Climate

Compared to the Dordogne...

The weather here is hotter in the summer - averages around 32-34'C, with highs of 42'C. More hours of sunshine per day too.

The spring & autumn are warmer; as is winter - although it can still occasionally get down to 1'C.

Half the rainfall.

Flies - it depends where you live. The whole area, with the exception of the villages along the Mar Menor, is very agricultural, with lots of fruit & vegetables grown and if you are close to a pig, cattle or chicken farm then there will be more flies than if you are in a village or town.

I'll leave someone else to comment on Sucina itself, as I'm not very familiar with that area.

Hope this helps!

The climate is a lot warmer, sunnier and drier in Murcia than the Dordogne particularly in winter. Daytime temperatures in Murcia in January are close to 17c compared to 9c in the Dordogne which experiences occasional frost and snow.

As for flies things are a lot better than a few years ago although I do live on the coast which now has less flies than my house in the English Lake District.

Andy

Hi catlady.

We were recently in Sucina and found the flies absolutely intolerable, particularly if eating outdoors but also when trying to relax by the pool. We were told that there was silage being spread on nearby fields which was increasing the problem.

That said, those who already lived there seemed to have become almost oblivious to them and wondered why we were constantly performing kung fu moves to try to swat them away.  There is no such problem in the coastal areas of the Mar Menor, but personally, while Sucina itself is a really lovely village with good amenities, I personally could never live there. I really wouldn't want to get used to the flies being around.

Kate

Hi, I agree with Kate 2022. Sucina is lovely and there is a good mix of local Spanish and ex Pats. I don't live there myself but have been a few times & liked it.  I live in San Pedro about 15 mins. drive away. I like a bigger town but not too big. 

 Sucina is not too far from bigger towns on the coast but you do need a car as public transport is not good I'm told. I too have heard about the flies there. Some say it's not as bad as it used to be. You sound like this is an issue for you so I'm sure you will check it out and maybe the Ayuntamiento (council) can help you with information about this. 

We don't have many  flies in San P and I understand this goes for all the coastal towns. San P is a sedate crime free town with a nice intimate feel to it, plenty of restaurants and lovely walks. It's good for cycling too, it's very flat.  Temps are very comfy but it gets very hot in summer. Personally, Spring & Autumn are my favourite times.winter is nice too but yes, it gets a little nippy in  winter although the days are lovely and sunny in the main. It never reaches zero. It's mostly Spanish and attracts a lot of Spanish holiday makers in the summer with many having holiday homes in it. There are British/Irish too and English is widely spoken. It has an authentic Spanish feel to it. 

 Not much rain but when it rains it rains hard. I haven't experienced any flooding in my area but some of the coastal towns can be badly affected your insurance company or the Ayuntamiento will advise on this. Obviously climate change can bring abnormalities and March '22 entertained us to six weeks of very heavy rain, suicidal stuff but so far this year it hasn't been a problem. 

Everywhere is easy to get to such  as Cartegena, Murcia city and  Torrevieja with it's huge shopping mall, La Zenia Boulevard,  is there too. 

There is a good enough bus service in San P.  but no train, I think the nearest train station is in Balsicas which is another town you might like to consider. It is in an agricultural area so flies could be a problem, I don't know. If public transport is important I'd say do your research carefully because my understanding is that it's not great overall.  The AP7 is close too.  Roads are excellent in the whole area. 

San P has all the major supermarkets, Mercadona, Consume, Lidl & Aldi and shopping is pretty good  as well as a weekly market, in fact, I think there are two close by.  Sports amenities are very good as well. 

I know I strayed into San P a lot, that was because of the flies and I mention it as a good alternative to Sucina for that reason & also because I know it better. Hope this helps and the best of luck with your search.

I also live in San Pedro del Pinatar and agree with what Ann 75 says above. We moved to the Murcia area almost 3 years ago and before choosing our current home, viewed a couple of properties in Sucina. Whilst the houses were nice, and a fair bit cheaper than down here on the Mar Menor, the pervading aroma of "fertiliser"(manure) and the massive cloud of flies that were around, put us off buying there completely. Today we are having a heat wave and Murcia city and many inland areas of the Province are getting temperatures of up to 45ºC, whilst the area around the Mar Menor is basking in sunshine and relatively lower temperatures of "only" 33ºC!

Thankyou Ray, Ann and Mags for your replies. Very much appreciated.  We are looking at San P as an alternative but not many properties in our range at the moment.  We will be making another road trip in late September so we will visit the areas around there. Thanks again. 

Best of luck in Sept. If you need any more info or have any questions feel free to ask. People on this forum are always happy to help & if one doesn't know someone else will. Enjoy the search, I'm sure you will find something. 

We have had our place in Sucina since 2007. We go there between 4 to 6 times a year. The only time that we have noticed more flies than what would be considered "normal" has been around October time. The rest of the year has always been ok. Sucina is a lovely village with the majority being Spanish, probably 15 - 20% British and lately a good mixture of other nationalities. I like you detest flies so if there were a major problem with them would say so. I have heard people in the past (not on this thread) talk about Sucina when really they have stayed at Riquelme golf, which is more in the country and a mile from the village. One of the points made was re public transport. Unless you have a vehicle forget Sucina. Hope this helps.

We live in Sucina & have done so for 18 months .I wouldn’t live any were else . We are so central to everywhere  15/20 to Airport . The weather is great , can get a little chilly Jan/Feb but nothing bad . We do get some flys from time to time but I believe any hot places get some . We don’t get them all the time . Sucina is such a friendly little town ,with great places to eat & drink .