I'm not disputing that - although stated population is almost certainly less than actual population

& yes - tourism is the major industry

& yes again - it's well documented that over half the population is non-Spanish

but that still doesn't make it the desolate place you seem to think it is in winter - it's a busy enough town all year round - but as I said, in summer, for me, it's a nightmare!!

LOL...funny. I wasn't putting Javea down, its a lovely town and has beautiful beaches, countryside and restaurants etc, etc just in light of the original question from a young family looking to moving to Spain, the issue of young kids being faced with two languages, seasonal variations in the population, public transport issues even which side of the mountain to not live on are all pertinent aspects that should be considered and better know about them and to have them thought out before the big move! I am going out now to get an "I Love Javea" tee-shirt printed!! Besos a tots.

It's rather ironic that I contributed earlier to this thread defending against accusations of Moraira being a ghost town in winter and now people are defending Javea against the same accusation.

The reality is that resort towns have infrastructure to deal with summer crowds and these amenities seem OTT for the winter population. The result is a feeling of emptiness to the casual observer. This is true of nearly all summer resort towns whether in Spain or the UK with a few notable exceptions (e.g. Benidorm). However for those permanently resident in the town they often see beyond this.

We don't see beyond, we see the reality. Many resort cities are empty in winter, ghost towns, with bar and restaurants closed, etc.... Javea is alive all year, less people but everything open and alive!

But this is boring if you are used to live in a big city, as it is boring any other village in this country. You don't have theaters, museums, ... It is boring even in the Summer, or still more, because you can't go anywhere...

I see Moraira more as a ghost town in winter. I go there sometimes, when I am fed up of this...and see it.

Well I was trying to get away from the Javea is better than Moraira motif but as a passing comment I assure you that at least 50% of the bars/restaurants along the Arenal front have been closed up in winter when we have been there.

Anyway onto the bigger point. We live half the year in a big city ( Manchester) and the apparent charms of theatres, museums etc. are somewhat illusory. Theatres are great but too expensive to go to regularly ( two tickets purchased recently for Legally Blonde set me back £120). Museums are not an every month attraction. Most people centre their daily lives around restaurants and bars for entertainment. You can find those in Javea and Moraira in plentiful supply. For more esoteric and sophisticated entertainment you can travel to Valencia or Alicante. The journey is not impossible for special occasions.
By the way saw yesterday that Moraira is getting a big music festival in September which has previously hosted Bon Jovi, Elton John and Brian Adams.

My point is that anywhere can be boring or interesting. Life is what you make it.

Do not live in either town so I am totally unbiased. I have found that both are less busy in the winter months because of the lack of tourists so much nicer to visit but are definitely not ghost towns by any means. When we were visiting Spain to choose a house we did it in January to see whether places "worked" for us and we did visit places that were real ghost towns. Usually these had a totally separate holiday area beside the beach and the main town was a little further inland, not much but enough to separate town from beach area. I will not name them because I do not want to start another debate about this but suffice to say that we saw no-one at all in these particular places, we were really surprised at the closed shutters on all of the windows and shops but now understand why. At the time we did not know that they were mostly owned by people from Madrid who only use them at Easter and during the summer months.

Rosemary

We all tend to fall into the trap of defending the place where we live ( believe me I've had to do it often for Manchester when people refer to gun crime in Moss Side). All I can say is that we've never regretted choosing where we live in Spain and that I favoured the Cab de la Nao area of Javea before we bought but my wife convinced me about Moraira. I still love Javea and in reality since it is a 15 minute drive away it little matters whether you live in either place. However we did not have to worry about childrens schooling since we bought as a holiday home which was to become a retirement home.

As an addendum to the earlier exchange, we had a place in Orlando for many years. It was certainly not a ghost town in Winter as their season continues all year. But sophisticated entertainment ( professional shows, concerts etc.) was even less accessible ( with the exception of the permanent Cirque de Soleil which was very expensive) than it is in our area of Spain. After all ther are wonderful concerts and shows available in Valencia. Also people may look down their noses at the Benidorm Palace show but we though is was a very professional and great night out.( and to place this in context we have regularly been to top shows in London, Paris, Miami etc.)

I didn't say Moraira is worse than Javea. Only that I go in winter and find it emptier than Javea. Neither of them are ghost towns. Moraira is a beautiful place, and better in some aspects... you don't find holes in the main avenues ground, for example. The Arenal seems abandoned! Some roads are a nightmare! (Please, vote! to change this situation )

I meant BIG cities. To me, Alicante is a big village. I have lived there and it's also boring. You are completely right, Life is what you make of it, but I miss wandering the streets and find new people and new places and new "free" exhibitions of photography, paintings, whatever.... and try new "experimental" restaurants decorated by creative young minds, and find public transport everywhere! I miss the movement, and you don't have all that here. Everything is so SLOWWWW! Here you live as if you were on hollyday all year...

So, if anyone is thinking to come here, bear it in mind!!! Most coast cities in Spain= Ghost towns in winter. Javea and Moraira= Two pearls, but boring.

By the way, I heard Moraira has a nickname: JURASIK PARK!

Has anyone actually considered that after working a long hot summer people might like to close up in the winter and go on holiday themselves !!!

they do, don't they - & they deserve it!!

when we first moved to Jávea everything seemed to close for the whole winter - nowadays they all close - but they seem to take it in turns

you should obviously ( all other things being equal) reside in Valencia, Barcelona, Paris, London or even Manchester or somewhere similar. I sympathise. If you love big cities and their buzz, living in a quieter or more parochial environment can be frustrating. I guess you're fairly young. At the advanced age of 62 I have had all that and am happy living in Jurassic Park.

Closed? I go to Arenal beach every single day in winter and I'ld say 80-90% of the bars/restaurants are open. Los Remos, Jalousie, Aqua, Austriaco, La Boheme, Lungo Mare, Pizzeria Pepa,etc... all they are open.

Age is in the mind. I know young people who is older than the oldest (in mind), I see them every day. My grandmother used to have (she died at 104!) the youngest spirit of my family!
But, yes, maybe I should live anywhere else...

yes - that's what I said - they don't all close anymore - but particularly in the port, they used to

now in winter you will find that many/most of them do close for a short time - just a week or so - maybe longer if they are refurbing- but not all at the same time - so it never feels 'closed'

Obviously i wasn't very successful in relaying irony in reference to my age and the Jurassic Park nickname for Moraira