The hill villages

If you remain south of the High Sierras, the weather remains delightful. Higher up in the hills it will be colder in the winter but it will also be cooler in the middle of summer and the mountains will protect you from northerly winds.

The choice of destinations here is very wide and should you be considering a more rural environment you really need to go exploring. The entire length of the coast from east to west is dotted with hill villages, white villages – the pueblos blancos – which have already been settled by the expatriate community. Competa, Frigiliana, Mijas and Benahavis have already lost much of their true Spanish atmosphere and the only Spanish you will hear spoken is probably by the cleaners or the gardeners. Some of these villages may only have a few hundred inhabitants.

Coin, Alhaurin, Cartama and Antequera

Larger towns such as Coin, Alhaurin, Cartama and Antequera, which are close to Malaga around the Guadalhorce River valley, are developing rapidly as target areas for expats but so far remain very Spanish. Living here, the ability to speak the language would be an advantage. There is development around these towns but not as much as on the coast itself and if you fancy a really rural lifestyle it is still possible to buy a finca or farmhouse at reasonable cost, although the prices are rising fast.

Some of these towns benefit from being in the Guadalhorce River valley or close to it because they have good public transport to Malaga itself by both bus and train. It is also a stunningly beautiful area with a very important agricultural focus. As a result it is unlikely to suffer from overdevelopment. The fruit harvest is still an important part of the local economy.

Further inland, areas such as Sedella are very beautiful and you are then approaching an area often referred to as the lake district.

Ojen and Istan

Two hill villages that must receive special mention are Ojen and Istan. They are both just inland of Marbella. They are both spectacularly beautiful and very Spanish but, because they do not have a Marbella postal address, the property prices are much more affordable even though they are just ten minutes from the glitz of Marbella.

There are many other beautiful white villages scattered through the Sierras. I cannot list them individually and I have to be honest and say that I have not visited all of them. The only way to decide in which one you would like to live is to visit as many as possible before making a final decision. But there are some factors which really need to be taken into consideration before you jump in and make offers on property.