TOO many tourists almost forced a Swedish expat on the Costa del Sol to sell up and return home.
Eva made her admission on COPE Radio’s weekday night La Linterna programme where she said she had now changed her mind because of having so many friends.
She was chasing warmer weather than her native Sweden, and after toying with Portugal, she considered San Sebastian in northern Spain until a friend suggested she was ‘crazy’ because it rained as much there as in Sweden.
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Spanish-speaking Eva opted for Malaga province and bought an apartment in Mijas- next to the beach.
She said the recent tourist boom in visitor numbers forced her to consider her future in Spain.
Eva told COPE: “I was thinking about selling my apartment a year, year and a half ago because I was a little frustrated by how Malaga is changing with tourism, since there are many more people now, many more tourists.”
“Now there is too much tourism. I’m a tourist too, but I felt like I couldn’t stand it anymore,” she added.
Eva’s assessment is that things got worse after the Covid pandemic when she noted many properties being converted into tourist apartments and hotels.
On the positive side, her new quality of life coupled with the mild climate has made her change her mind on quitting.
“I feel that I do not want to leave Malaga,” she admitted.
“I feel that I had a life here, I have many Spanish friends and, therefore, leaving was a bad idea,” Eva stressed.
She stated that many of her fellow country people look for a better climate when they reach retirement age.
Eva continued: “Swedes, when we turn 60 or 65, many want to be able to leave Sweden because of the cold and because of the darkness.”
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