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.
Slightly 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.