For the past 5 years whilst living here I've been happy just to be away for short breaks, either within Spain or back to the UK to see family and friends. For 3 years before that we spent nearly all our holidays in our Spanish house as well, which we enjoyed. We didn't miss travelling further afield as we'd done a lot of it already.

Now, however, I am beginning to look forward to the time when we can start doing some long haul travelling again, in fact earlier this week I asked the OH if he would be interested in taking a "grown-up gap year" if we can sell our house in 4/5 years' time, as we intend to. Seems like a good time to go travelling before moving into rented accommodation, rather than leaving our own house standing empty or paying rent for something we're not living in. Even if it comes to nothing, it'll provide me with some hours of idle amusement researching RTW routes and prices!

I'm not entering any competitions to win a holiday in Barbados though, it's not on my list of places I still want to see as I don't like mainly beach based holidays.

Funny thing about living is Spain, the are two camps, the ones that dont want to go on holiday, and others although they are happy in Spain still need a "holiday".

I like my holidays away.

A holiday is to see places new, different people and in my view does a body good.

Your idea about taking an adult gap year. Good, and selling a property abroad, is a good idea too, it saves a lot of hassle for the family in the future.

I know a retired Spanish couple who own 4 houses in Spain who and thier live kids in the US, they spend thier lives going from one house to the other following the seasons sort of.

So where ever they are their other 3 houses are empty.

He is quite happy doing this but the marida is sick of the packing up, cleaning out fridge etc, unpacking, stocking fridge etc, merry go round that is their life.

Staying in a hotel and taking it easy for a change,is on her bucket list.

My main reason for buying a place in mainland Spain was to have a base from which I could hop in a car and easily travel anywhere in Europe and most especially spend time in the lesser known areas of Spain itself.

It exceeded my expectations, especially the degree of diversity and contrast throughout the country.

Apart from my current location near Valencia, my favourite regions are Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia, Extremadura and the lesser known areas of Andalucia.

Earlier this month we did a trip through Elvas, Caceres , Trujillo and Guadalupe.
Excellent, friendly, quiet, cheaper than the costas with good scenery etc.
We only met one English couple who were out visiting their Oz niece who was on a two month intensive Spanish course.

I do know what you are saying here and I for one would never regard "going back" as failing, but for some of us there is nothing and nowhere to go back to.

While I'm sure we are all aware that getting old and frail here is going to have it's difficulties, there is of course always the option of employing someone to care when it's needed, it would cost no more than paying for the care in the UK.

At the moment yes there is better social care in the UK and some of it free, but for how long will that continue?
We all know that services there are being cut and that the whole structure of that care is unsustainable in the long run, it's quite possible that in the near future that it will have all but disappeared.

[QUOTE=J And sometimes it is not se easy to go back before, especially for the "I will never go back" group, they sort of see it a "failure"[/QUOTE]

We are probably in the "I will never go back" group and hope we never have to. If that situation ever did arise for family or whatever reason, we would not see it as a failure as we have achieved a lot here.
Regarding medical care, we have had reason to use the Spanish health system on a couple of occasions and found it to be of a high standard. We are still working and who knows what will happen when we get older but returning to the UK is not in our plans. Perhaps the fact that we have lived in a small Spanish village and learnt decent enough Spanish to cope with nearly all situations makes it easier for us.
I appreciate that there are people who may see returning as a failure, but we are not among them.

The only time I would think of people being a failure is if they only stayed a few months or those that started a business and lost everything. People are different, some can't see their way back but whinge all the time, others are genuinely content. At one time I didn't think we would go back but I never said I wouldn't. Death, divorce and illness sometimes makes the decision too

Personally, I couldn't think of anything worse than being stuck in a narrow minded small pueblo full of toothless hags and crude old men and poorly educated youngsters... Obviously we all like to chew the fat on here and put the world to rights. You can't do that in a spanish community however fluent you are. It's maybe ok for the locals having a discussion that Spain is a shit of a place but it's their shit and they don't like guiris criticising the local politics.

We could go on all night discussing the pros and cons about staying in Spain or moving back to the UK.
I know we can go out tonight and walk back home late at night in safety and my wife is quite happy to walk about the village in the evening on her own. My in-laws however live in a town in Suffolk and will not go out after dark because they consider it unsafe.
Yep, maybe Spain can sometimes be a shithole of a place, but then again, so can the UK. It's all about personal choice, at the moment we are happy here. Nobody can predict what the future holds for any us.

In the early 20s, the time when the peseta became the euro we purchased a small cheap casita a bolthole in the Spanish inland hills. At the time we really benefited from the tranquility, fresh air, good healthy food, slow pace of life and friendly people with magical fiestas. A complete contrast to the busy London full time job fast and furious, never having enough hours in the day to stop and think. Easy and cheap to get away half an hour from the airport each end. Wake up one day and be in Mijas for lunch later that day. Now semi-retired having moved to the country, the home in Spain although it has lost none of its charm does not hold the same benefits...it is no longer classed as a holiday home just a little get away for a change of scenery.

20`s

Casa's age ?

I'm kept in Spain because the weather is nice. My job is cool. My wife and kids love it. There is no crime here. The people are much friendlier here than anywhere else in the world. Whore houses are legal. You can drive drunk. Sunbathe all day and work when you want. Drink all day and work when you're drunk. None of this politically correct rubbish. Spain rocks..

Well as the saying goes, one persons treasure is another persons junk

A lot of riff raff moving to the costa put off quite a lot of normal decent people .

Nice to see you haven't lost your negativity.