There are several climates and cultures in Spain:
- The north is rainy but winters are mild (little or no snow)
- The centre is sparsely populated (except for Madrid). The climate is very cold in winter and the summers are hot and dry
- The Mediterranean coast is where you want to be. Summer is hot and winter is mild.
Currently the economy is worse than bad. Unemployment is over 20% and increasing. Housing prices reached a peak in 2008 buy have not reached the bottom yet because our laws do not allow to walk away from upside down mortgages, so we will need 3-5 more years to reach the bottom. Perspectives are bad asthe industrial base is weak and we do not have good exporting businesses.
Most places in the coast have been developed too much, so there are few quiet places. Also there are a few places where the foreign colonies (British, Germans, Norwegians, even Russians) are so big that they do not need to learn Spanish to go on with their lives.
Culturally you have a lot of history, museums, theaters, sights, etc. Food is very nice, and even world-class in some places.
Comparing to to France and Italy I'd say that it is more open than France although less modern and it is more civilized than the South of Italy, but much less developed than the north (Milan, Florence).
I'll be glad to help you with whatever you need. PM me and I'll give you my email and phone number if you wish.
