Living in Nueva Andalucía: inside Marbella’s golf valley
Nueva Andalucía sits in a valley of low-rise urbanisations between golf courses, five minutes by car from Puerto Banús. People who buy here tend to stay for years. Here is what living in Nueva Andalucía actually looks like.
Who lives here
A lot of settled families, and a large number of long-term foreign residents, mostly from northern Europe. There are also people who work in Marbella or Banús and would rather sleep away from the noise.
That mix explains the feel of the place. It is not a seasonal address; it is lived in all year.
What it is like to walk around
Wide streets, a lot of greenery, low buildings. It is quiet. August is busier, but never like the coast road.
In winter it stays calm and there is still life here, which on this stretch of coast is unusual.
Shops and everyday errands
There are neighbourhood shopping centres with a supermarket, a pharmacy and banks, and larger stores a few minutes away by car, down towards the coast.
The Saturday market next to the bullring is an institution. Half of Marbella turns up.
Schools
There are international schools and state schools in the area and around Marbella and San Pedro. Most families drive their children. This is not a walk-to-school neighbourhood, and it is worth knowing that before you commit.
Green space
This is the golf valley, so there is green everywhere, although much of it is private course. For walking, you have quiet streets and the landscaped areas inside the urbanisations. The beach is a few minutes away.
Getting around, and parking
You need a car. There is no way around it. Puerto Banús is five to ten minutes downhill, central Marbella about fifteen, and the motorway is close. In summer the run down to the coast backs up at certain hours.
Parking is not an issue here: almost every house inside the urbanisations has a space. The squeeze starts when you drive down to Banús or into town.
Eating out and going out
Restaurants of every kind, and the golf clubs, which carry a lot of the social life. For a real night out you go down to the port. After a certain hour the neighbourhood goes quiet.
The best and the worst of it
The best: you get the calm of living in the countryside with Puerto Banús and the beach five minutes away by car. That combination is why almost nobody leaves.
The worst: without a car you cannot live here. And check the community fees of each urbanisation carefully, because they vary enormously from one to the next and they are not always mentioned up front. Ask before you do the maths.
