pwwm

Not sure how you can ask about the three cities you ahve mentioned, all three are so very different, both in culture and weather, rather like stabbing a pin in a map. we spent an age sorting an area out both with visits and internet, then we started property hunting, factors we took in were airports, weather and expat population, we didnt want too many.

Think you need to do much more research into the actual area, members here will of course tell you the area´s we all like, doesnt mean you will

siteservices

I think you could do much worse than javea. The only problem would be that it is about 90 minutes drive from either Valencia or Alicante airports and public transport is virtually nil. Not a problem if your wife would have a car and could drop you off/collect you. otherwise it could become a bit of a pain. otherwise in the costa del sol area there is a train station actually within Malaga airport with train and bus connections all along the coast. But in terms of a lovely place to live I would recommend Javea. We first visited about 12 years ago and have been at least once a year ever since and will continue to do so even though we have bought a holiday apartment in torremolinos! There is another forum called I think Expatforum and there are a few people who live in javea on there if it takes your fancy. God luck

kelliscotland

Good luck with the search Ian, I'm watching the replies with great interest as we're down the road in Lanarkshire and looking to move out to Spain in a few years. We have an online business so are looking to grow it and put someone in to manage it before taking the plunge.
My only personal experience of Spain is Fuerteventura and, despite being an island, it appears to be pretty well connected so we'll probably start by looking there. Just an idea - I know that the likes of Fuerte has it's own website (fuerteventura.com) which has lots of really good information and links so maybe the other regions would have something similar which would help you find out more about them?

stuboy

Welcome to the forum kelliscotland, in a few years time you may not be a European Citizen, this would make such a move difficult. I hope you are and that you will remain a)Scottish b) British and c) European.

Arsnlno1

Your not sure how I can ask about three cities? very easily.

They are all drastically different in both culture and weather, I was not aware of this, I find the only way to find these things out is research or to ask which I understood that was partly what this forum was for.

As for saying we need to do more research we are well aware of this and intend to do so but some friendly advice from people who live in these locations is greatly received to give us a rough idea and to add to our research.

Thank you

Arsnlno1

I appreciate that thank you, certainly an area we will look into, not bothered too much about the travel, obviously being closer to the airport is an advantage but not a necessity, I will also check out that other forum aswell so thank you for that also.

Do you mind me asking is there an English speaking school in this Javea to your knowledge?

Thank you again for all that

Arsnlno1

Thank you for that Kelli we will certainly have a look also, good luck to you also, if we can share information to help each other I certainly will but we are at the very early stages.

Thank you again

Ian

Richie1892

I'd recommend Javea but then I'm biased I don't know much about schools but there's the international one http://www.xabiainternationalcollege.com/index.html It's not too bad a drive to the airport about 1 hour 15, but you have the added bonus of being in the middle of 2 airports (Valencia & Alicante). If you want to be 30 minutes from the beach then Madrid is definitely out as it's smack bang in the middle of the country.
Good luck where ever you end up.

pete_l

The first suggestion I would make would be to keep as far away from the Spanish tax system as you legally can. If you work in Azerbaijan, then I guess yo already have some "unusual" tax arrangements. That would be my first priority, if I was you.

Next, I'd look in larger Spanish towns/cities, rather than "idyllic" places in small villages - no matter how appealing or romantic they sound. Villages can be terribly isolating: you only have a few people to choose your friends from and no means to get away from individuals you (or your wife, who will be a lone female for a lot of the time) might wish to avoid.

So far as locations go, specifying a particular town is too general - every town has good parts and bad parts - just like in Scotland. You need to put feet on the ground and find a nice neighbourhood. After that, start sorting other criteria like shops, hospitals, schools, airports.

Finally, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Be mentally prepared to move as the chances of finding "the one" place on your first try is very small.

Arsnlno1

Thank you for all that, yes my Tax is interesting, my rate is after Azerbaijan Tax has been taken care of ie company pays my Azeri Tax and issues me with a Tax cert for it.

Thank you for the advice about the larger towns and cities sounds very sensible and would probably suit us better as we are a young couple and even though we spend majority of the time in the gym and doing things with the kids we are very sociable people.

Just trying to decide where to book our first holiday to later this year, that's out plan try at least 3 different locations a year for a week or so.

Can I ask if you would personally recommend any particular towns or cities to look at ?

Thank you

MikeJ

I would say:
Barcelona (or environs) modern multicultural city with some fascinating old parts and architecture - as long as you can steer clear of the Roma pickpockets!
Valencia (or environs) second largest city in Spain after Madrid, has lots of neighbourhoods to choose from and is spoken well of by people who live there
Malaga: gateway to the CDS (if that's your bag ) Again the city itself has a fine older part, there are plenty of opportunities for culture and recreation.
Unfortunately, although I have visited all three on a number of occasions I've never actually lived there so can't give personal glimpses.

Personally I (and my OH) have a place in Ayamonte - which IMHO has the best of all worlds (except a boisterous/drunken UK tourist trade). It is on the border with Portugal so you get the benefits of both the Portuguese Algarve and the Spanish. It is not yet a tourist trap although it does have a small and friendly expat community. It is near enough to Seville (or Lisbon) to satisfy most cultural needs. It has a nightclub (summer season)

steviedeluxe

It may be worth looking into Gibraltar, as Fred suggested upthread, especially as the corporation tax there is quite low (10% iirc??)
Otherwise I can only speak well of Valencia. I don't have much experience of Barcelona, and only passed through Malaga, but have visited Valencia since the 80s and have always been impressed by the way of life, sociability of most people I've met, and the lower cost of living. There are little things that annoy, such as the foul tap water, and the huge amounts of traffic that appear at busy times, but on the whole a well-connected area with a good mix of beaches, historic towns and scenery.

Arsnlno1

Thank you very much for all that, greatly appreciated, all three well worth while looking into

Do you know of any good sites to see what properties we would be looking at for our money just for a rough idea?

Thank you

Arsnlno1

Will definitely add Gibraltar to the list to look at, & Valencia seems to keep coming up a strong choice everywhere I look on the internet.

Thank you very much for that.

freeman1

answer to original Q, no, everyone with sense is bailing out.