Our Spanish Life

Having been in the Brewery business in England for twelve years and with the dawning of the extended licensing hours and the no smoking ban, we decided it was time to change our location and careers. Lookingback it was certainly the right time to move out of the “pub game”. Our Spanish Life began on the
1^st December, 2005.

My husband, family and I, said goodbye to a very cold and snowy England, and, boarded the plane at Manchester Airport with a one way ticket to a new Spanish life. We were excited, apprehensive and very nervous but looking forward to moving to Spain, it had been a dream for five years.

We were met at Malaga Airport and transported to our apartment in Fuengirola. Eager to see our new home town, we left the unpacking until later in the day and ventured out to have something to eat and to explore.

The sun was shining, tourists were sunbathing on the beach, the sea was blue and the town was buzzing with activity. Everything was so clean, clear sharp and bright. Everyone was smiling and seemed happy, it was a different relaxed atmosphere to what we were used to. Nobody seemed in a hurry, manana literally meant manana, there is time to do everything tomorrow or at a later date.

We didn't speak any Spanish at all when we first moved to Spain, so armed with a Spanish/English dictionary we learned our first few words – after all we had to go shopping. We soon learned the food and drink translations, especially when using a Spanish bar. Our pronunciation was not always correct, but because we tried, we found the Spanish people were willing to help and taught us the correct way to say things. There are a lot of Spanish language schools for foreigners in Spain but we have found the best way to learn is by mixing with the Spanish people.

The first six months of our Spanish life was the hardest. Yes we did get homesick, we did miss our extended families and friends and it was even worse when they visited and went back to the U.K. We did return for a wedding in the following July, the weather was wet and cold! In the seven months we had been in Spain, things had changed, we had changed. We couldn't wait to get back to our Spanish lifestyle and relaxed way of living.

We now have a few Spanish friends, we are learning their traditions and cultures, enjoy their fiestas, we try their food and they help to teach us their language and we help them with their English. Our neighbours have always been very hospitable and friendly and are very family orientated. They have a community spirit and look after each other and the youngsters show a lot of respect for the adult and elder generations.

Do we enjoy our Spanish life? I certainly think we do, we have lived here now for six years and we are enjoying ourselves. We no longer have any stress, we live each day as it comes, we enjoy an outdoor Spanish lifestyle and we have beautiful weather.