Costa del Sold: five best ways to enjoy life in southern Spain

The Costa del Sol is an addictive place, so are you ready to make the move?

The recent news that February 2016 was the hottest on record could have fooled your average Brit. Despite scientifically warmer weather, the year so far has been boringly typical: blustery, wet, grey and mild. And as March enters its mid-way point, the temperature has only begun to creep up ever-so-slowly, which means there are still at least two more months of predictably unpredictable gloom and squall.

Not so Spain. Record snow levels up on the Sierra Nevada mountain range aside, winter has been its usual brief self – occasionally crisp, often gorgeous, and invariably sunny and bright. But now the mercury really begins to shoot upwards, and it is about this time of year when sun-starved Brits begin dreaming of packing it all up and moving to the Costa del Sol.

Well, just as VIVA has implored many times before, this does not have to remain a pipedream. From property to employment, education to healthcare, Spain can cater for your needs. But if you were concerned that the sunny Costa del Sol is not for you, maybe these five reasons to move will help you make up your mind…

1. Don’t sweat it
   The image of Spaniards as intensely passionate people is not wholly inaccurate – they certainly know how to let their emotions out – but generally the laid-back lifestyle reigns supreme on the Costa del Sol. From commuting to school runs to nights on the town to days on the beach, the default setting you should adopt when moving to Spain is ‘chilled’.

2. Love thy family
   One of the worst things to be on the Costa del Sol during Bank Holidays is single. For it is on these days that Spaniards disappear en masse behind garden fences, church doors and privately reserved restaurant rooms to enjoy time with family… eating, drinking and being merry. If you can get yourself into this inner sanctum – by way of friend or lover – then you will experience true warmth, the like of which is rare in the UK.

3. Respect, but enjoy, the sun
   One of the first, but hardest, things to remember when you move to Spain is that you’re not on holiday. And this means no rushing to the nearest English pub to sink 10 pints of Magners in the blazing sun. Well, ok, maybe just once or twice. It also means that you do not have to stress if you cannot get out into the glorious sunshine. It will still be there tomorrow, next week, in a few months, and hopefully, for the rest of your life.

4. Develop a taste for strong flavours
   British food – in its most traditional sense – is rather bland when compared to much of what is out there on the continent. And while the typical UK high street is actually more varied in terms of flavours and world cuisines than many you would find in Europe, much of it is toned down. In Spain, typical Spanish food and drink is bursting with flavour. From the rich tones of manchego cheese to the zing of olives, the depth of a rich Rioja and the punch of a gambas pil pil, prepare your tastebuds for a sensory overload.

5. Just take it all in
   Driving is different. The street architecture is different. The sun is brighter. The landscape more rugged. The sea always nearby. The smells that waft in from the mountains every morning unique, uplifting, lending the air a semi-tropical aroma. Socialising is cheap, stress-free and supremely safe. Day trips are a matter of pointing to a place on a map and heading off. Healthcare is superb. Life is better – happier, healthier, more active, more outdoorsy – and all you have to do is let it all in.