Is Andalucia a good place to live?

[Gargamel10]

Torremolinos is the Gay Capital of Andalusia, but if you speak Spanish and want some Spanish culture (not mass tourism), then you should stay in Granada, also a Gay Friendly place.

[britinparis]

I know Andalusia fairly well as I have family living there (near Torrox).

Andalusia is indeed a beautiful region, one of the sunniest and driest in Europe, with beautiful scenery: mountains, plains, and deserts, a Mediterranean coast with calm turquoise waters and palm trees, an Atlantic coast with massive sandy beaches and crashing waves... the cities, small towns and pueblos biancos "white villages" are generally all very beautiful with interesting Arabic heritage and an exotic feel you don't find elsewhere in Europe.

However, because of these charms it is one of Europe's most heavily touristed regions. The coast all the way from Estepona to Almuñécar is totally developed for mass tourism with a particular concentration of very British-influenced, tower block resorts south of Málaga (Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola are infamous!). Think a kind of European Florida – but with mountains. All this area is very modern and sometimes feels a bit more like the New World than Europe with big freeways and strip malls...squint and driving along the AP-7 south of Málaga and you could be in L.A.

Away from this area of dense development though and it's largely unspoilt – bear in mind it's a vast region, and would take you 8-9 hours at least to drive fully east to west. The Atlantic Coast is very unspoilt and has endless deserted beaches. Seville and Córdoba are traditional Spanish cities – the north is hard farming country without a tourist in sight.

Until the 1970s the region was one of the poorest places in Europe – there was hardly any industry to speak of, and most people scratched a living from farming or fishing – or emigrated for a better life in Madrid or northern Spain – or abroad.

Since then mass tourism has brought some prosperity to the region but it remains among Spain's poorer areas. It has been hit very hard by la crisis – about 30% (thirty per cent!) of the workforce are unemployed – getting a job without personal/family contacts is impossible.

The region also has a huge immigrant population, as well as Moroccans, Latinos and Eastern Europeans who arrived during the Spanish economic boom to work in construction and agriculture (many are now going home) – hundreds of thousands of northern Europeans – particularly Brits – have migrated there since the 1980s, lured by the climate, cheaper house prices and easy opportunities to start businesses serving the booming tourist industry. You now have whole municipalities where Brits make up the majority of the population – it's very common along the coast to be served by an English barman, have an English estate agent, dentist and lawyer...

Spain is one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world despite the Catholic heritage, most Spaniards have an easy-going, live and let live attitude which sat well with the general trend in the western world for gay acceptance. It has been possible to get married since 2005, and even smaller cities have a thriving gay scene.

[Vlajos]

I lived in Sevilla and enjoyed it very much. There is nothing better than a nice fino and a bowl of almonds.
Travelled throughout Spain extensively too. It's a beautiful country. In general Spaniards are not warm people, but once they accept you they are quite nice.