Having made the decision to move to Spain the next step is to choose the location for your dream home and consider the types of property you might be offered. The secret to success in buying the right property is the right research. And in every country the main consideration is location, location, location.

Spain is a huge country with vast areas of open unspoiled land and a wonderful heritage. It is much bigger than the UK and the population is about the same. The choice of location can be bewildering. If you are not sure about your choice of region buy a good guide book to Spain and read it very carefully so that you can narrow your search to several distinct areas of the country. Having selected the area it then makes sense to rent a property there so that you can look for your final purchase.

Currently there are more than a million foreign property owners in Spain and that is only counting those who have registered with the authorities. The majority live around the Mediterranean coastline with very few living inland. We chose the Costa del Sol, or more accurately the western end of the Costa del Sol, but that may not be right for you. However, your experience will be similar wherever you choose to move.

I will describe later why we made our decision on location but before I do, I will assume that, like us, you will want to live close to the sea and take you on a tour of the Costas of Spain from North to South - to help you make your decision.

THE COSTA BRAVA

Just across the French border the Costa Brava is a wild rugged coastline of immense natural beauty which in the northern part (just over the French border) is particularly unspoiled and is likely to remain so. Here the mountains tumble into the sea and there is very little room for development of any sort. The commercial Costa Brava or Costa Dorada a bit further south has some of the old ugly holiday sprawls such as Blanes, Llloret de Mar and Tossa which date from the sixties when package holidays began. There are, however, some unspoiled areas even here and beautiful fishing villages such as Tamariu and Aigua Brava. Sitges, south of Barcelona, is a particularly attractive resort and many foreigners live there. It is also a popular resort for Barcelonians to buy summer property. The second most popular museum in Spain after the Prado in Madrid is the Dali museum in Figueres, an attractive seaside town in the extreme north of the Costa Brava. Dali’s home town of Cadaques is truly beautiful.

Inland the land rises to the foothills of the Pyrenees with many undeveloped areas. These areas are perfect should you want to be close to the sea but also within easy driving distance of the Pyrenees for skiing in the winter. Two of Spain’s most interesting cities are in this area. Girona has an absolutely stunning mediaeval centre and really is one of the most attractive and possibly under-rated cities in Spain. Barcelona is chic, cosmopolitan, cultured and has some of the most stunning architecture to be found in any city in Europe, ranging from the modern architecture of Gaudi to fascinating older buildings in the Barrio Antiguo. Barcelona is probably one of the most exciting cities in Europe. Needless to say, should you have dreams of living in Barcelona property is expensive, particularly in good neighbourhoods. Generally the Costa Brave is expensive. The other major cities in the region are Lleida and Tarragona, where you will find one of the largest theme parks in Europe, Port Aventura, now owned by Universal Studios.

Further south the coastline flattens out around Tarragona to form the Costa Dorada, which stretches all the way to the Ebro Delta – a paradise for bird watchers. The entire coastline is in the province of Catalonia a region of Spain which would like to be independent. In fact the first language of Catalonia is Catalan and many locals will only speak Castillian Spanish to foreigners. Many inhabitants of this region are bilingual, but their two languages are Catalan and Castillian so there can be occasions when English is not spoken, particularly in country areas.

Climate

The climate on the Costa Brava and the Costa Dorada offers summer temperatures which are rarely too high, but it can be humid with 20 to 31 inches of rain per year (500–800 mm). Winters are mild on the coast but can be very harsh inland because of the mountains. Thunderstorms are also quite common because of the proximity of the Pyrenees. It is not the choice of those who want year-round sunshine, but if you want sun in the summer and ski resorts in the winter it could be an ideal choice for your home.

Communications

Catalonia has excellent connections with the rest of Spain and with France. There is an extensive rail network and there are also high speed trains from this region to other parts of Europe. There is a good motorway system and there are major airports at Girona and Barcelona.

Property

Property prices have a very wide range in Catalonia. The cities are expensive and the coastal regions vary from very expensive on the Costa Brava (since there is very little room for building on a large scale) to much more reasonable on the Costa Dorada. I have to say that overall this area is much more expensive than the rest of Spain and for very good reasons.

THE COSTA BLANCA AND THE COSTA DEL AZAHAR

These two Costas are in the province of Valencia. The land immediately next to the coast is low lying and has many dunes and sandbars off shore which enclose lagoons. These help to keep the coastal plain fertile and the region is famous for its citrus harvest. There are many well-known resort areas including Calpe, Denia, Benidorm (infamous for its high-rise blocks) and Javea which has a huge expatriate community. All these resorts are in the province of Alicante. The main towns of the region are Valencia, which is a large industrial and commercial centre, Alicante and Castellon.

There is a range of mountains running parallel to the coast in which you can find interesting hill villages which offer panoramic views of the coast.

Property

Property on the Costa Blanca and the Costa del Azahar is cheaper than on the Costa del Sol and there are many developments of bungalow style villas and apartments at reasonable prices. The building density can be quite high in places – that is what keeps property prices relatively cheap. There are many companies that organise property exhibitions in the UK featuring villas and apartments for sale on the Costa Blanca. Needless to say, most of these properties are being sold off-plan – more about this in Chapters 3 and 4. The one town here which seems to be in the process of being taken over by the British is Torrevieja, one of the largest building sites in Europe. However, in many of the other resort areas here you may also find yourself living in England in the sun.

Climate

Leisure and sports facilities are good but if you are looking for golf courses you need to look further south towards the Costa del Sol. The climate is Mediterranean with hot summers and mild winters and an average of 320 days sunshine a year – similar to the Costa del Sol. The WHO also recognises the climate and the air quality in this part of Spain as being among the healthiest in the world.

Communications

Communications between Valencia and the rest of Spain are very good, with modern motorways and railways together with major airports at Alicante and Valencia. Since the region is not a major business area the number of scheduled flights is lower than to other areas but there is a healthy presence of charter and low-cost airlines to take care of your travel needs throughout the year.

THE COSTA CALIDA

The Costa Calida is in the extreme south-east corner of Spain in the province of Murcia. The main towns of the region are Cartagena, Lorca (thought by some to be the prettiest town in the area) and the capital, Murcia.

Property

The region is largely undeveloped and not very well known, although there are some very good beaches and resorts such as Aguilas, Mazarron and Mar Menor. The Costa Calida is unlikely to be a first choice region for someone planning to live in Spain long term.

Climate

The region is primarily agricultural and has a Mediterranean climate with hot summers and mild winters. One up-market development on the Costa Calida is the La Manga Club resort – an exclusive sports and leisure development on the Mar Menor lagoon.

Communications

Communication with the rest of Spain is quite poor since the rail service only goes as far as Valencia or Alicante. There are airports at Almeria and Murcia but they tend to be served by seasonal charter flights. The only consolation is that due to the lack of development, property prices remain fairly low on the Costa Calida. Prices are, however, rising and La Manga is already very expensive.

ANDALUCIA

Why did we choose to move to Andalucia?

The answer is very simple. It is the one region that sums up Spain for everyone. Andalucia is the Spain of the guide books and the tourist brochures. It is the region of sandy beaches, rugged mountains and deep gorges, white villages, spectacular historical towns and monuments, festivals or ferias, flamenco, the guitar and the bullfight. It is a region rich in history dating back before the Roman invasion. There are many colourful reminders of the Moorish occupation of Spain and wonderful examples of how Christian Spain changed after the Moors were driven out.

Andalucia is the second largest region of Spain and contains many major towns and cities, some of which are tourist attractions in their own right as well as being thriving commercial areas. Among those towns and cities are Algeciras (the major port for Africa which is only nine miles from Spain), Almeria, Antequera, Cadiz (the port from which Columbus sailed to discover America), Cordoba, Granada, Jerez (home of sherry), Malaga, Ronda and Seville (the regional capital).

Some parts of the coastline are highly developed and represent the image of the Costa del Sol as seen in many holiday brochures – high-rise, high-energy with 24-hour entertainment, busy and very ‘sea and sangria’. Other areas are totally unspoiled, where development is still in its infancy. In between there are areas where the development is more sympathetic and rarely stretches back more than a mile from the sea. The main resorts are described below.

The Costa del Sol stretches almost the whole length of the southern portion of Spain and begins with the Costa Almeria. Here tourism has left the coast practically untouched and development is minimal. For many years this part of Andalucia was largely ignored; it was thought to be a harsh landscape of sun-drenched mountains and rocky plains. Largely untouched by mass tourism, even today, this coast has many villages with less than 2,000 inhabitants. Some of these villages could be the ideal choice if you want to live in real Spain.

The area also contains the only desert in Europe, which is near the town of Tabernas. Film sets from the famous spaghetti westerns have been preserved here and this desert was also used as a location for the epic film Lawrence of Arabia.

Property prices on the Costa Almeria remain relatively low at the moment but development is beginning to take place and prices are rising.

THE COSTA TROPICAL

Our next stop on this coast is the Costa Tropical in the province of Granada. Once again this coast is less developed than the Costa del Sol itself but development is taking place, albeit sympathetically and it is certainly a growth area for the future. Development is helped by the close proximity of this coast to Malaga airport. In fact the closer you get to Malaga airport the higher the prices.

The area of Granada province which could be of interest to readers who want more of a return to nature is not on the coast but is an inland region known as the Alpujarras, a particularly beautiful group of mountain valleys in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada south-east of Granada itself. The area is dotted with little hill villages, winding roads, mule tracks and footpaths. This is just the area in which you might want to settle if you wish to escape the pressures of the 21st century. This is real Spain and you would need to speak some Spanish to live here.

The Alpujarras is as yet relatively undeveloped, although it is likely that more development will take place in the future; it always does in areas of great natural beauty because people want to live there. You won’t find new apartments and huge villas with all the mod-cons of today but you might find that delightful farmhouse or finca with a bit of land on which you can cultivate your olives and lemons. You may even end up being independent of town water and mains electricity and have to depend on your own well together with solar power to generate your 12v electricity supply.

The climate is very pleasant. The summer temperatures are not as hot as those on the coast because of the altitude but it goes without saying that it is colder in the winter. In fact the higher you go, the more chance you have of seeing snow. At its most northerly point the Alpujarras are actually closer to Granada than they are to Malaga.

Should you want to experience even more remote parts of Andalucia you could decide to go further inland to the provinces of Cordoba, Granada and Jaen. Here you will find typical Spanish villages and small farms or fincas all set in areas of incredible natural beauty. But property here can be very remote and may only have a dirt track for access. You may not have mains water or electricity but you will be living close to nature. As you are high in the mountains the climate tends to be very hot in the summer but it can snow in the winter. Property prices are very low in these regions and you can still pick up properties for renovation together with a reasonable amount of land for less than £50,000 but prices are rising.

THE COSTA DE LA LUZ

Leaving the Costa Tropical behind, I will leapfrog over the Costa del Sol proper to mention the Costa de la Luz, which is not really part of the Costa del Sol. This is Europe’s most southerly coast and here the sea is the Atlantic Ocean. We are now west of Gibraltar and the wide sandy beaches are truly spectacular. However, the region is still remote.

This coast is very windy. One of the larger towns, Tarifa, is known as the wind surfing capital of Europe. Tarifa is also Europe’s most southerly town and is so close to the coast of Morocco that you almost feel that you can touch Africa.

The coast has largely escaped the development seen further east but this is changing. Golf courses are being built and this will bring in the tourists. Anyone who likes wild ocean vistas and the beauties of nature might like to consider the Costa de la Luz. This area is home to one of Europe’s largest nature reserves, the Coto Dõnana, which apart from its fascinating animal and plant life is also the crossing point for many migratory birds on their way to and from Africa. It is truly a birdwatcher’s paradise.

Temperatures on the Costa de la Luz are often cooler in the summer due to the ocean breezes but winter temperatures are also lower. This coast can be wild if there are Atlantic storms!

THE COSTA DEL SOL

The Costa del Sol today stretches from Nerja, near Malaga, almost to Gibraltar.

East of Malaga, Nerja and Torrox are developed but not overly so (yet) and the coastline is spectacular. The downside is that being close to Malaga there is a lot of tourist activity in the area during the summer months. Inland there are beautiful hill villages to explore, many of which can offer delightful village houses for those who want to live in a Spanish village without being too far from the bright lights of modern civilisation. The best-known hill village is Frigiliana, which has been restored so much by expat settlers that it almost resembles a film set. Another very pretty hill village is Tollox, while Competa is becoming so attractive to the British it now boasts several British-owned estate agents.

If any readers wish to consider Malaga itself as a choice of destination they will find it to be a large, bustling city and seaport which has kept its Spanish character. The most interesting properties to be found in Malaga would be in the historic old city. Malaga is probably the most underrated city in Spain. It is highly cultural and was the birthplace of Picasso. If you cannot live without the buzz of big city life Malaga could be a good choice, although old properties can be expensive.

The remainder of the Costa del Sol really breaks up into two sections:

From Torremolinos to Marbella the coast is very highly developed with many high-rise apartments and hotels in Torremolinos and Fuengirola. In my opinion these two areas represent the worst of 1960s and 1970s development for mass tourism, but I would be the first to admit that many readers might wish to live there. There are real advantages:

• There is public transport – buses and trains – along this part of the coast.
• It is possible to live here without owning a car since supermarkets, restaurants, bars and all the necessities of modern life can be within walking distance.
• The area is so developed for tourism that it is not necessary to speak Spanish. Virtually everyone speaks English. In fact it can be difficult to be understood in Spanish!

Although the coastal region is over-developed the picture changes when you move inland to villages such as Coin and Alhaurin. Around and in these villages it is still possible to find small, typically Spanish houses and small fincas, some of which need total renovation while some have already been sympathetically restored. The lower prices will surprise you. Closer to the coast is Mijas, a typical white village, or pueblo blanco, which has been taken over so much by residential tourism that almost the only people who speak Spanish in Mijas are the cleaners and gardeners. Mijas does, however, have spectacular views down to the sea at Fuengirola. Today, between Mijas and the sea development is extensive and the land either supports new apartment blocks, townhouses or villas or it has been transformed into yet another golf course. You will see signs the length of the Costa del Sol proclaiming it to be the Costa del Golf.

West of Fuengirola and Benalmadena the coast begins to change. From Calahonda the coastline begins to become less intensely developed, although the density is still high and it is still very tourist and in places, British orientated. There are, however, some very attractive areas where the building density is not too high, such as La Cala and Puerto Cabopino which was the site of the BBC soap, Eldorado – in fact some of the actors still live here.

Property prices in this part of the coast cover all price ranges.

Marbella is our next stop on the Costa del Sol. Marbella, with its suburbs of Puerto Banus, Nueva Andulacia and San Pedro, is the Costa del Sol of the tourist brochures and the Costa del Sol at its most glittering. Expensive hotels, millionaires’ yachts in the marinas, expensive cars, expensive restaurants and chic bars where people go to people watch, expensive golf courses and, of course, property prices to match. Marbella itself is home to some very glitzy hotels including the world famous Marbella Club where the Marbella success story started. Puerto Banus is the San Tropez of Spain. The yachts in the marina can be the size of small ferries while the parking spaces in the marina are filled with some of the most expensive examples of automotive engineering to be seen anywhere in the world. Surprisingly the restaurants along the harbour front are not all prohibitively expensive and it can be very pleasant to linger over a meal in the afternoon sun and watch how the rich folks live.

The developments here are extensive but since the prices are higher the purchasers have usually demanded more living space so the actual density of building is not so high. There are spectacular apartments and townhouses to be found here and even more spectacular villas standing in acres of garden. It’s an ideal spot to look for that dream home if money is no object, but some of the prices being asked for property in the Marbella area are just as spectacular as the properties. For those on a more modest budget who want peace and quiet, I would suggest looking further west or in the hill villages inland from Marbella such as Istan, Benahavis and Ojen.

Once you have passed through the famous Marbella arch at San Pedro de Alcantara the coast road suddenly seems to become less busy (not always the case in July and August) and the density of building suddenly reduces. No longer does it appear that every available square metre of land on each side of the coast road is built on or under construction, although to be fair, there is still a lot of building – cranes are a fact of life in Spain at the moment. Suddenly from the coast road you can see the mountains behind the coast more clearly and you can actually see the sea itself. You can even see little old farmhouses and farming activities still taking place in the same way as they have done for centuries.

We are now heading to the other section of the Costa del Sol – the part stretching from Estepona almost to Gibraltar.

This is where we chose to settle and our reasons were many. Estepona itself is a wonderfully elegant resort town; almost Edwardian in character. It has a beautiful broad sandy beach with many beach restaurants and yet even in the height of the summer season it is never crowded. There are a number of very good chiringuitos (beach restaurants) along the beach. From the beach on a clear day there are spectacular views of the Rock of Gibraltar and the coast of North Africa. Parking can become more of a problem in July and August although there is now a very large car park under the promenade with another being built. There is a fascinating old town which in 2002 celebrated its 5th centenary. Many of the village houses in the old town are being renovated and they can be turned into quite spectacular homes. Restored examples are now commanding quite high prices. To the west of Estepona there is a modern marina for private boats, but this marina also incorporates a working fishing harbour and fish market where you can see the catch being landed every day.

Estepona is a town where you feel as if people live and work all year round. This is very important for anyone planning to become a permanent resident. I certainly would not want to live in a ghost town out of season.

Estepona is not a Costa del Sol resort as seen in the holiday brochures. It does not have high rise hotels and apartment complexes, English restaurants and bars or masses of souvenir shops. Estepona is a Spanish resort, not a resort planned around the package holiday. In making our decision on where to live the key factor was that Estepona is not too large – in fact the boundary of the town itself is probably the toll motorway which is only about two kilometres from the beach. Beyond the motorway there is still wild countryside.

There is a wide choice of property in Estepona itself ranging from apartments on the seafront with spectacular sea views to developments of elegant townhouses with shared gardens and communal swimming pools. Once more there are prices to suit every pocket.

We decided that somewhere near Estepona should be our choice.

Moving down the coast towards Gibraltar there is a lot of development taking place. Many people who have lived here for years would prefer not to see new properties appearing and complain continuously about new development, but I have to say that the density is generally not too high at the moment. I have benefited from this development as it has provided me with a home and now that I have moved here I cannot deny the right of others to move to the Costa del Sol.

There is very little development which stretches more than one kilometre inland and since the hills come very close to the sea on this part of the coast a lot of the properties are on high ground or on the beach. They have a lot of space around them and there are virtually no high-rise developments. New planning permissions should only allow three stories and a ratio of 25 per cent building to 75 per cent open space, although there are developments which contravene regulations. This is Spain, after all! Improvements to the coast road and a new toll motorway a few kilometres inland have cased the traffic problems which this part of the Costa del Sol experienced before. Developments should also bring improvements to the infrastructure which in turn will provide everyone with an even better lifestyle. The local authority taxes payable on the new properties will increase the amount of funding which the local town halls will have available for improvements to the area in the future.

The next area on the coast is Manilva. The coastal town here is Sabinillas, a charming little Spanish town if you get off the main road which used to cut directly through it. It looks nothing from the main road but currently the beach promenade is being remodeled and many parts of the old town are being restored and pedestrianised. Since this town is particularly Spanish, properties here are very reasonably priced and there is a wide choice. Great improvements are in progress here and the coast road which passes directly through the town has now been moved into a tunnel underneath a pedestrianised area. The only real negative about Sabinillas is that unless you live in a high-rise apartment block there is not much in the way of views, since the town is almost entirely built on the flat coastal plain. Some visitors may consider that there is perhaps a little bit too much development of apartment blocks along the main road.

If you fancy living further inland you could consider Manilva itself. It is a typical small Spanish town high up on the hill and the administrative centre of this area. It remains very Spanish in atmosphere although there is already a sizable population of expatriates. It is not a typical pueblo blanco but from some parts of the town there are spectacular views of the sea and the mountains towards Casares. Manilva has adventurous ideas for the development of tourism in the area with plans for new hotels and a huge theme park in the hills on the other side of the new toll motorway. It looks like being a growth area.

Further inland, above Manilva, are the pueblos blancos of Casares and Gaucin. These spectacular hill villages are connected to the coast by good, if winding, roads and while they are typical of the region, there is a growing non-Spanish population in both towns, particularly in Gaucin. Both towns are a maze of narrow streets which are not very car friendly and small houses clinging to the steep hillsides. I would say that the towns themselves are more suited to the young and energetic! There are some beautiful villas and fincas in the hills around Casares and Gaucin but they do tend to be quite expensive.

Driving between Sabinillas and Torreguadiaro, the next town on the coast, there are ‘urbanisations’ of apartments, townhouses or villas on both sides of the road and it is in one of these urbanisations where we chose to make our home. Unless you live in Sabinillas itself a car would be advisable, although even here, there is still good public transport. There is a regular bus service from Malaga to Algeciras which is reliable, comfortable and cheap. We know many people who use it regularly and who swear by its dependability.

Moving on through the coastal part of this area you reach Torreguadiaro and two other towns close to it, Pueblo Nuevo de Guadiaro and Guadiaro itself. These three towns are built around the Guadiaro river – one of the few rivers in this region which flows all year round. Inland from Guadiaro are the small towns of San Enrique and Tesorillo which could be attractive propositions for property since they remain very Spanish. Property prices here are on the increase as the area is convenient for Sotogrande.

Beyond Torreguadiaro there is currently very little development apart from Sotogrande, a new resort built at the mouth of the Guadiaro river close to the world-famous Valderrama Golf Course. Sotogrande would not be to everyone’s taste since it is very modern, very international, not very Spanish and very expensive. There are many modern apartments and townhouses around the new marina with views over the marina but they tend to be small. The villas in Sotogrande Alto are also alto (high) in price. They can cost millions of euros. However, if your budget stretches to it and you like sporting activities such as golf, tennis and sailing, Sotogrande could be the ideal choice for your dream home. To enjoy these activities you don’t even need to go out of Sotogrande and there are plans to increase the number of polo grounds with the aim of turning this part of the Costa del Sol into the polo capital of Europe. It is undoubtedly a good area for investment and this is reflected in the amount of building which is currently taking place.

Beyond Sotogrande there is very little development apart from one new development called Alcaidesa. It is so new that I cannot really comment on it here. The town of San Roque overlooking the rock of Gibraltar could be your choice if you would like to consider a typical Spanish house in a typically Spanish town.

As with all property purchases the ultimate deciding factor is location, location, location.