I'm looking for recommendations on where to live in the Valencia region. Somewhere where I can live in house (as opposed to an apartment) in an urbanization/gated community type thing with communal pool, where there is an international community (i.e. I won't be the only foreigner in the village), and decent private/international schools (primary) for my child. I do not want to live in the city proper but would like to live somewhere with good transport connections and enough local cafes, restaurants, and shops for for daily life and activities for children.

[EU citizenship so no visa needed, working online and location independent, currently in Europe, don't speak much Spanish (yet) but spouse does]

I think you need to do some research yourself on any area you think fits the bill, I would never rely on someone else's opinion as "their region, town, village" is always the best but might not be suitable whatsoever for you and your family.
Rent somewhere you think looks good for a week and live as you would normally as opposed to holidays.
Might take a while to find the perfect place but we'll worth it.

Steve

Totally agree with Steve. I live in the Valencia region but my town would not suit you at all but it really suits me. We are all different, have differing needs and wishes. There are many, many places in the region that may be exactly what you are looking for. This forum may be able to narrow down your search a little so could possibly save you some time but it cannot give you a real feel of a place.

Rosemary

Just north of Valencia City you can find the corridor along the CV35 where there are lots of international schools with the amenities you describe, including the Metro.

In line with Steve and Rosemary's comments, L'Eliana is the best (for me). We chose the area for the infrastructure and proximity to schools and the airport. I'm not sure about community pools but most of the houses have their own pool. There are plenty of bars and restaurants and I often hear English spoken in the bars, at which point I switch to silence and sign language due to my anti-socialness.

Thank you! I will obviously do my own research and visit but I wanted to narrow it down to areas that fit the requirements so I don't waste time.

Next question: obviously I will learn Spanish (I understand quite a bit, and can have basic conversations to order food, ask for directions etc) but how easy is it to navigate healthcare/hospitals and childcare needs initially when speaking very little Spanish?

without doubt you will need to employ a translator every now and then, but make sure they are competent in medical translation. Good translators are worth every penny for medical and legal translation. My translator charges €25 for the first hour, then €10 for each subsequent hour.

Steve

Torrent is nice.. metro connection to Valencia... Nice houses which most have a pool..
Prices are a little high but you get what you pay for...

Can't beat being near Alicante - we have airport, AVE, motorways, good public transport including tram, plenty of residential options, mountains, weather, beach, commercial areas, culture, villages etc

I agree on the Alicante part which might suit you. Additionally, a lot of expats live even more south from Alicante in Villa Martin or La Zenia which might be more suiting for you!

For the healthcare: I recommend Asisa if you're going private, they are entirely in English and only recommend English speaking medical professionals.

Kind Regards,

Thats only partly correct.
If you are dutch they tailor the plan to get you into Dutch speaking places, same with German etc..
For car insurance Linea Direct do the exact same thing. I have a different contact number from the one my Dutch neighbour has.
AEGON is alos a good healthcare provider. Need help in English dial the number on the card, press 2 and then 2 again you get english operatives. I think if you press 2 and then 3 it takes you to Dutch.

To the OP As to area to live in YOU and you alone can make the decision. Any advice from any of us will only be true for us.
I live in a flat in a tiny village and it works for us...

Interesting about tailored health insurance. How much are you paying a month (yes I know it varies, just give me a ballpark and your family situation eg 200/month for 2 people over 65 etc)? What about pre-existing conditions - are they covered?

Can anyone with young children (under 5) comment about activities for them? Are there playgroups, library events, music/dance groups, swimming lessons etc like you'd get in England? Do children have 'play dates' at their friend's houses, go to themed birthday parties etc?

I'm living in a country (capital city!) where there is hardly anything for young children, which is why my question sounds a bit odd and like I'm coming in from Mars or something. Kids seems to only play with cousins, and it's very rare for a child to go to another's house for a few hours fun. Birthday parties are always just picnics in the park...

And yes, of course the location is my decision, I just wanted some guidance into areas that would fit my requirements: a house (not a flat) in an area with international/private schools. Thanks everyone for their input!

So our healthcare cost is €904 each no copay no restrictions and has been in operation since January 2020 (was a condition of residency). I am 62 and the wife is 61. It goes up by about €45 every year.
We could move to the convenio which is at a lower cost but Im happy as we are (and once I reach 65 the cost of the convenio doubles and I aint paying that for the two years until the UK takes over and pays)
I had (and still do) a low groin hernia (which was included on the policy with a six month exception)
The wife had high blood pressure which was controlled with drugs and also had a six month exception.
We were due to move here in March 2020 but something happened to the world.
We ended up moving in the August and the exceptions were no longer valid, so the policies were excepted for residency.
However we did have to get a doctors letter to be added to our residency application in Nov 2020. The wife was told by a Spanish doctor that she didn't need the medication so he stopped that (she has had no ill effects since and the Doctor reckoned that Uk doctors prescribe without actually bothering to see if its possible to cure just be changing lifestyle) go figure...
My hernia is not an issue and I could have it operated on at any time just be contacting the private company.. Again Its not a problem and I have no pain..

Our healthcare is tailored as in the fact I wanted to decrease coverage for certain illnesses that were included but have never ever occurred in my family and no dental but an increase in the travel insurance as we planned (going forwards) to visit our daughter in Oz every couple of years for a period of three months.
We informed the company where we lived and they informed the medical centre (public) that we would seek treatment there. We had a call from them and can phone direct and jump the queue over those on public funded health. We have also nominated which Hospitals we want to use and this has been taken care of.
I will get a full medical checkup this year at no extra cost, which will include, heart, cholesterol, blood work and a prostrate check.
The wife gets phone consultations about her blood pressure (she has a monitor)...All included in the price...
I cant tell you if the service is good, as in the four years we have been here, we havent used any of them....

As to areas to live in...
The kids are going to the fulcrum here. As I said we live in a tiny village and the local kids get picked up by a bus every morning and go to a school a couple of towns over. I would imagine this limits the out of school activities.
Also you mention private/international schools, this limits interaction even more, as most of the kids will be foreigners.
Where you live will also be the same. If on an Urb most of your neighbours may be second homers or retired people.
You will need a large town or even a city and a house will come with a limited amount or no outside space, which is the norm for town properties.
Outside of the towns there are the usual villa's etc...

We are in the Marina Baixa area, which is North of Alicante and includes such places as Benidorm, Albir, Altea, La Nucia etc... Its a good place with everything most people would want.
There are many nationalities, with a large Scandinavian population in Alfaz.
Our little village has about 55% Spanish, with the rest made up from other European countries and a few holiday flats. All the houses are typical Spanish, with thick walls and tiny windows are are all well over 100 years old..The flats which outnumber the houses now are all low rise and about 20 years old, a mixture of nationalities live in them.
The six in our stairway have, Algerian, two Spanish, French and two British. Two flats are holiday ones the french and the other brits who have the flat opposite ours. Mix of two and three bed reasonable size of between 80 and 100 square meters (ours is one of the two largest).
Benidorm is a short drive away and the beaches at La Villajoyosa and further down the coast towards Alicante are good.
The tram goes along the coast and Alicante airport is less than a hour away..
There are mountains, small villages, Guadalest is not far, the fonts de algar as well.

There are good schools around here as well both public if the kids are under 5 then Id put them there.
https://admissions.ispschools.es/lady-elizabeth/en

There are also these two.. Ive heard good things about them and we know a teacher at one of them...
https://altea-international-school.es/
We have some neighbours who send their kids here..
https://lanucia.iepgroup.es/

You will have to do some 'boots on the ground' visits but why not do as most people do these days and use good old Google maps?
You can 'walk' around and actually have a look.
We moved to this location because the wife's father lives around four km from here and we had been visiting for the last 20 years.
We still looked at many other parts of Spain before settling on the locality only because we had a ready made network of friends and contacts...

The children I know have library events, classes for dance, music, horse riding, swimming and athletics. Birthday parties are very popular. Less likely to have play dates in each others houses because they have a tendency to visit the park in groups or go for walks in the countryside. Very much an outdoor life rather than in the houses.

Every fiesta has a variety of events for the children too.

Rosemary

Oh my goodness I have just worked out that the last time that I heard English people was Christmas in Benidorm in 2019. That is why I say that where I live would not be to every Brits taste.

Rosemary