Just a few kilometres inland the 'real Spain' materialises. The cost of property drops, in fact it is probably true that the cost of most things fall once one is away from the tourist priced beach locations. Whilst inland you’ll probably not actually see anyone riding on the back of a donkey, you will probably see herds of goats, acres and acres of orange and lemon groves, fields of olive trees, and maybe more importantly a much slower pace of life.

Living on the coast suits some people, and living inland suits others. The far lower cost of property inland is a massive draw, and as an example a brand new 3 bed detached villa with its own private swimming pool is often priced at the same price as a 2 bed apartment near to the beach - a nice 2 bed apartment, but still just an apartment.

Inland it is possible to be totally immersed into 'old Spain' and to truly live the Spanish way of life, but it is also possible to live in a cosmopolitan urbanisation with an on-site hotel, numerous restaurants, cafés and bars, a golf course maybe, tennis courts, communal swimming pools if not private swimming pools for the detached villas, in fact most (if not all) of the 'nice to have' things we like to surround ourselves with. In fact the Costa Calida in particular has become known for its luxury inland urbanisations with everything that the coastal urbanisations have to offer, and maybe much more… just not a sea view!