What’s it like living the High Life in Marbella?
If you want to live the “high life” in Spain then you can’t beat Marbella. This is especially true of neighbourhoods like the Golden Mile and Nueva Andalucia to the west of Marbella in the vicinity of Puerto Banus. It’s home to luxurious villas and estates, 5-star hotels and golf courses. It contains Spain’s most expensive real estate.
Anna-Kaisa lives here and tells us everything she loves about this area.
Name: Anna-Kaisa Vartiainen
Country of Origin: Finland
Number of years living in Spain: 7 years
Website: Bo Homes, Instagram, Costa del Sol IG.
Hi Anna-Kaisa! Could you please tell us what led you to Spain?
My initial idea in 2017 was to come to Spain just for the winter. The intention was to spend the darker and colder months here and just vacation with my dog. The main reason I came was the sun. Here, and especially in Marbella, the temperature is pretty constant throughout the winter and the sun shines almost every day. I thought that the dog would also enjoy being here. When winter started to turn to spring, returning to Finland no longer seemed very attractive. At the time, I was working as a real estate agent in Finland and decided to try the same job here. In the end, I stayed here full time.
When Covid happened in 2020, I returned to Finland with my dog. I met my current fiance and when the restrictions eased, we came back in 2021 with him and his four dogs Max, Juju, Guccigue and Pikkanen. In addition, of course, my own dog Lumi. Now we have mainly been here for the winter with our five dogs since 2021. It is a bit too hot here for us in the summer, so we spend the summers in Finland. My fiance has to be in Finland a little more for work. However, we are lucky to be here, and even the dogs have said that they like being here, especially in winter, more than in Finland.
How did you end up choosing Marbella?
I came to Marbella for the first time in 2011 with my friends on vacation. For many years I was of the opinion that I didn’t want to come to the whole Costa del Sol, I had the impression that this is tourist hell. My mindset changed the very first day we arrived here. Even then, back in 2011, I told my friends that I would one day move here. I had fallen in love with the place immediately.
I haven’t lived anywhere else in Spain but I have travelled all over Spain, for example Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Valencia. But of all the places my favorite is Marbella and Nueva Andalucia specially. Marbella has a microclimate, which means that the temperature remains relatively constant throughout the year, rains usually stay in the mountains and we don’t experience heavy rains here on the coast. The sun shines for more than 300 days a year. I like to paint, and the light here is ideal for doing that. The opportunities for outdoor activities are also the best, on the beaches there are a lot of guided group exercises such as yoga. In addition, there are wonderful and hiking jogging terrains in the mountains and the beach boulevard from Puerto Banús to Marbella is never boring.
You live in Nueva Andalucia neighbourhood of Marbella which is one of the higher end communities in the region (and in all of Spain). Can you tell us about that Anna-Kaisa? I heard Nueva Andalucia is famous for its golf courses (are you a golfer?)
Yes, we live in Nueva Andalucia, which is right behind the famous Puerto Banús. We’re walking distance to the beach. Eva Longoria (the Hollywood star) bought a property here recently among other world known celebrities.
There are many golf courses in this area, as well as in the entire Costa del Sol area. There are wonderful golf courses in Andalucia, which also have high-quality restaurants in their club houses such as Magna Café, which is my favourite, not only because of the location of the restaurant (which has wonderful views from the terrace. A very romantic place for dinner, especially when the sun is setting) but also the quality of the food and service. I’m not a golf enthusiast myself, I’ve certainly been on the golf course a few times because it’s very natural when you live in this area. I’d rather drive the golf buggy and enjoy the beautiful scenery than play.
What do you enjoy about Marbella Anna-Kaisa? What activities do you do to keep busy?
I already mentioned before that I like to paint pictures and exercise, such as beach yoga. In addition, I go for a run every day, usually at the beach or if I get company, I like to go to the mountains. In my mind, it’s not advisable to go to the mountains alone, there may not always be a phone reception, so if an accident happens, it’s hard to get help if you’re hiking alone.
In addition to sports and art, I often meet my friends and my fiancé, and I usually take a weekend trip to nearby places like Seville or Granada. The history of these cities is mesmerising and there is always something new to explore even if you visit the same city again and again. For snow lovers there is also the Sierra Nevada near Granada. It has wonderful skiing slopes and there are good hotels with quality spas in the area.
I see that you have 5 dogs! Did you bring them from Finland? Were there any complications? And how do they like the Spanish lifestyle?
Yes, we have five dogs. In the fall we came by car from Finland through all of Europe with the dogs. The driving distance was 4,771 kilometres and it took 11 days. Normally we fly with the dogs but the problem is that the airlines only allow two dog bags in the cabin. And we don’t want to put the dogs in the cargo. So we have had to fly back and forth so that at one time we have flown four chihuahuas, i.e. two dogs per bag, and I have flown back to pick up Lumi the cockapoo dog separately. This year we thought we’d try this driving route. Lumi is already 12 years old, so I thought that the flight was also quite stressful for him, and he has a heart defect.
Dogs are certainly more comfortable here than in cold and snowy Finland. The dogs are quite small, especially the Chihuahua. For them Finland’s -20 °C is far too cold. Similarly, our poodle is quite used to winters here. Dogs also like it when they get to go to the beach, and at our house in the morning they are the first to get to the yard to run around on the lawn.
Did you buy in Marbella Anna-Kaisa? Or are you renting? If so, how did you go about doing it? Do you have any tips for prospective home buyers in the area?
My fiancé bought our home in 2021 because renting with dogs seemed quite impossible. Here, landlords usually don’t want dogs in the apartment, especially if there are five of them. This was the catalyst to buying our house. But also the purchase made sense as an investment. I myself work here as a real estate agent and know the prices of the areas inside out. I follow the market every day and I have noticed that the continuous increase in demand has affected the prices of apartments as well as the rising rents.
If you are thinking about buying or renting a home, I will be happy to help, and there is a link to my website and Instagram at the end of this article. I won’t go too much into the details here, all properties are unique and also depending on the customer’s needs, the prices for both rental and purchase properties vary considerably, even in this region of Andalusia. However, as an example, a two-bedroom apartment in Nueva Andalucia, in a good complex renovated and fully furnished, costs around €600,000 and the same size rented around €3,000 per month. Villas, prices vary from 2,000,000€ to 20,000,000€ rents from 5000€ to 30 000€ per month. You may of course find something more affordable with lesser qualities in and not in the prime locations in Nueva Andalucía.
When buying you need to add between 10-15% to the value costs from tax, stamp duty, lawyers and notary’s fees. I’m happy to talk about the buying process also in detail in person.
Have you found that Marbella is an easy place to make friends? How is your social life?
It’s happening all the time in Marbella and there are a lot of different social media groups here and sport or art groups, through which you can get to know a lot of like-minded new people. There are also a lot of events and open house events held for real estate agents, there are invitations almost every day.
My social circle is wide, but there are only a few of my closest friends and I want to keep it that way. I know a lot of people here, especially in the real estate industry. A wide network is a good asset in this job.
How is your Spanish Anna-Kaisa? Has language – or anything else – been a challenge since coming to Spain? Or does it really matter in a place as international as Marbella?
I speak Spanish so that I can get by, and I have managed to sell a few properties in Spanish alone when the sellers’ agent did not speak anything other than Spanish. I think it’s important when you live in a country to speak the language. Of course, there are many expats here who don’t speak a word of Spanish, but for me I feel that it is important and at the same time I respect the country by speaking their language. There are also situations when knowledge of the Spanish language is necessary, in some agencies the service is only available in Spanish, and for example the cleaners and car mechanics usually only speak Spanish.
The only thing I don’t like about Spain is how they treat animals. Of course, not all Spaniards are bad with respect to animals, but here, for example, the donkeys that can be found in Mijas pueblo have been treated badly. Fortunately there are people descended from here who tried to make it stop, not only that, but also the horse carriages are banned in some parts of the country. I hope that it will also be banned here in Andalucia soon. Also, bullfighting is still going on in some parts of the country, which I think is absolutely crazy these days.
Do you have favorite restaurants, cafés or bars that you would recommend to anyone coming to Marbella?
Besides the Magne Café I mentioned earlier, my favourites are La Sala, Puente Romano and Marbella club. In addition, the absolutely wonderful Forum Golden Mile has restaurants and cafes and also a Swedish bakery. They also have my favourite Italian restaurant Florentine.
For healthier choice breakfast in Pan y Marmalade and lunch at Manuka.
What advice would you give anyone coming to Spain and Marbella in particular?
When you come to Marbella or to Spain in general, I recommend renting a car. With a car you can move around the surroundings and see more than just the beach and tourist restaurants. The Internet offers a lot of good tips about places near the regions that are worth visiting. I’m also happy to give tips and you can contact me via Instagram, for example akvartiainen, my personal account where I cover life here as well as properties for sale. In addition, I just created an Instagram account about life on the Costa del Sol. I recommend following both of these accounts 🙂
Thank you for doing this interview Anna-Kaisa!
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