Well not quite but this is our 36th month here. We left England in May 2010.
Have I enjoyed my time here? I should say so! I was warned by my colleagues in my last job that I would be bored rigid, "What will you do all day?" "You will miss England" "You will not see your friends".
Let's go through a few comments. "What will I do all day?" Sometimes I meet myself coming back. We have a very relaxed life style in general but some periods of frantic activity. We have joined our local U3A and have become active Committee Members. We attend some of their Interest Groups and I run two of them. So between Computer Classes, Yoga, Classical Music, Shakespeare, Play Reading, Book Group et al, we fit in our social life of drives, cycle rides, lunches out, quiz nights etc. Committee work comes in batches, usually just before our monthly meeting when I may have as much as six or seven hours of printing to do. Sorry but no time to be bored!
"You will miss England". I did miss England for a short time but now that we travel back for the summer I can get my fix of green fields, rain, cold, expensive food and wine, each year. More cultural opportunities such as ballet or orchestral performances to go to in Spain would be nice but that's all.
"You will not see your friends". I made few friends in England so there are none to miss. My few true friends I see once or twice during our summer visit and we keep in touch via email. I have made so many new friends since being in Spain that the situation would be genuinely reversed should I have to return to England permanently.
This is not meant to be a dig at England merely a statement that I am very happy with my new life in the sun and can honestly say that I would not return out of choice. Here we can spend the winter enjoying outdoor lunches and activities. I could see us trying to have coffee mornings in steamy cafes with condensation running down the windows or constantly postponed walks etc. No thanks.
I will stick to the Costa Blanca for now!
---------------------