Advice please on Torrevieja - Page 2

Thanks GILLY09 for your very positive reply,

Best Regards 

JanIan

The best advice is for you to come and stay in the areas you are interested in.  Only you know what will suit you.  The views expressed on here will inevitably be biased depending on personal criteria.

I live on the outskirts of Torreviega and love it.  It is a proper working Spanish town with working salt mines, many authentic Spanish festivals and fiestas and superb beaches all of which attract tourists.  Many of the nearby areas were specifically built for tourists. Come and see for yourself what will suit you .

Thankyou for your reply Julie b that makes me feel a lot more positive.

Best Regards

JanIan

Yes cp you are completely right its getting an idea on where we think will be suitable and coming out then to research.

Thanks,

Best Regards

JanIan

That is well funny. Yes it may have been a wrong term under circumstances:0)

At least it made you smile.

Happy days.

Gilly

Would also suggest taking a look at Guardamar - just down the road from Torrevieja.

It's smaller and prettier. Has a few parks, on the beach.

It is a real town & a tourist resort, but more of a mix of Spanish & international. IE not awash with Brit bars. 

Less crime, gangs and noise than Torrevieja.

A real town with fiesta & events - La Zenia and the rest of it is a concrete jungle with no soul, not a town, but a strip of bars and generally tourist priced / fairly expensive shops. 

I lived in La Zenia for 6 months and hated it - OK if you are a holidaymaker, some areas very noisy in the summer season, traffic on the 332, annoying drunks screaming past your doorstep all hours of the morning. For me, not somewhere to live permanently - mind you, plenty do - just my opinion. La Zenia, not a real town, simply designed as a resort, but once you've done the standard Brit bars and overpriced restaurants, it wears thin - or did for me.

If you want to integrate more locally, there are lots of other places as well - for example you can move 10 mins inland/from the sea, so not too far from expat areas & all facilities locally - usually property and local shops, bars, restaurants cheaper - so will affect a little cost of living. I have lived in Las Heredades inland - get a house/property twice the size for the money on the coast, no crime in a little village, cheap locally - €1.20 for a brandy and a 3-course meal €5-€10 depending where you go, shops, bars, restaurants etc locally all nearby.

If you want beach, Guardamar is a good place to put your money down at the moment, seen as a little more exclusive than Torre, a little quieter and smaller & some of the best beaches - i've invested near the sea there and watched an apartment go up in value quickly and less properties to rent in this location over Torre/Orihuela Costa, so rental yields or selling, it's on the up.

I'd suggest take plenty of time driving and walking around - as the obvious ex-pat areas which people mention firstly are not always the best - i've lived here for 15 years, built property and own property in more than one location locally.

People will tell you their area is the best - of course - be careful and take your time, don't rush - can always rent first. 

Whatever people say about Torrevieja, it does have some quite high crime statistics, mainly petty/thieving, which of course is brought on by criminals being surrounded by easy picking expat pensioners, most of which spend their time in bars.....This is the same in a lot of tourist type locations. Of course, there are gangs in some areas, but most will not see this. I think people are drawn to Torre, as there are lots of facilities and many are within walking distance if you buy a property in a good location, though I think would be just better on the outskirts, rather than the in the middle - giving you a little more space and peace, but still being nearby what you need. I'd still pick Guardamar, as it's well, just prettier ;-)

What I will state, is Torre, Orihuela or anywhere in between, I feel much safer in Spain, than I do when I head back to London - a lot less violence, so whilst Torre here has got a bit of a worse review from me than other areas, it is still a damn site better than what many are exposed to locally in the UK now.

It's all, in the end, a matter of personal preference, we had several holidays in the area before moving to the southern outskirts of Torrevieja to a mainly Spanish area, more by accident than design, but we love it here. The town hall square is twenty or so minutes walk away and everything is within walking distance.

On our holidays, both in Torrevieja and in the neighbouring urbanisations, we spent a deal of time walking around the different neighbourhoods and getting a feel for the place.  It is, as others have said, like any large town/small city.  There are places where you feel safe and places not quite so much. I would feel safe being out alone in our area at night through to the wee small hours, but some parts of the town I would avoid in the light of day.

The only way to decide is by being in the area and carrying out your own research, no amount of advice can substitute for that.

I wish you good fortune in your search.

try this link for comparison with the UK

https://www.numbeo.com/crime/in/Torrevieja

There's lots of good advice already on this thread and I can only add from experience that I have never felt threatened or worried whilst in Torrevieja. It is a busy town with lots going on and like any similar sized town it will have it's share of problems. Drugs, unfortunately, are an issue just about everywhere in Europe these days, but attitudes are different in larger seaside towns- especially with regards to weed - due to the younger populations and the influx of northern European tourists/residents. But you have to remember most Spaniards and others do drink far less than the Brits. Swings and roundabouts.

The areas and unrbanizations around Torre are plentiful and most folk will have good advice to give about where they live, but the only way to truly know is to go and experience it for yourself.  

Above.

I think that weed is the least of anyone's worries and is semi-legal here. 

You can grow a small amount personally and consume in the privacy of your own home and specific type club - one or two in Torre. Also to be fair, most that are stoned are usually relaxed and harmless, unlike those hyped on class A drugs or too much booze. 

Gang type issues more in these areas tend to be more related to either prostitution or stronger drugs, Cocaine etc, which is popular unfortunately still with some. As many have stated - whatever area you are in, there are drugs or gangs not a million miles away, if you go looking or in this case looking to avoid, chances are it's not something that you'll come across too often and at the end of it all, it's probably worse in the UK and violent crime / stabbings, would appear to be the case.

Thanks for your very honest opinion some really useful information and we did actually originally have Guardamar as a preference as yes we would love to be by the beach and Guaradamar did sound like it might have everything. Do you happen to know anything about Santa Pola area as that was another area I thought had the beach but lots of of other facilities as well.

Much appreciated

JanIan