My partner and I plan to live in Seville for 10 months, Sept-2009 to Jun-2010, with the idea of renting a flat. We will have a car, and hear that it's difficult and expensive to get a flat with carparking in the centre - so an alternative would be to look at somewhere outside the centre (but not too far). Would appreciate any advice from those who know the city on the pros & cons of centre versus outside the centre.

Mike

In the centre ?

Unless you want to pay a fortune in rent, have problems parking, have problems parking, have problems parking, Go for it !!

By all accounts, the Metro de Sevilla LINE 1 is working well. Perhaps have a look at the route of the Metro to see if it fits in with your plans ? http://www.metrodesevilla.org/

Also look at the Cercanias network for Seville. Maybe you don't want to travel about by train but it may give some pointers/alternatives of the areas around the city?

There is a sort of map of the Cercanias:
http://www.renfe.es/cercanias/sevilla/mapa_zonas.html

Hi Mike

The best and beautiful places to live in Sevilla is Tomares and Bormujos, 10 minutes to the center town.

Went there last year and loved the place. But the centre is a nightmare for parking and might cost you more than your property rent

I stayed one night with a friend in an area to the NW of Seville, only about 5 or 6 kms out, very large area of housing with leafy streets and nice villas. Trouble is cant remember the name of it!!

Hi there - I've just completed an accommodation search in Seville. In the centre it is easy to get about on foot or on bike but parking is a problem. Also, not many flats in the centre have a balcony/garden/outside terrace - this to me seems a shame when there's all that good weather to take advantage of!

Out to the west are a number of suburbs where you can find a house or flat with a parking space fairly easily (eg Mairena, Gelves, Palomares.) Traditionally people took buses in and out of Seville and the routes tend to run better than most in the UK (although they do drop down to once an hour in the summer).

The metro is new - clean, shiny and missing from most maps. At the moment there is only one line - this runs as far out west as Mairena (metro stop Ciudad Expo.) - a journey that takes about 25 minutes. For now, there is free parking outside the Ciudad Expo station - tho' I'm not sure how long that will last.

Hope this helps

Agree with a previous poster about Bormujos. Also look at Bellavista, Dos Hermanas, Gines. Good places to live. AVOID Tres Mil Viviendas like the plague!!!

Don't be discouraged by needless negative posts about prices. Seville is not that expensive if you look enough. In the centre centre, a car is a waste of time and money. But even in close areas such as Nervion, or Triana or Los Remedios, you can find flats where street parking is not impossible (although you will be lucky to park outside your front door). The problem with living in a suburb like Bormujos is that it is such a self contained town that you often feel that you are not really living in Seville (despite it being on your doorstep)

Hello Fortaleza, and thanks for your input. Since I posted my original question, we have been in Seville for 2 weeks and looked around. We took the Metro to its end near Bormujos and looked around - but I have to say that those outlying areas are not for us ! It had the usual quiet of dormitory suburbs and a total absence of the liveliness that makes Seville so pleasurable. Very decentralised, and dominated by cars, like many places in the USA. If you wanted to be unkind you would describe it as dead as a doornail. So...we retreated from las afueras and eventually wound up renting a really nice flat in Los Remedios, close to Plaza de Cuba and to the bridge that leads over to Maria Luisa park and the Alcazar. Very modern and stylish, fully furnished, 2 beds and a balcony for 850 euros a month, which is a lot less than I will get in rent for our house in Cambridge. We can't wait to get there in September, to begin our 12-month sojourn in Spain !

Congratulations Mike, I´m sure you will enjoy Seville very much!!

Good choice! Now, in the Plaza de Cuba, make yourself known in Phoenix Riverside Pub and ask for owners Peter or Jerry. They will help you out heaps with loads of info. They are long term residents who have recently decided to give the pub game a go. They know more about living in Seville than most. You have chosen a good location and the rent doesn't seem excessive (although there are cheaper options) So, in short....


GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY !

Plaza de Cuba, know it well, the statiopn there is like walking down the Big Bro house, OP Im well happy for you, you are doing ten months of what I want most out of life, my dream is a bit of city life in Sevilla at some point.
Sounds like you got a great place for your money.

City life is always going to be excessively priced unless your a local or have a family influence, thats just the way it is !

I love Sevilla, Andalucia and the surrounding areas, I wish you good luck.

new to seville and need advice
hello everyone, I`m Irish and have been living in Toulouse, France for a good few years. My husband who works for airbus is being sent to Seville so my son and I are moving too.We are all delighted to move to the south of Spain but I have no idea of what neighbourhoods I should target for housing.Our son will be most likely going to school at the lycee Francais which is near the museo taurino. I would be really grateful if anyone could give me some tips.

Do you want city centre or suburbs? I don't know your son's school but if the museo is the one I am thinking of then it is dead centre. Do you want to be walking distance from the school? (bearing in mind that moving around by car is NOT FUN).

One consideration is what kind of environment you want. If you're happy to live out in the suburbs, you can get more room for your money and probably get a quiet situation. Alternatively you can do what we did and rent in an area near the river, which is very scenic and very lively. We are close to the Plaza de Cuba, on the border between Triana and Los Remedios. From here to the Museo de Taurinos is about a 10 minute walk, across the San Telmo bridge and along the riverside. Our flat has a big sittingroom, a good sized master bedroom and a smallish one (twin beds) for guests. We pay €850 a month plus electricity etc.

Further along in Triana, you can access the Isabel II bridge, which gets you close to the Museo.

Triana is mostly lowrise and has a nice bohemian feel to it. Los Remedios is posher but still pleasant.

My impression is that if you want to live within walking distance of the school, you'll get better value and better accommodation on the Triana/LR side of the river. A snag anywhere within the city is trying to find parking for a car. A place in a garage costs around €100 per month and they are not readily available. However, apart from making trips outside the city, you don't really need a car here. The public transport is cheap, extensive and works very well. You could consider not having a car, and renting one when you want to make a trip.

If you prefer the suburban tradeoff, seriously consider living close to a Metro station. The Metro line is modern, fast and works very well, with frequent trains. A good option would be to live in the areas called San Juan de Aznalfarache and Mairena, at the western end of the Metro. From there you can get into Puerta de Jerez station very quickly and walk along the riverside to the area of the school. Those areas are quiet and don't have the buzz of the city, but that may not bother you.

We love Seville ! We're here till July and I think we're going to miss it when we go back home.

Mike Quigley

Google Maps is a great tool for working out your location etc and Street View can show you views so you can get an idea of what to expect. The URL below is centred on the Lycee and once you get the hang of it, you can roam around the streets in this area.

http://tinyurl.com/yhszxun

The area is on the northern side of the old city (not close to the famous Maestranza bull ring and museum) and there would be possibilities of finding a comfortable apartment in the area. One problem would be finding one with car space / garage. The modern flats are usually equipped but streets are narrow and parking is always a problem in the old city area with tighter rules planned to start later this year.

If you like the idea of living in the old city area then it makes sense to consider Macarena Barrio. But you need to be picky about the type of place you rent.

Bus transportation in Seville is good and run by www.tussam.es
they have a Metro now that runs east to west but not close to Macarena Barrio.