Moving to the coast of spain

The plan is to retire to the coast of spain in the next few years. Somewhere that has beaches, good rail links, a Spanish town but has an expat community. Somewhere that does not close down for the winter. Where should I start?

I have been looking around Valencia. Not sure about expats, but I like the area and it is not expensive

@Jude Cree


Actually, that sounds like quite a lot of Spain. :-)


But I'd guess some popular picks to start your research might be the Costa Blanca (Valencia/Alicante), the Costa del Sol (Malaga/Marbella), and the Costa Brava/Costa Dorada (Barcelona/Tarragona). You can be in/near one of these major cities, or there are many smaller beach towns that might appeal (e.g. Sitges near Barcelona, or Gandia/Denia near Valencia, or Torrevieja near Alicante).


I like Idealista as it's a very large property site with lots of listings all over Spain. So it's very easy to see what you can rent or buy for your budget in a particular area. Marbella, for example, is rather expensive, so your money would go further elsewhere.


We have a large flat in Elche, which is a small Spanish city (famous for its UNESCO-listed palm groves). Elche has a lovely downtown area with a beautiful municipal park and a riverside trail along the Rio Vinalopo (this is very nicely done, and I walk here almost every day). Plus all amenities like supermarkets, hospitals, and excellent restaurants. It's near Alicante, and we fly Wizzair to Alicante-Elche Airport. It's very Spanish, so pretty much no expat community here (but nearby in Alicante, Torrevieja, and others). It's not on the beach, but most of the coast is very pretty, and Elche district has several great beaches within 20km. We're very happy here... and the price was certainly very appealing (e.g. similar property in Sitges might be 3x or 4x the price).