Hello I will be in Majorca from 02/07/15 for approx 4 weeks and would appreciate any advice regarding my move...I would like to find a friendly ' livley!' Village
...I love to walk and paint ( not at the same time though) thanks

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

Thank you Rosemary

Welcome.

What kind of advice do you seek?

You mentioned "I would like to find a friendly ' livley!' Village ...I love to walk and paint".

Well, there's a lot of that going around here, but it depends on your definition of 'lively'. You could divide that into two main groups:

A) Tourist resort
B) Local village

Both have very different definitions of 'lively', - A) offers the typical tourist offerings, whilst B) offers traditional 'liveliness' - local custom etc.

In general, A) will not deliver a wealth of 'charm', but in some circumstances, B) will ooze 'charm'. But 'charm' is also a bit subjective, so it depends a bit on what you find 'charming'.

As a painter and walker, I'd suspect that you'd lean heavily into the B category.

I'm happy to help, so what do you need to know?

Hello Amedeislas and thanks for replying. Yes definitely ' B' .I would like to visit a few villages but don't know where to begin...perhaps you could advise regards

Ok, well... I'll try to be brief - no, too broad a question for short answers - Sorry.

OK, if it's on the coast and during high season, it's a tourist resort, so I'll stick mainly to less touristy places.

If you seek authenticity, you need to go where tourists don't. OK, tourists go everywhere eventually, but the inland areas are far less trampled. If you go to places that are really small, it will be pretty, but very sleepy. Until there's a 'fiesta' and then things get lively.

The one exception to 'coast' and 'tourist resort' are the villages on the mountainous west coast, where there are few beaches and access is 'challenging'. But it's jaw-droppingly gorgeous and inspirational. Lively? not really, but beautiful.

The mid-sized villages that aren't quite as sleepy do have things going on - evenings and weekends - if only than a lot of people eating and drinking at the bar in the square. The larger the village, and the more activity, the more tourists you will find - but those that seek that kind of tourism are quite 'alternative' to the mass tourism crowds - they are of a very different ilk and shouldn't be feared.

There's a saying on this island - no matter where you are, the distance to the coast is measured in minutes - so many of the less trampled villages aren't all that far from the beaches - except in the west, where you have the mountains, so access to the coast is more difficult.

Here are a few suggestions of villages:

West (coastal side of mountains) Deia, Valldemossa, Banyalbufar, Port de Soller (touristy, but charming), Sa Calobra (hard to get to, but it's a beachy place where scenes in major motion pictures are often shot), Cala san Vincenc (a little touristy but pretty).

On the eastern slope of the mountains (inland) is wine country. Santa Maria, Binssalem, Consell, Moscari, Campanet, Buger.. all small villages with a very 'artisan' flavour. Santa Maria is a bit larger, and would have more 'liveliness'. It's also on the train line, so easy access to Palma.

INCA, is a larger, more traditional (no-touristy) town but it has a bit of charm and is lively (also on the train line) .

Speaking of Palma, it's a big city, but the old town is something to behold - particularly at night. Another story.

In the center of the island are the really old traditional villages, but not necessarily sleepy. These include Algaida, Santa Margalida, Porreres, Montuiri, Campos, - all lovely old villages each with their own flavour.

Then there's Sineu, which is an ancient stone village - not all that small - that has become a little bit of a tourist attraction, not only due to it's charm and lovely old restaurants and bars, but it also hosts the island's oldest and most authentic market every wednesday. It's a great little village.

Santanyi is another lovely old village in the southeast that has a lot of excellent bars and restaurants in the center, and it's not all that far from lovely beaches, and coastal villages like Cala Figuera, which is also a kind of inspirational little harbour, not very spoilt by tourism.

Then there's Manacor, Mallorca's 2nd largest city. It's ... interesting ... it's not a terribly touristy charming place (but the centre is charming and lively at night), but it is a good place to live - cost of living is low, and there's a lot of resources - shops, supermarkets, etc. AND it's not far from the east coast, which has a lot of small, intimate beaches.

To the north, it's quite touristy - Alcudia bay has some of the best beaches on the island - it's flat and expansive, but naturally, it's pretty built up with meg-hotels and what-not.

But if you go to the far eastern edge of Alcudia bay, there is Colonia de Sant Pere, which is a sleepy little coastal village with spectacular views.

There's also Cala Ratjada - tourist resort but not entirely spoilt. Pretty.

South of that is Capdepera, a lovely little village built on a hill, with a beautiful castle. Not all that touristy. Pretty traditional.

Near there is Arta, a larger village - also built on a hill - that seems to attract a lot of artists and writers. Some names you know live in that area.

I probably should add that in any of the aforementioned, you won't likely find many other Brits, so if it's important that you are around other British, you probably need to be looking at Andratx or perhaps Port de Pollenca. Andratx is lovely, touristy, but rather upscale (and expensive) but plenty of Brits. Port de Pollenca is a tourist resort also very British, expensive.

There's more, but I think that's probably more than enough for you to digest for now.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Cheers,

-Ami

Fantastic! Thank you ( perhaps you should write a book regarding the Island) I will keep in touch to let you know how my search is going...again soooo helpful many thanks marina

Hi - can anyone recommend an English speaking Gestor in Mallorca (preferaby to help us with residency/NIE application

Where are you on the island?

It's a pretty easy thing to do, if a bit bureacratic. You really don't need a gestor, but if you're willing to pay for it, there are many. There is one in Manacor that specialises in these things (although you hardly need a specialist), but sorry, I can't remember their name.

Have a look at angloInfo Baleares, they explain a lot, and there are some English gestors advertised there..

thanks for the reply , in Uk at the moment so really looking to move within 6 months

ill look into ths site :-)

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

Can recommend an excellent one in Alcudia if you finish up in the north of the island.
Sorted me out with everything from, NIE, residencia, autonomous to the paper work for my business and car re-registering

thanks for the reply Lesley , do you know if they would cover south of the island ?
could you pm their email / phone number

thankyou

thanks for the PM

Hello , will arrive in Palma on 19 the to explore options re permanent move.thanks to Ami for excellent information.Again all advice appreciated