First time visit - Page 3

ann75 wrote on Wed Sep 7, 2022 12:38pm:

 these are v good helpful posts I think  From what you've said I think you might like Sucina. It's about 20 mins from the Mar Menor. Traditional small town with good amenities and some ex pat's. Very good road to it as well. A nice size if you want amenities but not a bustling busy plac...

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...e & it's within easy reach of bigger amenity areas. 

 San Pedro del Pinatar is another good option, open all year round. Tourists there are mostly Spanish  and there are ex pat's too although not as many as say San Javier or Los Alcazares.  It's a bigger town than Sucina, has a lovely promenade, cycle ways, a living town with a nice town square and while some hostelarias close in winter others don't. Excellent shopping facilities.  It is close to Torrevieja but not nearly as built up but I mention it as it has many more options and an easy drive from both Sucina and San Pedro. 

In the same area there are plenty of other inland towns with very good access roads and, if course, the whole Costa is well serviced with both Murcia International & Alicante airports. There is a very good rail network too..

I'd say cost of life living is around a third cheaper overall than Ireland where I'm from, maybe a bit better if you're from the UK.  Crime is low like most places outside the main bug cities but a bit of handbag snatching and opportunistic thieving goes on, just he prudent. No serious crime that I know of.

Best of luck luck with your search. If you have any questions you can private message me. 

Regards Ann

JackieSo wrote on Sun Oct 2, 2022 6:05pm:

Hi Ann

From Ireland too and heading over to look in the area and San Pedro de Pinatar sounds lovely and somewhere we will now visit to scout around also. We won’t always have a car when we visit and don’t want to be stuck without transport and am wondering is there trains/buses to this area from the...

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... airport Alicante or Murcia and between towns?

Jen67 wrote on Mon Oct 3, 2022 5:16pm:

I did see coaches at alicante Airport and bus stops. San Pedro de Pinatar was disappointing for us. The marina is rammed, so no lovely view. The market was very repetitive though long. The bars were occupied late morning by raucous Spanish already half gone. Its a very poor area, and we encounter...

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...ed a few begging at our table. I know everyone's experience is different,  but it just wasn't lovely or picturesque. 

Jen67 wrote on Mon Oct 3, 2022 5:16pm:

I did see coaches at alicante Airport and bus stops. San Pedro de Pinatar was disappointing for us. The marina is rammed, so no lovely view. The market was very repetitive though long. The bars were occupied late morning by raucous Spanish already half gone. Its a very poor area, and we encounter...

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...ed a few begging at our table. I know everyone's experience is different,  but it just wasn't lovely or picturesque. 

ann75 wrote on Mon Oct 3, 2022 8:07pm:

I'm sorry San P. didn't appeal. Did you try Sucina?  You did indicate you liked a rural setting & there are many more inland towns not far from the coast. Murcia is largely agricultural.  Do bear in mind that Murcia in general is not regarded as a particularly affluent area but ther...

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...e are some very attractive spots to be found on the Costa Cálida. Like I said before there is plenty of choice from high end to the other extreme and this applies to dining out as well. 

I haven't experienced anyone begging in the three years we've been here but I did experience quite a lot of that in Catalonia, a much more expensive place, (where we lived for 15 years) than Murcia. Maybe they only come out in the tourist season here. 

Further north in Valencia provience there is Denia which we really liked when we were scouting around. Spent a few nights there and really liked it and then further west in Almería Vera, Garrucha and Mojácar were all appealling too. Of course, Granada is another good option but if I go on like this I will be here all night.

I hope you find what you're looking for. If I can help with further information please get in touch.  

SteveeX wrote on Wed Sep 7, 2022 9:11pm:

A really good, informative post. 

I would add a cautionary note, however. Be aware that a number of areas around the Mar Menor are prone to flooding (particularly around San Pedro, San Javier and Los Alcazares) when the recurrent Autumn storms known as the 'Gota Fria' hit. We lost a car there outside a hotel 4 years ago; it ...

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...was parked on a road which quite literally became a sizable river overnight. 

If I was thinking of buying property there I would look for something with a little elevation and check first that it would be possible to insure it.  

Good luck with your search. 

Cidergirl wrote on Sun Oct 9, 2022 3:47pm:

The Gota Fria of 2019 was the worst for a 100 years. The old town was hit particularly badly but also Los Narejos.  There have been 3 since I purchased in 2016, none quite as bad as 2019. Flooding still occurred in these areas.  

JulesA1 wrote on Sun Oct 9, 2022 2:16pm:

Hi Steve

We are also considering buying a holiday apartment around the area of Los Alcazares but the flooding is a worry. Do you know if the whole town was flooded previously, including Los Narejos?

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Many thanks

SteveeX wrote on Sun Oct 9, 2022 4:23pm:

Hi Jules,

We were there as tourists for a short (10 day) stay and we don't know the various areas well by name, so I can't answer your question with any precision. The flooding was just awful in San Pedro, San Javier and Alcazares  close to where the land meets the Mar Menor. As you drive or walk alon...

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...g the seaside in those areas, you may notice that many of the houses are raised a little or have surrounding walls to protect them -- though that hasn't always worked. 

These are beautiful areas and I'm not in any way trying to dissuade you from buying: our car (and several others) was destroyed because we parked it on flat ground near our hotel in San Pedro. Others, parked on slight inclines a few hundred yards away, were unharmed. 

I just wanted to make you aware of that flooding has happened in the past and of the possibility that it could happen again: That's also why swimming/fishing in the Mar Menor is somewhat unwise: the water flooding into it contained chemicals from the surrounding lands, doing enormous environmental damage from which it is only slowly recovering. 

Good luck with your search. 

Regards,

Stephen