It’s no secret that I love Andalucía. It’s the first place I went once the world of travel opened up again and I have now been back twice.
After my trip to Portugal in February, I confidently declared in a blog post that I was Planning to Settle in Málaga, Andalucía. Well, maybe no so fast.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Málaga. The history, the culture, the food, the people, being right on the Mediterranean Sea. It ticks all the boxes I am looking for, on paper.
I returned this past October for a trial run. I purposefully spent one week in Málaga and one week in Torremolinos. I didn’t blog as I wanted to immerse myself in being there. As usually, I stayed in AirBNBs in neighbourhoods and did my best to live as a local.
Of course I brought my running shoes and on my second day there I got out to see some of the sights. Fortunately it was cloudy so while a little humid the heat wasn’t overwhelming.
Later that day I met up with someone I know from when I lived in Vancouver to hear about his experience moving and living in Torremolinos. I came away from the conversation confident that I was on the right track and could see living in the Costa del Sol.
One of the other highlights was a tapas tour. The food and wine there is so good, I could have kept eating all night. One of the best parts was stopping at the Antigua Casa de Guardia, Picasso’s bar for a vermouth.
I have to admit that I had a great time during my week there, but much like Barcelona and New York it kinda felt more like a great place to go for a visit but not really like home.
One of the first things I noticed in Málaga was how jam packed the city centre was – very different from my first visit. There were times you could barely move and it felt very chaotic.
This is understandable given two years ago people were concerned about traveling given things were just opening up again. In 2021, Spain had restricted the countries it was accepting visitors from and you had to show proof of vacination or a negative test to enter. There were also no cruise ships and Málaga again has a very active cruise port.
Part of the trail was to see if I wanted to live in the city or one of the communities close by. Torremolinos is a beyond gay-friendly community with fantastic beaches and over 30 LGBTQ+ businesses. The AirBNB I stayed in had a fantastic view right out to the sea.
The town is really cute. I did love all the cafes, restaurants and the vibe. In particular the Pasaje Begoña, a place of memory to share the LGBTQ+ history in the city. There are also so many bars clubs, which given my age I really find I am less interested in.
I really loved that you can walk from Torremolinos to Benalmádena, the next town to the west along a beautiful sea wall. I walked it one day and ran it another. It was stunning but again very crowded. I asked one of the locals in a shop if it was like this all the time and she told me there was no longer an off season.
Another part of the test was to see if the train between Málaga and Torremolinos was as convenient as I thought it was going to be. It did appear to run on time and was super convenient to get from downtown to downtown. It was also how I got out to see some other cities, but it was packed. There was even one day a fight broke out between two women over pushing and shoving to get in. Not an enjoyable experience.
I did make a few trips back to the city, one for a day trip to Torcal de Antequera, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was really stunning and dates back to the Middle Neolithic period with archaeological sites being found in the Cueva del Toro. It’s all limestone that was under water millions of years ago. Some of the formations look like animals and other objects which were used as meeting places during the resistance to Franco.
The other time I took it was to go to an Andrés Suárez concert in Málaga. I really like his music and it was held in a small venue and was so much fun! The challenge was getting back to Torremolinos after the show. Fortunately some locals were superhelpful and I found my way back on a bus that goes between cities.
So during my time in Torremolinos I had time to go to the beach and reflect on whether the Costa del Sol is really the right place for me. I have to be honest, it isn’t. I really do love it as a place to visit but think it wouldn’t be a place to stay long term.
The one place I thought about the whole time I was there was Sevilla. I kept thinking to myself, why didn’t you make a stop there. You love it there. When I was there a year ago it felt like I had never left. I knew exactly where I wanted to go for a run, where I wanted to eat, how to get around the city without a map. Going to have to go back for another scouting trip.
So decision not fully made. Málaga is still on the table.
