Gecko Towers
I’ve met some fascinating people in the Marbella region. Their back stories are varied, enterprising and, invariably, engaging in equal measure. They range from European expats who have lived a life in, say, the Middle or Far East and are seeking a less frenetic rhythm to their later years; to disquieted Americans simply questioning the probity of gun horror, pursuing a passion for culture, enjoying affordable healthcare and/or avoiding the prospect of further years under an Orange President before his luck or skilled manipulation are exhausted; and Scandinavian entrepreneurs who have thrived in their local startup ecosystems to launch, support and sell tech businesses worth billions but have, with their family, ultimately realized that quality of life is really the only essential that you need to get right. To see Marbella as a kind of sanctuary is something I wouldn’t have said a few years ago but it’s fast becoming something of that reality.
To be completely honest, I may not have met these fellow settlors in any other walk of life than my work in the Marbella region and my life would have been the poorer for that. They certainly enrich and add their own incalculable value to this region which to some great extent comprises legions of immigrants who over the centuries have left from one place to arrive at another. Partly, this is stimulated by a genuine search for “Old Europe” – see a previous post Real Spain
The importance to me is not who you were in your most recent iteration, what you do/did, but in coming to Marbella what will you become, fueled by the confidence that you are living in a stunningly beautiful corner of this fine globe, will the Marbella lifestyle suit you?The overriding importance is to have the courage to challenge any limiting belief and put one foot in front of another in your personal journey to a significantly better quality of life. I am not overselling it really is what most people lay testimony to.
For the tourist, Malaga has over the last sixty or so years provided a bolt hole escape for an enjoyable “bucket and spade” holiday. The essence of the tourist draw of this region was recently celebrated by the Condé Nast Traveler imprint when it awarded to Malaga the acclaim of being 2023’s “Best Tourist Destination in Spain”. Particularly, Malaga was highlighted for “Its ideal size, almost 3000 hours of annual sunshine and its excellent connections with the rest of Spain and Europe.” Personally, my pitch has always been that the Costa del Sol, which names Malaga as its provincial capital, is the best to live in Europe Is the Costa del Sol the Best Place to Live in Europe?.
In more recent years many, for a host of different reasons, have come from far and wide seeking to make Marbella their home. If they haven’t arrived with great wealth, they have worked hard and sought to make a different life for themselves and their family often from seeing a gap in the market and filing it. I need to share with you a little local intelligence.
Nessling between the shoulders of Marbella on one side and San Pedro de Alcantara on the other, is an area of small industrial units behind the super swanky, Nueva Andalucia, called “Nueva Capana”. There you will find alongside amazing some locally-owned businesses, like Talleres Madrid – https://www.talleresmadrid.com – Jesus from Huelva’s team of Porsche and Ferrari fixers – plus many and varied businesses run by recent arrivals from different countries. Including, the Swedish owned “Marbella Rent A Bike” https://www.marbellarentabike.com/contact/ – that almost single handedly keeps the Marbella IronMan event on two wheels – and the incomparable “Leo’s ” https://interleo.com// an Asian-owned huge grocers selling all manner sauces, pulses, veggie and vegan staples.
Others new arrivals have worked hard in their home country, establishing a business or climbing a corporate ladder, that for one reason or another, the Man decides they’d like to add the business to others they already own and our hero gets paid handsomely for the years of grit and determination employed to make a commercial success. Armed with an anecdotal “bag of cash” their dream has always been to be based in Marbella. A trusted estate agent has assisted them in their search for the right house and they have arrived, their children have found places in the right school – of which there are a number – and time has been regained to catch up properly their partner and in short order they have fundamentally changed the trajectory of their lives.
Shall we play tennis, golf, collect classic cars, learn to horse ride, buy a boat, yes, a sailing boat that would be lovely. After a handful of months the previous discipline of work and associated stress is missed and they will then start to look around for a new commercial opportunity to satiate those yet spent work place ambitions. At this point they may be able to provide mentor services to a young tech business, for example, who may be growing. They may be able to act in a small way as an angel investors seeing the prospect presented by an exciting idea motivated by enterprising and innovative youngsters who have a depth of faith in their product that is simply compelling. In this way the journey that you thought you’d embarked upon changes and with the twists and turns of life your natural entrepreneurial zeal is captivated and refocussed on the new. And that’s how is should be.
I buy into the conventional thinking that immigrants import and blend both their culture and that of the new host nation. Where would we be without the culinary diversity of those who have arrived like us in the last twenty years or so. The richness of their traditional culture is not diluted by where they find themselves based nor is the host culture neutralized or trumped by the depth of theirs. There is a shift, a blending and a progression that permits both to thrive while the hybrid is being tried on. The simple example of this is the Christmas holidays. In as little of twenty years – my memory here – Christmas has gone from an austere festival celebrated in the third week of December with a few lights and festive food, largely fish, to a more robust blend of the Anglo-German-Swedish version with trees, parcels and Santa. Much to the confusion of the older generation this is a true barometer of integration.
Business in the summertime, particularly late July into August is the time when the Sun and Mother Nature, in combination, mount impressive defense against you working. Early morning is a good time to get a lot done as by early mid-afternoon you will be with crawling into bed to Siesta against the creeping heat of the day or seeking water to slide into to quell the same. Much has been written about maintaining a sensible work-life balance when faced with 35 degrees Celsius plus heat, and I don’t like air conditioning so the the very best thing to do is to admit defeat and chill.
You can be pretty much what you want to be in Marbella. While this sounds like some kind of hedonistic charter, in some ways it may be, as the life of a Lotus Eater will appeal to some, but not all. There is a sense of liberation in an environment that thrives off ceasing to judge people by who they are, where they are from and who they know. The melting pot is quite invigorating and undoubtedly challenging. There are, of course, some Jones’ with whom it is virtually impossible to compete. They want for nothing, have everything and look to no one to add anything. Very much on the surface, which is always a challenge to get beneath but several experiences of this clan have proved to be very rewarding to get past the outer layer. Other are just “doing the right thing” for themselves and their family and putting one well-rehearsed foot in front of another.
Others, who try to understand and appreciate the lifestyle, the environment and the opportunities seem to confront insurmountable difficulties in leading what may be seen as a normal life and call it a day. One thing is reasonably certain in any expat community there is a turnover of people and friendships can, sadly, be transitory. For me, I maintain respect for those that try. If the prize is sufficiently large and the prospect engaging, why wouldn’t you pull on your superhero underpants and explore the possibility for yourself. One thing I can assure you, there are many who can help by sharing their experience of the good and bad to enable you to get a clear vision of whether this might be something for you. Enjoy your journey!
Should you be interested in discussing the legal process involved in buying a property in the Marbella region, we would be delighted to assist you. Our multi-disciplinary team of bi-lingual, highly experienced and wholly independent Abogados (Spanish Lawyers) and Asesores Fiscales (Tax Accountants) are ready to help you.
We are not estate agents but we do know some excellent and reputable ones, if needed.
Please call me, Mark FR Wilkins, during usual business hours on +34 600 343 917 or, if you prefer, or e-mail me at mark@roslegal.es
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