Living on Urb. Nueva Marbella

I think it is fairly quiet in the winter and has a mixture of nationalities, although I believe, mainly Spanish. Personally, it is quite a walk to amenities, especially as one gets older. At least you have a doctor's surgery on the doorstep. I think there are far better options for your age if you want to be close to amenities but I guess it depends on whether you want to live a Spanish lifestyle or an English one. Good luck.

Thank you for your reply Tizzyelle. You mentioned that far better options are available in order to be close to amenities. We would be obliged if you could point us in the right direction, as we are really new to the area. Thanks again for your help.

Near, or on, El Divino and Playa 1, 2 and 3 (Calle Isla de Tabarca and surrounding area)

This is a fantastic area near to many shops, bars and restaurants. Also close to the main road where the local bus can be caught down to Los Alcazares (the original town).

A lot of people I know live in Los Narejos, technically comes under Los Alcazares, but often named separately. This is the area behind Aldi and Mercadona and stretches up all the way to the Arches roundabout.

I hope that helps and wish you the best of luck.

Thank you Tizzyelle, very informative. We will certainly give these areas a look. Thanks again for your time....

Hello, welcome to the Forum.

We live in Calle de la Rambla and the Nueva Marbella urbanisation is just behind us.  It’s a lovely area to live skirting the ‘old town’ of Los Alcazares and we love it here!  

Is this going to be your permanent move or are you looking for a holiday home? I ask this because depending upon what you are looking for, may well help you to decide your choice of area i.e. will you be locking up and leaving for long periods?  Do you want permanent neighbours?  Do you want to integrate into the local Spanish community or are you looking for a more ex-pat vibe where English is predominantly spoken?  All this should be taken into consideration when you are making your choice.

I’m sorry but as far as the urbanisation itself goes I cannot give you any advice.  Because we wanted a permanent home and didn’t want to be subject to extra fees we chose not to live on an urbanisation where we were liable for caretaking charges and maintenance fees and we also wanted permanent neighbours rather than holidaymakers on a week or two week turnover during the summer. So we bought an independent property, however as I say Nueva Marbella is a lovely area, very quiet a good mix of permanent and holiday homes and predominantly Spanish.  It’s close to the library, the market (every Tuesday) an open air swimming pool (open June to October) the main sports centre (polideportivo) where the majority of the towns festivals take place and just a few blocks back from the sea front and the main N332 which runs the whole way through town.  Very easy access on foot to all amenities and a bus route (we are also retired and realise we may not be driving forever so this swayed our decision too).  Public transport can be a bit sketchy however but Los Alcazares has just about everything you could need so no actual requirement to go out of town and there is a regular bus service to Cartagena (and Murcia I believe but not used it yet).  The Ayuntamiento (town hall), shops, hairdressers, banks, health centre, dentists, opticians, vets, hairdressers bars and restaurants, all within less than ten minutes easy walking distance.  Close by there is a great fishmonger - Zamora, Panadería - Bastida (croissants to die for!) and Butchers Fini y Fernández.  I buy all my fruit and veg from the market which runs the whole length of Calle de la Rambla and the veg stall is right outside my front gate! 
If you prefer more Anglicised restaurants and bars where you can get ‘all day breakfasts’ and traditional Sunday roast lunches, evening entertainment etc. for a more holiday vibe, there is a whole street about a ten minute walk in the opposite direction.  This area is commonly known as ‘The Strip’ and is a pedestrianised area which runs along Calle Rio Nalon beside the 525 hotel and down towards the centre of Los Narejos.
There are various little parks around the area where I have seen people walking their dogs and also a lovely tree lined boulevard with a fountain and a little cafe (Calle Mar de Mediterraneo) which fronts the Nueva Marbella urbanisation.  I regularly see people exercising their dogs when I go up there for my morning walk.
Hope this helps but my advice would be don’t be tempted to buy anywhere as a permanent home until you’ve been here to see for yourselves.  Perhaps rent somewhere first to get a good feel for the town?  We rented on Roda golf for three months out of season (April, May and June last year) before we found what we were looking for.  So glad we did because we are delighted with our choice, it suits us perfectly.  However what suits one person may not suit another.  Good luck with your search and if you want any further info please don’t hesitate to pm me. 😊

Many thanks SaraC,

Wow, what a lot of information we will take it all on board. We have lived in Spain for many years and are currently living in the `campo` up here in Valencia. We are used to a Spanish community so Spanish neighbours will not be a problem. Living on Nueva Marbella we could have the best of both worlds as Los Narejas is not too far away if we fancy a change. We visited Los Alcazares for a couple of days recently and are coming back for a week to have a good look around. Thanks again for all the information and your time. 

Best regards....

Glad to be of help.  If you enjoy the Spanish vibe as we do (we chose to live in Spain because we love the Spanish way of life, and the Spanish people) so I think you’ll be much happier at the Los Alcazares ‘Old Town’ end of town.  Sounds like Nueva Marbella may suit you very well, I hope so.  Good luck and as I said if you want any more info on this part of town, please message me.  If you pass by our house please call to say hola!  We are the pink house on the corner of Calle de la Rambla and Calle José Selgas with the fruit trees in the garden.  All the best - Sara