Thread: Pro's & Cons - Living in Murcia

Hi everyone

Our next factfinding mission to Spain will be in May 2011, we will spend two weeks in a time share in Albir. We intend to spend most of our time really researching the Moraira/Calpe area which is our preferred option for settling down.
However having read a lot of this forum's content and also looking at the various online property sites we cannot overlook the possibility of settling in Murcia. We will spend two days, with an overnight in a B&B, having a cursory look around. Meanwhile I am listing what I think are the pro's & Con's. Can I have your views please.

Pro's

• Near to two airports and soon three
• Lots of property to choose from
• Lower property prices
• Spain seems to be promoting the area
• Any new ventures seem to be in Murcia first, IKEA, Primark, Paramount etc.
• Mild winters, less rain
• Good public transport, rail & bus
• Mainly flat, so we can get around in our dotage

Con's

• Flat uninteresting terrain
• Dry, arid landscape - not much greenery
• Possible future difficulties with water supply if population increases
• Large areas populated by brits, we would prefer mainly Spanish and others
• Most of Spain's crime and drug difficulties seem to be centered in the Torrevieja area
• Lots of concrete - ie big housing estates without much landscaping

We are not yet golfers nor do we enjoy lying on beaches although we do love walking along them.

These are our personal feelings based on nothing else but investigation on the internet as we have never visited the area. We do not wish to alienate ourselves with the people who live there, indeed we would like to put right if our suppositions are incorrect as this would give us more scope.

Kindest regards

Steve & Jill

Hi if we can be of help please get in touch

Dave & Bev

I am a little confused about some of the things you have written as pro's and cons.
(1) Two airports, soon to be three. San Javier, and the new airport not yet completed.
Most of the flights from the UK have, are being transferred to Alicante. Ryan air and Easy jet are moving most of their flights from Murcia to Alicante.
(2) Good public transport. It depends where you live. In many rural areas, public transport is non existant.
(3) Mild winters, Near the coast, Its colder inland. and has very hot summers.

cons.(1) Where are the concrete jungles in Murcia?
(2) I go into Torrevieja almost daily. It is in Alicante, not Murcia. The crime and drugs problem is no worse than any other city of it's size, and better than many. They are also building the second largest water desalination plant in the world in Torrevieja which is partially up and running. It may help the water problem in Murcia. The vast majority of the population in the city are Spanish, although there are what you refer to as big housing estates full of Brits on the outskirts.
Two local free English speaking newspapers which may give you some insight into the area are Coastrider and Leader. You can find them online with google.

A couple of our members live in Murcia, so I'm sure they can give you a few tips.
CD

Hi. There are areas of Murcian coast that are fairly undeveloped and you can walk without seeing buildings and not even that many people. Not all Murcia is flat and not all Murcia is arid. In parts it has green hills and valleys, although some parts are not terribly attractive as they are pretty barren. There's lots of culture in ancient Murcia city and the naval port city of Cartagena.
Torrevieja is in Alicante on the southern Costa Blanca. It's a big town and therefore has some problems found in all large towns/small cities but why it has such as bad reputation in some quarters is strange as the statistics don't reflect that at all. There are certainly more crime ridden and more intensely developed towns along all the Costas.
As for property prices it really does depend on what you are looking for. There isn't that much difference on certain types of housing between north Costa Blanca and Murcia/Costa Calida. However there are always less expensive options, such as going inland. If you want an abundance of 2 bed apartments or townshouses to choose from then yes, south Costa Blanca is the place to look but much of Murcia is not that developed. I think the 'big housing estates' you refer to may be some areas of south Costa Blanca but they aren't estates in the way you would envisage them in the UK. UK estates don't have landscaped gardens with pools! And even concrete looks better in the sunshine!
Where are you staying when you are at your BnB? Personnally I think it takes a lot more than one night and two days to even do a cursory visit to Murcia region, there's a lot more to the region than golf courses, the Mar Menor and La Manga. And if you are intending to look at south Costa Blanca as well that will take another few days.

Originally Posted by stevesainty

Pro's

[LIST]
Con's

• Flat uninteresting terrain
• Dry, arid landscape - not much greenery
• Possible future difficulties with water supply if population increases
• Large areas populated by brits, we would prefer mainly Spanish and others
• Most of Spain's crime and drug difficulties seem to be centered in the Torrevieja area
• Lots of concrete - ie big housing estates without much landscaping

Not sure where you're searching for information on Murcia but it’s certainly not densely populated by Brits except in a few select areas. The internet has an array of information. For example:

Los lugares más bonitos de Murcia - Listas en 20minutos.es

MURCIA - Murcia - Murcia - Murcia - Pueblos de Murcia - Pueblos de Murcia - Pueblos de españa

Pueblos de Murcia. Fotos, videos, mapas y recomendaciones

Fotos Los Baños de Mula - Murcia

Caravaca De La Cruz | Murcia | Murcia | guiapueblos

Here's a few photos of San Pedro del Pinatar and surrounding:

http://www.absolutespainforum.com/me...l-pinatar.html

http://www.absolutespainforum.com/me...l-pinatar.html

The Golf Estates are not representative of Murcia. Yes if you go to the golf courses which have been purpose built for the expats that is what you’ll find, however if you look across the region, it remains on the whole very Spanish

Torrevieja is not in Murcia but under Valencia (more specifically under Alicante) however real Torre is much loved by the Spanish and Brits alike

You mention that Murcia is dry and arrid and not much greenery however there any a number of beautful parks both inland and by the coast and a number of wonderful nature reserves.

I hope the information given wll help you, although one night in a B&B is not going to give you much of an insight. Murcia is a vast area, With two main cities, Murcia inland and Cartegena on the coast, I think Lorca in the mountains also comes under Murcia. Let us know wher you intend to stay, and maybe we can give you more local information.
CD

Thank you all for your information so far, it is very much appreciated.

We don't know where we will be staying in Murcia but we will be in Albir for the two weeks in total in an RCI property. We are concentrating this trip in the north of Costa Blanca to consolidate the information we gathered from our last visit in March. Then we spent six days on the road and got as far north as Ghandia, visiting over 20 towns and villages making copious notes and taking lots of photographs.

As well as the two week visit in May 2011 we are planning a second 2 week visit in September 2011 and our last two week visit in May 2012. On these visits we will probably do a more detailed tour of Murcia.

When we move permanently in October 2012 we will take another RCI property for as long as possible, maybe 5 weeks, in order to find somewhere to rent long term. The time share let and the long term rental could be either in Costa Blanca North or Murcia depending on the outcome of our fact finding missions. We will then take up to a year find the right property to buy.

Meanwhile please keep on giving us ideas of places to visit as we have only got google maps and the orange street view man to go on.

Kindest regards

Steve & Jill

You mentioned on your first post that you didn't want to be in an area populated mainly by Brits. Personally I am happy to live in a multicultural urbanisation, close to some very nice Spanish towns and villages. What I would hate is somewhere full of British holidaymakers, who want to party 24/7.
In the southern Costa Blanca, we don't have package tour hotels, and the the holiday makers that do come here are normally families with children, who come in July and August, and either rent a villa or apartment, or stay with relatives. not as you do in the area around Benidorm...It is easy to say that you want to live in a Spanish town, but I know of many Brits who tried that, but unless they spoke fluent Spanish, or Valenciano (the language mainly spoken in the towns and villages in the north of Alicante away from the coastal strip) they feel isolated, as it's not easy to be accepted in places where the locals object to foreigners moving in, and where apart from a few smoky bars and maybe a pensioners social club, there is not a lot to do. On top of that, the weather can get very cold the further inland you go. There are numerous cases of Brits moving back into areas where they are closer to their countrymen, (if they can sell their houses) with all the support and social events that are available.

Don't think I'm trying to influence you. I'm just giving my opinion..
CD

We live in Jumilla, which is in north-east Murcia and about one hour inland. The population is just over 25,000, most of whom are Spanish. Public transport is OK, as we can get to Murcia in just over one hour (depending on whether the bus goes via Molina and/or the University) and Yecla in half an hour. There is also a direct bus to Valencia, which we visited for my birthday last year, and an occasional bus to Alicante and other places. It can get cold in winter, but not as cold as in the UK.

We have found the locals to be very welcoming and we have many good Spanish friends and neighbours. Our Spanish is still very basic, but nobody seems to mind and we are gradually improving.

We started an English book swap once a month and through this we are getting to know other Brits who live in the area, in fact we now meet many of them on a weekly basis for coffee and a chat plus the occasional menú del día.

There is a theatre in town (it is being refurbished at the moment), also CAM and CajaMurcia organise art and photo exhibitions plus concerts, so there is plenty going on. Most of these are free or very cheap, which is very helpful for impoverished pensioners! We also go to concerts in the bodegas, lots of local fiestas, and many other events such as demonstrations by local artisans and wine-tasting events.

It depends on what you are looking for. People living inland may feel isolated and want to move to the coast, however there are also people on the coast who want to move inland and experience the "real" Spain.

You will also find expat developments inland: we have seen one on the outskirts of Calasparra for example.

You really need to spend time driving around the region to see which areas appeal to you and then rent there for a while. We had been renting in Jumilla for over a year before buying our home here, though we had been looking at buying a property on a new development too (it's a long story which I wrote about it in my book!) I also have written about Jumilla and put photos on my blog (spainuncovered.com)

I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have about Jumilla and other areas in Murcia. I should mention that there are lots of expats living in and around Pinoso, which is in Alicante though not far from us.

Sue