Hello Jules, Nice to make contact. We have more or less ruled out moving to France for a number of reasons, mainly because of the need to learn another language and go through all the rigmarole of becoming resident, signing on with health service etc. etc. We are still intending to look at northern spain but are a bit held up at the moment as Pete is awaiting a hospital appointment (nothing too serious), so we can't really go anywhere at the moment. Our house is on the market but we have had only one viewing in about 8 weeks and we are aware that we will have to wait many months before anything positive happens. I don't know if you have ever been to Almeria, neither do I know what you are looking for in Spain but we have visited that province and found it very desert-like. I believe it is the driest area in Spain and the landscape is rather bleak. (There will probably be loads of people who will post messages to the contrary). However we found it arid and very hot although the property down there is definitely cheaper. Incidentally, did you know that they filmed several western films down there? From that you can get an idea of what the landscape is like! You say that you find France lonely, how strange, because, despite having loads of friends here I too am often lonely. I think it must be because, in my heart of hearts, I still long to go back to the UK, an impossible dream because my OH definitely won't consider it and if I am practical and sensible, it would be a bad move with all the rotten things we read and hear about the country over the past few years. We live in Murcia, inland from Mazarron. In the winter and spring the countryside is pretty with almond groves and lots of wild flowers, but from about the end of May onwards it gradually becomes hotter and hotter and I am finding that I can no longer tolerate the heat as well as I used to when we first came here, hence looking for a more moderate climate. With regard to speaking Spanish, I went to night classes for 6 months before coming out here and found that very helpful. By the time we moved here I could cope with simple things like ordering food, shopping, asking directions, talking about my family, work etc. Since then I went twice a week to a local spanish class,free of charge and run by the local council. After about 5 years I found that I wasn't absorbing anything as naturally, it gets harder the more advanced you become, so I gave up about a year ago. It is difficult to learn a new language if you are getting on a bit like me, (63) but I do have a fairly good grasp of the basics and find I can get along reasonably well, although I can understand much more that I can actually speak. I have a number of stock phrases and verbs which I try to adapt to the situation and have so far managed with that. The verb tenses are very difficult (14 in all) but I don't really think you need all those as the Spanish can understand you even if you only use the present tense. An added difficulty is that there are so many regional accents, for instance, in Murcia the locals drop the s sound
from the end of words eg. they say La Pala as the name of a nearby village called Las Palas and awa for agua (water). Anyway, better not go on any more, if I can help in any way please contact me again. Best wishes, Barbara