Seven mistakes people make moving to coastal Spain

Seven mistakes, each costing money or a year of your life. All seven are visible in the data before you move, and all seven are usually noticed afterwards.

Lists of mistakes are usually written from memory: learn the language, do not forget the taxes. True, and no decision follows from it. This one is different: every mistake is counted across a base of 132 coastal places, with a number beside it — how many places it applies to.

1. Viewing property in May

From April to October the coast looks equally good everywhere. The difference shows up in January: 19 places of 132 empty out far enough that bars shut and transport thins. That is 14% of the base — not many, and yet these are the ones people buy in, because in summer they are the prettiest.

Look at the prices: these are not cheap places. An empty winter costs the same as a working town.

2. Not asking about damp

Spanish coastal housing has no heating — not bad heating, none. With winter humidity above 75% that means mould on the bedroom wall by February. 25 places of 132 are above that line, one in five.

3. Comparing prices from different sources

Price per square metre comes in two kinds: an appraised value the ministry computes from real transactions, and an asking price from a listings portal. The second is systematically higher. You cannot compare one with the other, and people do it constantly: in our base 60 places of 132 have only the asking price, because the ministry publishes from 25,000 residents upwards.

4. Assuming you will manage without a car

37 places of 132, that is 28%, are places where life without a car becomes a daily problem. What decides it is not the size of the town but its layout: a dense old centre against a resort stretched eight kilometres along a highway.

5. Buying «by the sea» seven kilometres inland

20 places of 132 in our base sit more than five kilometres from the water, and some of them are sold as seaside. The difference between walking out to the beach and driving to it feels minor at a viewing and decides everything a year later.

6. Not counting the drive to hospital

15 places of 132 are more than half an hour's drive from the nearest hospital. At thirty that is a row in a table; at sixty it is the reason for a second move.

7. Assuming the sea is warm all year

The «320 sunny days» from the brochure says nothing about water temperature. In 31 places of 132 the sea stays above 20 °C for no more than three months a year. That does not make them bad places — it means you will swim less than you pictured, and it is worth knowing in advance.

Terms: winter liveabilitywinter liveabilityOur 1-to-5 rating of whether a town lives from November to March — open places, running transport, people around.Why it matters. Most resorts shut for winter. Tourists never notice; someone who moved gets four empty months. An estimate, not a measurement. is our own 1 to 5 rating; no official statistic for it exists.

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