Retiring in Andalucia - maybe ?

[oliveview01]

Cadiz has wonderful beaches and many lovely towns within a short drive to get beach. It can get windy, we were at la Barrosa beach yesterday, it was windy! Cadiz is a beautiful city. Happy hunting

[scampicat]

Another vote for Nerja and Maro here. Also on the same stretch of coast, nearer to Malaga, try Torrox (Pueblo, not Costa) - it is a beautiful little town, slghtly inland but within easy reach (five minutes) of the coast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMGRwAMeP0M

[swerve]

Maro itself may be ok but the beach/ cove is a nightmare to get to. And if anyone has any difficulty walking it's a no no.

[Swallow]

Another vote for Nerja and Maro here. Also on the same stretch of coast, nearer to Malaga, try Torrox (Pueblo, not Costa) - it is a beautiful little town, slghtly inland but within easy reach (five minutes) of the coast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMGRwAMeP0M

I was there a couple of weeks ago on a touring holiday (stayed in Competa) lovely town very conveniently situated.

[Mowser]

According to the various websites I think I can rent a nice apt with 2 bathrooms and 2 or 3 beds for around E 800 per month.

You should get one much cheaper than that. You can pick up a 2 or 3 bed in Frigiliana for around 500 or 600 a month as long as you don't go to agents. Take a walk around and ask in any shop.

[Boratri]

Thanks Mowser. That's really encouraging. Thanks to everyone who's contributed to this blog. It's given me so many great ideas. Hopefully when I finally arrive I can get to meet some of you.
Cheers

Richard

[irismary]

If you want the REAL Spain and cheap lettings, anywhere from Cadiz to the Portuguese border may be your cup of tea. There are ex pats here, but less concentrated than some areas of the Med coast. We are just inland from the coast on the border and houses are let for around 300-450 euros a month. The beaches all along this coast are lovely. The cost of living is cheaper than the Costas on the Med (I know because we visited friends in Estapona recently and the prices in Carrefour were 30% higher than here and drinks and coffee twice the price). Good roads make it easy to visit Sevilla and Cordoba and other interesting towns. II think the weather in winter is better too than on the Med - we get much less rain. The whole coast seems to have its own microclimate - except the Cadiz to Gib area where there seems to be more rain and wind. Go for it, life here is very pleasant - but be prepared for some bureaucratic nightmares!

[RichardCoeurdeLion]

I can't offer you any advice on where to try, (we had a holiday home on the most highly developed part of the CDS for 20 years and over that time explored most of andalucia), but just wanted to say that a sad event has given you the chance of embarking on a great adventure. Allthough you will be tearing yourself away from your life in Melbourne (I was there in April, great place), and you may get homesick for your adopted land, I feel from what you have written that you have a positive approach to life, and will suceed

So go for it, and good luck

[barry]

Why not try cave living on the Altiplano?

[Boratri]

Hi Irismary

Thanks for your advice. This sounds really interesting and I'm going to start checking out this area. Haven't had much time to get on this site recently because of travelling on business but I'll get back to my research again. Thank you.

[pablosho]

Hi Boratri,

I live in Jerez, it's a great city with a large town feel. Only 30 minutes drive to Cadiz, 1 hour to Sevilla,
20 minutes to the nearest beaches (El Puerto de Santa Maria) and 40 to the better ones of Conil, Chiclana etc.
Look up some of the places I've mentioned or PM me if you would like some more info.
Happy searching
Pablo

[alig99]

Hi Borati,

Welcome to the forum, its a really helpful place for everything you need to know about Spain. I see people have mentioned looking at the area between Malaga and Nerja and I would endorse this. My 3 favourite places are Velez-Malaga about 7 minutes drive to the beach, its a lovely town very Spanish, you can get the bus from Malaga to Velez and also the tram to the beach so you don't need a car necessarily or at least if you don't want to travel far. The other 2 places are Rincon de la Victoria and Torre del Mar both are beach side towns and very Spanish, from both of course you can also get the bus to Malaga and more particularly the airport. Personally I would recommend that you think carefully about which airport you need to be near for family and friends to visit. Malaga has the most flights into it from the majority of UK airports and flights are available all year round.

Hope you find this helpful. Ali

[Boratri]

Hi Ali

Another great idea. Thanks so much for the information. I hope I'll get the chance to meet some of you kind people when I finally get there.

Richard