There's a choice you make when you move to somewhere like Spain with regard to habitation. The myriad of relocation programmes show properties on the coast, inland townships and the campo.

There's something that will fit everyone's budget from the all in' block apartment complexes, million euro plus stand alone palaces, town house villas and the diverse array of countryside dwellings. But how many look at the logistics, amenities, accessibility and future common sense value when choosing?

It's been stated in the early weeks of this feature that some of the properties we viewed where indeed as I had dreamed about during our search, and yes, there were some that could have given us more land, greater privacy and had certainly been well below our budget. But the reasons and factors we took into account have certainly borne themselves out now that we have actually met other owners and seen the way some people actually live in their diverse day to day experience, some good, some not so pleasant. I don't wish to sound disrespectful of anyone, certainly not some of the good people we have met since our arrival, but it's obvious that a lot of people have succumbed to the pink tinted view while letting their heart rule their mind over logic when settling for a home.

Town living! Rose and I chose were we live now for a number of reasons, not least for the long term future whereby one day, not so distant as the clock seems to fly by quicker as the years drift on, we will be of an age when travel, movement, money, and general mobility may take it's toll. That single reason became the main overriding factor governing our final choice in settling in a town which up until then we had never heard of. Not a metropolis, but a busy and growing Pueblo bang in the middle of a geographical triangle with good access to many and coastal destinations. A relatively quiet but affluent part of the town, everything is in reach from eating and drinking to shopping to chemists to butchers to well, you name it. It's all convenient to the point that if mobility and transport one day becomes a problem, we're still only a few hundred meters walk from everything, and the roads are good! There were sacrifices to be made, but as we've seen, idealism and a quick buy early on can lead to later regrets and unhappiness.

So over the next couple of features, I will describe the life of others as I see them, actual people we have met and come to know, in their chosen area and place of residence and their experiences, whether good and bad.

Settling into week two and three appeared more to be of a bomb blast than an organised plan of action. Our son Joe had arrived for a ten day visit to eat up part of his six weeks break until the start of his Maritime College course in Southampton. His help was most welcome during which time he helped us tidy round, trim the trees and bushes and made us feel a little easier, after all, were in uncharted territory and alone!

We ate out a lot and enjoyed the Malaga fair which was in full swing. This Fiesta in particular is huge and is set up every year with most of the province given over for one week of revelry and partying to celebrate the summer in the province. Europe's largest Ferris wheel dominates the skyline while walking round and up and down all the stalls and rides can take hours. Again, it's one of those things that take off around 11 PM and goes on through the night. People from all over Spain come down to celebrate and the place is packed all day and night for the full seven days.

But it wasn't all fun and frolics for us. There was some serious work that had to be done with regard to medical registration, National Insurance, tax exemption, post redirection and collection and a whole host of other admin stuff. Not my strongest point I have to say, but for my wife Rosa, it was something she had become very adept at, sorting out the paperwork and making sure we were all legal and safe. I became the taxi driver for the most part while my wife jumped from one office to another getting all the paperwork we could into place, and remember, not one of those offices had anyone that spoke English!

This is where some people fall down with regards to letting the local authority know who and where you are, it's something that can come back later and bite your behind! A lot of people don't realise that if you have paid full NI contributions in Britain, you are entitled to a number of benefits, I.E., medical cover over here for two years. It's basic but at least you can be assigned a doctor and receive emergency care when you need it. We were fortunate to have a new medical centre in the town and so registered accordingly. that was only however after we had pitched up at the local SS office with all the right paperwork in English only to find it had to be duplicated into Spanish! Never mind, patience is a virtue as they say, and the man behind the desk was very patient while we transcribed everything from our basic phrase book as to our requirements. Joy of joys though when out of a bottom drawer he pulled the self same forms out in Spanish so we were able to copy and admit the correct paperwork before trotting off back to the health centre. This kind of run-around is typical of the system here in Spain with regard to paperwork. The system is slow and was never set up to accommodate so many people or such a populous growth, though it is getting better, so you have to be very patient and tactile in your approach. But after all the to and fro'ing, it's a triumph to see our names finally appended on the medical register.

Another must do' is the need to obtain your Residencia' certificate which is a must if you want to do things like start up a business, buy a car, in fact, more and more agencies and service outlets require a copy of your Residencia' just as proof of who you are and where you live. Gone are the days when you could lose yourself and become someone totally obtuse or anonymous. The local authorities are especially eager for everyone to register as resident as big brother grows ever more in momentum to keep tabs on its people. But for us it was actually of benefit to become a registered resident as it was all part of the plan of our acceptance and coalition within the Spanish community. Plus, half the things we have done would have been impossible without it. Though actually applying for the certificate was easier said than done!

Here, unlike other countries within the EU, if the Spanish require a passport, legal document, application for residence, driving license etc, there is no separate offices or departments. Believe it or not, they have to apply direct and in person to the main province Police station. So for us this meant the Police HQ in Malaga City centre. Can you imagine the queues that form there daily? Some people camp out in the early hours just to be able to get through the doors at 10AM when they open. Remember this usually means standing in line in the heat, on a busy street for hours. Not a good thing I can tell you.

But there is a short cut if you're in the know and have 50 euros spare. We actually went to our Spanish lawyer and for a fee of fifty euros a person, a legal runner/translator will make an appointment for you, meet you at the front of the imposing police station, and calmly walk you in to the front of the queue with the minimum of fuss and waiting. Yes, you receive a number of funny, agitated looks, but hey, our man did the talking and arguing while we held on to his shirt tails. It took us an hour to get our Residencia' sorted and 300 euros for the privilege, but it's well worth it and would always suggest paying the extra to avoid the rush.

Remember, this is the way Rose and I chose to do it. There are many who choose not to go through the hassle of trudging round blindly from one office to the next and remain ignorant of such things. For some who have lived here for years, when we impart these stories and things we've done, we're met with vacant expressions and twenty questions!. No problem, but ignorance of the law is not an excuse, and when that piece of paper is called for, or you're waiting for an ambulance hoping you'll be treated, or the police pull you over and confiscate your motor, you'll wish you had taken just that little extra time out to get everything in order. I tell you, I'm glad we did!

Useful hint
A number of immigrants on arrival immediately choose to take out private medical insurance, one of the benefits being that most companies will supply you with an English speaking doctor or translator should you become ill.

We on the other hand were of the opinion that if anything went wrong, we would be given all the medical assistance we needed, and we had heard that the health service was pretty good in this area. It's a choice. PMI can be very expensive and, as a number of people have found to their dismay, may not cover you for very much more than the basic state medical care. But if your NI is paid up, why not get the two years free you're entitled to?

As for dentistry, all dentists are private and readily available and you can generally pay as you go. Again, some are more expensive than others, so try two or three and get the best price, oh, and most practices actually have an English speaking receptionist or dentist.

Useful tip
Mail collection is another important service and can be vital if awaiting letters from the old homestead, final documentation or such other important correspondence. We had paid the Royal Mail office in Weymouth to redirect all our post from Alma Road to here in Spain for six months after which time we believed everyone who needed to know where we were, would, with anyone else not needing to know.

I was wary though and did not want all and sundry back in Blighty to know or obtain our new address for that fact, so we decided to explore our options and sort out mail type delivery into categories for home or PO box.

Living in a town gave us the luxury of a regular postal delivery service to the door, but a great number of people do not have such a service and opt for mail box rental with centres private and state run dotted around everywhere. We however found a cheaper and safer method of collection. That of from the Correos' (Spanish post office) itself!

All you do is inform Royal Mail or whoever your expecting mail from of the local Correos' address and they will put it back for you when you can pick it up at your leisure. It's free and easy and can be used for as long as one wishes though again, not a lot of people know about the service, another one chalked up to Rose!

Spanish facts
Name that baby? Some more of those wonderful names and meanings: Boys: Hugo (clear thinker) Ivan (like a flower) Joel (George) Max (biggest) Nicola (victorious in the city) Roland (strong like a rock) Sylvester (forest) Victor (brilliant)
Girls: Claudia/Cleopatra (well known) Dana (good judge) Clarisa (loved) Carla (strong) Cassandra (of pure descent) Diana (god of hunting) Deborah (bee) Dolores (pain) Desiree (desired) Elena (belonging to the sun)

And now the good news:
There is no television license fee and no car tax disc in Spain! Hoorrahh!
There are no fixed speed cameras on the roads in the province of Malaga! Hoorrahh!
There are 37 listed beaches on the Costa Del Sol, some naturist, all topless! Hoorrahh!
There are however some species of man eating sharks in the waters around the Costa's! Ooooopps!

Spanish words
El Dentista (the Dentist) Ayl Daynteestah
El Centro Medico (Health centre) Ayl Thentroh Maydeechoh
Custodia La Estacion (Police Station) Kuhstohdeeah Lah aystatheeohn
El Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) Ayl ahyoontahmeeayntoh
El Notaria (Notary) Ayl Nohtahreeah
El Agente/Abogado (Solicitor/Lawyer) Ayl ahayntay/ahbohhahdoh
El Contable/Assesoria (Accountant) Ayl Kohntahblay/Ahsaysohreeah
La Oficina De Correos (Post Office) Lah ohfeetheena day Kohrrayohs

Next week
Joe goes back to Blighty, time to buy a car!