I would suggest areas east of Malaga. Look along the coast from Rincon to Almunecar and inland from any of these areas. These areas, apart from Nerja which is a tourist resort, are still quite Spanish and far less touristy than those to the West of Malaga.

if you are not worried about the coast have a look around Jaen or extreamdura about 1-2 hrs from the coast inland andalucia

Have a look at Mojacar in Almeria.It is on the coast and is quite touristy in the summer but with a big ex-pat community all year.There are many places of possible interest inland of there so have a look.

Have a look at two local websites.

http://www.costaalmeria.com
http://www.viva-almeria.com

Check out their forums for local advice,best of luck,John.

many thanks not looked at them yet but im sure this is the sort of information i will want. Any other tips and advice are always welcome

My parents had a place in a village called Salobrena on the southern coast of Spain, although this was many years ago.

It's a beautiful white village perched on the edge of the sea. At the time it was very uncommercialised even though the main costas were taking off.

One of the things in its favour is its distance from Malaga its just a bit to far for the main tour operators to be interested. I would imagine property is cheaper there than the costa del sol. Its further east on from Nerja and Alumenecar.

The climate is ace, and it's near the coast (I could walk to the beach in 30 mins). If you google it info should come up.

Does this thread mean you have decided on Spain over Italy? In my opinion you have to go and visit places for yourselves, and do the research and choose where YOU want to go.

I mentioned Italy more because of a conversation i had with a business partner, it was not really going to be serious unless i got feed back and the lack of it in that sense just makes it for me.

I have been to spain loads of times and help my mother buy her house there, and with the pain of moving and what a pain it was.

We have a sort of offer of my mothers partners property for us to have rent free but paying bills. (yes im aware these things are almost never true) so if thats the case then we shall use it as a base till we find an area we like and a property we like.

This is my way of finding some areas that other people have been to and like, i will then look and decided for myself.

Its funny how things can suddenly happen without you prompting it at the right time. We have one of those flyers about people in your area want to buy a house like yours(yeah right )

I phoned them anyway he comes rounds tell me my house is worth much more than i thought( ) but yes he does have a customer with chain behind so who knows could it be fate as they say.

if they offer enough we will rent till next year then move.

Thanks for your and everyone elses opinion, it helps.

Thanks for that doepsmc I did google Salobrena and there seemed to be some very reasonable properties there Somewhere for me to visit next I think!!! Would you suggest flying into Malaga, or Granada?

We had our place out there for 7 or 8 years and always flew into Malaga. I don't think flights were so cheap as now, because it was before the days of the budget carriers.

This was quite a few years ago and the road network is probably more developed as well, I guess it was taking us an hour and 30 mins in a car. (or if we were broke on a coach!)

I loved it there and have always meant to go back and see if it's changed much over the years, I probably went a dozen times. Our apartment was near the top of the village and the views were lovely.

How did you get the squiggle over the 'n' I knew it should be there but couldn't find it on my keyboard.
Doe

Thanks for the reply. The n is on my keyboard cos it's a spanish one But the ASCII code is Alt 164 (make sure number lock is on, and keep the Alt key depressed while you hit 164)

Thanks Sue for the n,always wondered where it was.Do you know where the "Euro" sign is too as I must have an old English keyboard,John.

ALT-GR and 4 together gives you the € sign!!
Paul

€
Brilliant thank you,John.
P.S.Back to topic

Here you are John
Like Sue says...make sure the number lock is on and press the left Alt key, releasing keys together after you have typed in the code.

Tip: Save the picture and then print out ..... keep it by the side of your computer, then with use, you will remember the appropriate numbers for the accents.


Click on image to enlarge.
Or you can configure your computer.. HERE

sorry to go off topic

Sanji x

Thanks Sanji and hope you are well.Dont suppose you or anyone else knows where the 3/4 sign is do you.I found the ½ and ¼ ie: ALT 171 and 172 but there is no 3/4 or any other fraction weird ?
Best wishes,John.
Must go back to topic

Alt 0190

http://www.frontpagewizard.com/use_alt_keys.asp

Thanks Oly, that's even better.
Some on there that I hadn't got.

Back on topic......
I personally love La Carihuela ...between Torremolinos town centre and Benalmadena.
It is touristy during the summer, but after October the village goes back to some order of a Spanish fishing village( its origins) with its own school and community.
I personally would have to live by the sea, no other inland offer would appeal to me.....basically, anywhere in Andalucia by the sea would be fine.

Good luck with your search, I hope you find your dream place.

SanJi

Hi
We bought last year in Olvera in Andalucia after four years of looking at different areas in Spain. The village. perched on a hill and dominated by the castle and cathedral, is absolutely wonderful and the surrounding countryside is just unbelievable. The people are so friendly and everything is so inexpensive. There is so much to see and do in the surrounding area and the coast is just 90 minutes away on a spectacular drive through the hills. Our house cost us €60000 fully furnished. You can fly to either Granada, Seville, Jerez or Malaga so you can always find a cheap flight. I cannot recommend the place enough. Let me have your e-mail and I can send you some pictures.