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Very different from being on holiday

My partner Rick and myself met Sue and Fred when we were in Spain last year. They were just the nicest people, and I only wish we had met them at the begining of our Spanish adventure rather than at the end when we made a soul searching decision to move back to England.It's a long, long story, but I will say to anybody considering relocating to another country, it's very different to being on holiday. Like Sue and Fred we did a lot of planning and preparation - in fact two years - prior to our departure from England. I guess the main reason for things not quite working out was thatI left half my family in England. Our sons decided to remain in England because of jobs, girlfriends, college etc. So with our two daughters we set off. The eldest, who was 16 at the time, was not happy at all. Having left her boyfriend behind, she was inconsolable when we eventually arrived at our house, but she had been up about 36 hours without sleep, which didn't help.

A few weeks after settling in my father suffered a stroke in England, so that was my first of many emergency return trips to England. Our youngest son had to have a routine operation and my middle son was involved in a car accident. He sustained cuts and bruises and a fairly major head injury, but is fine now. Already before this point I was almost in a permanent state of grief with missing the boys so much. I actually couldn't function at all, and felt completely bereft just about all the time! The major problem was that my partner Rick absolutely loved life in Spain. As the boys stepfather I guess the parental bond was not quite as desperate as mine so when things finally came to a head in November, it was with disbelief that he returned to the UK. He still can't quite believe we are back here, and has to return to Spain for his 'fix' from time to time.

If you're considering moving abroad with a family, I think it would best when they are young. Our youngest did give it her best shot, and attended a great Spanish school. She performed in a 'Grease' production, and was getting pretty good at the language. I wish we had done this whole thing with all the family earlier, or maybe left it for a few more years. Anyway, who knows what the future brings. You have to try and if it doesn't work out, at least you've had a go. We're off to our Spanish house in a couple of weeks for a holiday.

Sent by: Jane

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