45 and Spanish!

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Spanish Resident

So it is official, I am finally a Spanish Resident, all legal and above board and I could not be happier! 

​I had an early morning appointment at the main Police Station, where I had to hand over all my paperwork, to prove that I was eligible for Spanish Residency.

This was my aim, when I came to Spain, to achieve legality over here.  I knew from the outset, how difficult that would be so achieving it, just over three months in was amazing for me.  When one considers that there are approximately one million Brits living in Spain and only 350,000 are legitimate, many of whom have lived here for many years, I actually don`t think I have done too badly.  I am happy to have got this far, this quickly.

The people at the Police Station deal with many different applications, from passports, to NIE and Residencia.  They are always pleasant and polite  and the lady who dealt with my application was happy to wish me a Happy Birthday, presenting me with my Residency as a present, as she put it.

So now I am a Spanish Resident, with all the benefits that entitles me too. The benefits of Residency are wide and varied.  They include access to all health and social security benefits, including a pension, lower taxation, with my tax status now transferred from The UK to Spain as well as, making travel easier in the Euro Zone without a passport and a dramatically lower Capital Gains Tax than the UK.  You are on the other hand obliged to file a tax return each year and declare all over seas assets.  

People have questioned why I wanted to become Spanish.  There is quite an easy answer to that.  I know full well I did not have to go through the tonnes and tonnes of paperwork, I have in order to become 'Official'. but I wanted too, in every sense of the word.  Britain is no longer my home.  I need to remove all memory of that place. not because of my Country, but because of what happened.  When one does go through tough times and experience dreadful, unmentionable things, you really have to take a deep look inside of yourself and finally move forwards in life.  So many people have asked us, 'Are you not afraid of failure?' well No!  Failure is not an option, not now.  We have too much to prove to one another and those who questioned our motives, as well as those who put us here in the first place.  Most of all we are free of their influence, nearly.  There is that one person, who is still trying to cause trouble and more pain. The one person we trusted.  Karma will bite her hard in the arse in the end, I am now sure of that!

Birthday

Once I got back to GA, I popped  to one of our favourite bars for a drink.  I was working in the evening, so really had no time to celebrate my Birthday this year. To be honest, receiving my Residency was enough for me.  It was the biggest Birthday present, I have ever had!

I have worked really hard over the last few months to achieve my new status and I am proud of what I have done.  It is not about being big headed, it is about realising a dream, when all my previous dreams were taken away, by a desperate group of individuals, whose only goal in life, is to cause harm to others.  This was a great start to my 45th!

I met my boss, Darrell, Jamie and Natalee at the bar a little later and it was nice to sit down with friends and have a chat.  All of them understand what we went through and know just how important success is now, however long it takes.  The funny thing is, there are a lot of people like us out here, for similar reasons and we are just beginning to realise, the World is full of distasteful people, shattering lives!

Weather

The weather in Britain was the talk of the bar.  It was sizzling in Britain, well 26 degrees anyway.  The weather here was not great to be honest.  It had been raining for a few days.  Southern Spain was beginning to feel a bit like The UK.  It has stopped now thank God!

Zest

Jamie and myself popped to Zest after I finished work, literally for one drink. That's all it takes for Jamie anyway.  As for me, I don't drink too much these days, so one was enough!

Dinner

We got back to Casa Caprice, about three ish in the afternoon.  Jamie decided he wanted to cook me a Birthday meal. Despite the fact he has never cooked on his own, as yet, he didn't do too bad.  He does need to work on his presentation skills, but it actually tasted alright. Jamie has come a long way since he arrived in Spain and I am really proud of all he has achieved.  He continues to grow and that is important for his future!

Home at Casa Caprice

It's been a quiet day today at Casa Caprice.  I have got a couple of days off work, so I have just spent the day cleaning and tidying and I cooked a chicken stew.  I don't actually spend much time at home these days.  This is Spain after all.  Why would you want to be stuck in a small house, when you could be out enjoying the countryside here in Spain.  

Jamie popped to Bingo at 3pm for a couple of hours and is now sat on the floor with his colouring book.  Natalee is asleep, Jason is at work and I am relaxing.  Jamie and I are going to sit down and watch some an Egyptian documentary later and generally chill for the night.

Thanks again to everyone for all there messages on my Birthday.  You are the ones that got us through this last year. Love you all!

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