Costa Blanca

Most British people who move to Spain end up on the Costa Blanca, and the numbers show it: Alicante province had 68,904 UK nationals on the padrón at 1 January 2025. Flights from Gatwick to Alicante–Elche take about two and a half hours, and English-speaking dentists, accountants, builders and estate agents are easy to find. If you want the move to feel manageable from day one, this is the safest bet.

It is really two coasts. North of Alicante (Jávea, Dénia, Moraira, Altea, Calp) is greener, hillier and dearer, with coves, the Montgó massif and a Valencian-speaking town life under the international one. Jávea alone counted 4,954 British nationals in padrón data published in 2023, about 17% of its residents. South of Alicante, Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa are flatter, drier and cheaper, built around urbanisations where the British are the largest nationality on the coast. Benidorm sits between the two and is busy all year.

The trade-offs: asking rents across the province were about €12.7/m² in September 2026 (idealista), roughly €890 a month for a 70 m² flat, which is well above Murcia. In the south a car is close to essential. The TRAM d'Alacant runs north from Alicante to Benidorm, Altea, Calp and Dénia, but nothing comparable serves the southern urbanisations. And because English gets you so far, it is easy to live here for years without learning Spanish. Some people want exactly that; others find it isolating once they need the town hall or a specialist doctor.

It suits retirees, families who want an established British community, and anyone who flies back to the UK often. Costa Bridge does not have local coverage on the Costa Blanca, but we can help you prepare remotely: route planning, documents, NIE and visa guidance, and an honest town shortlist.