perhaps you should be - we are always looking for new blood
especially during the dark hours when we come out of our lairs.....

: )

Where abouts in spain do you live?

in the middle of 10million olive trees to the north of Granada
Spanish village full of very nice people, the occaisional expat but very few and far between now, it is rare to hear the Queens English here. Some have managed to sell their houses, others have just locked up and gone home
but some of the locals say Good Morning when you say Buenos Dias

although the local schools are teaching English now when in an agricultural village that relies on the olives for its existance the adults are only interested in work, rest and play.

Sounds beautiful ...

(Muy hermoso)

Well, that improves your chances!

I live in the Axarquia region, east of Malaga (claims to have the best climate in Europe, may be debatable but does avoid the extremes of heat and cold you get in some areas). There are a few places you might like to look at:-

Torre del Mar - seaside resort which caters overwhelmingly to the Spanish market. Has a very nice (but dark sand) beach and long, flat promenade flanked by well kept gardens with a bandstand, tennis courts, children's playgrounds, etc. A very family-orientated feel and most of the restaurants and bars stay open all year round as it is a town where people live and work, not a purpose built holiday resort. 35 minute drive from Malaga airport and there is an excellent public transport service with buses to Malaga at least every half hour. Disadvantages - a lot of not very attractive 1960s and 70s apartment blocks, although nowhere near as "high rise" as somewhere like Benidorm.

Frigiliana - extremely pretty village inland from Nerja. Too far to walk to the beach, but there is a decent bus service during the day time. Lots of nice restaurants and bars, not of the "pie and chips and full English breakfast" type. Has all the basic services you need eg shops, bank, etc. The permanent population is around 35% non-Spanish but it is a real mixture of nationalities not with British, German or any other predominating. Disadvantges - always busy with tourists during the day (because it's so pretty) but not the lager lout type.

Algarrobbo Pueblo - pretty village within walking distance of the coast. Much less touristy, very Spanish, property prices cheaper than the other two mentioned. Village has all basic facilities including a municipal swimming pool for the summer months. Disadvantages - the resort of Algarrobbo Costa is not what I'd call attractive with mostly a strip of apartment blocks, although the promenade is nice enough. Not very good public transport connections to other places.

Thank you Lynn

I have just read the first page of posts with mounting incredulity - where on earth do all you people live which are full of Brits and all? Resorts are full of Brits? The coast is full of Brits - All of it?

Estepona (the town) is one place you might try - a Spanish town with a wonderful beach WHERE YOU WILL RARELY HEAR A BRITISH VOICE. There are a couple of Brit bars in the port and one on the seafront otherwise it is almost entirely Spanish.

Nearer Marbella try San Pedro.

Come on everyone - you don't all live in expat gettoes - do you?

There are 1000s of Brits in Estepona and San Pedro

Still, there are 1000s more Spanish people of course

You could be describing Ayamonte exactly. Have a look at the Ayamonte photograph album on the Ayamonte club thread.

as I said earlier - NO gov ! !

just had a nice beer and tapas lunch with local bread baker and also the owner of local bodega

When I lived down that way, a lot of Arabs lived there too, the wealthier ones. Just like their poorer relatives many of them sold carpets, by the thousands, and costing thousands each, exported to rich people all over the world.

Well fair enough but it is a predominantly Spanish town and a very big one in which there are a fair few Brits - and there are many other places like it as well.

The first few posts seemed to be implying that the entire coast was 'full of Brits' or that all resorts are 'overrun by immigrants'. Just not true.

I don't wish to be contrary, but the million British expats living in Spain have congregated on the nicest parts of the coastal region, from Denia down to Estepona. The only places where you don't find them are the ugly parts, without decent beaches, or mountains, or anything to attract discerning people.

Horrible as it sounds, if you want to live along the coast away from expats, you'll have to live in an ugly place, we've put our towels on the beaches in the nice places.

Are you calling Ayamonte ugly! That's fighting talk!

Actually, I'd say it was the opposite

The Brits congregated where their British airports took them i.e. mainly to the foreign tourist areas which have become more and more concreted over. Areas that were set up by Franco because well, they weren't much good for anything else

There isnt even one good beach on the CDS for example. While the beaches in Cádiz, Almeria, Galicia, Asturias and even the Costa Brava are spectacular - not so many British people there