The paradise: Costa Ballena

Primi Sánchez.- When I moved to live in Costa Ballena in September 2000, I did it in order to live near my work place and because I knew the advantages and the comforts which living in a complex like this one would give me. After 15 years living there I can say that it has been worthy. Every year, our seasonal neighbors come back sad to their homes and remind us how lucky we are to live here the whole year.

"All the tourists dream of retiring
and coming to live in Costa Ballena."

In summer, Rota and Costa Ballena are too busy, but from September to June it is a pleasure to walk its streets, parks and gardens and beaches. At the beginning, as it is common in all residential areas situated far from the urban area, we had to go to Rota to go shopping, to go to the doctor or to buy anything at the chemist’s. My daughter, who is now 20 years old and is at her third course at University, assisted the school and the high school in Rota since she was 5 so we had to drive daily 10 km to go to Rota and 10 km to come back to Costa Ballena. However, we never thought about moving somewhere else. Over the years, a supermarket and chemist’s have been built but we still have to go to the nearest towns for anything else we may need.

Costa ballena is really well situated to get everything we may need in our daily life easily. In just 10 minutes, we are in Rota, in Chipiona and in Sanlúcar and in just 20 minutes we can reach Jerez or El Puerto de Santa María.

"Living in Costa Ballena does not mean

at all living in the middle of the countryside."

Costa Ballena is synonym of a privileged environment full of birds, green areas and open spaces which were originally designed by professional landscapers. However, over the years, thanks to the development of their elements, they have become real green spaces for the use and enjoyment of their residents. The trash collection is made through an underground pneumatic system so there are not containers full of rubbish or bad smells at any time.

It is curious that when I tell someone for the first time that I am a full-year resident in Costa Ballena, they immediately ask me if I don’t feel insecure living in a residential complex far from the city centre and where the 90% of the houses are not inhabited for the greatest part of the year. There are two main reasons that disable such fear: 1. - Costa Ballena counts on an internal security service which continuously patrols the complex. 2. - The number of incidents related to security in Costa Ballena in the least busy period is nearly inexistent and clearly inferior to the number of incidents in the town of Rota.

"As you can see as you read,
we are in love with Costa Ballena."

As you can see as you read, we are in love with Costa Ballena and unless there are reasons of force majeure, my husband and I desire to continue living here for many more years. However, the cost of living in Costa Ballena is really high. The owners of houses in Costa Ballena have to pay a high Property Ownership Tax (IBI) since all the streets in Costa Ballena are considered first class. On the contrary, in Rota, it is not the same to live in an avenue than living in an alley. Costa Ballena counts on a Private Security Service and on an Urban Conservation Unit which is in charge of the green areas maintenance and the street cleaning. They are paid by the owners of the complex so their community fees are even higher due to those costs. Definitely, nothing in life is perfect or free and we are pleased to live in Costa Ballena.

Primi Sánchez