Moving to Costa Del Sol

[roniebabes]

Holla! My husband & I are moving to Costa del Sol in the summer, (we are visiting 2nd week in April) I am a teacher and will be working at an International School in Malaga - excited!! We are coming from a short stint in Uk after Cyprus living!
I would like help & advice - we will be shipping all belongings and hope to secure an un-furnished villa for a long term rent - maybe look at a couple in April! I like the look of Benalmadena but please can I have opinions on areas for living - near things but with privacy of living. My school will be near Malaga and what I'm worried about is that we totter over on 1st August and cannot find a single-storey villa with garden and pool. I would also like just to chat to you guys!

[Stravinsky]

I haved moved you to the Spain section so you get more like minded people.
Welcome to the forum

[roniebabes]

Dear Stravinsky - thanks for moving me to the right section! I notice you have given me a web address to look at rental properties - yours?
Thanks - Rona

[Stravinsky]

Originally Posted by roniebabes

Dear Stravinsky - thanks for moving me to the right section! I notice you have given me a web address to look at rental properties - yours?
Thanks - Rona

Its in my signature
Yes it is, but I'm not sure it totally suits the area you are looking at

A good site is Spanish property, Spanish property for sale, property sales Spain

[jojo]

These are the people we used and they are absolutely brilliant and we now consider them as friends
Property sales in Spain, villas costa del sol Ask for Hayley, although any of them there will help.

Which school are you going to work for?? My children are at Sunlands, Cartama.

Benalmadena is lovely, very busy, a bit touristy, especially along the seafront, but it depends on what you like. Out of all the local coastal towns, its the one I like best and we visit the marina there every now and again. We're inland a bit, as its quieter and cheaper

Jo

[roniebabes]

Hi Jojo,

It's great to get your reply - I am the new Science Teacher at Sunland!

I can't wait I must admit!
We will be out on April 6th for 1 week to look around then we are moving for good on 1st August.
Thanks for advice on areas - near the school looks lovely from a scenic point of view but shops? life? I don't even know exactly how far it is from Malaga so lots to learn on that week in April.

Best Wishes,

Rona Love

[jojo]

Originally Posted by roniebabes

Hi Jojo,

It's great to get your reply - I am the new Science Teacher at Sunland!

I can't wait I must admit!
We will be out on April 6th for 1 week to look around then we are moving for good on 1st August.
Thanks for advice on areas - near the school looks lovely from a scenic point of view but shops? life? I don't even know exactly how far it is from Malaga so lots to learn on that week in April.

Best Wishes,

Rona Love

Yes, sunlands is "out in the sticks", its difficult to say how far it is from Malaga, as Malaga is so big, but from the school, 40 mins drive - ish to Ikea (a landmark in/near Malaga!) and a big commercial centre. Sunlands is near to Cartama (10 min drive), which is a small, quiet town, but it does have a few shops, bars etc and a market. The nearest big town would be Coin (20 min drive). That has a big shopping centre and is a big town. Our town is about 25 minutes away.

It seems that the car is king over here, everything is a drive away and distance doesnt seem as important as it seems to in the UK.

Alhaurin de la torre, where we live is just right (for us), it has shops and is bright and modern for the most part. Its 25 mins from the school, 20 mins from Torremolinos, 25 mins from the airport and Ikea. Its also fairly quiet and sits in the mountains.

As for Sunlands itself, its lovely! my children are really happy there, the staff are great and although the school itself is far from "hi tech" or modern looking, its beautifully quaint and perfect for a relaxing education. I sit in the carpark waiting for the children and marvel at the unspoilt hills, open space all srrounded by distant mountains - you dont see schools in areas like that in the UK.

Good luck and maybe we'll actually meet!!?? If I can help with anything, let me know

Jo

[roniebabes]

Good Morning Jo.
Your response has been so useful - really!!!!
When we come out for the week we are very lucky in so much that one of my husband's ex-army buddies will be giving us teh guided tour and what you have said deems to marry up with his opinions. Coin or your area sounds ideal since I don't really want a traul to school, we want to be a bit inland but also near shops etc... I am not bringing the car but selling it here - it's too old so we will be without transport when we do arrive but hope to get a contact for a small local car hire company that can lease us something old for a few months on a long term basis - we did this in Cyprus when we first moved there and it seemed to work out ok!
We will be staying at - Best Western Benalmadena Hotel for a week from 6th April and it would be nice to think that maybe we could meet up for a drink at some point - if you wanted to.

Best Wishes - Rona

[jojo]

Originally Posted by roniebabes

Good Morning Jo.
Your response has been so useful - really!!!!
When we come out for the week we are very lucky in so much that one of my husband's ex-army buddies will be giving us teh guided tour and what you have said deems to marry up with his opinions. Coin or your area sounds ideal since I don't really want a traul to school, we want to be a bit inland but also near shops etc... I am not bringing the car but selling it here - it's too old so we will be without transport when we do arrive but hope to get a contact for a small local car hire company that can lease us something old for a few months on a long term basis - we did this in Cyprus when we first moved there and it seemed to work out ok!
We will be staying at - Best Western Benalmadena Hotel for a week from 6th April and it would be nice to think that maybe we could meet up for a drink at some point - if you wanted to.

Best Wishes - Rona

That would be wonderful!! I'm still fairly new here and dont know that many people, so hopefully I can add you to my meagre friend list!!!

When we first got here we used malaga car.com and did a long term rent for 6 weeks, which cost-wise, wasnt that bad. That gave us enough time to get our NIE and "padron thingy" sorted out - Our letting agents helped us to do all that so it was reletively painless, but you have to have them before you can buy a car!

Out of interest, the Headmaster of Sunlands and his wife who also works at the school, live in Alhaurin de la torre, so its obviously an easy commute, he lives nearer the town than us, and is within walking distance to "life", bars, restaurants, shops etc! Also there's Coin which is quite a "happening " town apparently!! and again an easy commute to the school. Another town, Alhaurin El Grande, is small but fairly lively and again near to the school (20 mins drive), it has a lot of British ex-pats

I told my children that I'd been talking to you on the net this morning, I hope that's ok. They said that they had been told at school during the week that "Mr. Hughes" was leaving and being replaced by a lady!! - That'll be you then!!


I look forward to meeting you and somehow we'll arrange it! I guess until you arrive, you cant really commit, but we have transport and can come over anytime-ish and would be more than happy to show you round - although I still get lost!!!!!

Jo

[roniebabes]

Hi Jo
Please can you send a link to my private e-mail address since I'd love to sit down tonight and reply to your e-mail properly - at the moment I am looking in-between classes, (subsequently dreadful spelling) and trying to dodge the dreadful non-stop rain. Thanks

(SNIP)