Another World... (Spain in General)

Member Name: Recon

Product:	Spain in General
Date:	04/02/08 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful landscape, Not so busy/cramped, Cheap in general, Very healthy climate, Lovely lifestyle

Disadvantages: Electricity is expensive when living there

Sorry to say this, but England is no longer such a nice place to live. It is packed with people everywhere and has an unhealthy climate with many people living here that are rude and unfriendly. The crime rate is very high too, and the government isn't doing much to solve the countless problems we have. The petrol prices are ridiculous, the tax keeps going up and the cost of living generally is very high! I can't imagine having to live here forever, and I am glad that my parents have a holiday home out in Spain that I can go to whenever I want. I am fed up of this country. All that is on the news is murders, stabs, rapes, tax rises, crime and even more bad news. It is the most depressing country to live in and is becoming worse and worse. Without any offence aimed at those immigrants living in England, there are countless immigrants constantly moving to England, which is increasing the population at such a fast rate, we cannot cope. They are living off our government, and we cannot do much to stop this, as they shouldn't have all been let in, in the first place. I am not saying we should go on a mass extermination of all the immigrants in this country, but the economical effects are worsened by so many more people in such a small place, that the population density is immense.

When I head out to Spain, it is such a relief. The weather is wonderful, even in the coldest months as the sun still shines and you can even wear a T-Shirt in December when in the sun! I have even seen people in the sea in winter months! It is a lovely country. Our home is situated on the Northern Costa Blanca in between Alicante and Valencia. These are our two local airports when we fly out there, but we normally fly from Luton to Alicante as we love the Monarch flights that go there and back and they aren't expensive. The quality of life in Spain is brilliant. When I fly back to England, you see the gradual change of weather, until you land when you can't see anything above the thick clouds.

The weather in Spain is very warm compared to England. In the cooler months, which tend to be from December to February, the temperature can be as low as 3 degrees Celsius in the mornings, but this always rises to at least 10 degrees in the day depending on what time of year it is. I have been in Spain in January where it has been 23 degrees one day! The great thing that I love 90% of the time is that the sun shines! Even if the temperatures are cold, the sun is always shining, and this is just great! When in the sun, even in the winter months, it can feel really warming and it is lovely to have a blue sky. On the other hand, the summer is lovely. I normally go out there in the summer for a couple weeks, and it is just great! It is lovely to sit by our very own pool, which many of the houses have, and just relax in the sun. Temperatures can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius and even exceed this! As I am the kind of person that thrives on warm temperatures, and would rather have it boiling than freezing, I just love the climate! The climate itself can range from humid to dry, but is normally more humid in the summer months, with thunderstorms too. These happen right across Spain and can be very big and last days! One time I was over, I was unlucky as we had a storm that lasted around 48 hours - it was simply amazing! It started one night with major thunder and lightening, and carried on into the next day with much more rain, and then the day after that with heavy rain still coming down! It was unbelievable where the water came from; so they can get some freak weather over there!

The landscape is vast with a variety of levels. Some parts of Spain are very mountainous with high mountains that reach into the sky even above cloud level when they are low if it's raining. The population density is so low of Spain due to the cosmic size of Spain in comparison to little England. This is great, as it feels like you can breathe! In England, all you ever smell is the polluted air, smoke and unpleasant smells. In Spain, the air is thick and lovely and you can actually tell a difference! When I once went back to England after spending two weeks in Spain, my throat actually hurt for few days after just getting used to the polluted air!

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Facts
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Population Estimate 2007: 45,116,894
Population Density: 79 people/km squared
Area: 504,030 km²
Currency: Euro
Capital: Madrid
Timezone: GMT+1
Calling Code: +34
Internet TLD: .es
Languages: Spanish

These STATS are amazing. If you compare this population to England's considering their sizes, the population of England is over 5 million MORE than Spain, and it is less than a quarter of the size! That's why life in Spain is lovely, as you don't feel so cramped!

The people are really lovely too and very friendly. You can walk past people in the street, and out of friendliness they will say 'Hola' as you walk by (meaning hello). The staffs at every restaurant and supermarket are all so kind and helpful unlike in England where you go to Tesco's and almost get sworn at by some young man who can't be bothered to help you! The atmosphere over there just seems so much nicer in general and everything is better!

The cost of living in Spain is so much cheaper than in England too. The water is cheap although you have a pay meter. The electricity is very expensive though, and this is the only let down. However, considering everything else that is so cheap, you are much better off living here as the outcome is that you spend less as well as living in one of the world's healthiest climates! If you go to the supermarket, you can pick up bargains for so little money compared to England. You can buy some of the best Veal meat in the world for ridiculous prices! Everything in general is cheaper, but if you want your English comforts such as Heinz baked beans and your snacks made by popular English makes, then you can get most of them at some places, but for a higher price. Still, you can buy things such as cans of Fanta 330ml for just 50 cents! That works out at around 37p, which is so cheap considering you can pay up to a pound in some places for a can in England.

There are many places to visit in Spain. Personally, I love it where our holiday home is situated on the Nortern Costa Blanca. I have visited Barcelona, Seville and Valencia too though, which are all fantastic cities. Apart from the urban side of things, there are some lovely beaches in Spain. The southern parts of Spain are much more touristy than the Northern parts, so my parents decided to get their house nearer the north, which is a much nicer place, as we visited the south and it was nothing like the Costa Blanca. It does get busy in the summer when I go round, with many tourists but it is a very popular destination for holiday-makers so I expect this when I go over for all the English to come with me!

A plane journey to Spain takes just around 2 hours depending on which part you fly to as it is a big country. Flying to Valencia or Alicante I know takes around 2 hours 20 minutes, but flying to Seville, which is nearer Portugal takes around 2 hours 40 minutes. The flight time is short, and it is amazing that such a difference in climate and culture can be achieved after just over 2 hours on a plane.

The cities are great and the shopping is good too. You can get everything over there really. They do some great clothes, which are unique too. The clothes are much cheaper over there, so I like to go shopping when I'm over, and the shoes especially are a bargain! There are many places to go shopping; in fact they are opening a brand new shopping centre very shortly just 10 minutes away from my parents house, along with a bowling alley and cinema in the same building, which is great! Our nearest shopping centre was either in Benidorm, which is a very English place just south of where we live, or north of us in Valencia where there are many huge shopping malls and stores similar to Selfridges.

All in all, Spain is a lovely place to live and I am glad my parents are happy there. The lifestyle is much more laid back and relaxed, with no worry or rush that you get in England. The people everywhere are ever so friendly too with kind natures. The landscape is beautiful and you don't feel so cramped when over there! There is plenty of room to breathe the lovely healthy air compared to England's. It does actually have one of the healthiest climates on this earth! The food there is wonderful, and they grow a lot of their own fruits such as Oranges, Apples, Bananas, Cherries and nuts like Almonds. It is a lovely place to live, and I would recommend you go there at least for a holiday to experience the wonderful life in the sun, just 2 hours away!

Thanks for reading,

- Recon -

Summary: Just a 2 hour flight away, and it's like a new world. Warm, relaxed and a lovely place to be.