31 Mar 2012 10:27 AM:

Ok, so I thought that I would contribute here, as not all of us have moved to Spain to retire. There is a younger (and often forgotten) generation that move out too, and if I was to give one negative point in this post, it would be that many newspapers, advertising and forums only seem to cater for people who have already retired. It doesn't bother me, but really noticeable when we moved out first.

So positives (and I'm all about been positive). My partner and I are in our very early forties. We decided to leave the UK as we were finding it depressing and with commuting hours of my job, we rarely saw each other. We believe and have experienced many many times that life is too short and sometimes you just have to go for it. That was seven months ago and after month one, we wowed that we will never go back to the UK, we love it so much here.

Couple of things to consider if you are thinking of moving here and still need to work. Don't even consider coming out if you do not have a job. I was extremely lucky to keep my job, my partner has his own business, which he restablished over here through very hard work and is doing well.

Get involved - learn the language, join clubs, do volunteering if you really want to immerse yourself in Spain. In seven months I am finding that we can get around with the lingo we have learned to date and meeting new people. Also, a reader above pointed out about the large amount of abandoned cats and dogs in Spain, I really noticed this too when I moved out, so I now volunteer at a local dog sanctuary, where apart from helping the dogs, I am meeting lovely people and also keeping fit.

Consider renting when you move out, don't be in a big rush or feel pressured to buy yet. If Spain does not work out for you, then the problems are not as big for you to return back. It seems very inticing at the moment to buy...but I would use the old adage here "try before you buy".

Finally- do your homework before you leave, I cannot stress that enough. Always have in your head that this is not a holiday, this is the future for you and your family. Things are going to happen more slowly once you are here and there will be many cultural differences. If you don't think you can overcome these and want everything to happen as it does at home - then i would not advise to move abroad at all, never mind moving to Spain.

And finally Spain is not the other side of the world, so if you are feeling nostalgic then home is not that far away really with good reasonable flights if you have a bit of flexibility.

We love it, we are healthier and happier in every sense of the world. We look forward to what every day brings to us and feel blessed that moving and living in Spain has worked out for us.


Thread: love spain

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