Living on the Costa del Sol

The Costa del Sol is a continuous strip of towns along the Málaga coast, with the mountains close behind. The city of Málaga is its centre: a large city with the airport, the high-speed train to Madrid and the main hospitals of the province. West of it, Torremolinos, Benalmádena and Fuengirola are dense and busy, linked to Málaga by the commuter train; Mijas spreads from the coast up into the hills; Marbella, Estepona, Casares and Manilva continue towards Gibraltar with more villas, golf and space, and longer drives, since the railway stops at Fuengirola.

To the east, the Axarquía, with Rincón de la Victoria, Vélez-Málaga, Torrox and Nerja, is quieter and closer to farmland, with a narrow strip between sea and mountain. The coast has a large foreign community and many tourist lets, but the mix changes a lot from one town to the next, and so do prices.

The table below compares every town of the zone on the same indicators, from rent and gross yield to recorded crime and internet coverage, so the choice can rest on figures rather than on reputation.

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