Caroline and her family, clients of Homerun Brokers, are part of the growing trend of people moving to this premium location to embrace active living to the full.
“It feels like the days are a lot longer in Spain and the weather gives you energy to do more,” says Caroline, a 36-year-old mum who is originally from Sweden. She moved to Marbella three years ago with her husband and young family. For her the quality of life is “incomparable”.
“We were a little tired of living in a cold, cloudy place. Seeing some of our friends going to live in Marbella, we decided to give it a go. We initially rented to decide the area we wanted to be in and have now bought a family villa with plenty of outside space in a beautiful landscape,” Caroline explains.
Sunshine all the way
The fact that Marbella and the Costa del Sol have over 300 days of sunshine a year is well known. In addition to this, the average year-round temperatures is 20 degrees and the city is set between majestic green mountains and the shimmering Mediterranean sea. With this comes great infrastructure, modern facilities and luxurious surroundings – all necessary ingredients for the perfect lifestyle.
It is not uncommon to say that this area is the California of Europe – yet on a much gentler and liveable scale. Here the age-old traditions of Spanish culture welcome you with open arms and create an immediate sense of belonging.
“We love the way Spain does things; it is about being outside, being on terraces, and that just felt really refreshing to us,” she adds.
“In Sweden, I was a stay-at-home mum and, with darker days, we were spending too much time indoors with the children. Now they can do activities outdoors, be in the sun and go to the beach after school.”
Life on the beach
Marbella has a huge variety of beaches to choose from right on your doorstep. Depending on your mood, you can go for a revitalising run along the stylish ‘paseo’ , we recommend doing this on The Golden Mile, which stretches from Puerto Banus to Marbella city center. For a more relaxed day, we suggest a beach day with the sand between your toes on the beach of Elviria.
Much of the beachfront is lined with adorable footpaths, part of a well-advanced plan to create a sustainable walk of 200km along the shoreline of the entire Costa del Sol.
Marbella’s beautiful surroundings
The Sierra Blanca mountain are visible from almost everywhere in Marbella. In winter, they bring the feeling of verdant nature and create a micro-climate with nice temperatures.
There is an infinite range of easy to difficult hiking routes to enjoy, along with river walks and rock pools for the kids, stunning coastal viewpoints, wildlife enclaves and, above all, peace. The Sierra Blanca rolls into the neighbouring Sierra de las Nieves range, Spain’s newest designated national park.
Space, space and more space
According to a recent survey, 80% of international buyers are looking for more space. Many of Marbella’s finest and most attractive new developments, such as El Madroñal, where Caroline and her family bought, La Heredia or Monte Halcones, are surrounded by nature. These provide low-density living away from the more compact frontline beach.
Marbella’s real estate architects and designers currently focus on broad terraces, balconies and gardens. With more people working from home and realising the benefit of harmony in their personal space, property experts are seeing a trend for bringing nature indoors with rooms that merge into the outside, indoor-outdoor living. Home-gyms have become an increasingly valued aspect in homes here and are an appreciated addition to all homes.
Marbella – the ultimate place for health and wellness
Marbella is the perfect place for anyone looking to lead a healthy and wholesome life. There are several state-of the-art sports facilities where you can do many types of workouts and make new friends.
A gym that succeeds with the indoor-outdoor feel is the I/O in San Pedro. Another popular option is Real Club Padel Marbella which has 10,000m2 of outdoor space with modern equipment. Puente Romano Health and Fitness offers a luxurious experience with even jungle gym fitness area surrounded by subtropical plants.