We like many others have made the decission to move to the sunshine, we are so excited about this prospect and have decided to look at calahonda which hopefully we will be able to look around in late october..
We are both in our early forties and would have to find rented accommodation and work, Any advice anyone could give us would be greatfulLy recieved and appreciated
VIVA ESPANIA

Hi, I have been living on the lovely Costa del Sol for nearly ten years and love it!  We are near the pretty village of Mijas, not too far inland from Calahonda.  Have you been for a holiday/to visit here before?
I am basing my reply on assuming you have not.. but please excuse my assumptions if you have…
Calahonda is nicknamed ‘Brit City’. Although originally a small countryfied area with just a few houses dotted about, it has become part of the costa sprawl. For some reason it has attracted mostly Brits.. I think it was perhaps especially designed and built and homes sold especially for the Brit Ex pat.  Personally I loathe the place - mainly as too many Brits there (and mostly of the ‘Beer and Burger Brigade’ if you know what I mean). Ok - I have an educated friend who lives there and it suits her fine, but it is not my idea of ‘The Real Spain’.
If you want to rent somewhere - there - or anywhere on the coast - go online to http://www.thesurinenglish.com where there is a weekly rentals page in the classifieds (go online first thing on Friday which is its weekly publishing day).  I would recommend however, that you come down here, book into a cheapish pension and take your time looking around for a place.  (NB Prices go up from now till October as many Spanish owners are looking for summer rentals - but I have read in The Sur that the rental market is bouyant at the moment).
Re jobs.. good luck! It is very tough down here.  OK if you a self employed tradesperson (always a need for a good plumber/electrician). No state benefits to keep you afloat if you don’t have a back up reserve of cash.. which will soon dwindle.

I don’t want to sound negative. But I have seen people come and go on a weekly basis. If you do it right, and plan and think it all through.. no reason you should not succeed!

All the best and hoping you make the transition smoothly.
sj

Thank you susan for your reply it has given us something to think about workwise.

Were not sure yet where to live as jobs are paramount to us living in spain, my partner is qualified in logistics and silver service, i myself have worked in schools for the last 9 yrs as a behaviour expert and my son is in sales so as you can see we need to live where-ever those sorts of jobs are available.
We like yourself would rather experince the real spain but language will be a problem as we are just beginning to learn the language so ex-pats around us would be an asset in that situation as well as for making new friends of cause.

We are coming over in October this year to have a look about, thank you for your information on renting property i will look into that, we dont plan to move anywhere untill xmas time or just after as we need to save enough money for us to survive for a good 6mths or more.
I dont feel your reply was negative just honest and thats what were looking for, we know its not going to be easy but unless we try we’ll never know.

Kindest regards
Tammie xx

Good luck Tammie & family.
Re Logistics (I am thinking of removals? - or perhaps a larger outfit?)... There are 101 Brit orientated removals companies - many based in Mijas Costa.  Silver service - 5* hotels around Marbella.  Your specialist area - not sure (but know a few parents who have ADD children and although there are Spanish schools who are ‘adapted’ to their special needs… it is a nightmare for the parents!). Your son… No problem at all - as this is the bulk of business down here! 
As you say.. ‘You won’t know till you try’!;) sj

The Calahonda I know is not on the Costa Del Sol, it’s east of Motril in Granada, on the way to Almeria.  As the name means “deep bay”, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a good few ‘calahondas’ around the coast.  Spaniards usually write the name of the province after small towns as there are many places with the same names - like the way people in the US would write “Albany, NY” for example.

Calahonda is great if you’re looking for a lot of contact with other Brits.  However, if you’d like to taste a little Spanish culture, try the nearby Cala de Mijas. 
There are always tons of bars in the area looking for waiters, but also take a look at infojobs.com for work at local hotels. 
For cheaper rent, try the Riviera or El Faro (The Lighthouse) areas.  Check out http://www.enalquiler.com, www.fotocasa.com and http://www.elidealista.com for plenty of direct owner rental listings. 
And remember to do the “empadronamiento” at the town hall once you have signed your rental contract.  It will make things easier on you later with jobs and official documents.

Hi Tammie

Personally I prefer the Fuengirola end to the Calahonda end, just for silly things like - you can get a train anywhere from Fuengirola to Malaga (no trains past Fuengirola) and from Malaga train station you can connect yourself across Europe - we have used public transport many times when we have gone to Seville or Madrid and we even went to Valencia by train

I feel you are better connected in Fuengirola than you are Calahonda/Marbella, each to their own though and that is just a personal preference of mine.

La Cala has grown over the years so that is very close to Calahonda now and has bars/restaurants - just like the strip does.

I hope you have fun re-locating and good luck with the move and finding somewhere to rent - don’t get ripped off!

😊

Thank you so much for the information you have given us.

The more information we can gather the better as you well know, we are coming to Torrevieja in October to have a good look around at areas, work and renting and are sooooooooooo excited but we want to get this move right so that we can make a well informed choice.

How do we NOT get ripped off when renting, is it better to go with a letting agency????, we have decided that we dont want to live right on the coast in the tourist areas we much prefer slightly away up in the mountains and experience true Spanish life.

We are currently trying to learn spanish which is very hard, so that we dont get took advantage off and which will help us intregrate better, we have NO illusions as to this move we know its going to be very hard so we have set a timeline for moving, which will be in Feb or March next year, that way we will have enough money to last us 12mths. and hopefully be intregrated and settled.

The coast has always been known for this scam and that scam - from the sounds of it you have your head screwed on so you will do just fine, it is those that don’t have their wits about them that can get caught out.

Learning the basics of Spanish is a great way to attack it and by being here will help you grow your Spanish knowledge, although you will find that on the coast they all speak English and that can make it really hard for you to practice your new skills.

Hard to say whether an agency would be better than renting from the paper, houses with agencies are bound to be that bit more expensive than going direct to the owner - I think that is a case of suck and see and make an informed decision at the time - I am letting my house in Torreblanca for long/short term lets and I do not let this via an agency, I do all the organising myself and finding the renters myself - renting is a risk for both parties.

You have every right to be excited, I was also when I made the move to Spain - exciting times ahead, be well and keep your eyes open 😊