Blueskies24

Hi All, we are just begining to look into moving to Murcia with our 11year old son. We are all keen golfers, tennis players so are thinking a villa on Mar Menor would suit us. We hear there is a good international school at La Torre. Our main concerns are about our son. Will there be enough for him to do there? We want him to live where there are children of of a similar age. We hear that as the Mar Menor is the most established it has a good pool of residents. However we don't know if there will be any families there, if it is all retirees then it might not be much fun for him. In the long term, we feel it will be great for us, so wanted to settle in a place which we would stay for as long as we are above ground! We will not work as we will take early retirement so we will have an income. My husband is a competent Spanish speaker, my son and I are not but will learn.We are due to visit the area mid October but can only manage a few days to look at the area and properties. We expect to make more visits in the future to help our decision making process but it would be great to have any advice from anyone who has made a similar move. Sorry this post is very long!

Mitzyboy

Hi there
What are your plans for your sons schooling?
Bearing in mind a State school will need him to speak Spanish to keep up

Rosemary

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cricketman

There is a strong tennis and golf tradition all over Spain. You could live pretty much anywhere. I play somewhere between 50-100 tennis games per year and play in a winter tennis league here in Asturias where the weather is the worst! Still fine for tennis

Mar menor is mainly a holiday resort for foreigners. It sounds like a bad choice to live especially with a child. Barcelona is excellent for tennis, it is pretty much the world capital of tennis, but really it could be anywhere, do a Google search for clubs and leagues

Moses2013

Cricketman mentioned it's mainly a place for retirees, so probably not great for a child. I would also recommend areas around Barcelona. If you're planning long term, you don't want to be living in a holiday resort and he'll be a teenager soon enough. There are some great places to live only 30-45 mins away from Barcelona. You have everything on your doorstep and I'm sure growing up in a normal environment is better than being stuck in some artificial retirement village.

cricketman

Castelldefels is an upmarket international type town only 30 minutes from Barcelona that would be a great place to be based for tennis and golf. And would have a host of opportunities for you all including your son

Quite expensive though

EMR

We have a retired UK neighbour who spend his winters in Mar Menor and summers back in the UK.
He really likes the community of like minded Brits that has built up there.

Moses2013

Heard it's quiet nice there. Just a bit more inland you can certainly find areas that aren't too pricey. Montornès del Vallès (Sant Fost de Campsentelles) seems like a good area and looks affordable enough.

missile

There are many locations is CBS and one is sure to fit your requirements. If Mar Menor does not suit, you might like to visit Cartegena which is a busy city with very good facilities and lots for your family to do.

La Torre is quite a distance from Mar Menor. There are many empty properties and it is a ghost town. Apart from a very nice golf course there is very little for you and even less for your son to do.

Blueskies24

Thanks for all you replies. Seems like the area we were lookng at is good for us but not our son. On to plan B!