SmartiesUK

you are a sad muppet as well did they call you that at some stage? You come on here with a stupid name and talk trash in the hope that you might peruade people to stay away from Spain. You are of no help to anyone on this group with your attitude and quite frankly had I ever had the misfortune to meet you and have been Spanish I am damned sure I would have muttered the same sorts of things myself. You tried, you never liked it (and thats got to be taken with a pinch of salt) now go and get your kicks elsewhere. If what you say is true this would be the last place you would hang around wouldnt it

keithwalters

Sorry to hear you´ve been treated so badly.
Maybe it´s not what you want to hear, but I´ve been here nearly 5 years now and I have never heard any such thing uttered (fortunately).

Is it something to do with the area where you lived? Were there a lot of expats? And in particular, were there a lot of the more "ignorant" expats who expect everything to be done like it was "back home" and don´t attempt to speak the lingo? I can understand how the locals might get pi**ed off with that.

spain

I havent personally heard anyone say that although I do know of Spanish people who dont like "foreigners" full stop - Brits included.

It all depends on where you live I think, in the larger towns they are more accepting to "outsiders" but in the smaller villages there are a lot of people who wont even make eye contact let alone be buddies however much you try and intergrate - even from day 1 our neighbour wont even say good morning - which is bizarre as even strangers will say "bon dia" in passing - but hey ho, its her loss

Surely it would be the same in England - if a load of "foreigners" set up shops selling only "foreign" stuff - restaurants selling only "foreign" food etc etc - there is bound to be some back lash and resentment

As far as I am aware my son hasnt experienced anything like this at school, in fact they think its quite a novelty to have an English child in class

MnM

The first day we moved into our rented premises we greeted our neighbour in Spanglish! She was very impressed and surprised that we spoke to her because she said the previous tenants (who were English) never spoke to her or her family in the two years they lived here.

We've also found that some Spanish are weary of becoming friends with foreigners because of the "drink abuse" that goes on. It was not surprising because we've also stopped socialising with such "friends".

gallerie9

Well not all Spain is the same and you can say the same about the UK, and not all people are the same.
We in a year, have had a couple of incidences.......... there is a guy that lives in the house next door............well he is rude to everyone not just us.
A guy in the council got a bit well stroppy, but he was put right by a lot of other people who went into the council to complain about him, including the local historian who is the local lawyer and the archeologist who is revered in the the area, and we got to keep our door.

I think that where ever you live and you are not a Native of that country you will find some hostility, you are different , just as in the play ground in school, if you dont fit in with the crowed you will be picked on. that unfortunately is how some people behave........

You cant generalize, you have to take the good with the bad.

In my experience there was more hostility in a Warwickshire village that I moved to live, in than in the village in Spain where we live in now, in the village we were treated like foreigners, you were not born there you had no rights ......................Thats is how I felt and we lived there for 6 years.......... and being riped off was constant......... and that was with everything including the local school and even the church, who wouldnt baptise my son, as we were not born there and didnt attend the church regularly ................yet he baptised my daughters friends child who was born with a father or fathers unknown ...... not that it was her fault or her parents, they are still my good friends ...... not that she or the family ever went to church but they were born there ...........now that is preduedice dont you think !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Off my soap box
Sorry

maryann

Come on then.............whats your reason for being on an expat forum when your not an ex pat and dont want to be one?

love

mary x x

glad 2 b back

well I was an expat for six years and still own property in Spain so I've every right to be on here more so than some would be ex-pats. My reason for this thread is to high-light what is acceptable in Spain is a criminal offence in England. Racist abuse.

glad 2 b back xx

glad 2 b back

So what region of Spain is Liverpool in ? when you get there then give your opinion smarties.

glad 2 b back

I'm not saying that I've been treated badly at the end of the day we are foreigners just as they our in our countries. Its my daughter that was upset by the grief she got especially when the teachers did nothing to stop it, like the time she got punched in the head and kicked in the stomach whilst the headmistress stood by and watched.

I can understand why the locals would get peed off as well, just as we do when we see certain cultural groups not intergrating in the UK especially when they sponge off the NHS and Social systems but its not acceptable to say anything about it or object to it as that is "racism". Unlike in Spain where it is acceptable behaviour to discriminate.

cajam31

Obviously everyone has there own personal experiences of living i spain, some good and some bad, as i said the reason i was confused was that you had lived there for 6 years. I understand giving it a go but if you and your family were that unhappy i would have thought you'd have gone back to the UK earlier. If you werent unhappy the whole time then something must have changed drastically during those 6 years.

glad 2 b back

Oh yes lots, at first I was younger lived on the coast my partner had lots of work but thought we would try the "real Spain" and the "real Spain" we got. Along with property problems, no work, bad schools, prejudices, poisened dog, stolen dog, no electricty, no running water, corrupt solicitors and estate agents etc basically everything else that goes on in "real Spain" anyway I shan't dwell as I'm much better off now i've just got the weight of the house we own that is sitting idle over there on my shoulders now.

glad 2 b back

Anyway I didnt come on here looking for sympathy or anything else just to chat, I know a lot of people won't like what I say but there you go. Its good to get other sides of the story not just Amanda lamb, get a new life or living in the sun.

Mrs eddie

Bligey !!!!!! This woman is BITTER ...whhoooooah there....

Thankfully I have not heard anything like what this woman said she's heard on a regular basis....

I'm not saying I'll be surprised though, the Spanish are def not perfect.

But from my limited experience, I truly feel that the Spanish treat you with the same courtesy that you afford them.

Only today two Valenciano women said hello to my children, and in broken Spanish I had a 20 min conversation with them on her doorstep..where she showed me family pictures of her children at the Fallas 28 years ago!! Now come on.....I can not imagine that scenario back in the uK for ONE minute.

Anyway......sounds to me "gald 2 b back" has a very negative attitude and that maybe because of that she attracts negativity....

Poor woman !!

Anyway, the suns shing, the kids are playing in the garden !!! Best get out with them and start climbing the lemon tree

mikelincs

well today my wife was walking down the street, and said to a couple of men at the post boxes at the next urbanisation, Buenos Dias and Hola. She heard them say how nice it was to hear an English person greeting them in Spanish. Her Spanish isn't brilliant, but at least both she and I do try to use it and talk to the neighbours, and our Spanish is improving all the time. I've only heard one nasty comment, and that wasn't to me, but was said by someone who had run into a car owned by english people, his car had come off worse, so i suspect he was feeling a bit gutted. He did say it was all the English people living here in the Costas that was causing the trouble, but the woman he was yelling at just said 'if it wasn't for us coming to live over here and as tourists, then most of you would be out of a job'. That shut him up.

glad 2 b back

Bitter I don't think so and certainly not smary enjoy your sun while it lasts and your lemen tree woo hoo....we have so much more than a lemon tree to entertain our children with. Infact my child is due to star in a musical at easter with famous ppl, we went to London on sat to the Zoo and Camden town, ice skating the week B4 etc actually we are never stuck for something to do and can even see our families when we wish but hey you've got a lemon tree well done!