It's all too easy when you write for a local newspaper to take a parochial view of life.

I thought, therefore, that it would be a good idea to go abroad to see what is troubling people in foreign parts. I thought also that it would be a good way of getting a holiday at the expense of my employer. After all, Cornish councillors often go on fact-finding trips abroad, paid-for by local taxpayers, so why shouldn't I?

Unfortunately, my boss is not as kind-hearted as the bureaucrats at County Hall. Roughly translated, he advised me to go forth and multiply. So I had to book some time off and pay for my own holiday!

I took advantage of the scheduled service to Spain now operating from Exeter Airport. It's cheap, efficient and very handy. I got to Alicante, on the Costa Blanca, faster than it would have taken me to drive from home to London (just under five hours from West Cornwall to Spain).

It could, of course, get even easier if Newquay airport develops international routes, so that's something to look forward to.

I stayed in Spain with UK friends who have recently retired there and was interested to hear their views on the horror stories that have appeared on TV recently about so-called land grabs and health care nightmares. TV documentaries and newspaper reports have focussed recently on Spanish laws that allow developers to seize the gardens of Brits who have bought villas on the Costa Blanca.

Is this any different than in the UK, my friends responded. Do local councils and government agencies not compulsorily purchase land and homes?

They have a point. In fact, the South West Regional Development Agency is currently in the process of compulsorily buying homes and businesses located on 147-acres of land between Camborne and Redruth for redevelopment but I haven't read any scare stories warning people about the dangers of retiring to Cornwall!

Health care can be a concern if you retire early to Spain. The UK government will pay Spanish hospital costs for Brits living abroad during the first two years and once they reach pensionable age, but not in between. Costly private medical insurance is therefore highly recommended. Again, though, is this so very different than in the UK? You might, in theory, be entitled to free medical care here but thousands of people are forced to pay to avoid long waiting lists.

Well, that's looked at a couple of possible negative aspects of moving to Spain, let's now look at some positives: gin is under £5 a litre, petrol is £1 a gallon cheaper, council tax is negligible and Tony Blair is not in charge of the country.

I wonder if the Costa Blanca Weekly News needs a new columnist?

*****

It was interesting to read in the English language local newspapers on Spain's Costa Blanca that the region faces many of the problems experienced in Cornwall.

Pensioners from Northern Europe - in particular the Brits and Germans - are forcing up property prices and making it impossible for young Spaniards to afford a home of their own.

Hospitals and medical centres are also struggling to cope with the huge numbers of elderly incomers who are putting a strain on local services. In fact, in many Costa Blanca villages non-local residents outnumber the Spanish.

It all sounds very familiar, doesn't it? The Spanish, however, don't appear to be as hostile towards incomers as so many Cornish people are.

The Spanish seem to accept that tourism and immigration have brought enormous wealth to a country that was, less than 50 years ago, almost third world. And they appear to want more of the same.

A local English newspaper reported the anger of retired Brits living in a beautiful valley about the decision of the regional government to allow 200 villas to be built on the slopes of a mountain overlooking them. A government spokesman responded: "This development will create more jobs and further improve the local economy."

Any Cornish councillor making a statement like that in response to plans to build 200 homes for incomers in a local beauty spot would probably get lynched.