#70 Leaving Málaga for Benalmádena After 10 Years - What Surprised Me Most (with Hanni Martini)

What makes someone leave the heart of Málaga’s historic centre for Benalmádena? 

That’s the question we explore in this week’s episode of The Costa Property Podcast, where Sandra sits down with cultural expert and long-time Spain resident, Hanni Martini.

After a decade of vibrant city life, Hanni made the leap to a new home in Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol.

But why? And was it worth it?

In this episode, Hanni opens up about the move that surprised her own followers, the hidden charm of Benalmádena and Arroyo de la Miel, and the outdated stigma many people still hold about this part of the coast.

You’ll hear:

• Why Hanni left Málaga city after 10 years
• Her honest thoughts on Benalmádena (before and after moving)
• How Arroyo de la Miel feels like an authentic pueblo
• The train line, the amenities, and the hidden magic of Benalmaden
• What Hanni means when she says “I stand corrected.”

Curious About Benalmadena?

If this episode sparked your interest in Benalmádena as a place to live or invest on the Costa del Sol - you're not alone. It’s fast becoming a hidden favourite for buyers.

At WL Costa Properties, we’re here to guide you with zero pressure and deep local knowledge.

→ Book a no-pressure call with Warner to explore what’s possible: :https://calendly.com/warner-0tu/property-advice?month=2025-07

→ Follow us Instagram @wlcostaproperties

Connect With Hanni Martini

Follow Hanni Martini on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannimartiniii

Related Episodes

• #67 Live Like a Local: Spanish Food, Culture & Real Costa del Sol Life with Hanni Martini
• #54 The Most Underrated Town on the Costa del Sol? Why We Chose Benalmádena
  
  

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Transcript

Why would somebody choose Benalmadena as their location to live? I'm joined by the wonderful Hanni Martini . Hanni is back with us today to discuss that question. 

And we want to dive into the early days of her new life. Here in the Benalmadena area and discuss what it's been like. Welcome back Hanni. Thank you. Thanks for having back. So some of our listeners and followers today watching may not actually know you. , So before we dive into the topic in question, tell everybody a little bit about you.

Well, I am Hanni, I was born in Devon in the uk a few years ago. And,. About 11 years ago, moved to the Costel Sol. I spent a couple of years living right out in the countryside, in the mountains, and then the majority of the time that I've been here, I've lived in Malaga Historic Center right in all the action in the city until about a month ago when I decided to make the move out to the Costa.

And I'm so curious to dive into that with you now. We do cover. Hannah's journey to Spain and her inspiration behind her move and so much more in another video, which we will link you to. So definitely have a watch of that. Mm-hmm. First and foremost, before we dive into what you're loving about your new home, how are your sanity levels?

Do you know what? They're all right. Yeah, they're all right now. There was a very hairy week there. The move happened much quicker than we thought it was gonna happen. And, uh, yeah, we dived. In with both feet. It's typical of me actually. So yeah, it was a week of intense stress. Okay. But after that, it's been fine and I feel very relaxed.

Now. You strike me as somebody that I can handle a hairy week. I'm still here, I'm still standing, and I've had a lot of hairy weeks in my life, so Amazing. So tell everybody about your move where you were before, where you are now. So, previously I was in the historic center of Malaga. I was there for nearly 10 years, , living in a very rickety old attic, from the 18 hundreds.

Very beautiful. Wooden, you know, right up in the eaves, gorgeous terrace overlooking, one of the little streets in Malaga. And yeah, absolutely loved it. And I really loved city life. I loved being, having everything on my doorstep, being able to walk down to the market every day to buy my food and all of that kinda stuff.

But anyway. And now I am in an area called I on. Which is between be mater and funky. Okay, so tell I guess the people watching about Iran. Okay. , Ganon is a development that has been purpose built as a a, a community. It's very, very new. The houses started going up maybe five or six years ago.

it's grown hugely around, uh, it's centered around a hotel. So there's a big five star resort with amazing sports facilities, a spa, and that was kind of. There were previously some houses there, but they've built up these, communities around that hotel. So, yeah, it's very purpose built. It's very residential, but for me it was the perfect location.

It has all the I amenities that I was looking for that are within walking distance lots also within driving distance. And it was something really key for me on the ES line, of course. So it has that terrain that goes directly into Malaga City Center. By the airport. And that was really important to me as well.

Amazing. Amazing. Like for me, I love what it has to offer. I totally agree with you. The i, amenities, the facilities, what it gives you in terms of the lifestyle that you can live up there. It's a great location. Mm-hmm. So I'm delighted you're settling in. Well, thank you. And I'm following you. I've been following your move on Instagram and your new home looks beautiful.

So Congrat you. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, it's quite a, it is quite a change from my Ricky old apartment in Malaga to a. 3-year-old luxury property. Very, very different. It looks gorgeous. Yeah. I'm, I'm adapting. Nice, nice. I think that it is easy to adapt to life in such a beautiful home. It's very easy to adapt to a life

in this area for sure. , In Geron and, , in that particular apartment. And just generally on the Costa. Amazing. Amazing. Now to the controversial stuff. Mm-hmm. You ready? So be Magna doesn't always get the best reputation when it is mentioned as a destination that people want to either relocate to or buy a second home in.

And you've made the move from the beautiful center of Malaga living in the historic area to an area you know, next to Bena. Some would say, hmm. Why did you do that? And I would imagine your followers on Instagram had a bit of a reaction to that. A lot of people have said, why would you do that? And actually yeah, the followers on Instagram, I think generally most people are just loving, following the journey and seeing what's going on.

But you know, when you're in the public eye, one of a better expression, people, and a lot of people follow me because I am living a life that they dream of course. Mm-hmm. Same as you. You know, people sit, have a dream of moving to Spain or love Spain as a destination for their holidays. And so they follow along on the ride.

And if their dream is to move to Malaga City Center, and then I. Kick their dream and say, I'm over this and I'm moving somewhere else. You know, , it turns out I didn't know this before I did it. Turns out it upsets some people. But anyway, generally the very, very vast majority of people are just like, it's so exciting to see you doing something different and see where you're moving to.

Bennel Madina, I'm not gonna lie, I definitely had a lot of judgment around Benno, Madina and Ola, this whole stretch of the coast. And I definitely felt like a superior immigrant because I lived in the city center of Malaga then that somebody who lives down on the coast. I am not gonna lie about that, but I will also.

Be the first to admit that I was wrong. And then when we started to explore moving out of the city my partner works down on this side of the city. And not gonna get a luxury development like the eagle on, on the other side.

But it was out of the question anyway. So we knew that we had, if we were gonna come out of the city, then we, we wanted to be on the coast. We wanted to be on that train line. And so, you know, there was this stretch to look at. Yeah. And yeah, my initial thought was absolutely no way is it going to be better.

Imagine if I could, because I think of weather, Spains, I think of, you know, kiss me quick. Irish pubs and thought. Not anymore. I don't, so I stand corrected. And so it was really a learning curve for me to get over myself and get over my stigma and , come out here and explore. And once I started explore, I was like, , this area has so much to offer.

Oh, I love that. Yeah. Then imagine, I love it. And we've just like touched in on AR last week and I walked in, I was like, oh, it feels like a proper little pueblo. Yeah. It's. Really nice. There's so much variety. There's so much. And you know, of course there's lots and lots of people living here, immigrants living here, and expats.

But it gives it diversity. I really don't buy into the whole story that the costel soul has lost its essence because of the, because of immigration. Because I just. Don't think it has. I think there's still gorgeous pockets. We, can get two stops on the S line into los, which is like this end of Ola.

And again, I just had this idea of what that would be like. And I went down there and it's like a little market. There's the grosses, there's the florist, there's, you know, I went into post pass and then one of the shops and the guy was so helpful and it felt like a, a, it was really, really nice. So your eyes have been opened.

My eyes have been well, and trigger your conversive and I'm loving it. Yeah. So there you have it. So if Hanni has embraced life in Benalamdena, you can too.