Moving to Spain from UK

susan said:
Sunday, March 11, 2012 @ 12:29 PM

Hi Dave and Marian, you don't say if you've visited Málaga and/or Granada or are you doing all your research online? I see you haven't got any responses yet which is why I'm chiming in. :-) From what I have seen on this site most of the members tend to live in villages or smaller communities and not in the cities, which probably explains why. Anyway I've only been to Granada a couple of times but I have spent a fair bit of time in Málaga and am pretty familiar with the city, so I might be able to point you to specific neighborhoods if you say what you're looking for. As for British amenities, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that (nor am I British myself rather American) but Málaga does have a fairly extensive international community. Just walking around though I don't get the impression that there are tons of British people as opposed to someplace like Nerja (or probably any of the major villages). But it definitely has the amenities one would expect in a medium-sized city and you can get by quite well with English (and a few polite Spanish phrases) until you learn Spanish. In fact my problem is often getting them to speak Spanish to me once they hear I'm not a native Spanish speaker because everyone seems to want to practice their English! As for property prices, I can't speak for Granada but Málaga seems incredibly cheap to me considering it's right on the coast, and it has some lovely neighborhoods. Wish I were able to buy right now! In any case good luck with your decision.

susan said:
Sunday, March 11, 2012 @ 12:31 PM

oops, looked at the date on the original post wrong, not so surprising not to have a response after just 12 hrs. ;-)

Karen said:
Sunday, March 11, 2012 @ 11:44 PM

The only thing that I would add is, it depends wether you prefer coast Malaga or inland Granada which could help in your decision. People will always have difference of opinions and for me I prefer Malaga, just because I prefer coastal. Think it might be best to spend a short time in each & ideally in the winter to help you decide before the final move. Karen

susan said:
Monday, March 12, 2012 @ 10:37 AM

oops, looked at the date on the original post wrong, not so surprising not to have a response after just 12 hrs. ;-)

Chalkie White said:
Monday, March 12, 2012 @ 2:26 PM

Hi you two,
I have lived in both locations but never in the capitals. I would strongly suggest you explore the surrounding towns and villages as you be closer to the spanish culture and would enrich your experiences you will also make more friends in a smaller community- citys all over the world can be quite faceless. Having said that both are stunning citys to visit but returning to your Pueblo at the end of the day is a homely feeling.
come out and rent in both places drive around and explore you will be surprised what you find, I did that and ended up in a small mountain village where I spent 12 years.....loved it!
I am at present in Mijas pueblo, Malaga but I was priviously on the Granada coast (did you know Granada had a coast?) check my web page which details discovering spain.
Good luck to you both

Chalkie White said:
Monday, March 12, 2012 @ 2:28 PM

http://downandoutinspain.blogspot.com/2012/03/castell-de-ferro.html