Meeting new people in San Pedro

Hi Catherine,  San Pedro del Pinatar is lovely. Beaches are lovely with all your bars, restaurants.

Depending whereabouts you are looking to buy. We are in new Apts at top end of San Pedro but still only 10mins walk to the square and town centre where you have all your banks, townhall, cafes etc

Hi Catherine, we're Irish too & bought in San Pedro just weeks before Covid started in 2020. We love it, very few downsides and great from the point of view that Alicante airport is only 40 mins. away and Murcia International 35mins.  Not many flights there yet, it's a new airport but that will improve with time. 

Beautiful area, very friendly people, plenty of British, some Irish and it has an Irish pub (Irish/Spanish owned) with very friendly clientele plus plenty of other eateries and cafe/bars to choose from. 

You are close to other great towns as well, Santiago de Ribera is effectively a continuation of Lo Pagan on the Mar Memory, great, flat walks, cycle routes etc. For  a livlier night life you have both Torrevieja north about 20 mins drive away and open all year, bigger and busier than San P but there if you want it & the famous La Zenia Boulevard is there too. Also in the Southern end and about 15 mins. drive you have Los Alcazares with loads of eateries and bars etc. 

A quick word about the Mar Memor itself. You may have heard of the problems with effluent being carried into its waters killing marine life and forming algae and other pollutants. This is a massive problem but it is being dealt with on an ongoing basis and improvements are happening all the time. It will take years to fully address the problems but the good news is that the worst affected area is well south of San P. & I regularly see plenty of people swimming etc. 

Not sure if spirt is your thing or not but all the major ones, bar rugby, are there as well, of  course, as are marine sports..

You asked about Spanish lessons and ex Pat clubs. I believe both are available but haven't used either personally. There is an ad on this site for Spanish lessons in San P & I think there is an exPat group in both San Javier & Los Alcazeres 

All the main supermarkets are here plus an English one in San Javier, only a few miles south and they now stock a range of SuperValu items (as a result of Brexit and supply difficulties from Waitrose & other British suppliers) but still a good alternative if you fancy some more familiar foodstuff. It is pricier though. I fancy Consume right in the middle of San P & they carry a limited range of Irish/British food also. 

Lots of English spoken, especially by the younger cohort of Spanish. What I like is the Spanish feel of San P. While there are many ex Pats living both permanently and also part time here the bulk of visitors are Spanish, usually from Murcia and Madrid. 

The winter months are quieter and there are a lot of retirees but we find them all very sociable and welcoming & I'm sure you will too. 

Like yourself Catherine , we won't be spending the hot summer months there either but the great thing about the area is that you never get frost. That said, it is chilly in the evenings in winter time and you will need heating and warm clothing. Many places close Nov to end Feb & it can feel a bit deserted sometimes but as you make friends and settle in that will help and the beautiful sunny winter days & blue skies make it all very alluring. 

Finally, sorry I do go on sometimes, regarding where to buy. As always, that will depend on your specific requirements visa viscehat you may have to compromise in and also budget but I will offer you this advice. Don't bring your ideas of good & not so good areas with you. It's very different to home in that regard and you will find lovely properties side by side with quite down at heel places and lovely people in all of them. Keep an open mind on that.

Best of good luck and if you need any questions answered please private message me and we can take it from there.  If I can help I will. We're in Ireland at the moment and this year not going back to Spain until March sometime. Cheers Ann.