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Hello D,

Both cities are offering different things and there are too many deciding factors like how you envision your daily activities as a retiree to be and the budget you'd have to sustain a comfortable life. I found about Valencia's properties for sale being preferred over Barcelona by property investors which I assume would boost the prices in the short term. Therefore, maybe you can choose to buy something in Valencia and settle there so that you would still profit if you decide to sell and move to Malaga a couple years down the line.

we are contemplating to spend there 3 months out of a year October through January, every year, not sure Malaga? Seville? and wondering about rental places, cost of living, things to do, i have to have a gym, my husband golf, can anyone living there share their experience with us please?

Seville is far away from the sea so the weather is not conditioned by the sea water so it was brutally HOT from 3pm to 9pm when I was there in late September last year. No such problem in coastal cities I visited such as Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona, where the heat was mild and weather lovely.

Places far away from the sea will also mean colder winter for the same reason. Seville and Madrid are two examples.

Try both!  :-)   If you are renting a place, just pick the one you have a gut response to. Take a few months to experience it, travel and see if you like the other.  Or just do 6 months in each.  What you read online isn't always the same feeling for what you would experience.  If you can scope out each place and see which feels right.  The both have cutlure and activities.  The Malaga airport is much larger, if you are looking for easy international travel.  They are both a train ride to Madrid.  Many activities.  Valencia has the science park etc.. but think about your daily life and what you want, need and envision for the day to day.  Both are easy to get around on public transit.  Malaga is more of a seaside city, while Valencia is too many of the common residental areas are in from the sea.  Malaga close to mountains, hiking etc... so it depends on your interests and day to day desires.

I'd echo Heidi- try them both instead of making up your mind without knowing.

Malaga strikes me as having a higher percentage of English-speaking immigrants and expats, so integrating into a community for social life would probably be easier if you don't speak Spanish.

Valencia is more of a big city and has all the big-city amenities. We live in Valencia and enjoy it, but I am not fluent in Spanish and it definitely crimps my style a little bit.

I have lived in all 3 places. While each has the good and bad, I have to say l am loving Valencia the most. Malaga has a lot of expats but most seem to be East of Malaga and not in the city itself which is where we wanted to be. The accent was also very hard to understand and it was hard to adjust to. Seville was great but it turned out too hot in the summer and we left after 2 years. Valencia is like a smaller Barcelona. There is a great expat community and there are 5 metro lines unlike the just one in Seville. My friends husbands golf close by and after 2 years here, we are still loving it. Here is a cost of living report for Seville. You can do a search on the blog for a cost of living for Valencia too and there is one for Malaga as well.

Hi,

We are not planning on buying property but rather on renting.  How easy is it to rent an apartment in Valencia and in Malaga?

I used to work a couple of months in Malaga and I really loved it as a town. It has everything: culture, modern architecture, fashion, beach, nice weather (in summer as in winter), going-out etc.  Sevilla which I visited a few times on a holiday is really just beautiful, and has a lot of history everywhere in town. Moreover, it is the heart of the Flamenco, music and dance, it is great for strolling from square to square, between Arabian and Spanish culture, there is always something to wonder about. Both towns are really different and according to what you need, both can be absolutely rewarding. If you are going to a 3 month stay, you may spend half in Sevilla and half in Malaga and from there see other places in Andalucía like Granada, Cordoba, Ronda. ..

hello,
I was interested in your reply about Valencia versus Malaga. I have not been in Valencia or I dont remember as I was a child long ago, what exactly do you mean by: Valencia is too many of the common residental areas are in from the sea.  ? un saludo,

Hi
Definetly Valencia best would be Barcelona any how you wil need a lot of sun cream
Good look
Dan