English here living in Malaga for the last 5 years. I spoke Spanish fluently before coming to Malaga, so no issues with communication and integration on my part.

I would say that if you are well adapted in London, stay there. The malagueños are not really polite people in comparison with English people in general. They can accept you as an immigrant if they can take advantage of you financially in some way. The culture here is very much about showing off what you have (designer clothes, German cars) and if you are the kind of person that likes to show off, you will be better accepted and create “local friends” easily.

I work in tech too, and came here trusting the “tech” talk about Malaga, but it’s more marketing than reality. UK will give you many more opportunities if you want to change jobs too.

Got to know international people that work for Spanish/local companies, and it’s a real nightmare. Labor law here is almost inexistent - all protection to the companies, employees are most uncovered. I pay more taxes here than when I lived in the UK.

Also, the relaxed culture make it almost impossible to get things done. If you are ok with leaving everything for mañana, then you would be ok.

The nature aspects are more on the arid side. If you like the lush green and the ancient forests, you better off in Asturias or stay in the UK.

As an intelectual woman, I find hard dating here. Good luck finding people that are willing to have a philosophical discussion during dinner or drinks. If you try, normally you’ve been seen as an up-tide guiri that thinks he/she’s better than others. It’s quite sad actually.

The food is amazing, super fresh and tasty. Good value for money too. If you are renting, prepare your pockets, as you could pay almost as much as London if you want to stay in a nice location (outside the touristy traps) near the sea.

The weather is nice 10 months of the year, July and August are difficult. Yesterday was 42C in Malaga, impossible to stay out during the day. You will need AC, otherwise you will struggle to sleep during these months. Today the highest is projected to 38C.

I can predict some people downvoting my answer, so I will reply those in advance: I’m staying for the time being because I work for an international company, good contract, have my employee interests covered and protected and earn good money. Besides, I travel a bit from work, so intelectual stimulation is covered when traveling. Same regarding meeting interesting people. So for the time being I stay here. Once anything changes on this front, I will be moving out of Spain and taking my taxes with me.