unlucky. In 18 years we have never seen it full outside of August and it shuts then for 2 weeks because they hold the feria there. You can always squeeze in, especially at the eastern end.

There is a pay car park down by the beach in the central area. Never full except possibly in late July and August, but the town is best totally avoided in late July and August as the population increases by 500%.

Ysgf24

Pilou

We love the Vinaros - Peniscola region. We prefer Vinaros because it is alive 12 months per year. Beautiful boulevard 'touching' the town center. I miss that in Peniscola and Benicarlo.

Prices for villas in Vinaros still low and not at the level of before 2008.

Ysgf24