Hi everybody,
I would like to move to Spain in the future and plan on having a quick break in September to get an insight into what it would be like to live there as opposed to just being on holiday in a resort. Which areas have a large expat population which would be good to visit?

Hola
Due to the problems of being a third country and all it entails, i believe ex-pat areas will undergo a massive change. My point is what is a large ex-pat area now may in a couple of years, be a shell of what it was.

Davexf

I agree with that. Our place in Spain is east of Malaga and until a few years ago, there were quite a few UK nationals in this immediate area and 20kms away on the coast but now they are a rarity. As the British have sold up and left, other Northern Europeans have taken their place and properties around here are selling quite quickly.

Apart from the challenges Dxf mentioned, most Expats will be living in larger cities. Our place is just over an hour further north from Barcelona and the nearest town has a foreign population of around 37%. Overall the foreign population is 20% in Selva area, Baix Emporda same and Alt Emporda even 25% in total. But I'm sure there are even more in other parts of Spain.

As mentioned by others and echoed by me, areas are changing.
We live inland of Albir near to Polop. Fifteen years ago when we first visited 35% of the population of this town (pop 5000 approx) were foreigners and British people made up most of that. We moved finally here last year and the town now states that there are about 30% foreigners and we hear German, Dutch, French and scandinavian accents all the time. Just a small enclave of British and very few new arrivals over the last couple of years.
The tiny village we are in was mainly British when the flats were built (2004) but now less than 30% are owned by Brits.

The problem of expat areas be they British, German or whatever is that you might as well go on holiday to that country.

On the Alfaz to Albir road here is a supermarket (Costablanca) that caters almost entirely for non Spanish people.

To answer your question. Anywhere on any of the main Costa's will do.
Costa Blanca form Denia down past Alicante is nice. There are many towns with expat communities but that also feel Spanish. You do need to be careful though because some places are like ghost towns outside of the summer even if lots of foreigners live there.

As you have time why not start making a list of what you want from a permanent home and then use Google and maps to explore these areas.
Good luck and if you need info about specific places just ask, someone will have some ideas for you.

I suppose there is also a difference if we are talking about retired or working Expats. We have stopped in Empuriabrava which is apparently the largest residential marina in Europe and around 50% of the population are foreigners, mainly retired. Then you have a huge amount of holiday homes and the population can drop from 100.000 in summer to 7000 in winter.

Welcome Browny2004,
Are you aware of the requirements to become a resident in Spain, following on from Brexit, will apply to you?

Most who have left will likely have been here illegally and 'forced' out because of it, good riddance to them I say.

Other than that and save for one lady I know who sold up and went back to UK after her husband died I know no one at all who has been legal and left.

Brit pensioners are dying breed though as few will be able to meet the new financial requirements, the days of rocking up and living on a couple of basic UK state pensions are gone.

A lot of expats would have returned home because of covid. The future is bleak tbh especially If you rely on tourism to live.

Why on earth would people who are established in Spain and own a property go back to the UK because of Covid? The British people I am referring to left Spain before Covid kicked in and they will not be replaced because of Brexit. Spain have run an excellent vaccine programme and have now overtaken the UK. They have also been vaccinating non residents.

However, ​I do agree that future looks very bleak in the UK.

Maybe he was referring to people who work in the hospitality industry.

You tell me. Why did the established expats return home to the UK?

To get to the other side?

Chicken joke.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-brits-are-buying-holiday-homes-again-on-the-costa-del-sol-fvcrdwz9
Brexit won’t stop Brits residing in Spain. A strong pound and sky high property prices in the UK. When Covid settles and Boris fully allows for Brits to fly in and out without having to isolate. It’s cheaper nowadays to go on holiday in Spain than it is to have a holiday in the UK.

If you want to read the whole article, here it is without the paywall.

It says upmarket areas have more interest, cheaper areas less interest from Brits, the guy who's wife had cancer probably still hasn't worked out healthcare costs after Brexit, and it finishes by listing three expensive houses at the bottom of the article.

In other words, those people who don't have half a million in the bank burning a hole in their pocket are going to miss freedom of movement and from now on these "place in the sun" stories are just going to focus on those people who can afford it. It sucks to be young, poor, and interested in Spain for reasons which go beyond it having a hot ball of fire in the sky though.