Spain is the perfect place to relocate to for those who enjoy an active retirement and love the great outdoors. Not everyone is keen on the beach life – Costa del Sol seaside resorts can be rather lively and in summer, when hundreds of thousands of tourists head for the delights of Marbella, Torremolinos, Estepona and Fuengirola, it can get very crowded.
More tranquil surroundings with amazing views and stunning scenery, wonderful flora and fauna and property prices that are still affordable can be found in the Granada province in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, less than a 2 hour drive from the coast.
Here a 3-bed, 4-bath town house with pool located in the natural reserve of the Alpujarras, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, will cost just EUR 250,000 for a resale. Apartments with 2 bedrooms and a location that offers direct views of the ski slopes can be bought for around EUR 250,000, offering excellent holiday lettings potential during the months of November to April, when the 20 highest peaks are snow covered and thousands of skiers descend on the ski resorts.
Country houses in need of refurbishment can be purchased for as little as EUR 100,000, while cortijas or traditional farm houses that have already been modernised can be found for prices between EUR 175,000 to EUR 250,000, depending on the size of house and plot.
The Sierra Nevada and the Alpujarras are ideal for hiking and climbing, bird-watching, mountaineering and paragliding in summer and snowboarding and skiing in winter. With peaks of around 3,000 to 3,500 meters, the Sierra Nevada with the historic city of Granada at its heart offers a huge number of excellent hiking trails that can be accessed by public transport from Granada. Starting points like Prado Llano and Lanjaron for example can be reached via a convenient city bus. For more remote locations and hiking trails it is better to pack a picnic and hire a car.
There are hiking trails for every conceivable level, from beginner to advanced. Even until June there will be snow peaks above 3,000 meters, making it possible to enjoy a “cooling off” day up in the mountains, while at the coast everyone is enduring sweltering heat. Various tours are available with and without guides. From Prado Llano to the Pico de Veleta at 3,394 meters is perhaps not the best hike for beginners or those no longer fit, nor is the hike from Capileira to the Laguna de la Caldera at 3,020 meters, but there are plenty of trails that are at lower altitudes which are not so taxing.
Down in the Alpujarras hiking takes place in far gentler terrain. There are the picturesque hillside villages with their white-washed houses to be explored and the rugged Cumbres Verdes terrain or the mountain lakes with their mirror surfaces and their crystal clear turquoise waters to be discovered. At the Sierra de Huetor on the northern Granada side, the Lecrin Valley is a tranquil spot where less experienced hikers can breathe deeply and enjoy the lush vegetation, blue skies and amazing wildlife without breaking into a sweat.
Living in such a beautiful, but fairly remote area is not everyone’s idea of an ideal lifestyle change. Opting for a property nearer to Granada or in the city itself may present a compromise on the “back to nature” lifestyle, but allows for regular visits to bars, cafes, restaurants, galleries, museums and various other entertainments not least of all shopping and hanging out with newly made friends.
Property in the city or close to it also allows for excellent rental yields, when one isn’t using the property, perhaps during those times when a visit to one’s home country would otherwise leave the Granada property empty for quite some time.
Buying in the ski resorts, however, means achieving the dream lifestyle of having amazing hiking trails at one’s doorstep as well as offering excellent rental potential during the winter months. In summer the mountainsides above the tree-line are filled with brightly coloured Marsh Gentians and Alpine Meadow-rue, where grazing ibexes are among the star attractions. Lucky hikers sometimes find the Snow Star, the Plantago nivalis flower, an emblem of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.