Alcoy/Cocentaina--any information please ?

[carefreebrit]

This is our situation- I find a few towns where I can get work, then I search property sites for something within our budget in those towns, and my wife has a look at the properties. She then goes to google earth for a look at towns still of interest and tries to get an idea if they might be suitable. Not perfect research but all we can do from another country. I asked about Torrevieja on another forum and have decided against it. I was told that some towns near the coast between Alicante and Valencia were lovely but sadly I cannot find anywhere to live for less than 70,000 euros in those areas [Nothing bigger than a garden shed under 100,000 some places !]. I want to rent for a few months then buy outright so we will always have a roof over our heads whatever happens with work. At the moment that is our limit financially--not great compared to those of you living in 400,000+ euro villas but that's how it is as I don't want a loan.
Sorry for the rather long intro, but I wanted to avoid some of you perhaps giving well meant advice which we have thought long and hard about already and decided against. I can probably work in one of those towns or similar, so just wanted to ask if any of you live there or have a good knowledge of things like crime, safety for a child etc. I need to walk to work and we will avoid a car at first.
Some idea if the cheaper properties are actually in very bad areas full of unemployed immigrants/gypsies would be useful and help me to narrow down the towns I will visit when I fly over.

[Pasanada]

Hi!

Ok, you've now got my interest up as I adore Cocentaina!!! What info would you like on the town?

I found Cocentaina a very safe town to be in. Not sure about the work opportunities, Alcoy would be a better bet as I've seen employment agencies advertising for English speaking staff.

Cocentaina is a very ancient town with alot of history. I have a link somewhere giving further info, I'll get back to you soon.

[SunnySpain]

Originally Posted by carefreebrit

I was told that some towns near the coast between Alicante and Valencia were lovely but sadly I cannot find anywhere to live for less than 70,000 euros in those areas [

Some idea if the cheaper properties are actually in very bad areas full of unemployed immigrants/gypsies would be useful and help me to narrow down the towns I will visit when I fly over.

Hi there,

I am not an expert on the area you are talking about, however I doubt you will find a 1-bedroom studio apartment for less than 70,000 Euros

You will find that properties are cheaper inland in small towns or villages, but again I very much doubt you will find something less than 70,000 Euros.

May I ask, what kind of work will you be looking to do ?

I would recomend you rent for longer than 3 months and wait to see what happens with the prices, as they are coming down in most parts of Spain

Regards, Dave

[chris(madrid)]

Originally Posted by carefreebrit

This is our situation I cannot find anywhere to live for less than 70,000 euros in those areas [Nothing bigger than a garden shed under 100,000 some places !]. Some idea if the cheaper properties are actually in very bad areas full of unemployed immigrants/gypsies.

As has been said - I think you're going to struggle to find ANYTHING decent for 70,000. Even the 40m basement HUTCH my in-laws have in marginal "barrio" of Madrid is worth more.

If it's anywhere near a retirement area (ex-pat or Spanish) - there's a demand for cheap housing. If it's near a high immigrant area there's a high demand for cheap housing. Both these demands keeps the prices up. And right now it's really just about all many locals can afford.

As SS has said - Inland you MAY find somewhere - but frankly I doubt it'll be particularly good. Some friends of mine bought an OLD village house in the middle of nowhere (province of Avila) - it cost more than that to renovate - and they did MUCH of the work themselves. Apartments ime in rural areas are often not easy to find either. Where I live/work there are VERY few - but it is a growing trend!.

I can understand PERFECTLY what your aims are. I made a similar descision when we bought our house. But you may need to think about a SMALL CAR.

Bear in mind that in MANY areas of Spain maintaining a vehicle is NOT expensive. The Road tax is local and can be VERY LOW INDEED. Where I work it's about €20 (yes twenty) a year.

A Small diesel - low tax and will not be hard to insure TPO or even TPFT.

[Pasanada]

Hi again, I've found the link that describes the town of Cocentaina and it's rich history.

C:\ramoswww\cocenweb\vila.html

Cocentaina is a very Spanish town with a few British expats BUT not to the same saturation as you will find on the Costa's.

I found the people of this town very warm and welcoming. They HATED speaking Spanish to me as they wanted to improve their English! So we used to have language battles which was very funny!! This is an ancient town and therefore, Valenciano is spoken more than Castellano but I found I was understood perfectly.

I would highly recommend the San Christobel restaurant approx half way up the mountain overlooking the town; Christina Numero Uno y Dos (Mother and Daughter!) run the place and offer you fantastic food which is fresh, wholesome and perfect for romantic evenings.

As for property prices, I cannot tell you, but you can google and find many companies within the area with a list of availability.

Overall, this town is amazing, I've spent many happy hours there and will return again soon.

[carefreebrit]

Thanks to those who have replied so far. Perhaps our needs are different but if you do a search with a large property site there are lots of offers under 70,000 euros. We prefer an apartment with Spanish [And a few immigrant!]neighbours to a " Please come and rob the rich foreigner" luxury villa or property on an out of town development. Not knocking what you've got or your lifestyle, but where we lived before in a town centre apartment, we never knew of any neighbours having problems with robbery, only the odd bit of noise from "happy" folk walking home. The Brits who lived in an exclusive area on the edge of town had all been broken into !! Plus we had a lovely "Glorieta" on our doorstep with cafes, childrens play area, and lots of promenading locals smiling at our cute baby !
We would prefer a nice apartment or small house for 180,000 euro, but we don't have that amount in the bank right now, so have to make do. I'll be flying out next week and having a look at the cheaper places to see if my wife would be ok in one of them, and also seeing a few people about work, so who knows. Prices have already dropped a lot and although we may be a bit cramped in 70-100 sq metres, we don't want to have to worry about rent or loan after the first few months.
Cocentaina link interesting, thanks.