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Stepping On The Spanish Rollercoaster!
As we at A Life In Spain (ALIS) fall nicely into this category, we fully appreciate that even laidback, sunny Spain has its prickly side. First you are faced with the bureaucracy, ridiculous amount of paperwork, and having to wait an age to get anything done- even if all you need is a response. Then there are the annoying siestas, which cause everything to grind to a halt midday, when you still have so much to do; umpteen fiestas that have a similar effect; and noisy neighbours that just never seem to sleep! Add to that the scourge of the holidaymakers who flock to the coast in their droves throughout the summer months, causing chaos on the roads, stealing our favourite spot on the beach or by the pool, leaving our supermarket shelves empty and creating a price war at our local bars and restaurants! And let’s not forget the horrifying cockroaches and mosquitoes that find their way into our bedrooms to terrorize us as we try to sleep……
In spite of these annoying niggles, my personal experience of living in Spain has been great overall, and the massive cultural differences from that of the UK did not prevent it from becoming home very quickly! It had always been my dream to relocate to Spain, and from the age of fifteen, I was determined to make it a reality one day. Fortunately, for me my parents shared my love of the Mediterranean, deciding to take early retirement and start their new life in the sun in 2002, leaving me little choice but to up sticks and follow them! It was a tough decision, but I could not leave them to survive in a foreign country alone! Sadly, the move was fraught with setbacks, the most exasperating of which being the delayed completion date of our new home, which of course we were not informed of until we arrived on site with our suitcases, and the removals van carrying all of our worldly belongings following on behind. Could the builders give us an estimate of when the property would be complete? A week maybe? Two weeks at the outset?? Perhaps we could check into a hotel and put our furniture in storage for a couple of weeks??? ….“Manaña” was the noncommittal, unhelpful response which we continued to receive every week until we were finally given the green light…..nine months later!!! However, as we were still so excited about starting our new adventure and determined not to let ANYTHING ruin the moment, we remained upbeat, cheerful and composed throughout.
Thankfully, our patience paid off, and we were rewarded with a beautiful, Mediterranean style casa, situated on a charming urbanization with an inviting swimming pool, gardens filled with lazy palms and blooming bougainvillea, and everything else that I had envisaged for my dream home! Whilst the pleasant climate was a massive bonus, it was the warm, friendly welcome received wherever we went which really made the difference. In no time at all I had developed a great circle of like-minded friends of all nationalities which made for a fantastic social life; and landed myself an interesting job selling hot tubs! It was very different from anything which I had done before, but as “new beginnings” was the order of the day I dived straight in, eager to learn and spread my wings in my new home. My sales career continued to blossom when I began working for a successful Real Estate Company, and it was during this time that I really grasped the lingo, with thanks to much support and encouragement from my Spanish and Colombian colleagues.
Life continued to get better and better with doors opening and opportunities unfolding, which I had never even hoped of having. Every day brought new challenges and adventures, and just five years after arriving in Spain, I had landed my dream job, working as a News Reporter for one of the Costa Blanca’s most successful English language newspapers. As a newcomer to the media world I knew that I had a lot to learn, and would need to work incredibly hard to keep up with the competition if I was to eventually establish myself as a Feature Writer in my own right. So as always, I hit the ground running and have never looked back! The rest as they say, is history! It’s not exactly the relaxed, easy-going lifestyle that I had imagined during my early visions of Spanish life- in fact quite the opposite! Nonetheless, I will never get bored of waking up to brilliant sunshine and the wealth of surprises that await me daily.
I imagine that shades of my account will sound strikingly familiar and would love to hear about your own experiences of Spanish life. This might include the things that you admire about your new country, lifestyle and culture; along with the frustration factors, tips on how to adapt to life in Spain, and things which you wish you had known before you arrived!
It is comforting to learn from the comments that A Life In Spain has received so far, that many of our readers are totally in tune with our reflections on Spanish life, and have no regrets about making the move. We have included a couple of our messages here to give you some food for thought!