Property in Spain... Nice cheap coastal location with character?

[SatsumaSatsuma]

Hi.
DH and I have the crazy idea of buying somewhere cheap in Spain. We have been to Nerja area together, ( Frigiliana) which we liked a lot, but it's too expensive! I visited Denia/ javea in my teens but we have no other experience of Spain.

Costa Blanca looks crazily cheap, but I'm guessing there's a reason for that.

My ideal place would be:

• near the sea

-50k or thereabouts for 2 bedroomed property -have a Spanish feel rather than low quality Brits abroad 'flavour' ( I wouldn't mind the expat element, actually, as long as it wasn't too 'egg and chips' as my dear old great aunt used to say, lol!

• be in easy reach of airport served by plenty of low cost airlines

Any advice? Tia

Ps we have dds aged 9 and 11 so obviously family friendly area would be good

Costa azahar is cheap and unspoiled, or Costa brava further North. if really recommend the area North of Valencia.

My boss lives in a little town near Comillas in Northern Spain in Cantabria, I can vouch for it's beauty it's near the sea & the mountains, they have 3 children & love their school, when I visit I fly into Bilbao & it's about 45 min drive from there. I'm afraid I don't know much about the property prices, but it really is beautiful, hot but not too hot in summer & cool but not too cool in winter & it's fully Spanish!

I fly in on Ryanair, cheap as chips!

Holiday home or permanent residence?

50k in euros or pounds?

www.ventadepisos.com/venta_piso_mijas-costa/apartamento-con-ascensor-y-jardin-mijas-costa_2117386.html

If it were me I'd look in northern Spain too. Ir's relatively cheap, you can get to Bilbao and Santander via ferry from Plymouth or Portsmouth. It's more like Cornwall than the Med. You also have the Picos de Europe for walking and are relatively close to Andorra and France.

The other area I like is the Costa de la Luz around Cadiz. It's Atlantic rather than Med but has a lot of history and character. Easy to get to other large towns in the area and close to Portugal.

Thanks v much all :)
Will take a look at those options.
Goodtobetter-£50k ish
I wouldn't want to do the Bilbao ferry, tbh as it'd be a holiday home for long hols and long weekends ( from Gatwick or even southampton ) so that probably rules out Ryanair routes. However, have no preconceived ideas of area so keep the ideas coming!!

Thanks for the link, god together. I'd forgotten, we did actually go to Torremolimos and Mijas once. Was quite nice, as I recall.
I like the idea of Northern Spain too.

Goodtobetter not god together! Blooming iPad!

Wet august, would flights be easy though, to Cadiz area?

This should tell you all http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/flight-guide-to-Cadiz/ about Cadiz and getting there by plane

www.cheapflights.co.uk/flight-guide-to-Cadiz/

Hope this works

I live near Bilbao, and whilst it's stunningly beautiful, I wouldn't buy a holiday home here just because the weather is not what people expect from Spain (although it was 28 degrees today!) friends and family have been disappointed by the temperatures and rain when they've come, unless they come from July -sept there's no guarantee of good weather. Also, the area around Bilbao' especially north of the city, is very Basque and so doesn't feel so "Spanish."

I have a holiday home on the Mediterranean coast, north of Valencia, which is a wonderful area. We bought it in the 70s before the tourist boom and we've been so lucky in that the areas been largely left alone. Friends who bought further south have found themselves in concrete jungles.

Thanks Umlauf. We had a Spanish student from .basque Spain who said something similar? Where near Valenacia would you suggest.?

Hmm there is a lot of unspoilt coastline between Valencia and Barcelona. There is an airport at Reus (near Barcelona) which has cheapy Ryanair flights, or Barcelona and Valencia also have big airports.

Benicassim, north of Valencia has a big waterpark which is fun for children, Valencia itself has aquariums, zoos and brilliant shopping. Obviously Barcelona is brilliant too, so I'd look at going halfway!

Maybe Peniscola? It is stunningly beautiful - look !! Or if you'd rather something smaller you could look at the smaller villages like Alcossebre (our place is there), Torreblanca, Vinaros. if this link works it should be a map of some towns you could Google. We camped all over before choosing that coast, but our second choice would probably have been the Costa Brava. I love the South but so much of it has become really built up over the last few years. Another thing to research is the different regions' policies on buliding - I know the Costa Azahar (north of Valencia) has a law against building anything over 3 stories high, and natural parks are protected toom which would protect you in the long term. You wouldn't want to lose value over having a high high-rise plonked in front of your lovely sea view balcony!!