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THE COSTA BLANCA, LIVING IN THE BEST CLIMATE IN EUROPE


Living among the fruit trees, a stone's throw from the beach, in the best climate in Europe: the Costa Blanca is one of the favorite destinations for the Dutch and Belgians to live. The coastal strip of the province of Alicante has something to offer for everyone: culture, small fishing villages, a vibrant nightlife, hills for beautiful walks, and so on.

If you want to live in Spain, and you don't know where, then the Costa Blanca is definitely worth considering. In this article we will discuss some generalities about the Costa Blanca, and we will also discuss what it is like to live there.

As mentioned, the Costa Blanca is the coastal strip of the province of Alicante. That is 244 kilometers of coast between the villages of Denia and Pilar de la Horadada. There are 74 beaches along this coast.

The province of Alicante in turn is part of the Comunidad Valenciana region. To find out more about this region, also read our article Living in the Comunidad Valenciana. An introduction for the emigrant.

The name Costa Blanca was coined by British Airways, which opened the air connection between London and Valencia in 1957. The name referred to the many white beaches that can be seen from the air. It also turned out to be the perfect advertisement for the coastal strip and the name stuck. It is also said that the name refers to the blossoming almond trees in February.

Roughly speaking, the Costa Blanca can be divided into two parts: the Costa Blanca North and the Costa Blanca South. The separation is pretty much near the city of Alicante. The Costa Blanca North is generally the well-known part. The region is more picturesque, with an almost mountainous hinterland and cliffs along the coast. There are famous places such as Denia, Javéa, Calpe, Altea, Benidorm and Villajoyosa.

The Costa Blanca South is less known to foreigners. The share of Spanish holidaymakers is considerably higher here. The hinterland is flat and agricultural. There are lagoons and salt flats. Larger places are Torrevieja, Guardamar de Segura and Torrevieja. Large numbers of Dutch speakers (and other non-Spanish speakers) now live on both parts of the Costa Blanca.

The Costa Blanca can be reached by car via the AP7/A7, two highways that run more or less parallel to each other. The nearest airport is of course that of Alicante, but you can also fly to Valencia. Denia has ferry connections with several places in Ibiza.

climate
The World Health Organization has named the climate on the Costa Blanca as one of the best in the world. And that is understandable: the average temperature throughout the year is 18 ºC. The area has a short, mild winter, and the summers are not as hot as in other parts of Spain. In January the daytime average is just under 17ºC, and in July and August it is just under 30ºC.

Moreover, it only rains on average about 35 days a year. The humidity is a lot lower than in the Benelux, so it is less stuffy at higher temperatures.

This has the Costa Blanca to the micro-climate. Due to the mountains in the interior and the coast that faces south-east, a kind of bowl is created where relatively mild and moderate weather conditions linger.

This makes the Costa Blanca a pleasant place to live for everyone. But it is particularly pleasant for people with conditions such as rheumatism and asthma.

The mass tourism that the Costa Blanca is known for, and sometimes under sigh, is the work of 1 man: Mayor of Benidorm Pedro Zaragoza Orts. In 1956 he went to Madrid on his moped to convince Franco to open the country to foreign tourists because he had a grand vision for his fishing village. There are now more skyscrapers per square kilometer than in New York.

The Costa Blanca therefore attracts large numbers of tourists. The Dutch are the third group of holidaymakers, after the British and Germans. You will also meet many French people.

Of course, the enormous recreational offer on the Costa Blanca is also a good reason to live there permanently. This is called “residential tourism”. The disadvantage of this is the proliferation of residential areas along the coast. As a result, large parts of the Costa Blanca can no longer be called authentic.

It goes without saying that everything that has to do with sun, sea and beach is readily available on the Costa Blanca. As mentioned, there are 74 beaches, and that is the main draw for domestic and foreign visitors. The capital Alicante has a huge number of second homes (apartments) owned by Spaniards, which has earned the city the nickname Playa de Madrid (loosely translated: Madrid by the Sea).
In addition to beach tourism, the region has a dazzling range of other forms of recreation. A nice area to stay.