Are you happy with spain, how long you lived here and where?

Simple question

Are you happy? yes/no

happy defining do you love it? would you tell other people you are living the dream life you wanted.
Short comment not a diatribe describing your struggles.

 

 

How many years have you LIVED in spain? x years

how many years have you been here full time? not just holidaying, renting long term but actually making your life in spain.

 

 

What part?

self explanitory.

 

My answer. 10 years in spain full time

Yes i am happy but i can see why people leave after 6 or 7 years because doing simple things is a pain in the backside sometimes.

Sotogrande

 

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 I'm happy most of the time, nobody can be happy all the time.  Happiness is more about who you are than where you are.

I live in a small country town in SW Spain, and I've been here for five years. I can't imagine living anywhere else.  I still love all the things that made me want to live here - warm friendly people, wonderful fresh food, the outdoor life, fantastic weather for at least 8 months of the year, and beautiful countryside.  

I am made sad by the incompetent and corrupt government, both at local and national level, and the wasted lives of so many young people who can't get a job.

 

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I am almost 100% satisfied with my Spanish adventure-I have lived in Spain as a fully tax- compliant non-resident(about 5 months per year in Spain) for about 6 years

My  choice of location and property is probably unusual in terms of this forum .I live on the top floor of an old house converted  to six flats,two on each floor,in the centre of a small Spanish city(population 110k approx).The flat has a dream orientation(sol todo el dia),the front looks onto one street,the rear onto  a different street, no feeling of being enclosed  which is something one might fear in a city centre location. The city is beautiful,rich in narrow atmospheric streets and delightful small squares ,throbbing with life  at any time of year..The amenities are outstanding- an airport; beaches 30 minutes.mountains nearby etc,the crime rate  very low indeed.An entirely Spanish/Catalan ambience,I have not heard a word of English spoken in six years.The people are extremely unfriendly,but I dont really do touchy-feely anyhow,so this does not bother me too much at this stage(it did initially).The flat is one-bedroomed(ten minutes housework per day).I like to think that I have a 4-bedroomed home,with three bedrooms in Ireland,one bedroom in Spain-I move seamlessly between them

My Spanish property has declined in value in the past 6 years,of course,but by an amount close enough to the rent I would have had to pay for a simiilar property during that period,so I am not unduly concerned in this regard

The life of a non-resident has much to commend it  for  an individual who is fascinated by this great nation of Spain but is unwilling to commit too heavily .I have not ruled out the possibility of moving to residency in due course(the dark-eyed Maria might be influential in this regard)but it seems to me that the balance of the argument has shifted strongly against  the residency option in the last year or so

 

 

 

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I've been in Algorfa on the Costa Blanca for five years, and I divide my time between here and Bigbury Bay in Devon. We came out on an inspection trip in July 2007, not intending to buy, but just to see what was available in our price range. We walked into the apartment we're in now and fell in love with it immediately. My husband had lectured me on the plane on the way over about not buying the first place we saw with a decent communal swimming pool, and I assured him there was no way I would say 'I want,' as we were just on a research trip.

We walked through the courtyard and into the apartment, saw the view of the mountains from the terrace at the rear, and the first thing I thought was, 'This is my home,' but I never said a word, because no way would I give him that satisfaction. After about five minutes, Tony said, 'We're buying this - don't bother showing us anything else.'  The fact that we had a house to sell in the UK was just incidental as far as he was concerned.

Long story short, we did sell our house, bought the apartment and bought a static caravan in Bigbury Bay as a UK base. We couldn't be happier, and the only thing we regret is that we didn't do it years ago. It's not perfect - nothing is - but it's good enough for us, and while we love to go back to the UK and see the family, we'd never want to go back to live full time.

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so out of 3 replys

2 of them are part timers in spain.

i cant add these to my `survey` i am doing because i am sure there is a huge difference spending a few months a year in spain than there is cutting ties with uk and spending your life here.

but i do appreciate the responses.

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Have now lived in Murcia full time for 7 years and love it. Slightly inland with city and coast a mere 15 mins in opposite directions.
Probably because pro rata there are few expats in my area ALL the local Spanish are very accommodating and there is no end of free assistance they will give to us. Indeed we have more Spanish friends , and I don't use the term loosely, than Brit ones.
Surprisingly many Spanish in this area are quite fluent in English although attempting to learn their language is very important to us.

My husband has had the misfortune to be in hospital 3 times, twice locally and once in Murcia City,and cannot fault the nursing staff or the prompt attention he has received.

Would either of us return to UK?
Even though we have family there possibly would only consider it if one of us died because ,although nothing is perfect ,neither of us have any complaints.
For us it is living the dream but realise many couples are only happy when in the company of others so living on Brit urbanisations for them would be preferable.

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I´m curious... what´s the purpose of your survey please? If it´s a good answer, I´ll add my comments.

Irene

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Nostradamus, you describe this great sounding Spanish city then say the people are "extremely unfriendly"!!, Is it Girona?, some of Spain does have a clique feel, probably more so in Catalan speaking areas but I would still prefer this to expat "ghettos"!,

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ireneandallen.

unfortunatly if i say why it will skew the results

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No, but then I am not happy at any time, anywhere.

11 years.

Murcia.

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** EDITED - At Poster's Request **

 

 

This message was last edited by eos_moderators on 03/03/2013.

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 LIved 25km north of Granada city centre full time for 8 years, lovely Spanish village only one other English owner who uses property for holidays 2/3 times a year.

Very friendly locals, lots of free fresh produce throughout the year in exchange for xmas cakes ,chutney etc

Wonderful views and surrounded by olives, almonds and cherries.

Love the laid back lifestyle, paperwork is a pain in the bum though

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Hi,ojosazul188

I reply very briefly to your query,lest I get a rap on knuckles from Mungry for going off thread !

No,not Girona-a hidden jewel,my city,we aim to keep it that way

I agree that Spanish are happy to see expats in expat communes but are disconcerted to see an intelligent educated European living in their midst

Very interesting to read of the different worlds in which we all  live in Spain

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Lived in Manilva for 1 year and loving it. Renting at the moment and working in Gib.

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Lived just outside Los Alcazares by the Mar Menor, We've lived here permanently for 8 years but the my wifes mum and dad have lived here full time for 30 years!! We all  still love it. Have seen lots of people come and go and fall in and out of love with Spain.

I think it depends on what your looking for.  

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I have lived in Valencia region for 9 years now and came with tons of optimism.  I had intended to do the "villa with a pool" bit for a couple of years and then move into a city.  However, my time here has been a nightmare - everything takes too long and, as a result, modifications to my villa were delayed meaning I then was trying to sell when the bubble was bursting.  I had a six month dispute with Telefonic who insisted I had 2 telephone numbers, despite the fact that they had only installed one, and kept charging me for both until I paid for a solicitor to deal with them on my behalf.   There have been other tussles with officialdom too many to mention.

Then construction of a house started behind me and that's now into its 4th year.  Constant noise from a site that should have been completed long ago.  The building breaks many of the regulations - too high, too big for the plot, too close to the boundaries but the townhall keeps stalling.  The stress has, at times, been unbearable. So I'm trapped here, unable to move until the work is completed and, even then, I'm not sure when I'll be able to sell.

I estimate it will have cost me more than 50% of my savings and, being a pensioner, I have no way of getting that back.  My time in Spain has been heartbreaking and punishing for me.

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Chris-your comment-"I think it depends on what you're looking for" doesn't have any relation to the ordeal what hrespana has been through, which was not of her/his doing. It's nothing to do with attitude either. I think hrespana's post sums up the experience many others have had in Spain, rather than the rosy picture some paint of life here.

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I agree totally, but my comments were posted before hrespana posted his or her comments so they were not directed at them. It is true some people have a really bad experiance, but others do well and would not live anywhere else. Each persons experience is different.

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Just because people admit to like living in Spain it doesn't mean that the journey has been perfect.
Far from it.
But problems, apart from illegal builds, do get sorted...eventually..and wherever in the world one lives one has to maintain a positive attitude when things go wrong otherwise life just ain't worth living.

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Thanks Nostradamus for that, a" hidden jewel "your city so much so you cannot say where it is!! Perhaps Reus , perhaps we will never know, you sure are a secretive lot in this city!

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