I’ve got a place in a wee village up in the hills above Cadiar and we use the town for lots of things - banking, petrol, gas cannisters, tobacconist (for mobile phone top-ups as well as cigars!), excellent butchers and bakers, fereteria, good market twice a month, internet cafe (Jamandels), some nice bars, rubbish supermarkets (but essential for some things) and the builders’ merchant and seller of domestic appliances, Paco’s, which has been absolutely brilliant and essential again and again, for everything from a screwdriver to three tons of sand. The health centre gets good reports but I’ve never had to use it. For me the town has far too many British people who hang around together speaking English - I don’t think that’s what Spain is about but it does mean there is a great informal support network to help you get started there. Don’t know if you have kids but the school is full of British children - there was an incident last year when the school asked the provincial government for interpreters so they could communicate with the parents (the kids of course pick up the language much quicker than their mums and dads). Considering all that, the locals are really very friendly and don’t resent the Brits at all, as far as I can see. Have a look at my site and also this message board for English-speakers in the Alpujarra http://www.blueskyescapes.com/public_html/mb/. If you have any more specific questions, I’ll try to help, so ask away.
