Case Study: Culturally Competent Strategies Toward Living Well with Dementia on the Mediterranean Coast

Abstract

Barbara is a 65-year-old Scottish woman who arrived in Spain with her husband John and two pet dogs. They planned to permanently live in a rural area on the Mediterranean Coast, which has been traditionally selected by the retired elderly population from Central and Northern European countries as a place to live when they are still active and healthy. The Scottish middle-income couple were retired in an urban Scottish area for 1 year before relocating. They then decided to move to the sunny coastal area of Southeast Spain, investing their life savings in a country house in the village where they vacationed every year. For them Spain was an affordable country where their savings would be worth more; it had a lower cost of living and a higher quality of life and was perceived as a safe place to live. They had even heard from other expats that healthcare costs were assumed by the Spanish government, and healthcare was considered as high quality as any in Europe. They settled in the countryside with their pets, in a rural area with 1100 inhabitants, with widely separated properties. There were no other foreign residents living nearby. The nearest British Community was in a big town by the sea where the only British Expats’ Association was located.