Sunday 22 November 2015

Got the t-shirt!

Seeing an old work colleague posting about her frustration regarding the UK and her longing to live in Spain I thought been there, done that and got the t-shirt!

I remember the feeling so well and I also remember that no matter what I or anyone else says we all believe that we are different and that we know best.  That for us the living our dream will bring us everything we long for and more.  Living the dream is our utopia, our happy, our ever after.

That I believe is where we go wrong - as nowhere can live up to the life we have imagined in our dreams.

I believe that living abroad works when you approach it differently.  When you move not because you are escaping from anything but because you know the wrinkles of the country you are moving to and are prepared to totally change your way of thinking, change your views of culture and upbringing and realise that unless you are going to live on an ex-pat village that you will have to be the one to change and blend in.

I guess if I had been able to have the time to attend language classes.  If I had the type of personality that would push myself forward and got involved in clubs and local events.  If I had been able to cut off all ties with my former life in the UK then maybe - just maybe - I would have settled in and adjusted.

But for me, as a full time worker, and a somewhat private and shy person, I just could not settle.  Almost immediately the pressure of juggling work, the responsibility of organising everything - in a different language and culture - became a headache and the joy of living a dream became, if not a nightmare then, a little jaded.

So, my friend, do not look to living in Spain as an escape and the answer to your prayers.  Look at it as an adventure with its own set of problems and annoyances but with warmer weather!  If you can face that then go and be happy but retain a little bolt hole in the UK in case you find that what you were looking for was right in front of your eyes all the time.

Do I regret my move to and from Spain?  No never.  I did what I never believed I would ever do and I experienced things that I never believed I would.  However I would have done it differently.  I would never have sold my property in the UK until I had lived in Spain for at least two years.  I guess I would have "try before you buy".

Still love you Spain (and those that became our friends) but my heart is in the UK!