bucko1

Hi everyone

we have been out to estepona and will be moving over in september, we lived in tenerife for six years so we have our NIE and social numbers all in place. having a boy who will be 3 in oct we have been looking for schools in the area . before we make the move we trying to find out if there are nicer area's along that end of the coast as we are not yet commited to estepona
any info would be of great help.( maybe the duquesa area )

kind regards

steve (bucko1)

me me

I can´t help with any information, but the place is called ESTEPONA

Tolly

Depends what you are looking for - Estepona is in my opinion a nice Spanish town with a mix of holiday makers and expats, it is friendly and i certainly feel safe wandering around it on a night out. Dont have a need for schools - so would not be able to suggest which ones are good, it has a good selection of shops, restuarants, nice beach and has good public transport links - but it depends on what you mean by "nicer areas", i have only ever been to Duquesa in the evening for the odd meal - personally i would not want to live there.

AdrianTO

What's your definition of "nicer"? More upscale? More things to do? More expats? Less expats? Quieter? Noisier?

Embudu

Hi there,

Me and my bf live very near Duquesa in Manilva (Vistalmar), we work in Gibraltar and have been here over a year now.

Duquesa is not the best place for nights out & it is very 'English', we are 25 and we don't bother with the port, Estepona is defo better for restaurants and atmosphere, with it being more traditionally Spanish.

Nevertheless, we have friends in Estepona and the properties are not a patch on what we have in Manilva. Flat prices are higher in Estepona, for run down 1 bed room apartments with no aircon etc. We have a greater quality of life where we are, we have 3 bedrooms,3 bathrooms, 3 sun terraces, private garage, choices of 5 swimming pools and are not far from the beach (all great when the weather is good, been raining a lot here...)

You need to weigh up the pro's and con's for your situation and come here, view lots of properties in different areas and then make the decision for yourself.

We are dependent on having a car where we are so you also need to take that in to consideration.

If you are looking for work, Gibraltar is a better bet than Spain.

Good luck and feel free to get in touch if you need any help

bucko1

Hi embudu

Thanks for your reply,we have had a look at the area of manilva on the net and must say it does look a nice place to live,we are looking to rent for a year or so to give us time to look at all areas down that coast line,we are looking for a 3 bed and have seen some for around the 600-700 euro mark,
do you know if thats the norm for manilva. as for work i am a painter and decorator and will be commuting for a while until i can set up my own business
i also have welding certs and used to make gates,grills,fencing ect in tenerife
so that would be another option,is there a job site that you could recommend.
As for the night life my clubing days are over ( have trouble staying up till 2am lol ) but still up for a good night out my gf of 30 is doing a spanish GCSE at the moment she has been a restaurant manager in tenerife so hopefully get a job in that line of work, any info on jobs and rentals would be of great help, hope the weather picks up for you

kind regards

bucko1 (steve)

vox populia

Hi Steve why leave Tenerifeee south coast around Esteponi full of London southeners who sold their high-rise bought council property too the city buffs!! Move upwards above Malaga or west to Duquesa has not got a lot of business opportunities unless you are prepared to travel to Gib and find a job which at the moment would b very difficult in current climb!!

katy06

Hi Embudu

We are also looking to move to the area... We have looked at a lot of areas and Manilva seems to be the place we keep coming back to. My OH has an interview with a company in Gib and he is looking to commute. I noticed you both work in Gib and was wondering how you go about commuting and how long it takes you? Also do you have any children as we will be looking into schools around the area too?

Do you take out private health care for Spain?

Thanks

Kate

Rosemary

As Concierges for the Spanish section of BE we would like to say hello and welcome.

Great to see three new members helping each other on this thread. There are quite a few members in that area so you should get more information and help soon. Good luck in your research and future endeavours.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let us know if you need any further help.

Rosemary and Graham

EllisG

Takes about 20/30 minutes to get to Gib and anything up to an hour more to get through the border (unless done on a motorbike or park in the free parking spaces near the med sea front in La Linea and walk through). If you don't pay social security in Spain then I would join http://www.helicopterossanitarios.com who run a great service from above Eroski in Manilva giving you access to a GP and ambulance, combined with a private health policy you will have enough cover. If you have social security then the health centre in Sabinillas gives a pretty service although any need for more than a basic health service such as tests/consultants will involve a trip to Marbella at the Hospital Costa Del Sol

Rosemary

What a very informative post.

Welcome to BE, hope you enjoy yourself with reading threads and taking part with posts.

Rosemary

Tolly

Agree totally, although have not been into the Manilva facility, we have on a number of occassions used the big facility in Marbella, we have also called them to come to our home.

also had a friend who called them as he had an accident while out and they went to him in town

jackytoo

Yes excellent service. You can call them out as many times as you want without penalty. We have used them and sometimes they arrived in 20 mins. You do need additional medical cover as well if eg. they visit you and say you need to go to hospital, from than on there is no cover after they have transported you to urgencias.

jimenato

Yes I know friends who use them - very good.

Have they got a helicopter though? I've only ever seen a van with a helicopter painted on the side.

jackytoo

They do have a helicpoter but only used for emergencies. I think it is based near Banus. Have seen it at some road traffic accidents.