Spanish Areas In Southern Spain?

Question

Hey I'm hoping someone can help me here! I'm planning to live in the south of Spain for 3 months this summer to improve my Spanish, and therefore want to find a city/area that isn't too full of Brits, as I want to be immersed, although I still want to be somewhere that's a bit lively and not full of old people!

The closer to Malaga the better (as I have a friend there), the Malaga region would be my preference.

Any advice would be much appreciated, and of course i'll give a best answer to someone :) Cheers

Answer 1

Hello!! I am from the Region of Murcia, an Spanish autonomous community with a single province on the South-East Spain, between Alicante and Almeria.

Murcia is on the coast, it earns its live with agriculture and tourism, but is not as overcrowded with foreign tourists as other regions of Spain, that's the reason why the Region hasn't lose the Spanish lifestyle. So It's very good  for improving your Spanish, because most people do you probably meet will be Spaniards. Most tourist are also Spaniards. Is a very beautiful region, with friendly people, beautiful folklore, excellent local cuisine and lively lifestyle and nightlife. People are very gorgeous!!! There are beautiful cities and towns and beautiful beaches, and it is NOT BORING DURING LOW SEASONS. Is lively during the whole year, altough a lot more in high seasons, of course.

Is a little far from Malaga.

The next province, Almeria, in Andalusia (the region where Malaga is) is less overcrowded than Malaga. Is very similar to Murcia, very touristic, but also very Spanish, so it's good for improving your Spanish too. Is very beautiful too.

The rest of the coastal regions are very full of Brits and Germans, altough you can stay on a inland city. I don't know much about the Malaga province, but I'm sure that the coastal cities are more foreign tourist oriented than Almeria and Murcia, but Malaga is also a big city, so I guess you can improve your Spanish without a problem. Andalusia is very touristic but very Spanish too.

The most mass tourism areas full of brits and germans are the Valencian Community, Catalonia (less than the last one) and the Balearic Islands.

Answer 2

Ok, see, the problem with Málaga is, you are asking to get away from the tourists, and then saying you want  to be in the center of British expat central.  Get off the coast.  there are plenty of cities inland that are not populated by tourists and retired/expatriated Britons.  Sevilla is the most likely to help you find a job.  Alicante is supposed to be nice, and Valencia (while on the coast, is less of a tourist place, and, I believe, less populated by Brits and Germans - there are a lot of German expats in Spain, as well).  Cádiz might be a good place to get a job.  Granada is beautiful, and not too far from Málaga.  (Valencia might be further than you want to go).  Sevilla is about an hour or two from Málaga.  Check with Renfe.com. for the timetables.

Answer 3

There are expats all over Spain, a good amount of the brits are on or around the Costa del Sol area... Málaga, etc.

I'd recommend Seville, it's about as pure andalusian as you can get, and also a very lively city; and it's only a couple of hours drive to the coast.

http://www.turismo.sevilla.org/paginas_e...

Granada is also a fantastic city, lots of culture (it's a university city) and plenty of things to do all during the year... and it is even closer to the coast (about an hour and a half by car).

http://www.granadatur.com/

The following website will give you a view of almost every interesting town or city in Andalucía, you'll find all kinds of info there...

http://www.andalucia.org/modulos.php?mod...

Answer 4

Well, if u want to avoid the british community just dont go to Malaga, because i know people that worked there during the summer, just like u want to, and never spoke anything else than English.

I wouldnt advice u to go to Granada either because, though its really beautiful, is also full of tourists and foreign people. Seville is really nice as well, but as it has been said, it gets too hot in summer (more than 40 degrees. I saw once there something like 60, its crazy, the worst is at the end of july)

Smaller cities like Cadiz or Cordoba are quite nice too, but maybe also too full of foreigners during summer. If u want to practice spanish, maybe the best thing to do is to go to a smaller place, like a town. Ronda is in Malaga and is very beautiful, although I dont know about jobs there.

Definitely, I think the best option for you is to go to Antequera. It is right in the centre of Andalucia, really close to Malaga, but not so touristic because its not in the coast. Its quite a big town, so there is plenty of Job opportunities and nightlife, and still has a charm. The old part is very beautiful, and food is great. There are amazing mountains around it that ull enjoy to walk for sure!

Also, because of its great location, u can make handy trips to any of the other cities I've mentioned before. I really hope this helps. I strongly advise u not to go anywhere in the coast of Malaga if u really want to talk in spanish.

Answer 5

Granada -- "Granada is also well-known within Spain due to the prestigious University of Granada and, nowadays, wild night-life. In fact, it is said that it is one of the three best cities for college students"

Add to this the Alhambra, Moorish Architecture, and good summer climate due to the high altitude and I think you have a winner. -

192 KM to Malaga.

Seville is a great city -- but it is the hottest city in EUROPE and can be real uncomfortable in summer. Also, it is a lot farther from Malaga than Granada.

Answer 6

If you want somewhere rural with few ex-pats and close to Málaga then go to somewhere like Casabermeja. It is just 20 minutes up the motorway from Málaga and it is not a tourist town or one that ex-pats flock to. You could consider Antequera. It is about 45 minutes from Málaga but away from the coast. However, if you wanted to go somewhere that is relatively close to Málaga but just over 90 minutes away I would consider the town of Iznajar. It's a beautiful town perched on a hill by a reservoir. It is very rural and you will need to speak Spanish. A great place to integrate and learn the language.

Answer 7

I suggest you to go to Granada, which is an hour and half driving from Málaga. It's a very beautiful city, and cheaper than others, and where you can enjoy Spanish daily and night life.

In Málaga, there are many tourists, mostly from England and Germany. In Granada, there are tourists during Spring. In summer, if you go in August, it's hot so you will not see so many people.

The good thing of Granada is that you can easily go to the beach (just an hour driving) and to the mountain (almost the same). If you do not rent a car, you can also travel with the bus (Alsina) because it's easy and cheap. For example, you have a bus each hour to go to Málaga!

Well, enjoy your summer there!