jonesa80

I was previously considering moving to Majorca but since the credit crunch and the drop in the euro we are now considering mainland spain.

We have 200,000 euros to spent on a 3 bedroom villa and considering Alicante region. Having never been there before we are slightly confused on where to start our online search. We have just got married and soon will be planning to have a family.

We would like to be in a town where there are plenty of shops and a decent school. Within walking distance to the beach ideally. We would like to be within 1.5hrs by public transport to Alicante airport and probably 1.5hr to Alicante.

I want to avoid Benidorm and heard mixed reports about Torrevieja. Not party people anymore just want to relax and enjoy the sunshine.

Can anyone suggest where I could start looking for my dream home.

Any suggerstions would be very welcome.
Thank you very much.

Andy

Madridboy

I used to live in LA Nucia, just next to Alfaz Del Pi. Nice enough area with plenty of big houses going cheap at the moment. Not a lot in the way of night life but only 10mins drive/taxi to Benidrom for the beach without having to be in Benidorm.
Whichever area you chiise, rent first to make sure you like the area.

expat2be

If you've not been to the Alicante area yet then get yourself so no frills flights booked up and some cheap car hire arrange for when you're there. Visit the different places multiple times (different times of year) before purchasing and when you do settle on an area rent first (for at least a year seems to be the general consensus). This is what we have (and still are) been doing before we got down to a handful of locations. We're still only going to commit to a small apartment purchase for holiday use and then something more substantial will be purchased a few years down the line. We're loving Javea and that's where we're almost certainly going to purchase.

bil8999

Take alook at Moraira it has a lot to offer, we purchased plot of land approx 5 years then had a place built. Good luck for the future.

expat2be

Yeh, we like Moraira too. It's a toss up for us between Javea, Denia and Moraira.

mickcarol

I lived 25 years in Javea, and I don´t think there is a better place to live
on the Costa Blanca. They have some good shops, several supermarkets,
very good schools, and plenty of English people living there.
It is only 1 hour from Alicante airport, which is well served by Charter
airlines. Valencia is also only 1 hour away in the opposite direction to
Alicante where there is a very large shopping centre, if needed.

jimmbo

To the north I would look in the Gandia area.

To the south Mazarron.

Ok they are not in Alicante Provance, but are within your 1 1/2 time frame.

You could have a google to see if it's worth investing time.

Good luck.

Splatt

Come out now! So you can feel how cold it gets and see the region without many tourists. Everything looks great in the Summer but I think you get a better feel for a place in Winter. After all if you're moving here you'll have to endure them.

Book a flight and car hire for 1-2 weeks and busk it! You won't find trouble getting accomodation and 'on the ground' research is worth a million webpages.

Good luck!

Steve.

HBG

A purely personal view of the Alicante province, from north to south.

Gandia is a spread-out holiday resort for the poorer end of the Spanish holiday market which dies in the winter and has relatively few British expats.

Oliva is a cheap Spanish town, with a golf course and a beach, which suffers more than most from the Sahara rain that turns everything brown.

Denia is an ancient Valencian port. Valenciano is still spoken widely and it is favoured by many German expats who have an influence at the town hall. The Germans put their towels on the beach here long before the Brits arrived, and the French cannon balls caused damage to the castle which can still be seen, and a few of them stayed. The wild beaches are superb and the mountain silently watches it all.

Javea, on the other side of the mountain, is more beautiful, less historic and a great place to live, if you close your eyes to the prison blocks at Arenal. It has the benefit of green mountains on both sides and a proper fishing harbour that isn’t deep enough for cruise liners.

Moraira is small, nice and has no hotels for tourists.

Calpe is the landmark of the Costa Blanca, with an historic old town and a half-hearted attempt to emulate Benidorm at the Levante end. It’s a bit cut-off from everything.

Benidorm is the big one, the biggest holiday resort in the world with everything that goes with it. You either love it, or hate it, there is no in between. There is beauty around it, at Altea, Alfaz, Albir, La Nucia and Polop.

Villajoyosa is full of fishermen and Gypsies.

Alicante is the capital and is a Spanish capital, ancient and brooding, with few expats. The harbour caters for all shipping, from cruise ships to the ferry to Algeria. I like it.

As you travel south, you enter ‘Spanish’ Britain. La Marina is the first such place, then comes Torrevieja and finally Orihuela Costa. If you want Britain in the sun with all things Britiah all around you, you’ll love it, it really is cheap and cheerful. That stretch also has superb beaches and a crime rate to make your eyes water

The above is my opinion and the hinterland is a different world.

GCM

There are some very good replies already but what I would add is the budget you have.

Sure the northern Costa Blanca is much nicer i.e. Calpe, Moraira and Javea but I don't think you have any other choice than to look at the Southern Costa Blanca (Torrevieja) area if you have only 200,000 and you want a 3-bed villa.

It does have everything you have listed, quite whether it is for you or not (it is very English) not the 'real' Spain, well as others have said come out for a trip and definitely consider renting first.

I would go south of Torrevieja i.e. Cabo Roig or a slightly inland town such as Rojales.

Grebo

If you are thinking of being in a town, please bear in mind it can get very noisy around any kind of fiesta so best keep away from the town hall for one

evilroyslade

We bought inland of Alicante a few months ago and got a 320 m3 farmhouse with pool in a good state for E125k - quick motorway journey to the beach, 10 minutes to town, 5 minutes to the village.

jonesa80

big thank you to everyone on here. Its given us something to talk and a starting point in our research.

We are favouring the idea of living in the spanish area north of Alicante rather that the brits aboard areas in the south.

Next oppourunity we get we will be on a plane and having a look around.

Anyone further suggestions and help would be welcome

cafeconleche

I think Splatts Idea of visiting in winter is a good one! I have just returned from Castalla which is 25min inland from Alicante up the mountains a bit, and it can get really cold there. I left a snowy England on Sunday to arrive to...SNOW I kid you not! (It had gone by Mon lunchtime.) We have electric radiators and a gas fire so I was cozy but found it hard to believe that just a few months earlier we were sleeping on the roof!!
Personally I don't mind it as I like a bit of season change and the mountains always look beautiful whatever the weather, but some would hate it.
1 or 2 weeks touring in a car would be a good investment in your future.