The Costa Blanca is located on Spain’s eastern coast in the region of Valencia in the province of Alicante. It extends from the town of Dénia in the north to Pilar de la Horadada in the south.
Costa del Sol on the other hand is located on Spain’s southern coast in the region of Andalusia and lies mostly in the province of Málaga. It’s a narrow strip of coast stretching from Manilva in the west all the way until it meets the Costa Tropical in the province of Granada in the east.
Other foreign residents
While this isn’t the most important factor when choosing where to live in Spain, you’ll want to know that there are other foreigners in the same situation as you. This can affect everything from the types of jobs that are available to the schools in the area and the friends you might make.
According to the latest stats from Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), there were 206,934 EU citizens living in Andalusia in 2022 and 92,180 British citizens. While in Valencia, there were 263,340 EU citizens and 87,699 British residents.
This makes the Valencia province and the Costa Blanca slightly more popular with other EU residents. But, Andalusia is slightly more popular with British residents.
READ ALSO: The towns in Spain where Brits outnumber locals
Weather
Weather is one of the major factors which cause people to want to move to Spain, so which costa fairs better when it comes to the climate?
According to the Andalusian Tourist Board, the Costa del Sol enjoys more than 325 days of sunshine per year, while the Costa Blanca Tourism Board claims to enjoy around 320 days of sunshine per year. This makes both costas pretty equal when it comes to hours of sunshine, but what about temperature and rainfall?
According to the latest climate figures, Marbella, one of the most popular cities in the Costa del Sol has an average yearly temperature of 18.3C and 65 days of rain.
Torrevieja, in the Costa Blanca on the other hand, has a similar yearly average temperature of 18.7C and a total of 31 days of rainfall.
While both regions have similar amounts of sunshine and average temperatures it seems that if you live on the Costa del Sol you might see a few more days of rain than if you choose the Costa Blanca.
However, both regions have far less rain than Spain’s other costas in the north such Catalonia’s Costa Brava and Asturias’ Costa Verde.
Property
According to Spanish property giants Idealista, Málaga province is one of the most popular places for foreigners to buy property. Nerja, Estepona, Puerto Banús and Marbella stand out as some of the most popular.
Other areas where foreigners want to buy include Fuengirola, Mijas, Alhaurin el Grande, Torremolinos and Benalmadena are the most popular foreigners buying average and budget properties.
But it’s Alicante province where demand from foreigners exceeds 50 percent of the total demand in the province. The most popular areas include Los Frutales in Torrevieja; the districts of Moraia de Moravit-Cap Blanc, Paichi and Pinar de Advocat-Cometa and Orihuela. More 70,000 British residents own property in the Alicante area.
READ ALSO: Spain’s Dénia to stop issuing licences for tourist apartments
According to the Colegio Registradores de la Propiedad in both Alicante and Málaga provinces foreigners represent one in four property transactions.
The latest property stats show that the average price for a property in Málaga reached €3,377 per square metre in August 2024, while properties in the Alicante province reached €2,260 per square metre.
This means that property is generally cheaper on the Costa Blanca than it is on the Costa del Sol, however, the average price of properties in the Costa del Sol is pushed up by the high prices in Marbella and you can still find cheaper properties away from this area.
Cost of living
Generally speaking overall, the Costa Blanca is slightly cheaper to live in than the Costa del Sol, but it does depend on which areas you live in.
According to cost of living website Numbeo, rent is 11.9 percent higher in than in Alicante. You would need around €3,348.5 in Alicante to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with €3,800 in Málaga.
Most of the time the cost of living will depend on which town you move to within each costa. Marbella for example has one of the most expensive costs of living out of the two costas. Rent prices in Marbella are a whopping 205 percent higher than in Alicante, but surprisingly restaurant prices are 7.6 percent lower than in Alicante.
Taxes
While national tax is the same throughout Spain, there are also regional taxes that differ.
For example in the Valencia region, where the Costa Blanca is located, according to the General Council of Economists you pay more for inheritance, donation and Heritage taxes. Valencia is also the region that taxes high earners a lot, but has a progressive system.
Andalusia the other hand, where the Costa del Sol is located, has some of the lowest inheritance and donation taxes in Spain. Despite this, Andalusia does have relatively high personal income tax rates in Spain.
IBI tax known Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles or property tax in each region completely depends on where you live within the Costa del Sol or the Costa Blanca. If you live in a small village or more rural location, you will generally pay less than if you live in the big cities or popular resorts.
Therefore, if you’re a very high earner, you may save more in tax by moving to the Costa del Sol rather than the Costa Blanca, and if you’re a low earner, then it may pay to move to the Costa Blanca, rather than the Costa del Sol. Make sure to discuss your individual circumstances with a gestor or a lawyer first who can advise you on which region you would pay the least amount of tax in.
International schools
If you plan on moving to Spain with your family, then you’ll want to know which region offers the best education options for your kids. Public education is generally considered to be good in Spain, but if you want your kids to get an education in English and to get internationally recognised qualifications, such as the International Baccalaureate or IB, then you’ll want to choose a good international school.
According to the International Schools Database, there are 25 international schools on the Costa Blanca and 37 on the Costa del Sol.
In 2024, three out of the top five international schools on the Costa del Sol were named the best of their kind in the country in a ranking from Spanish national newspaper El Mundo. These included Aloha College, British School Málaga and Laude San Pedro International College. This means that the Costa del Sol currently offers the best international education in Spain.
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