So, you're thinking of moving to Spain?

You've recently been watching the numerous television programs extolling the advantages (and sometimes disadvantages!) of moving somewhere sunny to live, or maybe you're fed up with gloomy Britain and the bad weather, or you just probably want to make a real change to your life and do something different.

Well, this is what thousands of people have mulled over and eventually done, with varying degrees of success. Some make a real go of it, setting up a business once they realise what is a niche market in the town they have chosen, some come out with a pension or enough money not to have to bother with working, others come out with bright ideas, only to find that life in the Southern Mediterranean is somewhat different from their expectations, and the rest come somewhere in-between, scraping by with work here and there, surviving how best they can and really giving meaning to the phrase “downshifting”.

It's difficult, moving to another country, there's no doubt about it. Things often aren't as they seem, and you have to possess many personal resources and strengths to be able to cope with the extra pressure put on you by not understanding the local language (unless you've had the foresight to learn some of the lingo before you arrive, and then often you find that in this part of the country they have a totally different accent to the one taught on the programme!), not understanding the local culture (people often say “yes” when they mean "no”; you have to read the signs!), or just feeling totally lost when it comes down to building a house, paying your bills, finding an electrician or plumber who turns up on time and doesn't rip you off, or trying to navigate your way around Spanish bureaucracy.

However, there is the other side to all this… stepping out onto my land this morning the temperature was perfect, the light was luminescent, the birds were singing and my rose bush has suddenly decided to produce all its flowers at once, producing an insane display of gorgeous red with that old-fashioned rose smell that knocks you for six… life back in England just doesn't attract me anymore and I realise why I am here rather than there.

 So, if you're up for a challenge, want something different, need to learn new skills or hone old ones, or are just plain fed up with the routine of humdrum life, maybe Spain is for you…  Only do your homework first, work out your finances, calculate how much you will need to live on whilst you are not earning and then add some more; will you need to change your car to a 4x4 to cope with all the tracks around here?; do you really need lots of land that could turn into a nightmare to look after?; do you want to live in the town or in the country?; maybe a swimming pool would be a good idea to help you through the long, hot summer?; can you get back to the UK quickly if you need to in an emergency?; what do your family think? (this is often best ignored!); do your children need to go to school in Spain and if so, will they be able to learn the language quickly enough to understand their teachers?; is the track to your property accessible to visiting, ageing relatives of yours?; what about health insurance, house insurance, becoming a resident, making a will?…

 Alpujarra Conect can help you with all these questions and more. It is run by Shelley de Ste Croix, who came here in 1998 with her husband, Malcolm, and has gone through many of the experiences listed above, Inma Hidalgo Moron, born and brought up in Granada but who has spent half of her life in a local village and knows Alpujarran life pretty well, Luis Milan Martin, a young lawyer and solicitor who speaks English and who knows the ins and outs of the Spanish legal system,  and Paco Carmona, an architect from Granada who helps us with all local planning issues.

 Come and talk to us, we have real answers to real questions that people face here every day of their lives. Our clients include new people to the area, looking for advice and property, and older residents who wish to solve problems they have not dared (or have not wished to) look at in years, or indeed who wish to sell up at last. We provide a friendly, accessible service available to everyone, giving information which is the fruit of our very own life experiences here in Spain