Living in Alicante is a subject that deserves proper attention. There's already a lot of information out there — but I'll share my own perspective, having lived here for several years. This will be a long read. There's no other way to do the topic justice.
First Impressions — It Depends Where You're Coming From
How you experience Alicante depends entirely on where you lived before and why you ended up here.
If you're relocating from a major city — somewhere with a population of one million or more — Alicante will feel smaller than you're used to. The city centre, the waterfront, the old town — it's all there. But the sheer number of options you had before — shopping centres, entertainment, restaurants, everything else — simply won't be replicated here. Everything you need exists in Alicante. What's different is the number of alternatives. Where you once chose between ten options, here you'll often choose between two or three.
That said — here's what you get in return. Over 300 days of sunshine per year. An extraordinary variety of fresh seafood. A beach season with comfortable water temperatures running from mid-May to the end of October. The smell of the sea. Views that genuinely stop you in your tracks even when you've lived here for years.
If you're coming from a city of around 500,000 people, the transition will feel entirely natural. No real adjustment required.
The tourist and beach season runs from May through to the end of October, with July and August bringing the peak crowds. Outside of those months, the city finds its own unhurried rhythm — and honestly, that's when living in Alicante is at its best.

Almost nobody arriving in Alicante speaks Spanish — and even fluent English will only take you so far.
In tourist areas, restaurants, hotels, bars, beauty salons, and most shops, English is generally enough. Staff in these settings are usually comfortable with it. But if you're planning to live in Alicante year-round, the situation changes significantly. Hospitals, banks, driving schools, post offices — English will rarely help you there. Start learning Spanish. Not eventually. Now.
One word you'll need immediately: cita. It means appointment. And you'll need one for almost everything — doctor, bank, government office, you name it. Building this habit early saves a lot of frustration.

Adapting a non-Spanish-speaking child to life in Spain takes time and patience — but the outcome is better than most parents expect.
Based on personal experience with a child who arrived at three and a half years old: the full adaptation process takes around a year. That first period is genuinely difficult. Alone on the playground. Trying to connect with Spanish-speaking children using gestures and a single borrowed word — "vamos" (let's go). Parents exchange phone numbers and arrange playdates with other non-Spanish-speaking families just to give their children someone to talk to.
Then school starts — specifically Educación Infantil, the Spanish early years system for children up to age six. And everything changes.
The atmosphere is warm and patient. Teachers make a real effort to ease non-Spanish-speaking children in. There's a good chance your child will have classmates who speak their native language — which takes the edge off those first weeks. Within a year, the language problem is largely solved. Within two years, you'll be watching your child switch effortlessly between languages and wondering when exactly that happened. Their pronunciation will be better than yours. Their speed of acquisition will be embarrassing.
At one point, at a birthday party where none of the children were native Spanish speakers, I asked my child why they were all speaking Spanish to each other. The answer: there was one Spanish-speaking child in the group, and the others remembered how hard it was to not understand the people around them. So they made the decision themselves to speak Spanish — so that one child wouldn't feel left out.
Two years of Spanish school. That's what it takes to get there.

Winter in Alicante is mild — particularly in that first year, especially if you've come from a country with proper cold winters.
After the first winter, your body adjusts, and the second one feels noticeably colder — even though the thermometer rarely drops below 10°C during the day, and nights typically bottom out around 4–5°C.
The most important thing to know before choosing an apartment: most homes in Alicante have no central heating. It simply doesn't exist in the majority of buildings. And the most common flooring choice — ceramic tile — is also the coldest. Warm slippers are not optional. They're a daily necessity from November through March.

Alicante is a genuinely safe city compared to larger Spanish destinations like Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia. Petty theft — particularly pickpocketing — exists, as it does everywhere, but common-sense precautions keep the risk minimal.
For a full breakdown: Is Alicante Safe? A Local's Honest Answer

Public transport in Alicante is well developed. You can get almost anywhere in the city without a car. Buses and trams are clean and air-conditioned in summer. If you use public transport regularly, get a transport card — it costs a couple of euros and reduces the fare to roughly a third of the standard €1.50 per journey.
If you're planning to drive here long-term, you'll need a Spanish licence. I wrote a full guide on getting one in Alicante without speaking Spanish — including costs, timeline, and what nobody tells you before you start: Getting a Spanish Driving Licence in Alicante.
A car is useful in Alicante, but come prepared for narrow streets in the city centre and genuinely difficult parking. Go straight for a paid car park rather than spending twenty minutes circling. The most popular choice among locals, though, is two wheels — motorbikes and maxi-scooters are everywhere, and for good reason. More manoeuvrable, easier to park, cheaper on fuel and insurance.
Getting out of the city is straightforward. Alicante Airport (ALC) is around 25 minutes by taxi — roughly €30. From there, routes spread across Europe in every direction. If you're willing to monitor booking sites regularly, fares can be surprisingly low — Palma de Mallorca from around €15 one way, for example. That said, Alicante is a tourist destination, so prices in high season move fast. Book early if you have fixed dates.

Both public and private healthcare are available — and both work well, with some important differences.

Getting into the public system requires one of the following: official employment in Spain (or being a family member of someone who is), EU pension status, or a valid residency permit (TIE/NIE). The process involves three steps: register your address at the town hall (empadronamiento), obtain your right-to-healthcare document from the social security office (INSS), then take both documents plus your passport to your local health centre (Centro de Salud) to register with a GP.
If you've been in Spain for more than a year but aren't working, access is available through a paid contribution scheme (Convenio Especial). Emergency care (Urgencias) is available to everyone regardless of documentation status.
The public system works on a GP-first model — your family doctor refers you to specialists or orders tests like MRI or ultrasound as needed. Waiting times for more complex investigations can reach around a month. For day-to-day healthcare, it functions well.
Emergency departments (Urgencias) at hospitals are accessible without a referral. From personal experience: expect around five hours from arrival to discharge for a non-critical situation. The care is thorough — the wait is just real.
Private health insurance for someone aged 35–40 costs around €850–1,000 per year, assuming you don't overuse the policy. Premiums tend to increase if you do. Be aware that most policies exclude complex procedures and investigations for the first six months — this is standard and written into the contract. Read everything carefully and ask your agent every question you have. That's what they're there for.
Dentistry is not covered by standard private health insurance. A straightforward filling at any private dental clinic will run around €80.
For children, private insurance is worth considering — around €800 per year. Paediatric appointments are faster, and emergency waiting times rarely exceed an hour. In private clinics generally, English-speaking doctors and nurses are the norm rather than the exception.
Pharmacies operate on a prescription basis. Some basic medications — paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines — are available without one, but anything more specialised requires a prescription. On Sundays most pharmacies are closed, but your neighbourhood will always have a duty pharmacy (Farmacia de Guardia) open — including 24-hour dispensing through a window after hours.

The Alicante property market deserves its own dedicated piece — and I've written one. The short version: prices are at a historic high, both for rental and purchase. Whether that's justified is a genuinely open question.
Is Property in Alicante Worth It? A Local's Honest View
These are my personal observations from someone on the ground — and I hope they're useful to whoever needs them.