These past two years have flown by; Sat here in my lounge at home in Gran Alacant, looking out of the window, I am reminded of the day I left Southampton. It was cold, damp and icy. A typical January morning, in the city I had lived in for a quarter of a century. Today at my house in Puerto Marino, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and there is hardly a cloud in the sky. This is the reality, living in Spain on a typical winters day; in complete contrast to the life I left behind. The circumstances of our leaving, were very different to that of most people emigrating abroad; this was a decision forced upon us. Darrell and I left the UK because we had too. After a series of revelations, we discovered our employer, Oxfam, was responsible for systematic abuse and bullying; serious breaches in Health and Safety, that endangered both mine and Darrell's life. Our Manager was a sociopath; the only option open to us, was a new life, far away from the memories of the past. We chose Spain and arrived in Alicante on 31 January 2016.
I took many months to adjust to life on the other side of Europe; a difficult journey at times, but a learning process over all. Beginning a new chapter is fraught with difficulties; it is however an experience like no other and has allowed me and Darrell to grow, change and evolve. This blog, Spanish Views documents our new life; today I am going to discuss, just how far we have come in two years.
I took many months to adjust to life on the other side of Europe; a difficult journey at times, but a learning process over all. Beginning a new chapter is fraught with difficulties; it is however an experience like no other and has allowed me and Darrell to grow, change and evolve. This blog, Spanish Views documents our new life; today I am going to discuss, just how far we have come in two years.
Today Darrell and I are very settled in our new digs, having moved in November, situated in the pretty urbanization of Puerto Marino, near the Gran Alacant Centre Commercial. We are living in a south facing villa, overlooking spectacular countryside; double glazed windows with air conditioning throughout; a welcome change, compared to our first twenty months living in Spain. We chose our first house from the internet. It was situated on top of a hill and was north facing. The property was damp, single glazed and had no heating; I hated living there. Despite complaining constantly, nothing was done to solve the problems we endured. Admittedly we had a terrible winter last year, which didn't help us and the difficulties we faced. Water poured through windows and doors when it rained and the temperature inside this poorly built residence, dipped to below freezing. Spanish homes are not built to withstand the rigours of winter, especially in Gran Alacant, where they are not meant for all year round occupation. We moved into our new place a few months ago and couldn't be happier!
Darrell and I chose Gran Alacant as a destination, because of its proximity to Benidorm and Torrevieja, along the Costa Blanca coast line. After doing our research, we realised, this would be the best area to find work, after all neither Darrell or I were at retirement age and needed to forge a living. We understood before we left, that the employment market in Spain, was not like it was in the UK. As Expats both of us would have to work in industries, that allowed for English speaking nationals. I heard a lot of horror stories, about the lack of opportunities available and I certainly found it difficult, securing employment, especially during my first year. In an area like Gran Alacant, access to work is rather limited, concentrated in the hospitality industry, which is where Darrell and I work. I am running a bar and Darrell is working at the airport; both of us working in jobs, we had little or no experience of in the past. Nevertheless we are both lucky enough to be working in Spain, quite an achievement. I have seen many people leave this place penniless, after trying their best to build a new life. Unlike Britain, there is no access to benefits and we have to stand very much on our own. Both Darrell and I had very little help in the past, so this really isn't a new experience for us. There has been times we have had very little money; a year ago I was surviving on 10€ a week, today we are much better off, but life is still a struggle as we seek to integrate further!
On the plus side, after two years, Darrell and I have more or less completed the legalities needed, to live in Spain as permanent residents. As readers of Spanish views know, I completed all the necessary steps to remain in Spain permanently, in May 2016, after less than four months living here. Darrell's situation was rather different. In August of that year, Darrell returned to Australia for seven months, to care for his Mother, who had just been diagnosed with cancer. I remained in Spain, while he spent time with his Mum, getting her through the chemotherapy and offering her the support she needed. Luckily today she is well, living with the spectre of cancer, but able to manage her condition. Mine and Darrell's plans were put on hold, during his absence; when he returned to Gran Alacant in May 2017, he had to begin the process I started a year before. Of course for Darrell, his difficulties were only just beginning; as a foreign, non EU national, his route to residency would be far harder than mine; however in December of last year, he received his identity card. Darrell was finally legal, living in Spain and we could actually start living life again. Spain is an unforgiving place in many respects. It expects you to follow the letter of the law. Once you complete all the formalities involved and settled status is granted, life does become easier. We are nearly there; the final piece in the jigsaw is the transfer of Darrell's British driving license into a Spanish EU one. This will finally conclude our paperwork trail!
Despite the continued complications and hardships, we both remain very committed to Gran Alacant, and the direction our life is heading. My biggest sense of achievement comes from what I do best, writing. Since moving to Spain, I have written more than ever. Spain has not only given me the motivation to write, but it has given me opportunities; opening doors that until now had been closed. My blog has gone from strength to strength; thousands of people read it daily. I have also been given the freedom to write my own column in a local magazine and explore many other avenues of interest; publishing my writing online and in various publications across the World. Spain has been the catalyst responsible for me, following my dreams and aspirations. My inspiration was born from my time living here. Sitting on the terrace at night, overlooking stunning views, tweaks my imagination, providing me with much of the material I blog about today. I am comfortable enough after two years, to be able to dedicate such a lot of time to my passion. Had I still been living in Britain, it is doubtful whether I would have carried on writing to the extent I do, if at all. My lifestyle living on the Costa Blanca, is about enjoying myself, as much as it is about surviving and working for a living; writing remains the most important part of my new life in the sun!
There are many other benefits to living here; I am more alive now, than I ever was. My health has improved dramatically. I no longer suffer with arthritis; the climate has all but solved that ailment. None of us know what will happen in the future, but for now the warm dry weather, Alicante micro climate and salt lakes, have done their best to cure a condition, that Darrell and I have both suffered with, for a number of years. Darrell suffers with chronic pain more than I, but even he has reduced his medication considerably. Today I barely notice 'Bipolar,' something I was diagnosed with fourteen years ago. My change in lifestyle and new environment, has allowed me to move away from the continual cycle, of medication I was prescribed; today I don't take anything and that can only be a good thing.
Like most things in life however, there has been some negative aspects to my health, moving to Gran Alacant. My weight has increased. I do spend a lot of time, sitting and writing, which has been responsible for my larger size. As a knock on effect, I have also got high blood pressure, so am currently monitoring it daily, before I attend the clinic in Gran Alacant. The sad truth for me is, I am doing less physical exercise than ever, despite living in such a picturesque part of the World. I have to take an hour out of my schedule each day and make time to walk, stroll and take in the sea air; ultimately losing all those extra pounds!
Like most things in life however, there has been some negative aspects to my health, moving to Gran Alacant. My weight has increased. I do spend a lot of time, sitting and writing, which has been responsible for my larger size. As a knock on effect, I have also got high blood pressure, so am currently monitoring it daily, before I attend the clinic in Gran Alacant. The sad truth for me is, I am doing less physical exercise than ever, despite living in such a picturesque part of the World. I have to take an hour out of my schedule each day and make time to walk, stroll and take in the sea air; ultimately losing all those extra pounds!
Sadly we lost both Precious and Lily, our two cats, since moving to Spain. Precious died of a brain hemorrhage and Lily died of old age. We believe she was probably older than we thought; likely to have been between 14 and 16 years old, not 12, as we assumed. Nevertheless we do have Mollie and Wildling, our two new kittens, who were sadly abandoned in Spain and were in need of a good home. They are both getting stronger everyday, although still scared of strangers. Initially we were just going to foster these two reprobates, today they are firmly part of the family; we hope they are with us for many years to come.
We have been fortunate to receive many visitors since we moved to Spain; in fact we said goodbye to our latest one Chris early this morning, on his journey back to the UK. When I moved to Spain, I was terribly upset about leaving friends behind; it was the most difficult part of our decision to leave. To my surprise, I have been amazed at the number of people we have seen, spending quality time with them in Gran Alacant. I have also made the effort to keep in contact with everyone back home, reconnecting with many, I lost touch with over the years. I may well be living in Southern Europe, but I have more solid friendships now than I ever have; not only in the UK. Darrell and I have formed close bonds with a number of people who live in GA; not the hoards of people who used to come through our door in Southampton, but some real stalwarts, who have helped us both, when we have needed it. At our time of life, it is great to feel settled and comfortable once again, in the company of others, without fear of their intentions. Finally we have overcome the difficulties of the past; the people who played a part, in our hurried exit from the UK, are well and truly laid to rest, where they belong. Gran Alacant has shown us, there are good people in the World, if that is all we gain from our experience, living in Spain, then it would all have been worth it.
These past two years were as difficult as our final year living in Southampton, but for very different reasons. Starting a new life, pressing that reset button, was always going to be hard, causing a certain amount of apprehension and anxiety, but I am glad we both did it. Our life still remains challenging; we still have many hurdles to overcome, in order to rebuild what we lost. Life is completely different now, because it has to be. Personally I have changed, I am no longer the person I was; I had to adjust in order to survive. The hardships we have both sustained, have been character building. We have certainly become harder people, far more unforgiving and keep very much to ourselves. Like Darrell, I have no desire to make the same mistakes, I made in the past; equally I am determined to live a happy fruitful existence, far from the nightmares that haunted us for so long. We have been given a second chance, we are not about to waste it!
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