There are plenty of houses in Costa del Sol, but finding a real home for your family could end up being quite a challenge. If you’re planning to relocate along with your family in southern Spain, here are some of the things you should keep in mind so that you can really make it feel like home.
Finding a Family Home on the Costa Del Sol
Once you decide your budget and approximate area, you are ready to start the house hunt. A real estate agent will definitely make your search easier, so don’t be shy to ask for help. They will ask you about what you want, show you everything that fits your requests and handle everything for you, from paperwork to legal issues. This is really handy if you are moving from another country.
Decide upon your lifestyle and the things that are really important for your family, then start searching until you find the perfect home, look at as many houses you can.
1. Location is key
The first thing you should do is answer some sharp questions.
- Decide if you’re looking for a big city or for a quieter town for you and your family.
- What kind of activities do you like?
- What do your children like?
- Do you want parks nearby, or maybe a direct view of the sea?
- Do you have a car or will need public transport?
- Where will your children study?
- Do you have a pet?
Once you answer all these questions it will be a lot easier to narrow down the search. While Málaga will be the perfect place for you if you want the big city life, you should know that most things can also be found in the smaller town across the coast, like Calahonda, Torremolinos, Marbella, Fuengirola or Benalmádena. If you’d rather live somewhere really quiet, then there are also peaceful urbanizations right at the outskirts of the main towns.
Finding a Family Home on the Costa Del sol
2. School proximity
If you have preschool children, there are preschools and nurseries almost anywhere, but if your children are in primary or secondary school, then you will have to look a bit more, as they cover wider areas and will be found in the bigger towns. So you might have to look for a house near where they will go to school, or somewhere with direct public transportation available.
Being located on the Costa del Sol, is not difficult to find local Spanish Schools or International Schools, there a number of options available to you.
3. A safe home
Safety comes first, so make sure everything is child proof and safe: unstable handrails, driveway entrance, slippery pool sides, edgy or incomplete fences, improper bathrooms, narrow stairs or everything that could possibly cause an accident. Check everything for yourself if you’re visiting houses.
Moving is a complicated experience for your children and they are going to miss their home quite a lot. A good trick used by families moving to the Costa del Sol is to make sure that the kids rooms have similar decor they had in their old rooms. They will always compare the new with the old, so you will make them feel more at home if you decorate it similar to what they are used to.
Let’s face it if you have a pool you will impress them for sure!
4. Fit for the winter
Although Costa del Sol is the warmest place in Europe, keep in mind that is can be less than 10 degrees during the winter, so some sort of heating will be necessary.
Most houses in southern Spain aren’t built with central heating, don’t have double glazing and have marble floors without carpets. So it can get cold inside. The locals use electric heaters because winter doesn’t last very long here, but they could eat up a lot of electricity. The best solution is to search for a home with a fireplace or central heating, the second could be harder to find though.
5. Space and privacy
Privacy is important, so once you’re visiting homes, make sure that you have it. Luckily, most homes in Costa del Sol have blind-shades on the windows, so the privacy of the family shouldn’t be a problem, but you should also check how much of the property can be seen from the outside. Also, imagine where each member of the family find their special place in the home: a well equipped kitchen for the chef of the family, a nice garden for the children and/or pets, a good reading spot or an office for a hard worker of for study, a pool for summer fun.
All in all, a home shouldn’t miss anything, so take your time and look deep until you will find your dream home that fits best with your family. Good luck!
