Yesterday I had to go to a government office to register some details. It took 5 minutes and I had the paperwork in my hand and was done at 2 in the afternoon.
My wife had to visit the GP. She was seen, diagnosed and collected her prescription (for free) from the attached pharmacy and all within 20 minutes.
We then went shopping in a supermarket and had the choice of goods from all corners of the earth. Next door was a furniture shop that sold top quality furniture which didn’t cost an arm and a leg. We bought two wooden steamer chairs for just under £50. The plus is that all the shops will be open without closing for hours on end during the afternoon, as were the government offices. My mail was delivered, to my door, this morning as it is every morning, along with the national and local newspapers (2 nationals and 1 local for the cost of one in Spain).
This morning, in temperatures of around 20C, we walked through our village where all the lawns were immaculately trimmed, the cherry blossom on the trees is hanging over the pavements, people are out chatting to each other. The well kept houses are not piled next to each other nor are they on top of each other. The streets are clean. There is absolutely no graffiti anywhere. Our local store is open until 10 this evening and has a plethora of goods for sale. We stopped off at a local park which covers 40 sq miles and has ponds with ducks, geese and swans. Deer are roaming just over the wall, daffodils and crocus blooming, people walking their dogs (and picking up the mess). The surrounding village is, literally, in bloom and we stopped at a small tearooms for tea with scones and jam and clotted cream.
This afternoon, the grandkids stopped by. We took them to a little park which is nearby and they played on the many swings/roundabouts/climbing frames for about an hour before we walked through the park. My grandson and granddaughter then had half an hour on the skateboard park. We could have popped into the leisure centre with its squash courts, gymnasium, dancing lessons and an indoor pool but we preferred to stay outside in the sunshine.
My wife is now preparing an evening tea which will consist of malt loaf, sandwiches made of granary bread with breaded ham, a large veal, ham and egg pie, a selection of pickles, jam tarts, Dundee cake and other goodies. My neighbours kids have just called by and the children are now playing on the lawn out the back.
Now, you have already told us you are Irish but I have absolutely no idea why you have such a downer on the UK. If you were to post a few comparisons between Spain and Ireland then I could understand it. I now spend half my time in Spain and half in UK. I love both countries but am not so blind as to close my eyes to the faults that both have. I am sure that, especially on this site, there are many who will tell you they will not even set foot in Spain again due to the corruption in government and legal circles. The maňana syndrome is quaint at the beginning but becomes a drag after a while.
So, to answer your question, the above are just a few points as to why I have not yet made the total move to Spain. Oh, and the weather has been in the 20s C for the last week and reached 24C on Thursday. I agree, you cannot guarantee it but when we do get the heavy rains, at least the roads and pavements in the towns don’t resemble an Olympics water slalom course.