Finding a Home in Spain

When we arrived in Spain on September 26th, we had four weeks to find an apartment for the next nine months.  Our plane landed in Madrid, but the next day we boarded a bus to Málaga, a port city along the Mediterranean coast.  From Málaga, we took a much shorter bus ride to the nearby town of Fuengirola for our first full week in Spain. 

Málaga province along the Costa del Sol.  Málaga city and Fuengirola are on the map.

Over the next four weeks, we would be alternating weeks at AirBnb apartments in Málaga and Fuengirola to determine where we wanted to settle for the rest of our year in Spain.  When we originally began to plan our year abroad, we had thought that we would live in Málaga, which is the largest city in the province and is a similar size to Baltimore.  However, I had arranged to volunteer at a school one day per week in Fuengirola, which is forty minutes from Málaga by commuter train.  I had also made contact with the director of a homeless ministry in Fuengirola and hoped to volunteer there one day per week, as well.

With limited knowledge of the area, there were too many question marks to try to arrange for an apartment before arriving in Spain.  We thought it would be more convenient to live in Fuengirola, but had read a few travel books that had middling reviews of the town and complained that it felt too much like a tourist destination.  We definitely wanted to make sure that we got an authentic Spanish experience.  However, since Fuengirola is smaller than Málaga (about 75,000 people) we reasoned that it might also be easier to meet people and build a sense of community.  As a larger city, Málaga would offer more attractions and activities, but might also have a higher cost of living and would require me to commute at least two days per week for my volunteer activities.

Our first stop brought us to Mijas Las Lagunas, located just north of Fuengirola.  We stayed in a spacious two-bedroom apartment with a huge terrace that ran the length of the apartment.  This was by far the largest of the four apartments that we stayed in during our first month.  The terrace overlooked bustling Parque de Andulucia, which bubbled with activity in the evenings.  Evelyn and Lydia loved having a playground right across the street, though they spent more time on the exercise equipment than the actual playground.  We also were within walking distance of Aqua Mijas, a local water park, and were able to squeeze in a trip on the last day of the season.  One downside is that it was over a mile to walk to the beach.  We ended up walking one direction and taking a taxi back to the apartment, but realized that this tab could add up throughout the year if we didn't live closer to the beach.

A magnificent sunset from the terrace of our apartment in Mijas Las Lagunas overlooking Parque de Andulucia.

After a week, we packed up all our things and headed to Málaga.  While I think our plan of testing out different areas was wise, we soon came to dread the task of hauling all of our luggage from apartment to apartment.  First, our luggage would barely squeeze into the taxi's trunk.  Then, we had to lug all our bags around a bus station, load it under the bus, pull it out from under the bus at our destination city, pile it into another taxi, and then lug it up to our next apartment.  We are so glad to be done with that task for the next eight months!

As we headed to Málaga, we were pretty certain that we wanted to live in Fuengirola.  Our concerns about the town feeling too "touristy" had been eased.  Certainly there are strips of hotels along the beach, but there are plenty of areas of town with an authentic Spanish feel.  My first day of commuting finalized the decision.  Although I do enjoy traveling by train, we are trying to live simply this year and I did not want to add three hours of commuting twice per week.

Also, it was pretty clear that we would be able to get more bang for our buck in Fuengirola than in Málaga.  Our second apartment was more expensive than the first, but much smaller.  It couldn't have been more than about 400 square feet and we did not have any terrace at all.  There was a pulley system out the window for hanging clothes.  It was also the first of three apartments that would have only one bedroom, which we used for the girls.  It would become a nightly routine for Becky or me to set up the living room futon.  However, there was a nice park a couple blocks away and the girls loved playing on the zip-line at the playground.  We enjoyed visiting Castillo Gibralfaro and the Alcazaba in central Málaga, but these attractions and the beach required a taxi or Uber ride in both directions.  As a result, we commenced our search for a permanent Apartment in Fuengirola and had about two weeks to finalize our arrangements.

A sunset over Málaga from Monte Victoria, near our first apartment in that city.

In the meantime, we piled up our belongings one more time and head back to Fuengirola for another week.  This transition was the worst because we walked approximately a quarter mile from the bus station to our apartment and my shoulder felt like it was about to fall off.  Up to that point, we had been focusing our apartment search close to our first apartment in Mijas Las Lagunas.  However, we quickly fell in love with this location near the center of Fuengirola.  The stylish apartment was close enough to the beach to easily walk, yet far enough from the strip to feel like you were in the authentic part of town.  It was close to Parque del Sol, a beautifully landscaped park right next to the public library.  As an added bonus, I could walk to my volunteer activities in a matter of minutes.

The process of packing and hauling all of our belongings grew old very quickly.

As we looked at a few different apartment options, we learned that there were a few obstacles when trying to rent an apartment in our circumstances.  Primarily, since I did not have a Spanish work contract, we were going to be asked to pay the rent for the entire lease period up front.  It didn't matter that I could prove that I was receiving salary from the United States.  Furthermore, we expected that once we indicated that we were interested in an apartment we would be able to start moving forward with a lease agreement.  However, we were told that the owner would receive a list of all the people interested in the apartment and then choose who they wanted to rent it to.

Fortunately, on our first night viewing apartments we saw a couple good options, but one stood out among the crowd.  We loved this apartment.  It had just been renovated and was right on the corner of the Parque del Sol, within walking distance to the beach, and only a couple blocks from the zoo.  The apartment had three bedrooms, one and half baths, a beautiful kitchen and two terraces.  The owner seemed a little concerned about renting her newly renovated apartment to a family with young children, but the real estate agent talked her into it.  However, there was one catch.  The owner had promised a family friend that she could see the apartment, which would take place the next day.  We had to wait 24-hours to see if we would get it or if it would go to the family friend.

It is a huge perk to be within walking distance to the beach.

We were on pins and needles waiting for the text or call to inform us of our status and burst into cheers when we learned that we would be able to rent the apartment.  Now, we faced the next challenge.  We had to wire nine months of rent to the owner before we could move in.  This was a bit nerve wracking and we were really hoping that the wire transfer would arrive before we had to return to Málaga for our final week at an Airbnb apartment.  Luckily, it came through the day before we returned to Málaga and we happily walked the few blocks to our new home in Spain. 

One of our apartments two terraces with Parque del Sol in the background.

It was a bit odd to unpack our belongings and then head back to Málaga the next day.  However, we were excited to visit my parents, who were joining us in Málaga for the week, and relished carrying a much lighter load as we walked to the train station.  Our last apartment was slightly bigger than our previous stop in Málaga, had a nice terrace, and was within walking distance of central Málaga, but we hardly spent any time there because my parents' AirBnb apartment was less than a block from the beach.  We coordinated activities with them throughout the week and enjoyed seeing some more sights in the city, but mostly used my parent's apartment as the home base for meals and hanging out in the day.

As that week wound down, we were excited to return to Fuengirola and put down some temporary roots.  We had been nomads for about two months and were ready to finally have a place to call home.

The cafe in Parque del Sol.  Though it is dark, there are still plenty of families at the park.