Could anyone please advise if Mar Menor is ideal for full time retirement living or is it more suitable for purchasing a holiday home?

It depends on what you want.

There are crowded "very Spanish" areas, and other areas with significant percentages of Northern Europeans.

Some areas are "in the middle of it all", while some are a bit remote and very quiet (even in peak season).

All the services are available (shopping, medical, legal, etc.) all year-round.

On the whole, it is much more Spanish than, say, Torrevieja.

We are living in Santiago temporarily, while our home in Alicante Province is renovated. We are enjoying it.

Many thanks indeed for your reply, much appreciated indeed. 

Warm regards

In my opinion the Mar Menor is ideal for retirement! (In my case)

Wikipedia mentioned; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar_Menor

In the first instant I would suggest that you visit us here and get a feeling if it is right for you.

There a so many different options I cannot tell you.

Make a list what is important to YOU and what points YOU like to go away from.

Take a hire car and drive around, look on google maps what is close by: History, Adventure….

Many thanks indeed for taking the time to reply, it is very much appreciated. Warm regards

Many different areas around the Mar Menor does depend what you want. Great social life for expats if you want to join and more traditional Spanish cultural events too...huge range of properties perfect for retirement...maybe rent first until you're sure.

I have to temper the enthusiasm of Crissywissy - not everyone wants the same sort of social life. If you are a pub person, who enjoys English quizzes and bingo there is plenty, and of you are not so social there is always the beach. For the better off there is golf, and for the fir and healthy there is jumba and the like. Close to the sea there is no bowls, dancing, bridge and the like. It is very different to the Costa del Sol where the whole infrastrucure is more established, from shopping to socialising, but house prices reflect that.

Hi Nicola,

Firstly if you wish to live in the Mar Menor I would buy some wet suits. LOL

But being serious I have lived in many regions of Spain and for the last 5 yrs in Santiago La Ribera, this has an English comunity, but I have not found the Pub quizzes and bingo as suggested on a previous post, it has all the amenities that I need, Medical centre, pharmacies, supermarkets, post office, Library, restaurants, and bars, (there is 1 English bar) prior to covid there was Zumba twice a week by the beach, at the moment in the mornings there is early morning exercise on the beach, mostly followed by the older generation, there is also a theatre, a comunity centre that again prior to covid did dance, guitar and other lessons, also a snooker room.

Perhaps where Perter lives there is a different choice nad of course we all have our preferences. 

Perhaps there is a lesson to take from the Spanish. A lot live in cities like Madrid, Albacete, Sevilla or Murcia, where there is a much wider range of facilities both commercial and cultural, but have a coastal apartment or house for relaxing on the beach. If all you want is sun and sand, with tourist food and ex-pat bars then most of the Mar Menor would suit. If you want theatres, a wide range of shops and a supporting infrastructure of builders, plumbers etc, then you will not find that in Los Alcázares.

As Eduardo has said, you need to spend time seriously looking before you decide to live in Spain.

I have to disagree with PeterC although you do need to visit and decide for yourself...there are plenty of Spanish bars and restaurants without eating tourist food and using expat bars. there are theatres in each town and even more cultural venues in Cartagena a short drive away....no shortage of shops within  10/20 minutes drive and we’ve had no problem finding local tradesmen....OK we’re a few minutes from Los Alcazares but the original poster has asked about the Mar Menor area ....quite a diverse selection of most things!