The lifestyle is 'ideal' and you can make the Costa del Sol exactly what you want.. Golfers who wish to play on first class courses in dry, sunny weather will find all that they want on the Costa del Sol. There are in fact some of the best courses in the world and there are more than 70 of them. If sight-seeing is part of your agenda then this wonderful part of Spain has much to offer. Within a short distance are major cities worth seeing and on the other extreme are tiny white-washed villages clinging to the mountain sides. Not far from the crowded beaches are true Spanish villages such as Casares, Ronda, Manilva and Sabinillas, all locked in time. Along the coast, tourists of all nationalities are made welcome and there are few places that do not understand English.

The people of the Costa del Sol
The riches of the coastline have for centuries attracted people from every corner of the world and the first settlers here were the Phoenician and Greek colonisers. The Romans made their mark on the area by founding huge cities, traces of which are still evident everywhere. For several centuries Andalucia was under Moorish rule. In modern times, since the 1950's, the area has attracted an international community. Predominantly in the 50's, the visitors were mostly Spaniards as the English were just discovering this warm, peaceful corner of the Mediterranean. It was in the 1960's that the tourist boom first hit and millions of English holiday makers took up the 'package holiday'. The Spaniards in the area now depend heavily on tourism although they have retained their Spanish traditions, culture and lifestyle. One doesn't have to go far from the coast to discover true Spain and in these little havens you could easily forget that the sea and sand were just a few kilometres away.

Living on the Costa del Sol
The Costa del Sol is the area in Spain with the highest concentration of foreign residents. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners have made this their home or have purchased a holiday home here. This has enabled the area to develop a perfect multi-national infrastructure, including international schools and a massive English speaking community. See more about living in Spain here. Many foreigners make this their home because they feel 'safe'. There is no problem with languages and they will never be far from people in similar circumstances. There is a limited amount of work, however, this will largely depend on your skills and having a command of the Spanish language will certainly help in your quest for work. See more about working in Spain here.

Work on the Costa del Sol is largely related to the tourism industry and the services required by the large number of ex-pats who live here. Many of the current residents have already established their own companies; some succeed and some fail.

Getting around the Costa del Sol

The N340 (A7) motorway runs the whole length of the Costa del Sol. In most parts it is dual carriageway and flows well. Some parts are notoriously dangerous though - mainly due to speed. There are also sections of toll road (AP7) - a little safer and certainly not as busy.

There's a train service that runs from Malaga to Fuengirola. The trains are an excellent and cheap way to travel up and down the coast. See a rail map and details here.

The early 1950's attracted some big names to the coast such as Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Marlon Brando and members of Royal families and the future of the Costa del Sol was assured. In 1959 the famous pez Espada Hotel opened and more celebrities flooded in. Sean Connery, Frank Sinatra, Orson Wells and Julio Iglesias were just a few names. In 1960 the caves were discovered in Nerja and in 1962, four airlines launched regular services linking European cities. In 1965 the Paradores in Nerja and Malaga were opened and Marbella became the place to be. Marbella began to attract the rich and famous and the former little fishing village was a thing of the past.

The new control tower and terminal in Malaga were opened in 1968 and during that year, 100,000 passengers passed through the airport. The beach bars suddenly became posh restaurants and the fishermen began to swap their nets for knives and forks. The first language school opened in Malaga in 1971 with 400 students and 10 teachers. Since this time the Costa del Sol has grown at an alarming rate, and continues to do so.

Quick links to places on the Costa del Sol
Malaga | Marbella | Puerto Banus | Puerto de la Duquesa | Estepona | Casares | Torremolinos | Fuengirola
Sotogrande | Mijas | Nerja | Ronda | Manilva | Sabinillas| La Linea | Ceuta | Torrox | Frigiliana | Torre del Mar
San Pedro | Monda | Ojen | Coin | Istan | Setenil | Olvira | Gaucin | Comares