'Taking the moral high ground' is an expression so easily said and with a multitude of meanings. I learnt a long time ago to judge others only by how you yourself would want to be judged.

Whenever possible I abstain from discussions about politics or the more negative aspects of life, but some things have to be said in the name of fair play. The current world economic climate is taking its toll on all classes and cultures and when things are going bad, it's always easy to blame someone else. I must admit I've done it myself!

I have come across two examples of this in the past couple of days whereby two different people from two different backgrounds, one very wealthy and one just getting by are returning to England because of what they say is 'intolerable problems living in Spain!

The first is the rich woman who, after living here for nearly eighteen years, has decided to return to Surrey and the families country seat due to the fact that the Spanish are ignorant, unfriendly and racist towards us! (us meaning other European immigrants).

I have to point out however that after a short conversation to establish exactly what the facts were, it appeared that this lady did not speak a word of Spanish and had no intention of ever doing so, never ate or visited Spanish bars or restaurants, never had any dealings with the local councils or town halls, and never used Spanish tradesmen or agencies that did not speak English! Contrary to this she did admit during this discussion that she had, on a number of occasions, been 'decidedly let down' by a number of British tradesmen, but haven't we all?

The second was a woman who, according to her own expletive tirade, had apparently lost everything due to a problem with a Spanish building company which had gone bust and left her and a lot of other people high and dry with no new home or buildings to show for their deposit. This particular story had been taken up by the Daily Telegraph under a special 'The Pitfalls of Buying a Property Abroad'. Apparently statistics and stories had been reported on about Spanish property developers and house 'Sharks' taking Brits for a ride knowing there would be problems later in the development.

This obviously taints and destroys the dreams of many ex-pats who have decided to look into or plan a foreign move, be it here or any other country, and what about the majority of people who are actually happy living here?

But as usual there are counter stories and facts which a lot of people fail to understand or are written about in the name of fair or de-sensationalised reporting.

For example, how much racial tension is there at the moment in Britain, with reports about immigrants not wanting to integrate into the British way of life?

I know for a fact that most immigrants I've associated with or got to know back in Blighty have at least tried to speak, live or learn our language and culture, even if they choose to continue to follow their own.

As for property scandals, my lady friend has decided to move back to her bungalow in England where she believes her lot will improve and she can put all this 'Property rip off' behind her.

Last year according to information posted on the internet, over eighteen thousand companies in Britain, a great number of which were associated with property development and building, either went to the wall, went bust or simply ceased trading leaving an estimated £1 Billion of debts unpaid and a multitude of people without a home, investment or recoupable deposits! (Funny, this wasn't mentioned in that same newspaper report!)

No one likes to admit that when life turns a little sour it's their fault or the culmination of unavoidable circumstances, easier to blame the Country, the people or the system. Lady number one I'm afraid in my opinion displays all the signs of a classic bigot while lady number two has unfortunately fallen foul of an economic recession, but that's something that could have happened in any country, even England. I doubt when either of them move back that they will be any better off or happier, though I'm sure they'll blame the Spanish!

For me, I'm glad they are returning to Blighty, and to the homes they obviously kept hold of knowing they may one-day return after 'dabbling' in foreign life.

When people say they are returning 'home' or they have been 'home' on holiday to England, the statement by its nature indicates they are not at home here!

My wife and I are under no illusion that, as insofar as our feature bears out the reasons for our coming to live here, we may yet move on to pastures anew, either another European country, back to England, over to the USA, we may even live and die here, whatever. But while we are here living in Spain, or in any other country for that matter, we will eat, speak, work and live Spanish as best we can while immersing or indulging ourselves in the indigenous culture and system, because after all, no matter for how long, this is our home.

Landing at Malaga airport was, as usual, uneventful apart from waiting at the luggage carousel for the multitude of bags we had brought. Most of the time during our frequent visits we would travel with one small overnight bag each, a cabin bag so to speak, which we would not have to check into the hold and be free of the waiting at the other end. I went as I usually did down to the hire car area to sort out the documents for our transport while Rosa waited to load the trolley. We had booked a car for the next 30 days as transport would be essential at least in the first month. Our obvious intention was to purchase a more permanent means of transport before the termination of the hired vehicle.

After sorting the car out, I returned to assist Rose as she loaded the last case on, then it was down to the parking bays on the lower basement floors to check out the motor.

The car was a compact with air con, and would suit our needs well for the time being. Exiting the barrier and heading onto the A340 which we had travelled many times, again our breath was taken away by the onslaught of the immense heat which was about 15 degrees higher than what we had just left back in Bournemouth. I was wearing some of the clothes that would not fit into the cases, including a suit and jumper, so pulling over to the side of the road to disrobe a number of garments must have appeared somewhat strange to onlookers, but a necessity. Onward to the Villa and to our new home. It was all so surreal that, as we drove that short thirty minutes to Coín, the conversation between us was non existent. Usually we would be discussing the heat, the new buildings, the roads, the journey over, what shopping we needed, where we would eat that night. In fact, all the things we had done many times before when on holiday. But we weren't on holiday, and that's what felt weird. The new motorway had progressed from Malaga city centre so that now we could turn off just six kilometres from home. (Eventually the motorway would link up to the new Marbella expressway, which will eventually pass about 1km from the house).

It was late afternoon when we rolled up to the gates. The heat was around the 40o mark, just right for baking bread!

We walked up the driveway and saw that our friends had cleaned the pool and tidied round. There was a bottle of Champagne on the doorstep which we quickly put in the new outside fridge but not before retrieving the little note from the bottle which simply said, 'Welcome to Spain'.

We sat down on our temporary plastic furniture under the shade of the front alcove looking out over the town. 'Well' I said, taking Rose's hand, 'we're not in a rush this time to get everything done, do you fancy a barbecue tonight?'

Possibly not the most apt statement I could have made, but what else could I say? We spent the afternoon unpacking and prepping the place for our stay. There was a multitude of things to do over the coming months, more than you could imagine. And there were many challenges to sort out with one thing or another. But when you don't have to be anywhere at any time for anything, it gives you the freedom to do everything when you want. Strange, but even now with a business to run, we very rarely look at the clocks in the house, it's more like you will find one of us asking, 'what day is this?'

Time was what we now had in abundance, but things still had to be done and sorted, and it was only our timetable that was relaxed, not others.

That first night we shopped at the supermarket for the essentials like beer and wine, oh yes, and a few solids, then went to see our friendly butcher Jósef who cut us a couple of prime steaks before heading back to spend our first night in our now new home. We cooked and ate under the stars sitting in our underwear, (I know, too much information, close your eyes) with a bottle or two of our favourite 1 euro wine before turning in and turning on the aircon for our first nights sleep living in the sun.

Useful tip
'Save a fortune on the price of your house, buy Off Plan!'

These are the words posted all over the adverts of planned new housing and property developments all over the Costas. It's true to say that some years back when the housing business was more stable, there were indeed great savings to be made by putting a deposit down on a flat piece of land earmarked for a number of swish new homes. Eighteen months later, you would arrive to find your new property all shiny and new and already worth twice as much as you paid for it. Great days they were, but not now!

My philosophy is this. In such a world-wide housing recession, and lets not kid ourselves here, nothing is guaranteed or certain, you have to be extremely careful when looking to a new property purchase. Take my lady number two. She did what countless others had done during the boom in order to try and save a bob or two and reap a profit, buying off plan with a hefty deposit.

Not going to happen now I'm afraid, not for some years anyway. I stated some weeks ago that this was a buyers market here in Spain, and it is, but only for those properties that are finished and standing. Also reforms and second-hand. (Reform is the term for an old house that had been modernised on the same plot of land) are a pretty safe bet with a healthy trading market at the moment, as long of course as all the correct licences are in place and in date. Check, check, check!

Useful hint
A plug for my own business. Choosing an estate agent, builder or property developer can be just like the minefield of finding one in Britain. There's lots of good and bad, it's just getting to the good one's!

In my short spell here as a local businessman, I've tried to sort out some of the better ones with very good results. I've dealt with a couple of very good agents that deal in rental and buying/selling properties. I know a very good house builder, solicitor, accountant, notary, in fact, all the people you would need to rely on to purchase, build or rent a property her in this area of Southern Spain.

The serious side to this is, my kind of knowledge and experience here is borne from living among and working alongside the Spanish. You can glean more about the real market and contacts if you listen to the locals.

This isn't to say that someone isn't going to get their fingers burnt on some deals, but hey, if the figures are right, that's happening more in Britain than here!

Spanish facts
The Spanish name for the beautiful red flowered Poinsettia is 'Flor de Nochebuena' which literally translated means 'Goodnight Flower'.

The present Guitar has derived from a stringed musical instrument called a 'Charango' made with the back of an Armadillo. (A dead one I assume!)

In 1985, the border gates between Spain and Gibraltar was opened for people to travel freely between the Mainland and the British colonial outcrop.

Spanish and English are equally the two most spoken languages in the world. (That is of course after Chinese!)

Useful phrase
I found this very useful when first frequenting my local Spanish bars. It opens doors better than anything else.
Yo ahora vivo aquí y esto es ahora mi barra local.
Pronounced: Yoh aaohrah beeboh ahkee ee aystoh ays aaohrah me bahrrrrrah lohkahl.
Meaning: I live here and this is now my local bar.

Next week
To do's now, next week, next year, sometime, never!