Does Anyone know what Almeria in Spain is like?

Question

Is it fairly quiet and would it be suitable for my 11 year old daughter. The two of us have had a very stressful couple of years, so we need somewhere, where we can totally chill out, but also enjoy some warm sunshine and local cuisine. Would Almeria do the job?

Answer 1

I know the place very well as I lived there for several years, it has good things and very bad things, Good things: THE FOOD as any other place in Spain the food is awesome, the best I have tried ever; the weather could be a good thing or a bad thing, in summer you can get up to 42 celcius, winter the lowest could be 8 celcius; the beaches are nice and they have plenty. Bad things: People is not very open mind to immigrants, they simply don't like people from outside, if you are Black don't even think about go there, if you are southamerican you will have problems for sure, if you are muslim PLEASE DON'T GO THERE, sometimes they get tough with british and german people as well, they are a little racist and you can see several nazi swasticas on the walls of the downtown so...; since is a small town in the south it is not precisely hip, there's no much to do, the cinema is in spanish and it sucks because spanish translations aren't very reliable, but if you are looking for a small quite town it could work. I left because I couldn't handle their issues with immigrants and I was bored to tears. Do some research first.

Answer 2

http://www.viva-almeria.com

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/forum-276140-1-Travel-Almeria--forum.html

http://www.realholidayreports.com/forums/default.asp

Have a look at the forums in these links. You are much more likely to get an unbiased view from people who have actually holidayed there. The only negative thing that I can say about the area is that Roquetas del Mar had a particularly high crime rate and I don't know if it has been resolved.
For a holiday where you can totally chill I would suggest east of Malaga. Rincon de la Victoria or around that area, lovely beaches and not too many holiday makers. Malaga is a 15 min bus ride away and from there you could visit many of the attractions in Benalmadena such as the marina, Sea life world, Tivoli theme park, Crocodile Park. Water park. I am only mentioning attractions such as these because I think an 11 yr old would get bored by just chilling and maybe a nice day out for her would be something special to look back on
Wherever you decide to stay in Spain I'm sure you will both have a great time.
Anna

Answer 3

Viva Almeria Forum

Answer 4

I here it is cultural. I have a spanish minor. It's best to visit the area before you move there. This way you are assured that you are moving to the right place. Here is some information about Almeria. The first webpage is about Almeria. The second webpage is about moving to Almeria.

http://www.andalucia.com/cities/almeria.htm
http://www.expatexchange.com/expat/index.cfm?frmid=296&dbname=ee&shared=N&forumid=0&tpcid=3324262

I hope this helps you.

Answer 5

This is good

Answer 6

Thinking Of Moving To Almeria and looking for work
Are you thinking of Moving to Almeria and looking for work, or are you already living here? well for the last 10 years now I have been living and working here in Almeria and now have a Spanish wife so can give you some great tips to save you time and money. Also I am now working from home and making enough money to travel the world doing just what I love.
About 10 years ago I moved here from my home town of Brighton in the UK where i worked as a carpenter for a large building business on outdoor sites mostly in all weathers mostly rain, then one day I just had enough and decided to move to sunny Spain.
The first week here i found work as a carpenter and builder, all was great for the first few year, then i wanted more so started to build my own business with a few guys working for me as builders working mostly for the expat community here . Work was good then and I had plenty of work and money and I lived very well here for a few years, I bought a small house at first and then a new 4 bed house with a garage and workshop attached.
Thinking Of Moving To Almeria and looking for work When the crisis hit here about 6 years back the work started to dry up fast and I soon found that I had no work and still had a big mortgage to pay.
I had always liked to travel when I lived in the UK but now living here in Spain there was never enough money or time for travel outside of Spain, only a few trips back to see family and friends about 5 days a year.
When I first came here there was plenty of work here for everyone and things were great and as I worked for a small English firm and most of our clients were English there was no real need to learn Spanish .
Thinking Of Moving To Almeria and looking for work So when the crisis hit here and I had to start looking for other types of work I found it almost impossible as my Spanish was so poor. That made me start taking lessons every day for about a month and then every week for another month. soon I started to Speak better Spanish and mix more with the locals not just the English.
There is always a group of English expats in most towns of Spain and although they are mostly retired people or working families, they tend to stay very close together and go to the same bars and hang outs all the time with only a few of them speaking any real Spanish.
At first when you move to Spain you should join in with these groups as they know all the best tips about the area that you are in but after a short time you become fixed in a routine and never really mix with the locals.
Thinking Of Moving To Almeria and looking for work
So what do I do to earn a full time living here now??? Read part 2
Thinking Of Moving To Almeria and looking for work
If you are sure that you want to come and live in Spain then the most important thing of all is learn some Spanish BEFORE you come or at least take lessons when you are here. there is no way that you will be able to compete with the Spanish for a job if you can't speak Spanish.
Do a search of the area before you move there and read as much as possible from what others are saying about the area. Remember that it may be great there in the summer but what is it like in winter as many smaller towns tend to shut down for winter and are very quiet, this will make finding work there even harder.
Thinking Of Moving To Almeria and looking for work One day I saw an ad for a Spanish walking club here in Almeria so I joined and every Saturday about 20 people met up and set off for walks in the hills that lasted about 4 hours and ended with a bit to eat in a local bar. This was really just to practice the basic Spanish that i had learnt. Although there was 1 or 2 people in the walking group that did speak a little English, 99% of them only spoke Spanish and after a few weeks they really make me feel welcome as they could see that I was trying to join in and i made a big effort so they helped me as much as possible and I still have many of them as good friends.
You really have to push yourself to mix with the locals as much as possible and it is so easy to just stay with the expat crowd and go where they go every week but you will never learn spanish with them or really see the real side of Spain as most of them like to stay in small groups doing the same thing and going to the same bars every week, this is ok if you are just here for the sun but for me I really wanted to make this my home long term.
Moving To Almeria and looking for work
One of the girls in the walking group dragged me along to a salsa dancing club one night and after a few beers, i did have a go and to my surprise i loved it.
The weeks went by and my dancing got a little better and one day I met the girl of my dreams, a Spanish girl that spoke no English so at first it was fun as my Spanish was still basic and her English was zero.
At this time I was working as a self employed carpenter but work was very slow so this is when I started to look online for a better way of life by finding a way to work online here in Spain.
Moving To Almeria and looking for work
I started an online course in building websites as i thought this may be they way to go but although after many months i did start making some money online by selling other peoples products on my sites, it was not really giving me enough money to go full time.
Then one day as i was searching on google i found a video of a blogging system that lets people learn a few new skills and write about anything they like and earn commissions for doing it. not just a commission but 100% commissions so the income came in bigger amounts.
After Moving To Almeria and looking for work and trying many ways to earn money online i now only use this system and am now full time working from home online here in Almeria but not only that but this last August we got married and had a 6 week long honey moon in Mexico and 2 trips to the uk pluss i have just got back from a week in Miami too.
If you are thinking of moving to Almeria and looking for work then this is a great way to earn real online income working from home plus it is all in English so Spanish is not a problem.
You should still learn Spanish if you are thinking of coming here and start before you come if possible as it will help you see and enjoy Spain in a way you would never find if you don't speak Spanish.
Have a look at just how I am making money online working from home here in Spain.
see the FREE Video below...

http://workfromhomejobsinspain.com/