Working remotely from the Costa means no office down the hall. When your gestor — tax advisor — stops returning emails, your kid needs a pediatrician today, or you need a contractor who won't disappear, who do you call?

You need, perhaps, five people who've lived here for three years or more and will answer real questions. People who know which clinic responds to WhatsApp at 8 pm, which school opened applications early, and which contractor shows up.

Last winter, I had fourteen business cards forced into my hand at a Marbella hotel mixer. Used zero. A week later, I sat at a regular dinner—eight people, meet monthly in San Pedro—and I'm still using three contacts from that table.

The difference: recurring groups where people actually help versus one-off events where everyone's prospecting.

People who do what you do Monthly dinner or coffee with four to six at your level. Founders, senior professionals, people running teams.

You bring one fundamental problem—"Anyone dealt with cross-border contracts?"—and get tested answers.

Where to start: Hub Coworking in Estepona runs peer tables on Thursday evenings. TechHub Fuengirola has founder groups. Ask your accountant or lawyer if they know a small group—good ones don't advertise.

Cost: Usually free. Maybe €20-50 monthly if organized.

Long-term residents who know the system, People three-plus years who tell you which gestor doesn't ghost, which clinic answers WhatsApp, which school's application process is actually straightforward.

Where to start: Coastal Parents network (Marbella, monthly). Property owner associations in your urbanización. The quiet WhatsApp groups, where residents compare notes, rather than the loud Facebook groups full of tourists.

Cost: Free to €100/year.

Regular activity with zero agenda Weekly hiking, book club, golf, small dinners. Nobody pitches; everybody helps if asked.

Where to start: Thursday morning hikes from La Cala. Book clubs in San Pedro. Golf groups at courses between Estepona and Marbella. Check community boards at good coffee shops, not Facebook.

Cost: €0-30 per activity.

Size: Under fifteen around one table. Eighty people in a bar is a theatre.

Longevity: At least half live here year-round. If you're the only person making real decisions, you'll coach instead of learn.

Agenda: Clear reason beyond "networking." If everyone introduces their business, run. If it's "we hike" or "we discuss founder problems," that's real.

How to enter

One sentence: "We moved here last year, I run a remote team, building a circle of people who actually live here and get this life."

The right people respond. Once you've shown up twice and been useful, ask for something concrete:

"¿Conoces un abogado que entienda temas transfronterizos?" — Do you know a lawyer who understands cross-border issues?

What to skip

Hotel mixers. Generic expat entrepreneur meetups. Anything where the organizer sells financial planning and "networking" is their sales funnel.

Those cost two hours and €30. You leave with cards you'll never use.

What this costs, but more importantly, what you get.

Bad path: Twelve Tuesday nights at mixers. Zero contacts. €300 in parking and drinks.

Better path: Three recurring groups. Three evenings monthly. €500-800 yearly. Five to eight people you can call when you need help.

Your hourly rate is likely € 150 or more. One good answer—reliable contractor, competent gestor, pediatrician who'll see your kid—saves ten to twenty hours.

¿Tiene lista de espera o puedo apuntarme para este invierno? — Do you have a waiting list, or can I put my name down for this winter

¿Se puede asistir como invitado la primera vez? — Is it possible to attend as a guest the first time

Say it slowly, smile, listen. How they answer tells you everything.

You don't need fifty contacts. You need five who'll answer when you call.

Three carefully selected groups will get you there without wasting your winter on subpar wine and business cards.

Not bad for a Thursday—see you on the paseo

— A. & the slightly sober WaypointSur team

Made Mostly Under the Costa Del Sol Sun.
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