Englishwoman Cherry lives in Granada, Spain, where she runs both online and offline businesses, and creates her own artwork. Here she shares her opinions on things like why it's important for expats to learn to speak the local language, some differences between Spanish and UK cultures, and the ups and downs of Spain's growth and development.	Cherry

-Where were you born?
Manchester, UK

-In which country and city are you living now?
Province of Granada, Spain

-Are you living alone or with your family?
With my partner, dog and cat

-How long have you been living in Spain?
I've been living in Spain for 11 years and in the Granada province for 9.

-What is your age?
I'm 43 years old.

-When did you come up with the idea of living in Spain?
I had been living in London for 12 years and I was tired of city life. When I met my current partner he was doing a degree in Spanish and technology and about to spend a year abroad as part of his course. I came to Spain to visit him three times throughout the year and I was attracted to the idea of living somewhere with a different culture and way of life. I have always enjoyed travelling and I'd been all over Europe and parts of Asia and Africa but I had never been to Spain before then. I had always associated it with package holiday resorts such as Benidorm and Torremolinos and I had no idea about the richness of the culture nor the beauty of the extremely varied landscape.

-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
The UK's status as a member of the European Union entitles its citizens to reside in any other EU country. When we came, it was obligatory to apply for a foreign resident's identity card but this has been recently abolished as the EU ruled that this requirement was in contravention of EU law. This apparently seems like a victory but in fact it may be more of an own goal as long term foreign residents of Spain know how useful having a residency card is.

Firstly, it acts as an ID card and as everyone has to carry some form of official ID and since almost every transaction in Spain requires the production of a photo ID, it means that you don't have to carry your passport - the replacement of which, due to loss or theft, is expensive and problematic. The ID number has the same number of digits as a national ID card so when it comes to form-filling it is much less problematic than your passport number. Finally, having a card which clearly states that you are a full-time resident of the country helps people to differentiate you from a tourist and they treat you with more respect. I, for one, will be joining any campaigns there are to fight to keep my residency card!

-Was it difficult for you to get medical insurance before you went there or when you first arrived?
Once again, membership of the EU means that the UK and Spain have reciprocal agreements about health care. However, the Spanish system of health cover is different and if you are not paying social security or being taxed in Spain you may not be entitled to health care. This often affects people who come to live here after taking early retirement as until they reach the age where they are entitled to a state pension in the UK they won't be entitled to health care here.

-How do you make your living in Spain? Do you have any type of income generated?
I have been self-employed most of my life so I expected to have to generate my own income when I came to Spain. I was a graphic designer in the UK and I have been self-employed here designing web pages and making and selling jewellery (both wholesale and retail). I did have a job for a while in a jazz bar which was great for my Spanish and taught me to stay up late! I'm currently involved in developing various websites as well as making my own artwork.

-Do you speak Spanish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
I would say that learning the language of the country you are living in is the most important thing of all. Not only will it give you invaluable insight into the culture and customs but people will treat you with a completely different attitude. If you can't speak the language you always will be reliant on using someone else to interpret for you and using the services of other expats for everything and your interpretation of events will always be second-hand. Without the language, you become part of an expat way of life that is like looking at Spanish-speaking world through a semi-transparent curtain - you can just about see what's going on but you can't really be part of it.

In terms of local culture and customs, I think most foreigners enjoy taking part in the local fiestas etc that take place regularly in every town in Spain. What is harder to adapt to is the timetable both daily and yearly. Spanish people have a tremendous capacity for staying up late and doing without much sleep and they tend to eat their evening meals as late as 11pm in the summer months. Because of that, most evening entertainment often won't start until very late, by which time many expats are tucked up in bed! Spanish people are quite rigid about their timetables for things and if you don't adapt to their rhythm you will always find yourself the odd one out - wearing shorts when everyone else has got their best clothes on, going out for lunch when everyone else is still working and going to bed when everyone else is just off out for the evening! It’s taken me the full 11 years of being here but I've finally adapted and now when I go back to the UK I can't understand why the shops are closing at 5.30pm or why people eat their evening meals at 6pm!

-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
I don't think anyone who moves to another country isn't homesick sometimes and especially if things aren't going well it’s easy to think that everything would be much easier if you were back home. I've always resisted the idea of going back to the UK as a panacea to my problems because I know that I had strong reasons for leaving and those reasons are still there for the most part when I go back to visit. I'm quite a self-sufficient and independent person so I think I find it easier than most to get through the periods when I feel isolated or alienated but there is no doubt that there are times when, for example, I really miss being able to share a joke based on the cultural reference points of, say, my childhood or teenage years and I'm aware that I can never have that with Spanish people because their cultural reference points are completely different.

I've come to the conclusion that the mistake we often make as expats is that when we first move abroad the novelty of being somewhere different seems like it will be enough to amuse us forever. Because of this we don't do the things we would have done in our own country such as joining a gym or exercise class where you will meet people. Many people come to Spain on early retirement and then find they are bored and isolated because they are really too young to do nothing but they haven't come with any ideas of how they are going to spend their time apart from, perhaps, doing up a house and working on their garden. Having to earn a living has always been a saving grace for me because I can't afford to sit around and not do anything so I'm never bored.

I do miss the wealth of adult education opportunities that there are available in the UK but Spain is gradually providing more of this sort of thing (it didn't really exist as a concept when we first came!) and I am trying to make the most of any opportunities there are available. In addition there are usually lots of free cultural activities provided by local town councils but sometimes you have to make a concerted effort to find out about them or they've been and gone before you've realised!

-Do you have other plans for the future?
After years of travelling mainly within the Spanish peninsula, I'm now much more motivated to go and explore other countries and continents once again. I think that's a sign that Spain really feels 'normal' for me now and so when I want additional stimulation I need to go abroad. I even enjoy going to explore new parts of the UK as it’s a novelty for me now.

In terms of business, I am currently involved in developing various websites: One, which is currently under development, will provide information for vegetarians/non-meat eaters who are looking for a good meal out in the Granada region. Another one, which is already up and running albeit in a basic form, is about gardening as a vehicle to understanding yourself. I've recently got some outside contributors on board so it’s also now developing a more practical gardening side to it with people blogging about everything from garden design to worm farms!

I've also returned to something which I hadn't done for many years which is to make art. I have a blog about that as well.

-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
I've been living for four years in a beautiful house set in an olive farm in a rural area of the Costa Tropical region of Granada. It has views of the sea and borders a nature park on one side so it’s very tranquil and as well as amazing views we get to see lots of wildlife such as wild goats (the ancestor of the domestic variety) which look more like deer and lots of birds of prey and the odd boar. We also get splendid views of the Milky Way because there is very little light pollution. I have really enjoyed living here as I've never lived in the country before and it’s been a privilege to have such close contact with wild animals but unfortunately due to a change in the nature of my partner's work we now have to relocate and have bought a house in a town west of Granada and put the farm up for sale. Prices have gone up a lot in the last four years and vary quite a bit from area to area but these days it’s very difficult to buy even a village house in inland Andalucía for under 100.000€ and if you do find one it is likely to need at least half as much again spending on it.

-What is the cost of living in Spain?
The cost of living has gone up in Spain since the adoption of the Euro especially affecting the price of housing and to some extent fuel and clothes - especially shoes! Having said that, eating and drinking in bars and restaurants is still much cheaper than, for example, the UK.

Furniture and white goods are also a good price as are medicines. The provision of free fiestas mean that you can often have a good time without spending much and the long summers here add to that because so many activities are based around being outside in natural surroundings such as the beach or the countryside.

-What do you think about the Spaniards?
Spanish culture is very different from that in the UK. People socialise much more outside the home rather than in it and they are also still extremely family orientated which means a lot of their social time is spent with their families. All this means it can be very difficult to make Spanish friends but the flip side is that Spanish people can be extremely generous, tolerant and easy going and with a ready smile that can really brighten up your day. They tend to be easily offended if they offer you hospitality and you seem to refuse it so I've come to the conclusion that the best approach is to try to be as giving and generous as they are - preferably offering them something before they offer you! That way you get a good reputation quite quickly and people open up to you more.

-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Spain?
The country is growing and evolving at a terrific rate at the moment which is exciting and interesting but inevitably carries its downside as well with the loss of some of the traditional social structures and habits. On the whole people here seem to me to still be much less materialistic than they are in the UK; they tend not to talk about 'things' and shopping so much! Their energy and time is directed towards their family and friends and the money they do have is spread around to make sure that everyone has a good time. Especially in small towns, there is much more sense of social responsibility and of the importance of the town you belong to. People always have time to stop and say hello. Humanity takes precedence over efficiency but that's not to say that Spanish people can't be efficient when they need to be.

There are inevitably some things I see as negative such as an underdeveloped sense of the importance of the preservation and care of green space. There has been a lot of uncontrolled building development and green spaces, when they haven't been urbanised, are often untidy and full of litter. However, attitudes to this are beginning to change with a growing green movement and Granada province has just elected its first Green MP. Another thing which I resent about living here is not being able to vote in national elections although I can vote in local and municipal ones. I have no interest in voting in the national elections in the UK because I'm not there so it would make much more sense to be able to help choose the government I'm living under here.

-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Spain?
As I said earlier I think it’s crucial to learn the language and to have an idea of what you might do when you are here - even if you end up doing something completely different. Although you may come wanting to get away from everything in your former life, it is in fact very important to bring some of that former self with you and find a way to express it within this new context, otherwise you can end up feeling totally lost. Beyond that, I would simply say embrace what's here and try not to compare it all the time with your life ‘back home.’

-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Spain?
Vegetarian Granada This new site we are currently developing - rather than just providing a list of vegetarian or wholefood restaurants - will be an indispensable guide to the best 'normal' restaurants in the Granada area that offer a varied and appetising selection of dishes for vegetarians, non-meat-eaters or even just someone looking for healthy food options.

Cortijo el Melion Our beautiful house set in 12.000 sq m of olive groves is now up for sale. You can get full details and see an extensive gallery of photos at our website.

WILD CHERRIES: Mixed Media Artworks of a Bilingual Life My blog site where I describe my life as English artist in Andalucía: Caught between two cultures, I cut & stick and pastel & paint my way to equilibrium!

12 Months in the City of Water Described by the author as 12 months of fiestas, ferias and fatigue in the extreme poniente, this site gives an invaluable insight into life in a small town in Andalucía as seen by a UK-born resident.