The following article is taken from Eye on Spain, www.eyeonspain.com

Why My Part of Spain Suits me Fine

The Dream Of A Rural Life In Spain

When we first considered moving to Spain we were heavily influenced by all those “no going back” programmes and magazines. We wanted an adventure and feeling tired and worn out by UK living made us crave a drastic alternative. We envisaged ourselves renovating old ruins, hundreds of miles inland and growing our own food. When I think back to this, I laugh and realise just how stressed we were to actually even contemplate such a lifestyle. What these “no going back” programmes fail to air is the disillusioned couples and families packing their cases after their project is completed and heading for the costas.

Casares villageSlightly Inland But Close Enough

Don’t get me wrong, we are not in the thick of it and we did buy slightly inland in a Spanish village but we can get to the restaurants and shops five minutes away in the car when we want to it. We have the illusion of living in a very Spanish place, which is what we always wanted, with the safety net of being able to access all our conveniences should we want to, without feeling like we live in an expat enclave or a holiday camp.

Lots Of Options

The location is ideal for us as we are next to the toll road which gets us to Marbella in 20 minutes. If we fancy a real change of scenery and a mini holiday we can head to the resorts of Fuengirola or Benalmadena. If it’s culture we are after we can head for any of the cities within a couple of hours drive including Malaga, Seville, Cadiz and Granada. We don’t need to drive far to enjoy fresh mountain air and we can even go skiing in the winter and return on the same day to sit on the beach. Flights are fast and frequent to the UK flying from a choice of two airports Gibraltar or Malaga.

In fact there is no need to go to the UK, as Gibraltar is on our doorstep with all the UK high street faves including Marks and Spencer, BHS and Dorothy Perkins .If we crave some English food there are plenty of English restaurants in nearby Duquesa port.  If we crave something completely different we can catch a direct flight to somewhere else in Europe including Berlin, Dublin, Vienna, Milan, all flying from Malaga.

Great For Kids

It really is a convenient place to live and perfect for children. Even if you live in an apartment children get to spend so much time outdoors in the parks or on the beach. They can expel all their energy and work up a good appetite to enjoy all the good food that is around. The lifestyle in Spain really suits my children as they were never ones for being cooped up indoors. They attend a local school which suits their needs. I consider them to have a healthy balance of everything in life including leisure time, rest time, education, play time, healthy food with the odd treat. It is easy to achieve this balance in Spain.

Missing The UK


Although from time to time I miss the familiarity of the UK and I feel a bit sentimental about it, I know that here suits our needs at this point in time. I am not saying that I would never go back there or try another country as I don’t believe that Spain is any better than anywhere else, just different.

Over To You

What do YOU like best about your area of Spain?  Leave a comment below.

 


Comments:

CommentDateUser
What I like about our area, Marbella - Puerto Banus, is it's been popular for a very long time. Our urbanisation is surrounded by residencial property, (would never buy next to vacant land). It is a very sound investment. Sure the value has dropped like a stone, but haven't we seen this all before. Long as the rental is in demand,it's fine. We are in it for the long term. I hope the greedy days of off plan investment never return. I think you have both chosen well where you live. Why do people try to retire out in the sticks away from everything? I think people that move to spain and don't make an effort to join in with spanish life deserve to fail and end up going back to the UK. We have great shops, services, and people. 1/27/2010 11:30:00 PMMel & Ted Butter
What I like about our town, Jumilla in Murcia region, is that we have the necessary facilities on our doorstep (Mercadona, Consum, Aldi and Dia supermercados, a good local market, shops, bars and restaurants), but it is also a typically Spanish town. Our neighbours are all Spanish and we have been made to feel very welcome. There is always something going on: local fiestas, concerts, wine-tasting, the Vendimia and, in a couple of weeks´time the Feria del Amor. Can´t wait!1/28/2010 10:50:00 PMSue Walker
Hi Susan, Spain is a very large country. You are very lucky to have chosen an area that suits you, first time? When you are older I feel there isn't the time to look at every area. The internet is a huge help so you don't wast too much time. But it aint like a visit, to see it first hand. We were thinking of moving to Mazarron, we had a relative there. But they've sold up and are back in the UK. We think/feel we need that sort of backup. So now the search of where to live goes on. Mabe you could do a book on Spain that shows the real nitty gritty of what to look for in different parts of Spain? 2/1/2010 10:01:00 PMJimbo
hello susan, i'm considering to buy/rent a house in the south of spain, and your choice looks very promising can you give us the direction of your area?3/13/2010 9:23:00 PMquinaxixi
Great opportunity, sell Valladolid Restaurant, Spain. www.comoaguaparachocolate.es Contact: angel.atienza@cvitae.eu T-+34 626 850 35212/14/2011 9:35:00 PMAngel Atienza