You’re on your holiday in the Costa Del Sol, and you see a ‘Se Vende’ (for sale) sign outside a cute apartment a few minutes’ drive from the sea. Excitedly, you look at Idealista (the Spanish version of RightMove), and you weep when you see it’s €250,000 for a two-bed, one-bathroom, 70 m² that you still need a car to get to the beach.
We exaggerated slightly, although €250,000 is the average price for an apartment near the sea in Torremolinos. In high-end areas, like Malaga, apartments not near the seafront start at €150,000.
Spanish coastal areas are becoming expensive as sellers bump up the prices to match the market and, well, because they can.
If you ask us, the mountains are the new coast. The true, authentic, non-touristy, relaxed Spanish experience. Read on for the top areas we think you should consider moving to in Spain.
Northern Costa Blanca
The precious Costa Blanca is still on the list for you Brits; don’t worry. UK nationals relocating to Spain love it here. This unique region is full of stunning, traditional Spanish beauty that hasn’t quite been taken over like the South has (no offence, Southern Costa Blanca).
There’s a charm left in the streets that oozes a sense of Spanish culture and life – slow, steady, sunny, and simply stunning. Altea, for example, is possibly one of the most quaint little towns that packs a personality punch that you’ll ever see. We won’t tell you to live there, though; it’s actually expensive compared to other areas of this region. We just want you to Google it and see how stunning it is.
That being said, Altea is a seaside town, but you can move inland towards La Nucia, and you’re paying significantly less on prices (€130,000 for apartments).
Slightly more north, you have some incredible locations to add to your list. We’d recommend:
- Dénia
- Calpe
- Moraira
These places are still close to the coast! An afternoon in the Calpe marina is to die for! The only downside is that if you’re a Spain tax resident, it’s expensive. That being said, being a tax resident in Spain is more expensive everywhere compared to the UK.
Southeast Andalucia
Now, we said Northern Spain is the true Spain, but wait until you go to Southeast Andalucia. And don’t get us started on the Andalusian food – it doesn’t get better than in this region, the home of tapas. Try gazpacho or pescaito frito (fried fish) here, and you probably will never want to eat anything again.
British expats in Spain love it here because of…everything. Andalusian people are renowned for being super friendly and welcoming, especially if you take the time to learn even just the basics of the language.
Word of warning: this is inland Spain, and inland Spain is hot with a capital H. Temperatures rise to the 40s in summer, but you’re not too far from a few weeks on the coast to cool down.
What you pay for in pure sweat, you save on house prices. We’re talking about areas like Granada, Seville, and Córdoba, not Malaga – that’s more south than southeast.
Those three places we just listed are full of character, incredible parties like the Sevillianas in Seville, and charming historical character that some regions in Spain are missing.
Prices in our favourite area, Granada, start from €117,871.
Inland Murcia
You’ll find a surprising number of expats in Spain in inland Murcia. We’re primarily talking about the older generation who are looking for a slower pace of life where you can actually get a restaurant booking in the summer.
Again, like southeast Andalucia, inland Murcia is incredibly hot in the summer, so it isn’t for the faint-hearted. But if you do love the heat, inland Murcia will reward you with small towns with a relaxed pace of life that’s so chilled that people are practically horizontal.
And it’s still part of Andalucia, so you can still experience the same gastronomy experience as southeast Andalucia – spend a day in Spain, and you’ll soon learn life revolves around food, and that means they know how to do it well.
These regions are farming areas, so you can expect some of the freshest fruit and vegetables literally on your doorstep. We highly recommend you go to Mercado de Veronicas in Murcia. It’s one of the most famous markets in the area, with every other stand with a beautiful array of colourful fruits and vegetables.
We’d recommend looking for properties in:
- Moratalla
- Murcia City
- Calasparra
- Mula
Other than Murcia city, these areas are the most remote we’ve mentioned. Properties in Mula, for example, start at €75,000.
There are so many incredible areas of Spain to live in – don’t just think coastal when you’re looking at how to relocate to Spain. As you can see, even if you look at the mountains, you don’t have to be as far away from the seafront as you think!