Olvera to Archidona: why this Expat moved

Olvera to Archidona: why this Expat moved

We interviewed Karen a few years ago when she lived in Olvera. She’s recently moved to the town of Archidona (near Antequera). In this interview she tells us why she moved and details everything you need to know about Archidona.

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Hi Karen! You and your husband Andrew have been in Spain now for quite a while and have lived in a few different places. So why this move to Archidona?

Yes, we’ve lived in Spain for 18 years.  We spent 11 years in an apartment in Duquesa (between Estepona and Sotogrande) as we both worked in Gibraltar.  Then when we finished work we moved inland to a pueblo blanco called Olvera in Cadiz province. We’d previously bought a house there which we used ourselves for weekends and rented out until our retirement.  We lived in Olvera for 7 years and liked the town but we found it a bit too remote.  A couple of years ago we decided we needed to move somewhere with a good bus service and near to a hospital as I don’t drive – if I was left on my own in the future I would find it very difficult. We wanted a similar sized town to Olvera (a population of around 8,000) surrounded by nice countryside with lots of walks and with a hospital not far away.  After a lot of research we decided that Archidona in Malaga province would be ideal for us as it is the right size and there’s a hospital 20 minutes away in Antequera.  In May of last year I came for the weekend and stayed at the fabulous boutique B&B in Archidona called “Almohalla 51” run by a lovely British couple, Jo and Ken.

I spent a wonderful couple of days exploring the town and definitely felt at home.  I reported back to my husband Andrew who had stayed at home to look after our cats and dog and we started to look for a suitable house. The house prices are more expensive than Olvera (probably because Archidona is only 45 minutes from Malaga and the coast) and we weren’t sure we would find anything we liked that we could afford.  We looked at a few houses but we either didn’t like the layout or it was too small or there was no parking outside the house (we even looked at one house on a street with steps and no car access at all). We were getting a little dispirited and began to think we wouldn’t find anything we liked within budget. Eventually we were lucky to find a house with the layout we were looking for on our favourite street,  plus with the added bonus of a garage and amazing views over the town and countryside.  We completed a year ago and then spent four months having the house renovated. Built in 1985,  it was very dated and needed a lot of work although nothing structural. We had all the floors re-tiled, one bathroom totally renovated and a second bathroom created out of what was a spare bedroom, installed a new kitchen, had the house totally re-wired and increased the potencia, installed air con and decorated throughout.   We moved in at the end of April and although there were still jobs to finish off, it was mostly all done. The cost of the renovations took us way over our budget but we’re pleased with the final result.  We used an excellent lawyer in Antequera for the purchase, Francisco Molina, who was really helpful and he speaks fluent English.

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How have you found Archidona to be? Are you happy to have made the move?

We absolutely love it here and we’re definitely happy we made the move.   We have all the amenities you would expect in a town with a population of around 9,000 – a huge industrial estate, three dentists, two vets, four pharmacies, two big supermarkets, chiropodist, chiropractor etc.  Plus there are some fabulous walks in the area including the Arroyo Hoz de Marin just outside the town. This is a forested valley of around 600 hectares and has been declared an area of outstanding natural beauty. Archidona has lots of interesting buildings in its historic centre such as the iconic eight sided Plaza Ochavada, a museum, the Minimas convent where you can buy cakes made by the nuns, several beautiful churches and a sanctuary on top of the hill overlooking the town.  There’s a swimming pool which is covered and heated in the winter and they offer aqua aerobics classes in the summer. There are also pilates classes (and other sports of course) at the sports centre and various other courses and workshops.  For example, we had only been here a few days when one of our Spanish neighbours invited me to a free talk on the benefits of meditation arranged by the town hall (totally in Spanish of course so I had to concentrate hard!)  They are always organising different courses particularly focussing on health and mental well-being such as ideas for healthy eating, exercises for the elderly population and craft workshops.   There are also free Spanish lessons for the foreign residents of the town.  We’re fortunate to have fabulous neighbours – one lady brought us some eggs from her own chickens at her house in the campo and a couple of weeks ago she brought round some magdalenas (small sponge cakes) fresh from the oven.  Another neighbour brought us some vegetables from her allotment – they are so kind.  

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How would you compare Olvera and Archidona? What are the differences (if any) between the two?

There are some similarities, both are attractive Moorish towns with steep hills, narrow streets (parking is difficult in both towns!) and friendly locals.  The medical facilities we have found to be much better here than Olvera.   The nearest hospital to Olvera is Ronda which is around a 50 minute drive, with very few buses. We have found the hospital in Antequera to be much more efficient than Ronda, we haven’t had to wait as long to see a consultant and we have nearly always been called into our appointments on time. We have also visited the health centre here in Archidona quite a few times during the 7 months we’ve lived here and it is excellent, we’ve been very impressed!  Another difference is that we found Olvera to be very dry in the summer, sometimes the humidity would be as low as 15% which really affected my eyes.  During the summer here in Archidona we found it to be much more bearable.   

You told me you were quite active in Olvera. Has coming to Archidona been an adjustment in that sense? Have you established a new routine? What do you do to keep busy?

We’re enjoying exploring the beautiful countryside with our dog Rosa and doing lots of sightseeing. There are so many interesting towns and villages to visit within an hour’s drive such as Antequera, Priego de Cordoba, Iznajar, Cabra, Zuheros, Lucena, Alhama de Granada as well as the towns on the coast.  We also enjoy meeting up with friends for a coffee or lunch and last night I  went to a quiz night to raise funds for a local dog rescue centre which was great fun. We’re also volunteer dog walkers for the centre and that’s rewarding (plus we get to have a chat with the other volunteers over coffee and churros afterwards!)  The town hall in Archidona is very proactive and keen to promote tourism in the area.  There’s always something happening here – ferias, religious parades, music festivals, classic car and motorbike rallies, horse festivals and a dog fair which attracts visitors and competitors from all over Spain. In addition,  Archidona is well known for it’s incredible Easter processions.   

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The Expat community. How does it compare between the two towns? Have you found an expat community in Archidona?

I think the percentage of expats is probably similar in both towns, around 7%. Both are very Spanish towns and it’s important to at least learn the basics of Spanish.  We’ve found that more people here speak some English,  such as the staff in the pharmacies and the Bank which we were quite surprised about when we first moved.  We’ve made lots of friends here, most of whom I made facebook friends with before moving!  Some of our friends live in Archidona but others are in other villages in the area.  We have a local facebook group called Archidona Help and Info and we have a meet up once a month for coffee. This is a great way to meet new people and the meetings are usually well attended, we had around twenty people turn up last time, some from Archidona and others from surrounding villages – everyone is welcome!  Everyone is super friendly and have given us a warm welcome, both expats and locals alike.   

What’s public transport like in Archidona? I know it was one of your issues in Olvera…but is it any better in Archidona for your needs?

We haven’t used the bus service here yet but I’ve checked and there are five buses a day to and from Archidona/Antequera and three buses a day to and from Archidona/ Malaga.  Also, there are two train stations in Antequera so the transport links are very good. 

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Do you have any words of advice for anyone considering Archidona as a possible place to base themselves?

I’d say if you’re looking for a friendly, historic town with all the amenities you could possibly want together with stunning countryside on your doorstep and not too far from the coast – then it’s for you!!

So do you see yourself being in Archidona a while Karen? Do you think it could be your ¨forever¨ place in Spain?

Yes, definitely – we’re not going anywhere!!

Thank you for doing this interview Karen!

Related: Living in Antequera (compared to Nerja)