daviddublin

I know its a big question.

We are a gay couple 45/50 and have been looking in Spain for some time.
Javea..Murcia.. and Costa del Sol so far.
Holiday home for the next 10 years then a place to semi retire to.
They were all great although Javea beach isnt the prettiest....Murcia was very arid (lovely in its own way) and the Costa del Sol(Marbella, San Pedro area) was so busy and full of cars I wasnt sure about it.
We would like to be close to the coast and walkable to everything but would also like a garden........asking for the impossible on our budget probably.(about 150k.....but happy to do any work on it)
Flying from Ireland , Alicante and Malaga are the best airports for us by far.
Does anyone have any advice ?
I hope I havent offended anyone.
David

lynnxa

Jávea has 10 beaches...............

all very different, from the sweeping sands of the 'family beach' of the Arenal, the stony beach of the port, the wildness (in a way) of Granadella - to the hidden nudist beach of Ambolo & the tiny Cala Sardinera

but........unless you are a determined beach sitter you spend a surprisingly little amout of time actually on the beach when you live here

but I reckon you can't beat coffee or lunch in one of the seafront bars or reataurants in the port or the Arenal almost all year round

not in July & August, obviously.........then you go to a chiringuito along the Muntañar beach

Mama_Carol

Try looking at the area just north of Alicante. There are some wonderful beaches at Playa San Juan, Muchavista and El Campello.

There is also the tram that runs along the coast that serves these places with frequent and cheap services from Alicante to Benidorm.

You will mainly find apartments near the coast but slightly further inland you will find houses and villas with small gardens.

There are some houses at Venta Lanuza (between Campello and Villajoyosa) near a small beach but you really need a car to live there.

When you say your budget is 150k, is that GBP or Euros.

HBG

The greater Benidorm area, or the greater Torrevieja area will tick all your boxes. I would delay buying until the prices have stopped falling, which is probably at least a year away. 150K will be more than sufficient to buy yourself a decent home with a garden.

pablosho

Hi David,

If you want to try something new, drive straight through Marbella and keep going until you reach the Costa de la Luz.
Flights, might be a problem. Jerez, Seville and Gib are the nearest airports but I don't think any off them fly to Dublin. Malaga is only about 2 to 2 1/2 hours drive away depending on where you are on the C de la L.

Tolly

Why not have a look at Estepona, next town along from San Pedro - it is a lovely town - choice of two airports - Malaga and Gibraltar

AdrianTO

Marbella, Marbella, Marbella. In this market, the only area that will hold it's value for the foreseeable future is in and around Marbella. Of course, if you have no interest in ever selling the property, then you can have your pick of a number of areas.

But, Marbella is and will remain the premier mainland resort for the Spanish(and for a lot of other Europeans as well). It's the only place on the coast I would think of buying property right now. The prices are higher, but many properties are 50% of their peak.

cricketman

They have a £150k budget and want something with a garden so they have no chance in Marbella.

There are some good buys in Marbella at the moment, but you are talking maybe a £300k flat that used to be priced at £600k. When they get to £200k then it will be the time to buy.

And I wouldnt recommend buying in one of the cr*ppy urbanisations that line the coast from Fuengirola to Marbella, to buy well it needs to be a 5 min walk to the paseo maritimo and Marbella Old Town, thats what will hold value (once the decrease has happened of course!).

jackytoo

Many spanish professionals, Lawyers, Doctors, Notaries and rich businessmen live in Elviria on the villa urbanisations so I guess they will be ok. long term. The Northern spanish tend to favour nueva andalucia for second homes. I think mabella will the first to come out of recession. Last will be all the crappy tourist apartments that have been built in the last 7 years.

AdrianTO

It doesn't have to be a 5 min walk from Paseo Maritimo, but the closer to Marbella or Puerto Banus the better. What you definitely don't want is those new urbanizations built up in the hills behind Marbella. South of the N340 is generally OK. With the way prices are coming down, I don't think it would be unrealistic to find a 2 or 3 bedroom smallish townhouse in a good location for under 300K Euros.

Solarwhizz

El Campello , is a fantastic hidden gem,,, and there is a nice urbanisatin ( but it is one of those with all individual houses, a lot of them detached) at Cala D'Or ( It also has another name that escapes me at the moment) about 5 Kms north from El Campello on the way to Villa Joyasa,, there is also a very nice quiet beach and little sort of old fishing harbour, in the Urb,, very nice, lots of 2 bedroom and upwards villas with nice gardens and pool at a good prices,,,

Mama_Carol

That is where we live. In one of the 2 bedroom houses by the beach - LOL.

Are you based somewhere nearby or did you discover it while on holiday?

IDC

Hi David
Have sent you a couple of ideas in a PM hope we can help.
Regards
Ian

Mitzyboy

Well why on earth cant you post them on the forum so everyone can have the benefit? Thats the idea of forums. Sharing information

jonnyx

Marbella is a nice retirement resort, but your budget is to small for Marbella.
I suggest La cala de Mijas, Riviera del Sol or Calahonda. All in Mijas Costa. Easy access o the beach and no to far from Malaga airport. La Cala de Mijas is my favourite beach town, I visit it every day during the summer (more or less) for a swim. It is also just 10 kilometers from Fuengirola who has all the shopping you may need and a train station as well.