Going Native in Murcia

Posted by Dreamer

A practical guide and personal account of living, visiting, and buying property in the Murcia region, Going Native in Murcia focuses on an area few guidebooks even mention.

Hidden away in the southeastern corner of Spain, the region of Murcia certainly does not garner as much attention as its other coastal neighbors. In fact, there’s not a lot of information available about Murcia in English, and this was what Marcus and Debbie Jenkins sought to remedy.

The result was Going Native in Murcia, their highly personal guidebook to the corner of Spain they’ve called home for the last few years, and the product of their experience living and buying property in Murcia. Indeed the other part of the book’s title is called A Brit’s Scrapbook.

Consequently, reading Going Native in Murcia is like getting advice from a friend: it’s something for you to take into account, but not a definitive word on the matter. I imagine the book as a good regional complement to other more in-depth titles on living in Spain for the person who has their eyes set on making their home in the area. The book even gives recommendations for other books to round out knowledge of some subjects, such as Buying a Home in Spain and Campo: A Guide to the Spanish Countryside.

A Brit’s Scrapbook: Going Native in Murcia (Second Edition) by Debbie Jenkins and Marcus Jenkins. Great Britain: Lean Marketing Press, 2006. 232 pages.
Buy the book in Europe or buy the book in North America.

Expat Talkback

Sign-in with your SpainExpat username to post your comments and questions about this article. See the SpainExpats box on the left.

If you're not a SpainExpat member yet, sign-up now, it's free and we'll keep you in touch with goings on around here. See the SpainExpats box on the left.

More books about Spain for you expats...

• Spain Exposed

  An amusing book, Spain Exposed shines light on life in the country through the eyes of long-time British expat Rob Innis.

• Going Local in Gran Canaria

  A fun, interesting book, Going Local in Gran Canaria by Matthew Hirtes introduces us to the Spanish island in a way that few books have.

• Dancing in the Fountain

  Karen McCann’s Dancing in the Fountain is a thoroughly enjoyable account of expat life in Sevilla. Be warned, however, that you will probably want to put on your dancing shoes and find a fountain of your own.

• Historic Walking Guides: Gibraltar

  Gibraltar author Tristan Cano takes a fascinating and well-researched look at the Rock’s history and sights in Historic Walking Guides: Gibraltar.

• The 007 Lifestyle: Living Like James Bond

  A cool, well-dressed, dangerous jet setter… James Bond flies around the world, stays in the nice hotels, blows stuff up, gets the girl, and looks good doing it. Now it’s your turn. (Umm, without the blowing stuff up part.)

• Netherland

  Imagine F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby updated for our modern age. Then turn it into a poignant expat novel, and infuse it with a love of cricket. The result of that imagination is Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland.

• Rick Steves’ Spain

  Have guidebook, will travel: Rick Steves’ Spain is a solid planning tool for that all-important initiatory trip to Spain. 

• Leaving Tangier: A Novel

  A fascinating fictional portrait of the limits of human dignity, Leaving Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun masterfully explores the causes and effects of illegal immigration, and specifically from Morocco to Spain.

• The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War

  A fascinating memoir from poet and former Sandinista revolutionary Gioconda Belli, The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War is an eminently human portrait of an idealistic but imperfect woman who sought to free her country – Nicaragua – from a dictatorship, build a more just society, and stay true to herself – whether in love or in the midst of revolutionary politics.

• Expats: Four Seasons in Spain

  The story of one expat’s life in Madrid during the 1980’s, Expats: Four Seasons in Spain paints the picture of a country that simultaneously no longer exists and yet still lives, and an expat experience that is at once vibrant and stale, but intriguing nonetheless.

• Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

  The holy book of the independent travel crowd, Vagabonding by Rolf Potts advocates that long-term world travel can be possible for anyone who puts their mind to it.

• Streetwise Spanish

  A book designed to help you learn basic Spanish and live in a Spanish-speaking country, Streetwise Spanish by Peter Christian acts as your guide to Spain and covers everything from food to emergencies to love.

• The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich

  A business resource for the intrepid, The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss shows you step-by-step how to think big, create a virtually autopilot business, and live like a rock star (if you want) through smart business management and deliberate “lifestyle design.”

• Going Native in Murcia

  A practical guide and personal account of living, visiting, and buying property in the Murcia region, Going Native in Murcia focuses on an area few guidebooks even mention.

• Me Talk Pretty One Day

  A series of humorous autobiographical essays, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris paints a gut-wrenchingly funny portrait of a man too witty and too neurotic for his own good.