Hello everyone - we have been in Portugal for a few months looking for a better quality of life than in England and have decided for a number of reasons that Portugal is not where we would like to settle permanently. We have decided to give the Costa del Sol a try. Has anyone else followed the same path? If so why did you decide against Portugal, where in Spain have you settled and why have you found Spain more to your liking?

Just talking to some friends of ours on skype yesterday that left UK for Portugal about 18 months ago and they reckoned it has hardly stopped raining hardly since November! They are in Coimbra area. Here in UK, my wife was at the computer in just a blouse thingy, and she said both of those were wrapped up in big sweaters and smoke bellowing out of a wood burner! The irony is they are both sun worshippers, and used to have the CH up really high here in UK, so they are not happy bunnies at the moment. Nothing much to do, it seems to me the husband just seems to sit around the house drinking, or on the computer. Some better quality of life!

Each of us has our own priorities on what we are looking for and have to decide if sea, sun and sangria make up for family, friends and football which we leave behind.

I would suggest wanting a better quality of life is a bit vague and it takes a lot longer than a few months to settle

I would think if you don't like Portugal then you wouldn't like Spain.

Has anyone ever thought where they would like to go if they left Spain.?

I would like to try Italy, but I don't speak Italian.
I like San Francisco, But don't think I could live in USofA

As a jaded Portugal dweller for 6 years,I would love to know your reasons for leaving.
I would say it took me over 2 years to settle properly.
Oh and yes,it has never stopped raining for over 3 months now.

Never seemed to matter too much to folks moving to Spain, not being able to speak Spanish that is. Luckily we have Cricketman to redress the balance a bit.

We've had more than our fair share of rain here on the Costa del Sol. Its been pretty much constant since mid December. Floods, landslides......!

Jo xxx

I know somebody mentioned today about snow in Majorca

... and Barcelona!! They had quite alot yesterday apparently!! Its not raining here at the mo, it was quite sunny earlier, but its cold and cloudy and I guess we'll have another downpour before long!

Jo xxx

3 or more years

Australia ,I`d go tomorrow but the wife is not so keen on not seeing her parents regular.

I agree that Portugal and Spain are much the same for English expats, Spain having more facilities geared specifically at us. That’s why we’re here, a million of us.

I would add that it takes courage to become an expat, it takes courage to emigrate to anywhere, although the US, Canada, Australia and the like are easy places because they speak the same language, have very similar laws etc etc.

On the courage scale, I take my hat off to those in the campo with Spanish neighbours often miles away. I take my hat off to those in Spanish cities where English isn’t spoken, and I take my hat off to the pensioners who arrive knowing nothing about the country they’ve arrived in.

How long does it take to settle in your new country? It must vary depending on the individual, but it’s years rather than months.

Having raised my hat to the brave, I’m sticking two fingers up at those scared characters who consistently find excuses not to emigrate even if they’re able to and possibly want to. They don’t because they lack the courage.

I'm not so sure. I like city living, and I like being by the sea. While I could do both in Portugal, it'd be on the Atlantic coast, not the Med, and a fair bit further north than I am now. That is a significant difference to me.