I've been to Marbella a few times and I think it's a beautiful town.
I'm planning a move there next year but I was wondering if there are any people here who have lived/live there?

The weather is a the main draw for me too, I think I have Seasonal Effective Disorder and I can't physically or mentally deal with much more British "summers". I am 21 years old, male and gay and I know Marbella doesn't have a gay nightlife but I know Torremolinos does which is only 40 minutes away.
Marbella is obviously a tourist destination, and tourism is the sector that I currently work in. It's a good size, 100,000 people. I do like BIG cities like Madrid or Barcelona, I even researched Valencia however Madrid doesn't have weather like down south and I don't speak Catalan (I'm trilingual including Spanish but not Catalan). I think Barcelona and Valencia are warmer than Madrid but not as much as the south?

Based on my reasons above, how do you think I will find living in Marbella?
What is the crime rate like? Are the locals friendly?

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

Hi.

Have you considered living in Torremolinos or Malaga? Torremolinos has the gay nightlife and Malaga is a very big city and they are joined at the hip - it would seem ideal for you. Also I suspect it might be a bit cheaper than Marbella.

I think Marbella has a real buzz at the minute but we visited at the weekend and to be honest I just don't quite see it. I think if you are looking for somewhere to live then Torremolinos would probably suit your needs because a 40 minute commute for a night out isn't realistic when you want to do it regularly. I think Marbella is lovely but would recommend it as a holiday destination to you.

Oh and at the minute, its currently bucketing it down here with grey skies and thick clouds...just like England!

I've lived in Marbella Town for the last 4 years and still completely love it, it reminds me of a mini-city with a real buzz as long as you do as the locals and go out at the right times! Marbella is a district that stretches around 45km along the coast and includes many towns, unfortunately when people think of Marbella they tend to think of Puerto Banus and the lowlife that frequent it. So despite what you might see on TV and read on forums the town itself feels very Spanish and with mainly permanent Spanish residents it doesn't particularly feel touristy until August when seemingly the whole of Spain from Madrid upwards come down for the month.

Living in the centre of town, means a vibrant (noisy!) life where you could do without a car and can walk to a plethora of bars, restaurants, banks, shops, etc, etc. Unfortunately accommodation tends to be stuck in a 1970s timewarp and typically Spanish in decor/construction - this does mean you can get some bargains though - we paid 700€ for a large 3bed/2bath penthouse with a 80m2 terrace and that's when prices were significantly higher. It also means a decent infrastructure, we had a 20MB ADSL connection when in the middle of town - now we live 3 minutes up the hill in a more baby friendly house we can only get 2MB (for the same money)

Locals are uber friendly, everyone will speak Spanish to you in the shops/bars unless you search out the limited selection of English/Irish bars. Prices are low if you stay away from the front line and you can find plenty of places offering menu del dias for around 8€ and cañas for 1/1,50€. Crime, no idea really but the only "crime" I was subjected to was the gas pipe scam along with the rest of the Spanish tenants in our block. Most of the serious, normally drug related, crime tends to centre around Puerto Banus and Nueva Andalucia. Unfortunately can't help with the gay nightlife, I believe there are a couple of bars in town but as previously mentioned if a gay scene was the main thing you were after then you would be better off in Torremolinos

Yes, I agree with all that. There doesn't seem to be much of a gay scene. Torremolinos has lots of venues for gays plus gay run hostals etc.

Well for a change no one has raised the problem of getting a job so you can live. It matters more and more as the Spanish unemployment rate goes up to and beyond the 40% rate. Jobs are hard to come by, even if you can speak Spanish and any UK job certification is rarely transferrable..

Regretably it is no longer possible to just pack a case and catch a plane, you will need money to keep you for at least 6 months but pref 12 months.
Make sure you have a nest egg to enable you to back out quickly if you can't get a job.
Do you have friend who will let you doss down on the settee for a few days whilst you settle in ??

Even in the more expensive parts such as Marbella the cost of living can still be good, along with the weather now improving after a very cold, wet winter - the worst the BH says it has been in the 3 yrs she has been out here.
But be careful because very few Spanish homes have central heating - nor air con for that matter.

Good luck - you may need it.

Err, you may be confusing Spain with Andalucia. It may be the case in Andalucia and the Costal fringe on the Med, but not the case in much of Spain. Certainly I remember that my various living places in Madrid had central heating in one form or another (although it was often supplied centrally to the block).

sorry, you may be right - IME is based only on living in Andalucia, places like Barca have only been visited as a tourist.
so may apply to Marbella the OP asked about as he had discounted other areas

The weather in inland areas like Granada where you are based is often very different to areas on or near the coast - the winters of 2009 and 2010 were both much wetter than last year, and the cold weather lasted for longer as well.
This year it was only cold from about mid January to late February. I was in Granada in mid February and can certainly confirm it was cold there, very much colder than where I live which is only 4km inland.

well we are only 80km inland - but it is 750m above sea level and Malaga is at sea level.
having spent all my life on ships and then living in the Fens all this lack of oxygen at these elevated heights can be a bit scary at times
its when driving to work the other day the BH thought they were travelling through fog until she realised it was cloud

but the views are stupendous, huge ugly rocks with snow on top, I am sure the Spanish don't appreciate it

Tuesday is Gasman Day, he drives round the village with hand on horn, you have to put your butano cylinder out on the doorstep and he will knock for payment.
I arrived here permanant mid-Dec and have been cold ever since, the gas heater has been on almost continuous since then.

Probably because he's young, single can speak Spanish and works in tourism. There is no shortage of those kind of jobs round here, you get off your backside and go speak to people and you'll get something that pays enough to live a simple life

I can well believe it, in England I lived in the Pennines and we often had what they euphemistically called low cloud and it was just like a thick fog. It was what made me determined not to live at altitude again, views or no views!
Although looking inland towards the mountains, the views from down here aren't too shabby either.

Oh, and btw, properties in Andalucia with central heating may be becoming more common now that natural gas is available in some areas. Last November I stayed in a modern apartment in the centre of Sevilla which had it, and very nice it was too, I wished I could take it home! Their city buses also run on natural gas, according to what it says on the side of them.

Perhaps you could put some information on here as to where these jobs are or how to look for them. In Feb there were 16,500 unemployed in marbella and 6500 of them had been employed for over a year

You can still have CH with the large gas bottles, we had it although the system wasn't very efficient...and it cost a bomb, also had two log fires.