Life of an expat in Sunny Spain!

​Call it a midlife crisis, a case of itchy feet, or just a craving for a life where I didn't need a coat but when a chance came to take a couple of years off work and move abroad I grabbed it.   I packed up my life in Ireland, loaded everything into the car, my two dogs and a few suitcases and moved to South Eastern Spain.
 
My friend Deborah travelled with me, on our “Thelma and Louise” style adventure, without the cliff bit. (Or the Brad Pitt bit) mores the pity. She stayed a few weeks and the day we arrived it was lashing rain.
 
That was in March 2022 and for the first three weeks it never stopped raining here in the Vega Baja. Rivers were flowing past the house and you most definitely needed a coat. Poor Deborah went home paler than when she arrived.
 
Jump forward to summer 2023, I've been living here 16 months now and have grown to love this Spanish life.
 
Yes it's roasting hot at the moment, hovering between 35 and 45 degrees celcius and we're expecting it to stay that way for the next month or so. 
 
But you learn to adapt. 
 
We live in a small Spanish Village about a half an hour south of Alicante, quaint, cute, and very very Spanish.  But that's exactly what we wanted.
 
If we want crowds of tourists, bars and nightlife we can drive for an hour or so and reach the tourist hub that is Benidorm to the North or 30 minutes south, the very popular area of La Zenia, a favourite with Irish visitors. 
 
For me life here is Spain is slow and simple. The cost of living is lower. Eating out 4 or 5 times a week is affordable, the cost of any medical treatment for myself or veterinary treatment for the dogs is half the cost of home.Did I mention the weather is glorious?
 
Yes I miss things about Ireland, my friends and family of course, but they can have a Spanish holiday whenever they like and I get the excitement of waiting for them at Alicante airport and the fun of showing them around my new home. Tour guide Barbie is alive and well. 
 
As I write, the temperature is 35 degrees, but sitting here in my shaded patio area is no hardship, and the house is air conditioned should I start to break a sweat.
 
I heed the warnings from the authorities here about staying safe in this type of heat and humidity.
It's simple common sense really. - Stay out of the sun between midday and at least 4pm, drink loads of water and for God's sake don't be that crazy Irish person burned to a crisp on a Costa Blanca beach, and I've seen plenty despite all the warnings.
 
This heatwave is a bit different to any other I've experienced as it's intense and prolonged and nighttime temperatures are not much different to daytime, dropping only a mere 10 degrees or so.  6am yesterday morning it was already 31 degrees.
 
That said, I'm enjoying life here, I can finally speak a fair bit of Spanish and I'm ''brown as a berry" as my mother used to say.
 
This isn't my forever home. That will always be Ireland, but maybe when we fully retire we can make a life of 50/50, Winter in Spain and Summer in Ireland. 
 
Now where did I leave that lotto ticket?