Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2023 4:21pm
The neighborhoods of Juan XXIII, Virgen de Remedio, Colonia Requena, and Virgen del Carmen, among other neighbors are grouped into a category called the "Northern zone neighborhoods" by Alicante's townhall.
These are not only some of the lowest income neighborhoods of Alicante, but of all of Spain. They are high crime areas, with high levels of drug trafficking. There are also a high number of squatters living in homes. Many people don't pay their dues(usually around 240€ yearly in this area) to the building's maintainence association(la comunidad de propietarios), thus the vast majority of the buildings common areas are becoming dilapidated, have sewer drainage problems, leaky roofs, and other problems, as there is a lack of money for upkeep.
In terms of police, the local Alicante police usually don't enter these neighborhoods, and will outright ignore calls, if you call them. Many delivery services, whether food, etc. also refuse to enter these neighborhoods. Nevertheless Spain's National police do respond quite quickly when called, thus it's always better to call the national police and not the local police.
In terms of housing prices, the houses in this area are hugely discounted and about 70% cheaper than a comparable house in the center of Alicante. Which despite all the problems, still makes the area possibly worth considering, but be very careful about choosing which building and where you buy an apartment, it is wise, and by far the most important thing to do is to investigate the building's maintainence association(la comunidad de propietarios) to see if it's working, so you won't have problems with he building being declared uninhabitable and marked for demolishing.