When it comes to moving to Spain for permanent residence, the first cities that usually come to mind are the large and most famous ones – Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. If the choice is in favor of a warm sea, people often think of Alicante. However, on the Costa Blanca, where Alicante is located, as well as on the neighboring Costa Cálida coast, there are several more cities that are ideal for expats. These cities have excellent infrastructure and are located not far from international airports. We have prepared an overview of 7 underrated Spanish cities for expats in 2026 – the choice is yours!
Águilas (Murcia)
Águilas – a resort town on the Costa Cálida coast. Against the backdrop of the overloaded and highly urbanized areas of the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, Águilas looks like a calm, almost tropical corner, especially in the Cuatro Calas area and on La Carolina beach. There are fewer tourists here, more nature and landscapes that look as if they came straight from postcards. Journalists often use the phrase “el Caribe español en Murcia” – “the Spanish Caribbean in Murcia” – to describe Águilas.
Águilas is located on the shore of the Mazarrón Bay, 105 km from Murcia. The municipality’s 28 km of coastline is a series of picturesque cliffs, cozy coves and beautiful sandy beaches. European retirees discovered this wonderful corner many years ago and are happy to buy homes in local urbanizations and residential complexes. Águilas will appeal to those who are looking for comfort and tranquility, love sports and spending a lot of time outdoors. The town has a long promenade where you can enjoy long walks along the sea, a wide choice of beaches and a marina. In the surrounding area there are two protected natural zones: the Cabo Cope y Puntas de Calnegre Regional Park (Parque Regional de Cabo Cope-Calnegre) and the Cuatro Calas Natural Area (Paisaje Natural de Cuatro Calas), both with interesting hiking and cycling routes.
More than 37,000 people live in Águilas. Some sources call it a village, others – a town. It is commonly believed that a village is an oasis of peace, traditions and closeness to nature, while a town, on the contrary, is usually associated with noise, infrastructure, services and entertainment. Águilas is a unique place that combines excellent urban infrastructure with natural attractions, but without noise and exhausting traffic.
Property prices in Águilas are much lower than the national average. If in October 2025 the price per square meter in Spain as a whole was 2.555 €, in Águilas it was 1.671 €. However, the town can hardly be called underrated anymore: over the year the price increased by 26.4%, and there is every reason to believe that this growth will continue.
Orihuela Costa (Alicante)
Orihuela Costa is a coastal district stretching right along the shore between Torrevieja and Pilar de la Horadada. Administratively it belongs to the city of Orihuela, located about 25 km inland, but it has its own town hall and police station. Orihuela Costa can be described as a holiday-home or vacation area, almost entirely built up with urbanizations, residential complexes and villas. Initially, it was conceived as a place for holidays and summer residences, but today a significant part of the population lives here all year round.
Orihuela Costa is an international district. There are Scandinavian supermarkets, English pubs, German restaurants where the staff does not always speak Spanish. Spaniards in this part of the Costa Blanca are probably in the minority. But this also has its advantages: the local infrastructure strives to meet absolutely all needs, so the density of shops, bars and restaurants per square kilometer is impressive, and almost everywhere people speak English. Orihuela Costa is home to the most popular shopping and entertainment center in the southern Costa Blanca – CC Zenia Boulevard. There is convenient access to the AP-7 motorway towards Alicante or Cartagena, as well as bus connections to Torrevieja. In addition, there are several golf clubs and the El Limonar International School Villamartín on the border with the neighboring municipality of San Miguel de Salinas.
The coastline here is a succession of rocky sections, small coves and wide sandy beaches, which are less crowded even in high season than the beaches of neighboring Torrevieja. The climate and weather are so favorable that you can sunbathe almost all year round, and the swimming season starts in May and lasts until the end of October.
Property in Orihuela Costa costs an average of 2.928 €/m2 (+8.6% per year), but inner micro-districts differ significantly in price: the cheapest is Los Altos (2.466 €/m2), and the most expensive is Lomas de Campoamor–Las Ramblas (3.829 €/m2). There is a wide choice of properties both on the resale market and from developers, as construction is very active.
Find property in Orihuela Costa
Elche (Alicante)
The city of Elche (Spanish/Valencian – Elche/Elx) is the second-largest city in the province of Alicante and the third-largest in the Valencian Community. It is lively, green and has excellent transport links. An international airport is located 17 km away, and there are bus and train connections with Alicante. Elche itself is not on the coast; the distance to the sea and the nearest beach is about 15 km. This does not prevent it from being considered a resort city, since the coastal district of Los Arenales del Sol, which administratively belongs to Elche, is located right on the shore.
Many famous Spanish footwear brands have their factories in Elche, which is why the city has long been known as the shoe capital of the country. There are entire shopping streets with clothing and shoe stores, shopping centers including the well-known Spanish department store El Corte Inglés, and just a few minutes’ drive away, in the neighboring municipality of San Vicente del Raspeig, is the large outlet The Outlet Stores Alicante.
The main attraction of the city is El Palmeral – a large palm grove included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is located in the north-eastern part of the city and has about 300,000 palm trees. It is believed to have originated as far back as the 10th century, during the period of Muslim rule. This is a favorite place for locals to walk and play sports in the open air. In the city itself and its surroundings there are other gardens and parks, as well as many architectural and historical sights, among which the Basilica of Santa María stands out in particular – the main cathedral of the city and the venue of the famous Misteri d’Elx mystery play, included in UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
Elche is perfect for permanent living, as it has schools, the Miguel Hernández University, municipal and private sports centers, two public hospitals and several specialized private clinics.
As for property, Elche is divided into several districts, each of which differs in building type, age of the housing stock and prices. Taking the average for the city, resale housing in October 2025 cost 1.600 €/m2, with an annual price growth of 14.8%. It is also easier here to find an apartment or house for long-term rent than in Alicante or Valencia.
Torre Pacheco (Murcia)
Torre Pacheco is a municipality located in the north-east of the Region of Murcia, 37 km from the regional capital, with a population of about 40,000 people. It was here that a construction boom took place in the early 2000s – with its own specific features. The distance from the sea affects the cost of land plots: there is no need to save space, and developers can fully “spread out” and build spacious, modern urbanizations with golf courses, their own spa resorts and a wide choice of housing – from apartments to villas. This is exactly what the major development company Polaris World did. The focus was on affluent Europeans buying property in Spain as their summer or permanent residences, and these expectations were fully met. The distance from the sea was compensated by space, well-thought-out layouts and the availability of all necessary services right inside the urbanizations.
Construction gave a powerful boost to the development of the municipality itself. The main economic driver of Torre Pacheco is tourism, and in terms of income it ranks tenth in the Region of Murcia. Torre Pacheco has regular bus connections with Murcia, Cartagena, Alicante, Madrid and other large cities, as well as with nearby smaller towns and villages. The Balsicas–Mar Menor railway line passes through Torre Pacheco.
You could say that life in Torre Pacheco is life in the Spanish “countryside”, but very, very comfortable. The largest urbanizations are like miniature cities, where you can find everything: from sports grounds to gyms, from restaurants to hotels. Excellent sandy beaches are located about 10–12 km away in Los Alcázares (Mar Menor). The nearest natural park is El Valle y Carrascoy Regional Park, located to the north-west.
Property in Torre Pacheco is in demand and constantly increasing in price. In October 2025, one square meter cost 2.477 €, and the annual price growth reached 45.9% – an incredible leap that pushed prices to new historical highs.
Find property in Torre Pacheco
San Javier (Murcia)
San Javier is a small resort town in the Region of Murcia, situated on the shore of the Mar Menor lagoon. The population is about 36,000 people, and approximately a quarter of them are foreigners. Administratively, part of the La Manga del Mar Menor spit also belongs to San Javier, but here we are talking about the main urban core. San Javier, like most resorts in the Region of Murcia, offers kilometers of clean, well-kept sandy beaches and seafront promenades. There is no noise or heavy traffic here, and at the same time the infrastructure is well developed: regular bus services connect the town with neighboring municipalities, and a railway station is located 10 km from the center, from where you can quickly get by train to the regional capital, Murcia.
But the main advantage of San Javier is its location at the crossroads between Alicante, Murcia and Cartagena, on the shore of the Mar Menor lagoon, where there are never strong waves and the water warms up already at the beginning of summer. If you want to swim in the Mediterranean Sea, you can go to the neighboring municipality of Pilar de la Horadada or to La Manga.
San Javier is famous for its two annual festivals: the air show Festival Aéreo and the International Jazz Festival, which attract tens of thousands of visitors. Thanks to good infrastructure, both the many tourists and the locals feel comfortable in the town at this time. For permanent living, San Javier has everything you need: schools for children, medical centers, supermarkets and shopping centers. Just a few minutes’ drive away is Orihuela Costa, with its huge selection of restaurants and the Zenia Boulevard shopping and leisure center.
Property in San Javier is sold at relatively affordable prices. A square meter of resale housing costs 2.066 €, and over the year the price has increased by 13.5%.
Finestrat (Alicante)
Finestrat is a small municipality located next to the famous Benidorm. Today, along with Altea Hills, Moraira and Teulada, it is one of the centers of luxury real estate on the Costa Blanca. The town itself and its historic center are a vivid example of authentic inland Spain. But the entire area around the town is a zone of upmarket development. Mostly low-rise residential complexes and individual villas are being built here. The most prestigious urbanization in Finestrat is Sierra Cortina in the Golf Bahía area.
The municipality has access to the sea and its own beaches to the south of Benidorm – La Cala de Finestrat. In just a few minutes, you can also reach the magnificent beaches of Benidorm and the nearby theme parks.
Finestrat is very popular with foreign buyers. According to statistics, more than half of the municipality’s residents are foreigners. The native population is concentrated mainly in the historic center, while expats, who place high demands on infrastructure and housing quality, choose modern residential complexes. These are distinguished not only by well-thought-out layouts, high construction and finishing quality, but also by energy efficiency.
Finestrat is located in a very beautiful setting: to the west rises the Puig Campana mountain, and to the east opens the Mediterranean Sea, against the backdrop of which Benidorm’s skyscrapers stand out dramatically. Therefore, Finestrat is famous for its views: regardless of the orientation of the buildings, the windows look either onto the slopes of hills and mountains, or onto the coastline. It is chosen both for holidays and for permanent residence. The main difference from Benidorm is lots of greenery, comfort, tranquility and safety.
Property in Finestrat is significantly more expensive than in other municipalities of the province. The average price per square meter is 3.333 €, with annual growth of 10.2%. Surprisingly, the cheapest area is the one closer to the sea – Cala de Finestrat – where a square meter costs 2.937 €. The most expensive housing is in Bahía Golf – 3.701 € per square meter.
Rojales (Alicante)
Rojales is a small municipality with a compact historic center, located not far from Torrevieja in the southern part of the Costa Blanca. As in the case of Torre Pacheco and Finestrat, the town itself retains the unique atmosphere of old Spain and the unhurried pace of inland life, while the entire periphery is being built up with modern residential complexes. The huge urbanization Ciudad Quesada, which is already large enough to be considered a town in its own right, is administratively subordinate to Rojales. It is Ciudad Quesada that shapes the municipality’s statistics, according to which the overwhelming majority of residents are foreigners (more than 70% of the 17,000 inhabitants).
Thus, on the one hand, Rojales is an island of typical, authentic Spain, and on the other, a center of comfortable life for thousands of expats, with modern infrastructure including schools, a health center, sports facilities and even a golf club.
Rojales boasts a very convenient location: close to Torrevieja and Guardamar del Segura and their beaches, as well as the Las Salinas de La Mata y Torrevieja Natural Park, with its two lakes, one of which – the pink lake – is the main local attraction and salt extraction site, while the other is home to hundreds of flamingos. If you wish, you can organize an interesting leisure time: hiking and cycling in the surroundings of Rojales, trips to neighboring towns including the historic cities of Elche and Orihuela, relaxing on the beach, shopping in the shopping centers of Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa.
The property market looks as follows: a square meter of resale housing costs 2.280 €. Interestingly, statistics show that prices have not grown over the year and are still at the level of autumn 2024.
