I’ve titled this post ‘moving to Spain’ because recently I’ve been checking out various expat forums and one thing I’ve noticed is that despite the economic doom and gloom here, there are still lots of people who would like to move to Spain.

And I can’t say I blame them.

But most need to find a job in Spain to support their families. Now that’s where things begin to get a bit tricky, as there aren’t many of them around at the moment, even for the Spanish.

I hate the word JOB…It conjures up all kind of nasty images, working like mad for some smug boss, only to just about manage to pay the bills each month.

A good option for expats moving over here is to start their own businesses. Many make a good living doing something they know and enjoy…although you might want to reconsider if you’re thinking of running a bar!

So, wannabe expats…I’d advise not letting the thought of finding it hard to get a job put you off following your dreams. Where there’s a will there’s a way!!

Anyway, that’s enough for me for today. The sun is out, so that’s where I’m heading now…

Until next time 

Keidi x 

P.S. Remember, if you’re thinking of moving to Spain then do check out my book, Sol Searching – A Fun-Filled Tale Of A Modern Girl’s Move To The Costa Del Sol…It may help you avoid the mistakes that I made!!

It’s Spanish tradition to gobble these 12 little fruits – one on each of the twelve midnight gongs, to mark the start of the new year. That’s one grape a second…

It sounds easy, but believe me it’s not!

Last night I struggled to breathe as I popped the last grape into my already full mouth. As a mixture of grapes and pips washed around inside, I was horrified when each member of my boyfriend’s family began kissing and hugging each other, cheeks still bulging.

Then for the champagne toast. They have a neat little song which goes like this: “Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro y Para Dentro.”

This literally translates as: “Above, Below, In the Middle, And Inside”…Although it doesn’t sound so good in English as there’s no rhyme!

So now you know how I spent New Year’s Eve to see in 2010 – how did you spend yours?! Oh and Happy New Year

What started out as the personal diary of a twenty-three-
year-old, who decided to leave the UK for a new life on
the sunny Costa del Sol, has turned into a publishing
phenomenon when her book, “Sol Searching” was discovered by
independent publisher Native Spain.

Keidi Keating, originally from the UK but now living in the
Axarquia region on the Costa del Sol, decided to self-publish
her revealing and hilarious dramatised-biography and was
quickly discovered by fellow expat, Debbie Jenkins, who was keen
to publish the book under her NativeSpain.com imprint.

Debbie says, “Keidi’s book is a perfect fit for our
NativeSpain brand which sets out to inform and entertain
expats and would-be expats about the challenges and joys of
making a new life in Spain. What makes Keidi’s book unique
is that it also hits a younger audience. It’s a bit like
Bridget Jones in the sun!”

Keidi says, “I’ve been writing since I was seven-years-old so
landing this publishing contract is a dream come true. The
positive feedback it’s been getting has been a real boost too!”

~~~
“Sol Searching: A Fun-filled tale of a modern girl’s move to
the Costa del Sol” by Keidi Keating ISBN: 190543068X is
available to buy from Amazon and all good bookshops now.

NOTES FOR EDITORS/JOURNALISTS
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

REVIEW COPY
————–
Please request a review copy of “Sol Searching” here:

I’d planned a sunbathing stint on the beach the weekend just gone. I LOVE the beach. This year I even managed to achieve a golden brown tan, without achieving the all too common tomato effect. It helped that my boyfriend, Chema, was on stand-by to rub cream into all those hard to reach bits. 

“Since when haven’t you been able to reach your legs,” he would say.

“Since today,” I mumbled into the sand, relaxing a notch more on each breath.

On this  particular day, though, the beach was out of the question.

“The forecast is rain over the whole of Spain,” said Chema, eyes fixed to Google weather.

“Great!” I said. “Bang goes the beach. What can we do instead?”

Chema suggested a dozen different ideas, each which was shugged off by me, who didn’t fancy any of them.

Then he hit the nail square on the head.

“How about the Science Museum in Granada? That has a roof.”

Now don’t get me wrong. My idea of a perfect weekend doesn’t usually involve traipsing around a MUSEUM…Quite the contrary. I find museums totally, utterly, absolutely, boring. But, on this day, I quite liked the idea of jumping in the car, journeying across rain soaked roads and seeing something at the other end.

By the time I’d washed my hair, decided what to wear and eaten breakfast come lunch, it was already 2pm so we decided to book a hotel for the night in Granada and get up early Sunday morning to visit the museum.

It all started so well. The Hotel was pleasant and comfortable and we found a lovely restaurant for dinner that night. We were tucked up in bed by 1am and I set the alarm to wake us up at 8.30am. That’s where it all went pear-shaped.  I THOUGHT I had set the alarm. But in actual fact, I hadn’t.

I awoke to the sound of banging on the door.

‘The cleaners are early,’ I thought.

“What’s the time,” I asked Chema, rocking him awake.

He groaned and slid his mobile phone from the bedside table, sitting up in a shot.

“WHAT? It’s 11.38.”

Oooops!

Not only did we miss breakfast, but we also missed two-and-a-half hours of planned museum time. Pulling up outside it, bellies grumbling with hunger, we purchased two tickets, determined to see something.

We had just three hours to see such a vast amount. The first room we entered was full of children running around having fun and playing with the various gadgets and experiments on show. Chema instantly transformed into a ten-year-old and I found it hard dragging him out.

There was so much cool stuff to see, that if you haven’t been, then I recommend you go. It’s not like usual museums, where you walk around in a semi-trance wishing you were elsewhere. This is a doing museum. You get to try things, pull things, push things, watch things and play things. My favourite part was the brain game, where you and the opposition sit at opposite ends of a gadget. There’s a ball in the middle and whoever relaxes their mind the most wins, as the ball rolls away from them. Cool hey.

Checking out my image via the infrared camera was also eye-opening, especially as I was the only one in the whole room with a green nose! Everyone else’s were a lovely orange colour. Typical!

Three hours was nowhere near enough to see everything. We reckon we did about half of it, so no doubt we’ll be returning some time.

If anyone else has been, do let us know what we missed

xxx