What’s it like living in Torrox?
Sandra has chosen the hills around Torrox Pueblo to be her base in Spain. Why did she choose Spain? And why Torrox? She tells us in this interview.
Name: Sandra Contreras Venegas
Country of Origin: The Netherlands (and Spain/Chile)
Number of years in Spain: 3
Website: Villa Regazo Andaluz
Hi Sandra! Could you please tell us what led you to Spain?
I am a Spanish and tourism teacher at a university in the Netherlands and my roots have a connection with Spain; my father of Spanish origin and my mother Chilean. Those were two of the reasons why we chose to buy a house in Spain. As well as the climate naturally.
In addition to that, I wanted to start a business. Since coming here I started a small business in which I combine Spanish study trips with cultural and leisure activities. We also rent a vacation home to tourists.
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How did you end up choosing Torrox? (we lived in nearby Nerja for a few years and enjoyed sometimes coming to Torrox). Were there other towns you considered before choosing Torrox?
In reality we discovered Torrox by chance, friends of ours lived near there and we were looking for a property in the countryside to buy. After seeing and visiting many towns in Axarquía, we finally found a house in Torrox and we fell in love with the place. Just to be precise: we live close to Torrox Pueblo (a few km in the interior from the coast). It is fantastic house with impressive views. The road is in perfect condition and easy to get to – all the other houses we had seen were very nice but in addition to being far away, you had to drive through very narrow roads in poor condition. This is a plus with the villa we have: it is in a privileged area, we have mountains and we can even see it from the sea. 7 minutes from the town of Torrox, with supermarkets and restaurants and 15 minutes from the beaches! Plus, we were looking for an authentic place and this is it. Something very peculiar about this place is that you can, in winter, go skiing in the Sierra Nevada in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon. Fantastic!
Editor’s note: A few years ago we visited Torrox Pueblo and thought it was a very pretty place. You always hear about Frigiliana…but Torrox Pueblo is just as pretty in my opinion with less expats and lower property values.
What do you enjoy about Torrox Pueblo Sandra? What do you do to keep busy?
I love Torrox, it is a beautiful and authentic white town surrounded by the spectacular “Sierra Almijara” mountain. Torrox Pueblo has a fascinating mix of history (it is the second oldest city on the eastern coast), culture and natural beauty, and multiple hiking routes. Close by, in Torrox Costa, are beautiful beaches, a subtropical landscape, and a mild climate known as the best climate of Europe.
As I mentioned, I work as a Spanish and tourism teacher at a university in the Netherlands, and I also have a small business; I give face-to-face classes in Holland and online to students from different countries in the world (classes are from Dutch to Spanish or from English to Spanish and also only in Spanish). I do translations as well.
I also offer travel packages where you can take one or two weeks of studying Spanish in Torrox combined with activities such as touring Malaga with a tourist guide, taking part in Spanish wine tasting with typical Spanish foods, taking yoga classes on the beach, attending regional oil tastings, visiting the Nerja caves, and hiking in the mountains.
Furthermore, my husband and I have a holiday villa in Torrox: Villa Regazo Andaluz. It is 7 minutes from Torrox Pueblo and 15 minutes from the beach. An oasis of peace surrounded by mountains, fruit trees, olive trees and artisan vineyards. Very popular for hiking along coastal walking paths. It’s a good base to visit Nerja, Frigliana, Malaga, Ronda, Granada, Seville, Cordoba and the spectacular Caminito del Rey. We’re surrounded by natural parks so it’s a great place for nature lovers.
What are the demographics of Torrox? I know it has a good-sized German population and that they have a fun Oktoberfest festival. But does Torrox have a mix of different nationalities? Please give us an idea of the kind of people who live in Torrox.
In terms of demographics, the town has 21,406 inhabitants (2024 census) and is located 50 kilometers east of Malaga (the capital of the province) in the Andalusia region. It has an area of 50 square km. The town is 2000 years old.
As for the different groups of nationalities that live here, naturally there are Germans who also live in places like Marbella, Nerja, Mijas and Rincón de la Victoria. Many Spaniards also live there because there is a very strong fruit and vegetable sector here as well as agribusiness. Other groups you can find in this area are Scandinavians, British, Americans and Canadians.
Do you have any tips for prospective home buyers in the area?
As I mentioned before, we bought a country house in Torrox 3 years ago called “Villa Regazo Andaluz”. For people looking to buy in the area, we help clients get advice from a group of specialists that we already know in Axarquía (estate agents, lawyers etc).
How about your social network? Have you made friends? Are they fellow expats or locals? Have you found good expat resources there? (like FB pages, forums etc)
We have friends, many of them we know from different sources, including social media. Among them are our neighbours which are a mix of different nationalities. We also know friends who live in Málaga, Benalmádena and Pedregalejo. I’m also connected with a group of women (again of different nationalities) who live mostly in Nerja. They like to organize different events. On top of that, there is the community Facebook group in Torrox as well as different international groups that organize various activities in Axarquía.
You live in both Holland and Spain. What are the biggest differences that you experience living in the two?
There are of course cultural differences between the two countries. El “mañana, mañana” is one of the things you have to learn to cope with. In Holland people usually do what they say…here it is a little different, many times you have to make sure that what you have agreed with another person is in fact what will happen. Outside of that, Spain offers a very good quality of life, partly because of the light and sun. But there’s also the food, the traditions, the festivals, the family atmosphere, the tranquillity that you breathe here and yet the hustle and bustle that you can search for and find, if that’s what you want. All this makes it one of the perfect places to live. Outside of that, the prices are very different, not in the city of Malaga (where everything is more expensive, especially housing) but otherwise everything is much cheaper than in Holland.
Do you have favorite restaurants, cafés or bars that you would recommend to anyone coming to Torrox?
I can recommend a few places:
- Restaurant Meson La Terraza
- La Farola
- Marisquería Encinas
What is your long term plan? Would you like to move to Spain full-time when you retire? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I don’t think at the moment that we will live permanently in Andalusia. Our idea is to spend a little more than half the year in Torrox and the other part in Holland.
In 10 years I see myself living or spending much more time in Spain. It’s what I hope for. I also want to continue teaching my Spanish courses combined with all the tourism activities associated with them. It’s what I love to do.
Thank you for doing this interview Sandra!
Related: Nerja Or Estepona (as places to base yourself in Spain)
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