British in Campillos

Hi Prune 

We've been living in Campillos full time for the last 9 months (we moved pre-Covid). The town has about 10,000 residents of which around 500 are ex-pats. We only know of about 4 other Brits and the town is friendly but very Spanish, not a lot of English spoken. We like it here and are trying to slowly integrate.

If you want more of a British feel you would probably be better looking at Antequera, the nearest large town. It really depends on what you want and like doing. 

Hi Phil83

Thanks for your reply. I've been trying for quite some time to get information about Campillos. 

We visited briefly about 4 years ago, when we lived in Almeria province, with a view to moving to the area, but changed our minds. We lived in Almeria for 10 years, before moving to Valencia region, where we have lived for the last 3 years. We're not keen on the climate here, which is very humid, and have decided to move back down south, but want somewhere with more facilities than we had in Almeria.

Having looked at a few places inland, we thought we might like Campillos, but we weren't sure what the ratio of non Spanish was. We don't mind English not being spoken much as we do speak some Spanish, but would like to think there might be the possibility of maybe a quiz in one of the bars once in a while, or a few groups where we could meet British people, apart from getting to know some locals.

Antequera would be too big for us, we really want a village or a small town. We've been there a few times and like it, but don't want to live in the town, just within reach of there, for the good shopping.  Where we live now has about 25000 population, and it's far too big for my liking. I thought Campillos had about 8000 or slightly less, as it seemed to have more of a small town feel when we visited, so am surprised it's so high.

You might be able to help me a bit regarding transport too, if you don't mind. The railway station is operational isn't it, with a regular link to the big cities? Also, is the bus service quite regular? We are now in our seventies, and want to make sure, if we can't drive for any reason in the future, that we can get about. Where we used to live was in the mountains, with no public transport at all and, although it's better here, it's not as good as we expected it to be.

Any information you might be able to give me would be very welcome, including local  estate agents who  might help with rentals to begin with.  Our house here is on the market so we're waiting for a sale. But when we feel it's comfortable, we want to make a trip down to the area again, to stay for a while and have a good look around.

Thanks again for your help.

Hi Prune 

What more to tell you about Campillos. Two large-ish supermarkets, Dia and Mercadona, and plenty of smaller shops as well. Covid has hit the local economy pretty hard (as with much of Spain and elsewhere) and there are certainly more closed shops than before. The bus service seems limited (don't really use it as we drive) but the rail service from Antequera Santa Ana and Bobadilla is superb. Both stations have AVE service and both are about 15min drive away. The Campillos station itself is more freight than passenger from what we can gather. 

In terms of estate agents, we used Helena from Inland Andalucia based in Mollina. Efficient but still an agent trying to sell. I suggest viewing on Idealista website to give you a feel for prices which have  a really broad spread. 

Not aware of any English groups or quiz nights etc. but will ask one of our neighbours who has lived in and around Campillos for 30+ years and has family living locally as well. 

Hope this helps & good luck 

Hi is there good cheap broadband in campillos?

Hi Mark77

Depends what you regard as cheap.  We use Teleco Andaluz for TV, mobile and broadband.  It costs 50€ per month for 2 mobile numbers with plenty of data, enough TV channels to be of use (Spanish and American shows) and 400mps fibre broadband.  Other deals are available.

Hope this helps