How has your life changed in Spain

We could describe ourselves as economic migrants.  I was well past retirement age, collecting  a state pension and running a part time consultancy to supplement it.  However costs were rising too quickly for us to keep up with them and we knew if I lost n=my major client, we would find it very difficult to support ourselves.  We knew Menorca very well as we had worked there about 20 years ago and still had family here.  Rents and rates are much lower as are winter heating bills.  Whilst we needed two cars in the UK, we only needed one to get us to the nearest supermarket and beach.  Consequently, the first thing we noticed when we arrived 3 years ago was that we were noticeably better off.

We had anticipated picking up the language quickly, but were soon disillusioned.  We expected full immersion but forgot that the vast majority are native Catalan speakers not Castilian.  Also, many of our Spanish friends speak English so it is easy to be lazy and respond to them in kind.  Finally, we are not in the first flush of youth and whilst we attend weekly classes, it is hard to retain what we have learned from one class to the next.  However, given another 5 years or so, we should be reasonably fluent.

However, the wonderful warmth and friendliness of the native inhabitants of this beautiful island has more than compensated and we have not regretted our move for one second.  The winters can be a little dull but once spring returns everything begins to happen once more with visiting friends and family, long lazy days on Menorca's wonderful beaches and of course the fiestas.

Meanwhile, can get The Archers via the internet and our local supermarket sells Marmite, so what's not to love about our life in Menorca?

Hello.
In Spain I'm already 3 month and I will say that my life changed. I found my country, I feel here like at home, people, weather, nature it's everything what makes me happy, I'm happy everyday and I say thanks god that I have chance to be here and feel amazing, I found here a lot of interesting people, so friendly, they changed my life as well.
here I do what I like,  do sport, in  this weather it's perfect time. My health changed in better Side.
In future life I'm planning to moving here.

We moved to Spain on a whim. The decision to move here was made quite quickly after plans to move to Portugal fell through due to lack of funds. Previously we'd lived and worked in Indonesia so our umbilical cord with the UK had already been cut so to speak.

We've been here almost four years and since we arrived, there's never been a dull moment. We are always busy with some project or other and have recently started a new business running a bed and breakfast and art retreat in a house that two years ago was a ruin. Our story was broadcast on Channel 4 at the start of the year. We are now booked for art courses all through May and the bed and breakfast side of things ticks along nicely giving me enough time to make my own work and catch up on other things. Pete and I are both artists so it's important to us to have the time to do our own work otherwise we'd go nuts.

My greatest stumbling block is learning the language. I wish that I could wave a magic wand and learn it over night! It's a struggle but I am getting there s-l-o-w-l-y. I just wish that my memory was better!

I do miss my children A LOT but, on the plus side they visit often and we see more of some of our friends here than we did in the UK. With EasyJet now flying to Granada, it makes long weekends possible and the flights are reasonably affordable.

I think it's really important to have an 'inner life' here. I think many Brits move here thinking it's going to be the answer to all their problems. Actually, it's not. After the honeymoon period and excitement is over, many people are suddenly faced with their own emptiness and unless they have lots of things that they enjoy doing and hobbies, it's very tempting for some to spend those long, empty days propping up the local bar. The secret is to keep yourself busy and get involved with your local community. Being a part of village or town life has many benefits and helps feelings of isolation that can come especially if you struggle with the language.

Not every day is perfect, and there are often things that go wrong but that's the same wherever we live. We are definitely not better off monetarily,  but we are better off in many other ways. A larger house for example, and much better weather! There are lots of bonuses to living here and I'd say that our quality of life has definitely improved. On a scale of 0-10, I'd certainly give our life here an 8