Once an impossible dream only available to the privileged few, now a reality for more and more Brits (over a million just in the Costa's of Southern Spain alone!).

With low property prices and cheap living costs Spain already looks like an attractive location for us in the cold, dreary and grey UK, however, add in fantastic climate and social life then it becomes easy to see why so many have already made the move.

The most popular areas for Brit ex-pats is the Costa del Sol in Andalusia, on the tip of southern Spain right next to Gibraltar. The reasons for the popularity of this particular Costa are

• The climate - with over 320 days of sunshine per year.

• Accessibility - near to Malaga airport which boasts flights from all regional airports in the UK.

• The extensive range of sports and leisure activities with something to suit everyone.

The Costa del Sol is home to around 500,000 Brits and approx 200,00 German ex-pats, and as such, has a truly international flavour. Apartments range from around 80,000 Euros with villas starting at 150,000 Euros, these prices are for very basic properties however, if you are looking for all the mod-cons such as private pool, air conditioning, parking and/or garage, satellite TV etc. Then be prices start at around 350000 Euros and the sky is the limit with many luxury villas and mansions, particularly in the famous Marbella areas, costing over 3,000,000 Euros!

If you are looking to snap up a coastal property in the Costa del Sol at a reasonable price the best areas to look at nowadays are probably Nerja and Mijas, these areas are "up and coming" being a little further away from the airport than the more popular resorts, but with easy access from Malaga international airport via good Spanish motorways in around 50-60 minutes.

If you want to get away from it all and prefer peace and tranquillity, then perhaps the Costa tropical is more suited, relatively underdeveloped (compared to other Costa's), due to the lack of tourism amenities the property prices here are much lower, decent villas can be had for 100,000 Euros (or less if work is required). Costa Tropical will also suit those who want to absorb the true Spanish culture as this area is popular with Spaniards taking a break from it all so has not suffered from the commercialism of the Costa del Sol.

For die hard sun worshippers who want the hottest weather with highest chance of sunshine all the year round then the Canary Islands are probably your best bet. The Canaries are actually situated just off the coast of Africa and as you can imagine, are much hotter than either mainland Spain or the popular Balearic Islands. Consisting of 4 main Islands, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura. These islands are not as popular with Brits in terms of properties owned probably due to extended flight time from UK (approx 4 hour flight) and the extreme heat in the summer. Property prices here are substantially cheaper than the Balearic Islands but dearer than mainland Spain.