When I first moved to Spain eleven years ago my life was very different to how it is now. I originally moved here on my own. In those days I didn't have anything depending on me for its survival, animal or human. It was just me. Whenever I contemplate this my first thought is how much things can change in such a short period of time. This is swiftly followed by my second thought which is the realisation that actually eleven years is not such a short period of time at all and then this is inevitably followed by subsequent thoughts along the lines of 'Eleven years? Really? Eleven years? ELEVEN? Time passes SO quickly!' and 'Has it really been THAT long?' and then eventually comes the inevitable wake up call, 'OMG! I'm old! That makes me so old!'
But really I'm very fortunate. In the (henceforward to remain unquantified) years since I moved here 'just me' has expanded into a wonderful family. We are blessed with our two fantastic little boys and our gorgeous dog, Joey. We even have two fish called 'Happiness Friendly' and 'Goodie Baddie', not named by me I hasten to add. And to top it all off we are lucky enough to live here in Estepona, which is a wonderful place to live.
So what is it that makes living here such a good thing? Here are my top five best things about living in Spain.
1. Family values.
Spain has a reputation for being a family friendly place and it is. Children are especially well catered for in the local community. Where we live there is an abundance of well maintained and colourful play parks so there is always somewhere to go. Children are also welcomed in most restaurants and we don't feel the pressure of trying to keep our children 'seen but not heard' when we go out for dinner. I love that a sense of family is so highly valued here and that families support and help each other, living as an extended unit. Children, parents and grandparents can often be seen out and about together. This isn't always a benefit of course, especially when supermarket shopping necessitates having to slalom up and down the aisles while attempting to negotiate whole families deciding what to buy! Paediatrician's waiting rooms can frequently be standing room only as multiple generations of families wait for their little treasure's first weigh in. But I love this sense of togetherness. Coming from a rather scattered and small family myself it actually makes me a little jealous.
2. Urbanisation life.
Living in an urbanisation can offer a sense of community as well as some convenient sources of sport and entertainment. In our urbanisation we have a padel court, a swimming pool, a play park, trampolines and a football pitch as well as some lovely gardens to walk around and play in. Admittedly it costs us the equivalent of a whole year's gym membership in community fees each month(!) but on the plus side all of the facilities are easily accessible and we do use them a lot. Living in an urbanisation can also be very sociable. Neighbours frequently convene in chatty clusters around the grounds and organise social events. The children play together and everybody knows each other. There can be a reassuring sense of community in urbanisation life which is sadly becoming an increasingly rare occurrence these days.
3. Outdoor things
Living in Spain presents unending opportunities for 'outdoorsy' pursuits, be they organised activities such as horse riding, paragliding or buggy safaries or simpler, more spontaneous pleasures such as walking or running along the beach (especially out of season) or climbing up the nearest mountain. Whether you have children or you don't there's no denying that the warmer climate allows a much healthier, more outdoorsy life.
4. Travelling and exploring new places
Now obviously a person can travel and explore wherever they are, it's not exclusive to living in Spain. However there is something about discovering an undiscovered beach or a new town or landmark here that I just love. Last year we went to Extremadura for the first time and have since enjoyed several family jaunts up that way, exploring new towns, villages, castles, lakes and all sorts of other fun stuff whenever we go. Something I especially appreciate about many places in Spain is that they retain a sense of identity. You can walk through a town and you won't find only the same duplicated chain stores that can make them seem like faceless clones of every other town. Nor are small towns and villages turning into ghost towns as a result of superstores that lure people away from dying high streets that are full of closed down, boarded up shops as can be the case in other places. In the village of Orellana de la Sierra where we stay whenever we go to Extremadura the community gathers around the small local shop. It is full of chatter, everybody knows everybody else and the locals support their local shop rather than abandoning it in order to seek cheaper prices and a wider selection in a megastore outside of the local community. The opposite is happening in the UK where small towns and villages are suffering due to the arrival of superstores which frequently sound a death knoll for small businesses.
5. Learning the language
Obviously living in Spain presents you with the perfect opportunity to learn a new language, but more than that, you are able to use what you have learned in practical situations every day. There are those (rather annoying!) people who have an innate ability to pick up new languages relatively easily. I have friends who are natural linguists and who speak 6 or 7 languages seemingly effortlessly. For the rest of us though (and that definitely includes me) we need to work hard and must continually practise in order to develop our competency and fluency when learning a new language. When I was at school I learned French and even studied it at A Level. I was really rather good. However, lack of opportunities to use it practically (Clacton on Sea was never a hotbed of French speakers!) resulted in my French vocabulary gradually dwindling away to nothing. It did come in handy once though many years later. I was in the USA and on a visit to Alcatraz prison where the only information leaflets available on the boat ride to the island were in French and I was able to read them. This was of very small consolation though especially when I compared this rather measly accomplishment to my previous level of being able to speak in detail about the life of Louis XIV (with dates and everything!) It was hardly a fitting denouement to my years of study. Consequently a major benefit for me of living here is that it gives me the chance to learn, use and more importantly remember a new language.
Of course there are negative sides to living here, as there are to living anywhere. For one, I can't stand that every time I leave the house in the Summer I have to smother myself and two very reluctant children in sun cream. Also the population here is quite transient; people come here to live for a short time and then move on. We have made some wonderful friends who we now see only occasionally because they have moved back to the UK or to another country. However, the positives far outweigh the negatives and we have made a happy life for ourselves here. But everyone is different and people have different opinions. These are the five positives that I personally value. You may well have different ideas. Perhaps you agree with me or maybe you don't. Share your thoughts via the comments box below and let us know your positives or negatives about living in Spain.
So, it's over to you.......