Going to Live in Spain

Written by Ruth Polak


Thousands of people every year dream of going to live in Spain and a small percentage of them do it, what isrepparttar reason forrepparttar 148118 dream, and how doesrepparttar 148119 reality live up to it?

I came to Spain in 1991, 14 years ago atrepparttar 148120 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 byrepparttar 148121 promise of beautiful rural property going for a song, but we wentrepparttar 148122 wrong way when we got offrepparttar 148123 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 sayrepparttar 148124 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 asrepparttar 148125 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 uprepparttar 148126 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 followrepparttar 148127 sun, sea and sangria route as we were looking for isolation and seclusion and after responding to an advert for a house for sale inrepparttar 148128 English paper " SUR in English" we were introduced to a Spainard who after much painstaking searching managed to find usrepparttar 148129 place of our dreams inrepparttar 148130 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 nowrepparttar 148131 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 spokerepparttar 148132 lingo and didn't even knowrepparttar 148133 word for brick. Still withrepparttar 148134 aid of Hugo's Spanish in 3 months,( 3 years more like) we plodded on and built our own piece of paradise onrepparttar 148135 sunny slopes of an Andalucian mountain. The children enrolled inrepparttar 148136 village school and within a few months were virtually bi-lingual. The local people were very friendly and trusting and adoredrepparttar 148137 children arguing amongst themselves as to whose turn it was to invite them for merienda after school.

So 14 years downrepparttar 148138 line we are still here and have no desire to return. Most of our hopes and expectations have ben realized. Certainlyrepparttar 148139 climate is better,repparttar 148140 property, atrepparttar 148141 time was cheaper,repparttar 148142 Spanish don't knowrepparttar 148143 meaning ofrepparttar 148144 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 onrepparttar 148145 door,repparttar 148146 cost of living was lower but withrepparttar 148147 advent ofrepparttar 148148 euro is steadily rising, taxation onrepparttar 148149 essentials in life such as alcohol, fuel and even tobacco is less and certainly even todayrepparttar 148150 Spanish do try to keep bureaucracy to a minimum. Pollution is pretty minimal as there is no heavy industry in this area and althoughrepparttar 148151 traffic has increased it obviously has done so inrepparttar 148152 U.K. as well. I certainly thinkrepparttar 148153 children had a better enviornment to grow up in as they were able to haverepparttar 148154 freedom to roam and explore that you certainly could not afford children inrepparttar 148155 U.K. these days. One other great benefit that I had not considered before isrepparttar 148156 much healthier lifestyle. The Mediterranean diet is considered to be one ofrepparttar 148157 healthiest inrepparttar 148158 world,repparttar 148159 sunshine is good for body and soul,repparttar 148160 air is fresher,repparttar 148161 longer winter days are much less depressing and if you like out door pursuits such as golf, swimming, walking etc. then it is definitelyrepparttar 148162 right place to be. It is little wonder thatrepparttar 148163 local population have a longer life span and comparitively lower rates of cancer and heart disease than in other western countries.

Choosing Day Tours in Cape Town, South Africa

Written by Marvic


Marvic Tours and Tales believe that modern travellers seek authentic adventures where they can chooserepparttar specific experiences to partake in. This is especially pertinent when it comes to long-haul destinations like South Africa. As with other cities, Cape Town offers so much that it could be difficult forrepparttar 148107 traveller to makerepparttar 148108 best choices. Victoria Koning from Marvic offers some helpful advice:

“Firstly, travellers should consider their own needs. Do they have special requirements like preferring absolute privacy, or perhaps follow a special diet or have physical limitations such as needing wheelchair access? Travellers should also considerrepparttar 148109 things that they’re accustomed to, which might not be available where they’re going. Naturally, reliable travel providers can assist you in these matters.”

“Secondly, travellers should assess their abilities and interests e.g. if someone has a fear of falling, opting for a bungee jump off Africa’s largest bridge may not be a good idea (or maybe it would!) or if their fitness level isn’t great, signing up for extreme adventures might just be too risky. Also, if a traveller is an active, on-the-go-all-the-time kind of person, he/she may not enjoy a leisurely stroll throughrepparttar 148110 Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. We therefore recommend that travellers keep these things in mind when looking atrepparttar 148111 various choices.”

“Thirdly, travellers should be aware ofrepparttar 148112 impact that their perceptions of a destination have on their holiday. Discover these perceptions by asking questions like, “what appeals to me?” and “why am I considering this specific destination?” Koning asks travellers what they have heard aboutrepparttar 148113 destination. Would they like to investigaterepparttar 148114 rumours, or exactlyrepparttar 148115 opposite? What doesrepparttar 148116 traveller NOT want to see? For example, if a traveller is very sensitive, he/she may not enjoy visiting a poor local community that doesn’t have running water, or it could inspire them to see how these folk cope with their dire lifestyle.”

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