I came to Spain in 1991, 16 years ago at the time of writing, with my



husband and three young children then aged 4,7 and 8. To be honest we

had initially intended to go to France, having been tempted by the promise

of beautiful rural property going for a song, but we went the wrong way when we got off the ferry in Santander and have been here ever since!

Our reasons for leaving England, Lincolnshire to be exact, were not much

different I imagine from anyone elses, better climate, cheaper property

prices, less stressful way of life, lower crime rate, cheaper cost of living

lower taxation and bureaucracy, less traffic and pollution and generally a

better environment for our growing children. In all respects

I should say the move has lived up to our expectations.

Of course it wasn't all plain sailing. For a start none of us spoke a word

of Spanish, we had been busy learning French! We fell in love with Northern

Spain as the scenary is so beautiful but it was impossible to find any

property to buy as there were no such things as estate agents then, those

halcyon days! but for all we curse them they do a least provide a meeting

point between buyer and seller. So against all our original intentions we

hitched up the caravan and headed south, having been told by some English

people we met on a campsite that it would be alot easier down there. Which

indeed it was.

We didn't want to follow the sun, sea and sangria route as we were looking for isolation and seclusion and after responding to an advert for a house for sale in the English paper " SUR in English" we were introduced to a

Spainard who after much painstaking searching managed to find us the

place of our dreams in the mountains of Casares, just inland from

Estepona. However we still weren't home and dry as all we actually

bought was 10,000 sq. metres of complete isolation and a ruin without

water or electricity! So now the fun had just begun.

In any event we soon discovered that we had escaped bureaucracy as all we had to do was present a simple plan drawn by my husband and pay 200 pesetas

and we had planning permission to more or less do as we wished. However

that was easier said than done as we still barely spoke the lingo and

didn't even know the word for brick. Still with the aid of Hugo's

"Spanish in 3 months,"( 3 years more like) we plodded on and built our

own piece of paradise on the sunny slopes of an Andalucian mountain. The

children enrolled in the village school and within a few months were virtually bi-lingual. The local people were very friendly and trusting and adored the children, arguing amongst themselves as to whose turn it was to invite them for merienda after school.

So 16 years down the line we are still here and have no desire to return.

Most of our hopes and expectations have ben realized. Certainly the

climate is better, the property, at the time was cheaper, the Spanish

don't know the meaning of the word stress, although sometimes

this can be a bit stressful in itself! The crime rate in our area is virtually nil, we don't even have a lock on the door, the cost of living was lower but with the advent of the euro is steadily rising, taxation on the

essentials in life such as alcohol, fuel and even tobacco is less and

certainly even today the Spanish do try to keep bureaucracy to a minimum.

Pollution is pretty minimal as there is no heavy industry in this area

and although the traffic has increased it obviously has done so in the U.K.

as well. I certainly think the children had a better enviornment to

grow up in as they were able to have the freedom to roam and explore that

you certainly could not afford children in the U.K. these days. One other

great benefit that I had not considered before is the much healthier lifestyle.

The Mediterranean Diet is considered to be one of the healthiest

in the world,

the sunshine is good for body and soul, the air is fresher, the longer

winter days are much less depressing and if you like out door pursuits

such as golf, swimming, walking etc. then it is definitely the right place

to be. It is little wonder that the local population have a longer life

span and comparitively lower rates of cancer and heart disease than in other

western countries.

Most of the above still holds true for today. Of course there is alot of

development and a much larger foreign population but that has it's benefits.

The infrastructure has been greatly improved, in particular the roads and

airports and accesibility to all parts of Andalucia from Britain has

never been easier. It is now easy to take out a mortgage to buy a Spanish

property either at home, in Gibraltar or with a Spanish bank. There is

certainly a far greater choice of properties for sale and of course

plenty of Estate agents!

If you are thinking of moving over here then don't rush into buying the first brand new villa or apartment you see, shop around. You will probably get better value for money if you buy a second hand property and at least

you don't have to worry about deadlines not being met and being left

high and dry with all your baggage packed and no place to go. Also all

teething problems will have already been ironed out and water, electricity

and possibly even phone connections will be up and running.

It is very quick to buy in Spain, it is just a matter of going to the

Notary with the money, signing the papers and you can move in- no need to

exchange contracts and wait for completion dates etc. You don't even really

need a solicitor but if this is your first time it is probably advisable.

Buying a ruin, as we did, and building is now more or less out of the question as the Junta de Andalucia have put a ban on rural development. The only exception is if you can prove that you have a working Finca and that you need to live on the premises to tend to your livestock.

If you are serious about settling here then do make an attempt to

Learn Spanish as you will get

so much more out of your time here. The Spanish people are very kind

hearted and friendly and very patient with all us mad foreigners, so many

of whom don't speak the lingo, but they really appreciate you making the effort.

So if your dream is to go and live in Spain then do it! You will find it

a wonderful life enriching experience.