Living in Spain as an Expat

Living in Spain as an expat is great.  The sun shines (at some point) most days of the year.  Even when it's cold, you can usually go for a walk and find a nice sunny spot to stand in for a while.

And the sky is brighter in Spain.  Each time I come back to my home here in Spain after a trip to the UK, it never ceases to amaze me how much lighter and brighter everything is here.  I like that; it cheers me up when I am missing my family back in the UK.

The pace of life in Spain is so much more relaxed too.  Ok, sometimes the Spanish way of life can be a little too slow, especially if you want something done in a hurry, but overall it seems to me that the flow of life in Spain is much better for your health, once you get used to it.

And the people in Spain seem happier too.  The Spanish way of talking is often loud and very expressive.  Get a room full of Spaniards and they all tend to talk at once, which can get confusing for an expat!  But I feel the Spanish way is so much more open than the 'stiff upper lip' British way of communicating.

There are many other reasons why I like living in Spain as an expat.  Nevertheless, there are some things I do miss.

As I live in Spain most of the year, I miss my family and friends left behind in the UK.

I miss working with people who speak the same language as me and sharing a joke with them.  The Spanish sense of humour can be great, but by the time my head has translated the joke, the conversation has moved on to something else!

I miss listening to Radio One when it first goes out.  Yes, I know that's sad, but I used to enjoy listening to Chris Moyles while I was getting ready for work.  Here in Spain, I have yet to find a radio station I like.  Spanish radio seems to consist of the same 'pop' songs played over and over again, and stations set up with expats in mind seem to think we all prefer listening to music from the 60s and 70s.  Why?

So, basically, I find Spanish radio to be utter crud.  But if anyone has found a good Spanish radio station I can tune in to in the Granada region of Southern Spain, then please let me know.  I really would appreciate it!

And I miss watching TV, without having to translate every word.  We haven't got around to installing a big enough satelite dish here in Spain to get English TV yet, and by the time we do, I guess we will be used to watching Spanish TV anyway, even though, like Spanish radio, a lot of it is utter crud.

But really, that's all I miss about the UK.  I still much prefer to live here in Spain.  Living in Spain as an expat can be frustrating at times, but overall I think it's great.

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