Over the last few years we have heard an increasing number, perhaps apocryphal tales of UK citizens “not recognising” the country they grew up in.

Feeling alienated in their own country and looking for a way out.

When you decide that you are nearing the end a busy working life, your family have fled the nest or you simply want a better quality of life for your family, your mind will inevitably wander to questions of whether there is a better quality of life to be found elsewhere.

Well, nearly three years ago, together with my wife and three kids, we decided that a home in Wandsworth, South West London and a partnership in a Mayfair law practice had passed their sell by dates and we needed a new dream.

My wife, who has been coming to the South of Spain regularly since early childhood is a very accomplished Spanish speaker – exposure – so to speak - to a succession of Spanish au pairs in London had broken me in – so the location of our transition was fairly obvious. We’d move to the Costa del Sol. After three fruitless and costly attempts to purchase a house in the Neuva Andalucia area of Marbella, we decided to rent – culture shock number one. We rented a five bedroom villa with a splendid garden and all important crystal blue swimming pool.

Lesson One - If you are going to relocate and live in Spain all year round, choose a newer property that has either under floor heating, hot and cold air conditioning and/or tiled or wood floors rather than marble in the main reception rooms. Alternatively, buy an extremely ancient Cortijo or Finca with metre thick walls and stone floors. For the eleven months we lived in the house in Neuva Andalucia we used that beautiful crystal blue swimming pool for no more than four months.

Lesson Two – Live on an urbanisation where you have communal pools, tennis and padel courts. Our first experiences of ”gastos domésticos” – or those usual home bills which required settling monthly was our second jolt of culture shock. Where else would we have happy queued in the bank to be told that we were only able to pay an electricity bill over the counter before 10.00 am and only on Tuesdays and Thursdays after the 10th of each month!! 

Lesson Three – direct debits – “pago domiciliado” - what an invention... The quality of schools in “our part” of Spain are, perhaps, some of the best anywhere in the World. The problem is lack of spaces. We decided early on that EIC in Elviria was best for our three. Their success record spoke for itself, the atmosphere is warm but very professional and the management excellent. After a brief need to occupy my eldest elsewhere whilst a place became available, in September 2004, all three dressed in the familiar blue and white they started at EIC – a mere 20 minutes or so from San Pedro de Alcantara.

Moving to the beach in San Pedro de Alcantara nearly two years ago was literally a breath of fresh air.

Our new home, also rented, is a bungalow with four bedrooms and suits us perfectly. Or at least it did until my wife – who has a life long passion for riding decided to accept the kind offer of a school Mum to ride in La Cala – 30 minutes up the Coast – past the kids school - towards Malaga. There soon followed my kid’s passion for a Pony - which became their Christmas gift and then, much to my surprise, my own passion for a life in the saddle – I have started to take lessons. The toll on our time travelling along the Coast has meant that we are now due to move in the next month or so to the East of Marbella nearer to the school and the stables.