Many years ago the best advice I received from someone living in the country went as follows:-
“Being on holiday in Spain,Vernon, is very different from living here full time.”
I confess that back then I didn’t fully understand what my friend was on about. But I do now.
Spain is a great country in which to have a holiday. It is a spectacular country to tour and see in all its varied splendour. And living here full time can be an unforgettable experience, but it is very different from simply being on holiday.
Don’t take my word for it, listen to the words of my final trio of people I’ve met on my travels – all of whom have settled in the country and all of whom have worked at it. Literally.
Spain attracts those with an artistic leaning. It has always been that way. Since the days in 1840 when Théophile Gautier travelled to Spain and wrote the most witty account of life in the country, ‘A Romantic in Spain’ many features of which still apply today, centuries later.
Authors like him, musicians, film directors and producers, actors, – there are such expats living all over Spain.
Many of the those most determined to succeed have been the women I have met. People who refused to be daunted by learning a new language or making sure they were accepted by the locals.
Two of the following women moved to Spain on their own. The reaction from the Spanish people living in their villages or cities were of shock and wonderment – especially from the Spanish women who became neighbours.
Gym Bramham
Gym Bramham leads a busy and colourful life. She runs an excellent shop called ‘Camel Stop’ in the village of Chite, south of Granada. It is one of those shops you don’t want to leave for fear of missing something. Full of nooks and crannies where there will be some little gem of furniture, jewellery, clothing or objet d’art.
It is a very popular with customers, particularly the many British families now living in this beautiful area located an equal distance between Granada and Salobreña on the colourful Costa Tropical.
Gym told me: “Whenever the locals see me out in the street, painting up an old piece of furniture they are amazed and have total respect for my energy. If they are chucking out some piece of furniture they alert me in case I want to retrieve it from the skip and repair it for selling in the shop. I am constantly finding odd things in my courtyard that they’ve thrown away but thought I might like.”
Gym bargain buying at a market
I’ve also come across Gym at rastros and car boot sales, in both buying and selling mode.
She says: “I’m a complete market addict. Most weekends I’m out hunting for new items on the cheap. I only buy based on what I like. I don’t purchase things purely because they will sell on. I walk around the market from the early morning until 2pm, buying and loading stuff on to my pick up van. Then it’s back to the shop to unload and arrange the new items ready for opening time.”
So who are her customers?
Gym reveals: “I have to satisfy a whole range of clients. Holiday homeowners buy useful furniture, young girls on holiday love my wardrobe of interesting clothes and jewellery and some regular clients furnish their homes with antique lamps and mirrors. I’m just happy when someone adores what they take home.”
But that is only one aspect of Gym’s life in Spain. She is also a talented artist.
She says: “I have no real training, but I have been painting since I was a young girl and for the first year in Spain that is all I did. I began painting local scenes and the people around me. I still do a lot of watercolours but I have moved on to oils and have exhibited my work locally and in towns such as Orgiva, near La Alpujarra.
“Once I begin to paint, everything else goes out of the window and I ignore all chores. I’ve also hosted many life drawing sessions which have been entertaining.”
Gym with client in 'Camel Stop'
I am constantly struck by how energetic some expats are and how they grab their new challenge with both hands. Gym is one of many people I have met in Spain who remind me of the saying:- “the harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Gym confirms this belief:- “I work from 9am until 9pm but there is no stress involved. If I want to, I can take a day or even a week off when I like.
I relax when I go to my cortijo, my little shack in the country with its own orange orchard.”
Gym has also worked for many years in the film industry. Spain has long been a country that has attracted film directors. As far back as the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns.
Gym has painted the sets on locations for films or pop videos from atmospheric Almeria to superb Seville and from beautiful Barcelona to the cave town of Guadix.
Gym says: “I enjoy the challenge of the film work. Directors always ask the impossible and always at the last minute. I love working in a team. I’m usually the only woman in the art department.
It is incredibly hard on the body, akin to fourteen hours of aerobics. I feel a great sense of satisfaction when the job is done but always need a couple of days to recover.”
Buy it, mend it, paint it, sell it
What does she like most about her life in Spain?
“Every week is different. One week I might have a film job in another part of Spain. The next week will find me running around Granada delving through junk shops or driving down to the coast to look at a piece someone wants to sell. Sometimes I paint a piece of furniture or undertake carpentry repairs. I’m constantly on the move.”
That sentiment also applies to Gayle Mackie who hails from Aberdeen and has lived in the city of Granada for fifteen years.
She is a busy and industrious person who is always on the go. When I walk around the city with her as she works, I struggle to keep up with the pace of her day. She lives and works permanently on fast forward.
Like Gym before her, Gayle has many strings to her bow. Some days she will be teaching visitors to the city how to dance. Each year thousands of people come to Granada on group holidays to learn how to dance. It might be flamenco, salsa, tango or another form of dance.
Gayle Mackie, left, with tapas tourists
Then, when she puts her dancing shoes away, she sets off on tapas tours. Gayle has been guiding people on tours of the best bars in the city for many years and is the most established and trusted guide when it comes to sampling terrific tapas in Granada via www.granadatapastours.com
She says: “I came to Granada at a young age and threw myself into life here. It was tough in the early days settling in far from home in Scotland. I spent the odd night crying and despairing if I would ever learn the language.”
But her determination saw her through. She wanted not just to live in Spain but to be fluent in the language so that she could tackle any challenge. And she does.
Gayle shows off her fan technique
Gayle has lived in other cities in Spain but she feels a particular attachment to Granada.
She says: “I am biased in so much as I prefer the offerings in the city of Granadato those served, for example, in some of the coastal resorts that target holidaymakers. I escort visitors through the back streets of this marvellous city.
“Going out for tapas is an essential part of Spanish life, and never more so than in Granada. There is nothing better than having a nice glass of wine or beer over a tasty tapas. The social side of eating tapas is so enjoyable.”
Gayle’s clients come from all over the world. She seems to have blended her Scottish sense of work ethic, that drives her on daily, with the Spanish way of living. She enjoys meeting people and is at ease going out with them to bars upon first meeting. And she has many a tale to tell.
Debbie and Marcus Jenkins
Just like Debbie Jenkins who lives close to the splendid city of Murcia.
Along with her husband Marcus, they have well and truly made a life for themselves in the province.
Via www.nativespain.com they publishes several books about life in Spain. Some written by Debbie herself and some written by other expats.
There are now several titles including ‘Going Native in Murcia’, ‘Bitten by Spain’, ‘Taking the Heat’ and a guide to ‘Buying property in Murcia’– to name but four books they publish.
I am constantly fascinated by how expats come to reinvent themselves and by the reasons why they choose to live where they live.
Debbie said: “We had no plans to become writers or publishers when we started planning the move to Spain in 2000, but we quickly realised we would need portable careers. Writing and publishing worked out best for me.
“’Going Native in Murcia’ took five years to research and was a real pleasure, taking us around the whole region that we now call our home. The publishing business has been a great success. We’ve published over thirty titles and have had a handful of best selling titles on Amazon.”
Moratalla, Murcia
My own experience teaches me that the book market centred around personal experiences of living in Spain has long since been a saturated one. The success of Chris Stewart’s first book ‘Driving over Lemons’ was down to the timing of the release. Moving to rural Spain was all the rage back then.
So in this world where more and more books are being published online, before or instead of in print, what advice can Debbie offer to other would be expat authors?
She says: “If you pick a specific thing you are passionate about then there will always be a market for it. The important thing is to write a book from the heart that is also useful to someone else.
“In our case there was a real need for the book we wrote. We figured that if we needed this book then there would be plenty of others who did – and we were right.”
One of Debbie's books
Debbie and Marcus branched out and invested in property in Moratalla near Murcia.
Debbie said: “There are a group of towns in the north west part of the region that are wonderfully quaint, with narrow winding streets and tumble down town houses. Then to the north there is the Ricote Valley, which is one of the most beautiful and undiscovered parts of Murcia, along the fertile plains of the river Segura.”
And what of moving to Spain in general. What would her advice be on that front?
She says: “Research plenty before you decide to move to Spain. Be sure to have a plan to make money for yourself. Take advice from people who have done it before you. They know best.
Many people think they’ll just hitch their caravan up to the back of their Land Rover, sell up in England, hop on the ferry and wing it. They are the people who tend not to last too long.”
I concur with that thought. Living in Spain is very different from holidaying here. But, whichever option you choose, it can be a life enhancing experience.
