# Observations



## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

I really like this forum , I get so much useful information on all sorts of things and get to read some real entertaining posts.

I have bought my house in Spain and planned my move , income sorted , no mortgage , plans for the future etc Moving to Spain with eyes wide open and research done.

Spain is still having issues but if you are in the right financial situation its a great place to plan your future , we all make choices about where in Spain and for me its rural Spain but I can drive to the coast for a day out in an hour if I want to , I have spent 2 yrs learning Spanish prior to moving and visited my destination on many occasions , I have family and friends in the area so that makes it all much easier.

Its not UK and I dont expect it to be thats the reason I am moving I want a change of environment and weather that allows me to have the lifestyle I aspire to.

There are issues but I accept them and most importantly I will have a degree of loyalty to country I will be living in and will contribute to the local economy as much as I can.

I dont see its that difficult or maybe I am completely naive , learn the language , dont expect an income , live by the rules and enjoy all Spain has to offer , some folks on the forum have really encouraged me as this seems to be their approach to Spanish life and others seem to think its a complete no go ! Discuss........................


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## Tel Boy (Jul 1, 2014)

*Hats off*

Maureen, we are new to this, and I hope people will be helpful. Maybe the British arrogance lingers on in the sunshine, all the best Maureen, god bless.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

maureen47 said:


> I really like this forum , I get so much useful information on all sorts of things and get to read some real entertaining posts.
> 
> I have bought my house in Spain and planned my move , income sorted , no mortgage , plans for the future etc Moving to Spain with eyes wide open and research done.
> 
> ...


You sound like you're sorted. You know the issues in Spain - good and bad, so with those in mind you need to simply get there and try it all out. 

Once the novelty has worn off and it will, Spain is still a lovely country, altho it can be too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Then you have the usual daily chores to take up your time, but apart from that - enjoy, oh and always expect the unexpected (that was our motto)!

Jo xxx


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

jojo said:


> You sound like you're sorted. You know the issues in Spain - good and bad, so with those in mind you need to simply get there and try it all out.
> 
> Once the novelty has worn off and it will, Spain is still a lovely country, altho it can be too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Then you have the usual daily chores to take up your time, but apart from that - enjoy, oh and always expect the unexpected (that was our motto)!
> 
> Jo xxx


Hi Jojo , I know, I will enjoy each day as it comes and for sure life is about not knowing what comes next , might as well do it in the sunshine , will jump in the pool or switch the aircon on if I can afford the leccy lol !


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## zenkarma (Feb 15, 2013)

maureen47 said:


> Discuss........................


I think you've summed it all up really well. You've done your research, you've planned accordingly, you understand the advantages and disadvantages of relocating to another country and you're going into it with your eyes wide open. You seem a realistic and you seem pragmatic—the two things you need the most!

Spain can provide a terrific lifestyle if you don't have to work to earn a living. The food is fresher and healthier, the weather and climate is more conducive to a healthier lifestyle and the more relaxed and laid back way of life is far less stressful than the UK.

I believe very strongly that to succeed in Spain you have to embrace the Spanish culture and way of life. It's absolutely pointless in my opinion for people to relocate to Spain just for the 'weather' and continue their previous UK lifestyle of unhealthy English food, no exercise, too much alcohol and surrounding themselves with English speaking expats.


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## buble (Apr 29, 2011)

Above all, remember that you are a guest in their country.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

maureen47 said:


> I really like this forum , I get so much useful information on all sorts of things and get to read some real entertaining posts.
> 
> I have bought my house in Spain and planned my move , income sorted , no mortgage , plans for the future etc Moving to Spain with eyes wide open and research done.
> 
> ...


Sounds like you've prepared thoroughly and are ready to start!
However, with respect, you are doing it the "easy" way. What I mean is that you don't have school age children to accommodate into your plans and you don't need work. People who have to think of those two areas are looking at a very different Spain to yours, and that's when it becomes difficult.
Difficulties arise even for those who make the best plans, but it also has to be said that people who are successful inmaking the change usually see these difficulties as challenges to be met, or even as fun times. Learning the language for example is never finished and many people find what they learnt in class was good, but will only serve as a base to be built on before any real fluency is reached.
Living by the rules is fine when you know them, but there are times when people just won't know what's going on because "X" area is something they've never had to comtemplate before, and that's very difficult to accept at times.
Then sometimes things just crop up that were unexpected like homesickness and even when expecting it to be different those differences can be unpleasant at times.
Having said that I'm sure you're going to give it your best shot so just expect the unexpected as Jojo says and here's hoping Spain is everything you want it to be


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## SandraP (Apr 23, 2014)

I hope you keep posting about how life in Spain is evolving for you. My husband & I are hoping to do exactly the same as you when he retires in about 6 year's time. We have a good few years to look around various areas, but I am hoping to be able to move somewhere around Cadiz, but not bothered about being in a busy area, just somewhere near to local shops and a property with a bit of a garden to enjoy and relax in. 
We will be just 2 adults relocating with at least one motorbike each and a few cats, not too sure about the car, depends on what we own at the time of moving. We will not be looking for work even though I will not be retired, husband will be on an ok private pension and his state pension. We are intending to relax (although a lot of people seem busier when retired than they were when working) and we would like to be able to interact with the local community rather than just mingle with ex pats.
Thank you all for posting in various threads as it provides a lot of information valuable to people wishing to relocate.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Maureen, it seems to me you have everything going for you to make the most of your life in Spain. The right financial circumstances, the right attitude and the willingness to adapt.

Utopia does not exist, anywhere in the world, and there are certainly some things about life in Spain which aren't perfect. 

Bad things can happen to people, anywhere in the world, and they can and do happen in Spain too (serious illness can strike, either ourselves or close family back in our home country - as happened to me when my father had a stroke just a month after we moved here - or people can find themselves the victim of fraud, for example). 

All we can do, where ever we live, is to prepare as best we can, take whatever sensible precautions we can, keep our wits about us and if the worst does happen, do the best we can to cope. 

Good luck to you and your family.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

Lots of sensible advice as ever  I am hoping it works for us we have prepared as well as we can but who knows I may be there 6 months and think 'what have we done! ' Right now when we finish work Spain seems the preferred option for many reasons but who knows we may be somewhere else in the future , we have made 2 moves in the UK to completely different places due to choices and work opportunities and each has had pros and cons but you make the best of it.

I dont think if I had a young family and needed to earn a living I would so keen on the move as it would be so much more challenging , Good Luck to all who are going through the same journey


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

maureen47 said:


> I really like this forum , I get so much useful information on all sorts of things and get to read some real entertaining posts.
> 
> *I have bought my house in Spain and planned my move , income sorted , no mortgage , plans for the future etc Moving to Spain with eyes wide open and research done.*
> 
> ...


People say it's a no-go to those looking for employment in parts of Spain with very high unemployment, or those looking to put teenage children who don't speak Spanish into a Spanish school. If you've got your income sorted, and don't have to worry about educating children then you've got it pretty easy, wherever you go. And if you 've got family and friends in the area your are moving to then I'd say what you're doing is perhaps even easier than moving to another part of your home country.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

Chopera said:


> People say it's a no-go to those looking for employment in parts of Spain with very high unemployment, or those looking to put teenage children who don't speak Spanish into a Spanish school. If you've got your income sorted, and don't have to worry about educating children then you've got it pretty easy, wherever you go. And if you 've got family and friends in the area your are moving to then I'd say what you're doing is perhaps even easier than moving to another part of your home country.


You are spot on with it really helping to have family and friends in Spain , they have made a lot of the mistakes in the early days and we benefit from that by the advice they can give, I will plod with my Spanish , learning a new language when you are older is hard work but worth it when you start to understand and can take part in conversations , I have a long way to go with my Spanish but at least can now function in Spain and I am hoping it will improve a bit quicker when I am having to use it on a daily basis, I will miss my grown up children for sure but skype will keep us in touch and visits both ways as necessary, its a really exciting time and a new chapter in our lives when we can try out all the things we have been planning , I love the house we have bought , it is spot on for us and was worth all the time it took to find the right one, I really need to finish work as I am drained and need a break, I have had a great career but its time to move on now. No doubt there will many more challenges ahead but we will think of them as opportunities and deal with them as they crop up !


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

SandraP said:


> I hope you keep posting about how life in Spain is evolving for you. My husband & I are hoping to do exactly the same as you when he retires in about 6 year's time. We have a good few years to look around various areas, but I am hoping to be able to move *somewhere around Cadiz*, but not bothered about being in a busy area, just somewhere near to local shops and a property with a bit of a garden to enjoy and relax in.


Good choice! :welcome:


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

maureen47 said:


> Lots of sensible advice as ever  I am hoping it works for us we have prepared as well as we can but who knows I may be there 6 months and think 'what have we done! ' Right now when we finish work Spain seems the preferred option for many reasons but who knows we may be somewhere else in the future , we have made 2 moves in the UK to completely different places due to choices and work opportunities and each has had pros and cons but you make the best of it.
> 
> I dont think if I had a young family and needed to earn a living I would so keen on the move as it would be so much more challenging , Good Luck to all who are going through the same journey


That's the right attitude. When we left the UK for Prague I thought I'd die and be buried there eventually - never for a moment thought I'd be living in Spain, let alone living so contentedly here.
You are open-minded which is a very sensible outlook on life. When people talk about 'living the dream' I can't get my head round it....and I think of Jo and her sound advice about cleaning the loo etc...Same life, more sunshine...
There are many places in the world where like Spain it's possible to live well......providing you have the means and you live within them.
Your comment about moving here being a lot more challenging for most people with young families is spot-on. Spain is no longer the land of milk and honey...it never was for very many Spaniards.
But for those with sufficient means to be able to afford their chosen lifestyle it's a great place to be especially if you learn Spanish, get stuck into your local community and understand that even Benidorm isn't quite like Blackpool. That doesn't mean you have to become a plastic Spaniard, it just means that you do what we expect immigrants to the UK to do....respect local customs, observe rules and laws and don't complain when you find that yes, many things are different here and usually for good reason: tradition, custom, climate...
Good planning, no illusions and an open mind....not much else needed to make a go of your new life, methinks


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## Chica22 (Feb 26, 2010)

MRypgn is so right, Spain is not the land of 'milk and honey' My OH is Spanish and lived in the UK for over 40 years. For many years I was the one that always wanted to move to Spain, we owned a holiday home here for over 20 years, and OH did undertake some work for the UK Educational Awarding Bodies in Spanish Colleges, but he was always reluctant to move back to Spain, mainly because he wanted to make sure we had sufficient income without having to look for work. Spain without a regular income is an extremely hard place to live.

Having now lived in Spain for over 8 years, I love everything about the place, but OH still has to watch 'Newsnight' each evening, still has to have an English breakfast at a local English owned establishment on a monthly basis, and constantly compares the 'bad things' in Spain with the UK (maybe he is a plastic Brit!!!). 

I now understand his way of thinking, nowhere is eutopia, and you will always make comparisons, (whether that be central Government policy, taxes, or just basic beauracracy, and similarly those that move back to the UK will probably miss something from their time in Spain.

So for those who are looking to move to Spain with sufficient means to do so, come and enjoy your life, for me there is no where better to be, but every country has its good and bad points, so optimism and a positive attitude to life are important.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

I think having an income is clearly key but also to accept its not the UK , there are so many posts on social media complaining about foreign requirements impacting on the British way of life , but for me if you move to a country you accept the differences , I know things dont happen as quickly in Spain as in the uk from our house buying experience but I am happy to slow down a bit , I have had a lifetime of tight deadlines at work and certainly wont miss them ! We are moving to a sleepy little village but it has all I need on a day to day basis, the shops are closed in the afternoon , I have to pick up my post between 1230 and 130 , I have to take my recycled rubbish to the bins in the village , thats a good thing for me as I dont have to wait 2 weeks for the council to pick it up ! Its about accepting the differences and enjoying the new adventure and as Jo says the toilet stills need cleaning in the sunshine


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Discontented people who move to a new country to "start a new life" often blame their woes on the country they are leaving. Unfortunately they often find after a couple of years that they have traded one set of problems for another. 

Unhappiness resides within; it might be alleviated by sunshine and a sea view but the euphoria won't last long, then they start finding fault with their new country. It's a strategy to avoid examining what the real issues are.

The immigrants who are happiest in Spain, in my experience, are the ones who make the best of life wherever they are.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

When in Rome and all that. It always amazes me when I read things here like, "I called the council but nobody spoke English." I wonder what they would think if Spanish people expected the local council in Britain, or wherever, to speak Spanish to them! 

You, Maureen, seem to have done your homework, know that you have to take the rough with the smooth, are looking forward to a great adventure and it's obvious you're going to succeed. Good on you!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> Discontented people who move to a new country to "start a new life" often blame their woes on the country they are leaving. Unfortunately they often find after a couple of years that they have traded one set of problems for another.
> 
> Unhappiness resides within; it might be alleviated by sunshine and a sea view but the euphoria won't last long, then they start finding fault with their new country. It's a strategy to avoid examining what the real issues are.
> 
> The immigrants who are happiest in Spain, in my experience, are the ones who make the best of life wherever they are.


I could not agree more. People nearly always take their troubles with them.

As for post...I haven't been to check on our post for over a week. In the UK I'd wait for it to arrive before I went to work.

I'm sitting by our pool and all I can hear is the tweeting of birds and the occasional shout of '****! ' from Juan next- door. Never are you out of the earshot of traffic in the UK.
As for shops closing all afternoon...I rather like being able to shop at 21.00 if I feel like it.
Although we did have a 24- hour Tesco a short drive away back in the UK.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> I could not agree more. People nearly always take their troubles with them.
> 
> As for post...I haven't been to check on our post for over a week. In the UK I'd wait for it to arrive before I went to work.
> 
> ...


One of my husbands regular comments whilst in Spain , 'can you hear that ?' no I reply , exactly he says , Nothing !


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

mrypg9 said:


> I could not agree more. People nearly always take their troubles with them.
> 
> As for post...I haven't been to check on our post for over a week. In the UK I'd wait for it to arrive before I went to work.
> 
> ...


This sounds as much like a case of you enjoying retirement as enjoying Spain itself (apart from being able to enjoy the pool of course). Spanish cities suffer from terrible noise pollution and the Spanish themselves have a reputation for being "gritones". It's just that you happen to live in a quiet part of Spain.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Chopera said:


> This sounds as much like a case of you enjoying retirement as enjoying Spain itself (apart from being able to enjoy the pool of course). Spanish cities suffer from terrible noise pollution and the Spanish themselves have a reputation for being "gritones". It's just that you happen to live in a quiet part of Spain.


I do enjoy Spain and retirement...but I've only been retired in the full sense of the word for the past year, really. But it's true that a lot of my appreciation of life here stems from the total contrast with my life in Cerny Vul...everything is so much better from climate to quality of food to friendliness of 'natives'.
I agree very much with Alcalaina in that life is what you make it. The things I enjoy -eating and drinking (in moderation!), reading, walking the dogs, being with partner and friends- all these things could be done in many countries in the world.

Our lifestyle here is quiet, enjoyable and most importantly affordable. I would like to have an apartment in Paris, a loft in New York City and a palazzo in Tuscany at my disposal but alas it cannot be.
And not because of any reason other than that I can't afford it and living here within my means suits me fine.


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> I do enjoy Spain and retirement...but I've only been retired in the full sense of the word for the past year, really. But it's true that a lot of my appreciation of life here stems from the total contrast with my life in Cerny Vul...everything is so much better from climate to quality of food to friendliness of 'natives'.
> I agree very much with Alcalaina in that life is what you make it. The things I enjoy -eating and drinking (in moderation!), reading, walking the dogs, being with partner and friends- all these things could be done in many countries in the world.
> 
> Our lifestyle here is quiet, enjoyable and most importantly affordable. I would like to have an apartment in Paris, a loft in New York City and a palazzo in Tuscany at my disposal but alas it cannot be.
> And not because of any reason other than that I can't afford it and living here within my means suits me fine.


I will keep my loft in NYC for occasional visits and let me kids use the the palazzo in Tuscany , the apartment in Sydney I will rent out and enjoy my frugal life in Spain lol !


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

maureen47 said:


> I will keep my loft in NYC for occasional visits and let me kids use the the palazzo in Tuscany , the apartment in Sydney I will rent out and enjoy my frugal life in Spain lol !


Four of us went out for lunch today, to a good local restaurant. We chose from the Menu del Dia which was 10€. 
We had a real feast...beautifully cooked food, much choice in each of the three courses and huge helpings....too big really. We couldn't make pudding.
We had a basket of fresh bread, two mineral waters, a small bottle of cava, a gin and tonic and a glass of rosada between us and finished off with an excellent coffee each.
We sat at a nicely laid table in a shady courtyard. 
The bill with tip came to €50,,,
We couldn't have had a better lunch if we'd paid €50 a head.
Viva España indeed


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## Maureen47 (Mar 27, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Four of us went out for lunch today, to a good local restaurant. We chose from the Menu del Dia which was 10€.
> We had a real feast...beautifully cooked food, much choice in each of the three courses and huge helpings....too big really. We couldn't make pudding.
> We had a basket of fresh bread, two mineral waters, a small bottle of cava, a gin and tonic and a glass of rosada between us and finished off with an excellent coffee each.
> We sat at a nicely laid table in a shady courtyard.
> ...


And isnt that just the joy of living in Spain !


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## GUAPACHICA (Jun 30, 2012)

maureen47 said:


> One of my husbands regular comments whilst in Spain , 'can you hear that ?' no I reply , exactly he says , Nothing !


Hi - he obviously doesn't live in Cádiz city, then, je, je..! An '*intercambio* ' group poll, around the time I first arrived here, found, by a huge majority, that Spanish children are the loudest in the world, LOL! Our bins are emptied, by an incredibly noisy crew, sometime after one thirty a.m. and the 'bin-cleaning' vehicle then follows on, at around three a.m. so it's definitely not quiet here in my neighbourhood, even at night...! 

Birdsong doesn't really have much chance of being heard, here, at any time of day - but, I still prefer, on balance, to be in Spain!

Saludos,
GC.


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