valencia or malaga

[rizhii]

I am moving to spain in Dec. which would be the better city to stay in and take spanish classes, Valencia or Malaga?

I will also be traveling to southern Italy, with a side trips to cairo and then back to spain.

Any advise on what to pack - backpack. Thanks

[Andrew]

I was in Valencia for about 2 years, the third largest city of Spain, and of course, there is no better country for learning Spanish than Spain itself. Valencia is located on the east coast of Spain and offers great beaches, a great variety of cuisine and many attractions. Furthermore, its Mediterranean climate making Valencia a wonderful place to live. But accommodation is more expensive in Valencia than in Malaga, but depending on the length of your stay and the kind of accommodation you use, Valencia is the best place. Never been to Malaga and I don't think anyone really recommend Malaga. Traveling from Valencia to Italy is also easier.

[Travel Argentina]

For learning Spanish I think Valencia would be better than Málaga because there is a bigger expat community on the Costa del Sol which will keep giving you excuses for not speaking Spanish :( Though Málaga is a good base for exploring Andalucia with its mix of Spanish and Moorish history.

[Davebeni]

You may find a big problem in Valencia - the locals prefer to speak Catalan with a Valencian dialect (in the region you will find a different dialects between Western and Eastern Catalan just to add to the learning curve) which is totally confusing for those wanting to learn "proper" Spanish. Valencia folk are very into their region and many do not like speaking Spanish (Castellano) as a first language.

You may like to consider Alicante or further South to avoid a confused learning process and when you feel the urge to plunge into an English community pop along and meet the Ex-pats in Benidorm. Good luck

[dunga]

Well Valencian is a Catalan dialect. But it is not relay a problem in Valencia to get the natives to speak spanish with you.

In Malaga the speak "Andaluz" which is a kind of dialect. The just truncate a lot of the words and don't us "s" at the end of the words. This can make it difficult to understand them.

Neverdeless you will have a lot of fun in both places