where i am planning to live, the cost of living is considerably lower than the coast as are the house prices and its typical, traditional spanish villages, with good schooling etc, a very laid back life, loads of lovely lakes and gardens, near Cordoba, Jaen and Granada, and also 1 1/2 hour from Sierra Nevada (for ski ing) and 1 1/2 hour from Malaga. You d need to be competent in the language to get a decent job though, as not many folk have more than a very basic knowledge of English, this suits us as we want to integrate into the spanish lifestyle.