I've just checked on Google Maps and seen to walk from my front door to the centre of the village where the bars are is 2.4km. Uphill.
That is the sticking point for me, it is in practice too far too walk comfortably to nip out for a drink. It's also where the nearest shop is so I also don't nip out for a loaf of bread and some milk.
Also, it's 1.4km as the crow flies to my nearest neighbour. There are other empty houses nearer, but they are exactly that, nobody lives in them.

I would prefer to be closer but too many other things with the house when we were looking were favourable. That is the only drawback.

I´m not sure if I completely understand your post.. is it a question or a statement? Are you looking for information ?

We live in a country house (2 bed 1 bath) on the edge of town. We are the first house outside of the urbanisation, so we drive through it but don´t pay for it. Its 200 m to the nearest neighbours, and 2000 m to the nearest bus stop. 5000 m to the nearest bar / restaurant, and a 5 minute drive to town, or 5 minutes the other way to the nearest golf course, on main roads. Its a 15 / 20 minute drive to the nearest beach. Its 5 or 6 minutes drive to Mercadona and Dia, or 10 / 15 to Lidl and Carrefour. More importantly its only 20 / 25 min drive to the Airport where we both work. We only pay €500 a month rent. Its cheap for what we have / in the area that it is. We are in Alhaurin el grande, Malaga

Theres nice places all over Spain, it depends if you want to be near the beach, near golf, in an apartment, in a campo house in the mountains.. its impossible for anyone to tell you where to buy a house. The "cost of living" doesnt really vary much at all over spain, if you have the house to stay in and you are buying gas, petrol, food etc, it wont cost anything more to live in marbella then it will to live in benidorm or barcelona or in the mountains away from anyone.

I would say anywhere near Mijas pueblo. Then you have sea, mountains, golf, traditional pueblo with amazing views as well as easy access to all modern amenities. Can get a bit "touristy" though....

I live on the Meridian Isle of El Hierro, situated in splendid isolation out in the Atlantic Ocean. far away from the Iberian part of Spain in a different time zone and on a different continent. I live in the capital city which is more like a small village, 5 minute walk I am in the countryside, 2 minutes to the nearest bar restaurant, 10 minutes to the supermarket.

The island is slightly smaller than the Isle of wight, population on paper is 10,000 but maybe only 5,000 actually reside here. It is very scenic with lava fields and pine forests up in the hills

The climate was described in ancient times as one of eternal springtime, it is idillic, no heating or air-conditioning needed, I can plant potatoes and sow onions in September, no frosts, pineapples and other exotic fruits are harvested daily on the coasts.

The local people are very friendly, the young ones are polite and still respect their elders.

Perhaps you should visit, we now have electricity and flush toilets

English is rarely used, we think there are maybe seven or eight immigrants from the U.K. However I met a New Zealander the other week but he was here to shear the sheep.

I have been here for a long time Debs.People buy in a wonderful location for them at the time,mostly because they are young & active with transport.I cannot count the times that I have known folks who's circumstances changed,got older so can't drive a car & not too good on the old walking legs,upset because their offspring are bored at having no nearby friends because parents like "a rural lifestyle",really believed there was mains water & electricity not a generator & a water deposito etc.etc. Then you could live in an apartment block with thin walls where you can listen to everyone's life,or where there are loads of holiday rentals changing each week,some very nice,some on the "hen night" or "stag do".But obviously you have to work out what you want & don't think "English"please.I am still around though & have lived in a big range of housing styles in different parts. .And there is a HUGE difference between areas/provinces in this large country.In UK there are vast differences between north & south,Scotland Wales & both parts of Ireland so I hope you get the picture.However much you do your homework it still may not be what you imagined but the first thing to get into your head is that this is an entirely different country,culture,perhaps religion,food etc.in fact "not quite English" & Murcia,Almeria areas will demonstrate that more so(in my view)than further north among more northern european residents.Whatever you will still have to adapt to a different language wherever you are,or though maybe not so in places in south costa blanca or of course

good if you have a car. and somewhere to park it near your house. "traditional" means tiny roads.

Mijas Pueblo, is over developed with many British enclaves , and very hilly, so if you have difficulty walking it's not the place for you. It's also a good 15 minute drive and sometimes more downhill, through extremely dense traffic jams to the beach, and very difficult to park in the nearest town of Fuengirola for 9 months of the year!! The very narrow steep hilly roads are chocka block in the summer with tourists

I live in New Zealand now.

Sorry. I could not resist & am being a bit naughties on a very rainy morning.

Coming from an overcrowded small island (UK) it's all too easy to be seduced by splendid isolation but many who succumb end up regretting it with the benefits being massively outweighed by the drawbacks.

One very real yet seldom mentioned key point (head in sand!) is that the more remote your property the greater the risk of it being robbed especially if not in full time occupancy when it's something you can virtually guarantee will happen sooner or later.