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Marbella and Puerto Banus have taken a bit of a battering lately – and I´m not just talking about the weather! Everybody seems to have had an opinion about the place…myself included!
It´s been a difficult winter here in Spain – the weather of course hasn’t helped, but as one of Europe´s leading real estate and tourist destinations, Marbella and Puerto Banus have suffered more than most from the devastating effects of the credit crunch, the global recession, and the reduced spending power of the Brits, its core target market. As previously reported here, expats have been going back to their homelands while businesses and those of us brave enough to remain have been feeling the pinch.But do you know something? Marbella is still a pretty special place. Take today as an example – not a cloud in the sky and temperatures hovering at around 19 degrees. So far (and there´s still plenty of daylight remaining!), I´ve managed to cram in a session in the gym overlooking the Mediterranean in Puerto Banus, a quick peek at designer stores such as Gucci, Armani and Versace, a cappuccino alongside multi-million euro ocean-going yachts, meeting up with friends to hit a few golf balls on the driving range at Rio Real, and a bite to eat in the clubhouse, sitting there in short sleeves basking in the sunlight. And I´ve even managed to do 4 hours work!
I´m going to make myself an early dinner this evening before heading off into the Old Quarter of Marbella to catch up with some friends over a few beers.
Today has made me realise just what a great place this is, and how lucky I am to live here. It´s about time we all stopped being so negative about the place. If our enquiry levels at Your Key to Spain are anything to go by, there are thousands of people who would rather be sitting in my position, instead of being stuck in the dreary rat-race of Northern Europe. We must just accept that for the time-being a lot of people don´t have the means to make the move or are pre-occupied with the economic crisis.
But I am confident of one thing - the good times will return to Marbella and Puerto Banus. Everything is here – it´s all in place, it´s just peoples´ attitudes that need to change.
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