Lifestyle in Spain
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When people talk about lifestyle in Spain, the mind automatically conjures up images of sitting around a pool side or evenings spent sipping wine on a candle lit terrace. It is true that for some people, mainly retirees, they do enjoy such luxuries and so do others but not on a daily basis. For the most part, the reality is people still need to earn a living and once you start really 'living' in Spain you stop treating it like a holiday. In fact, expats still need a holiday even if it just driving an hour away to enjoy other beaches.
Of course, not everybody who starts a new life in Spain heads for the well known Costas. Just as many people are drawn to the attractions of a lively but manageable city such as Barcelona. Madrid has its own expat population and Brits are setting up home in the most undiscovered towns of Extremadura and Galicia, not for the weather but the sheer wildness of these regions.
Although, many people are looking for similar qualities in their new life in Spain, the word lifestyle means so many different things to different people. For some people a good lifestyle is about a luxury villa, expensive cars, the best restaurants, designer clothes and state of the art gyms. Some might call it the Marbella lifestyle. However, others are seeking an alternative, perhaps an inland village to enjoy a simple life.
Nevertheless, despite the hard work involved in relocating to a new life in Spain, people are often disillusioned with the results. It is usually those who have opted for a life very different to the one that they wanted to escape that experience homesickness after the novelty wears off. Sometimes the very things that we wanted to get away from are the things that we miss. So, if you live in the thick of it all in the UK be careful before you decide to take on that Spanish rural lifestyle, before long you might be missing your conveniences. The same goes for the marble and glitz of Marbella, you may even secretly miss your 'plainer' neighbours.
However, once they are settled, most people do not regret their move to Spain and enjoy their more 'outdoorsy' lifestyle, including the long summer evenings and weekends spent on the beach or exploring new places.