expatasia

Am quite new to the forum and this thread, appreciate all the info and advice on here.

Many moons ago I did a uni placement in Pamplona (Universidad de Navarra) in the year the World Cup was hosted by Spain and it's always been my dream to eventually retire in the country (we visit for short hols just about every crimbo, mainly in the sunny southern half, after visiting friends & relatives in dank Britain).

It's just a case of persuading the missus in the not-too-distant-future to chuck in our jobs here in the Tokyo concrete jungle and then starting serious research of locations, tax, visa, cost of living factors and the rest. Anybody know which part of Spain has substantial numbers of Japanese living permanently?

Thanks.

Veleta

I'm not sure about permanent Japanese residents, but we have a huge influx of Japanese during February for the Festival de Flamenco which for some reason seems to be very popular with them. I know of a few who have then stayed on full time, mostly because of the flamenco. This is in Jerez.

expatasia

Yes, Spanish restaurants here even often do flamenco shows - obviously popular.

Have spent time in Ronda & Arcos de la Frontera but not Jerez. What brought you to the place, do you recommend it?

Thanks.

expatasia

We get programmes on sports channels (Japanese satellite television) from Barca TV which would normally be of interest to me but it drives me mad that 90% of it including interviews, commentaries etc is in Catalan! Can anyone on this forum speak the lingo? Obviously easier to read if you've got French.

SaritaBarcelona

I understand pretty much all written and spoken Catalan (spoken relatively slowly), and actually translate from Catalan to English, but speak it, nah! I think many people have the problem of arriving in Catalonia already speaking Spanish to a certain level, which can inhibit their learning of Catalan (this was my case). On the other hand, a friend of mine met a Catalan guy in France, married him and speaks amazing Catalan and passable Spanish (not to be rude, she says it herself!), as she didn't have the Spanish inhibiting her from the start. It is not as easy to pick up as Spanish, the grammar is more like French (a nightmare, in other words!). They say things like "three quarters to five", i.e. quarter past four!

expatasia

Yeah, I took French & Spanish at uni back in the day, but my conclusion is that when/if I move to Spain it'll have to be an exclusively Spanish speaking bit! Is it just me or does Catalan sound so unattractive too?

There was a Japanese footballer called Shoji Jo playing in Spain a few years ago - needless to say every game he played was transmitted live (or tape delay) here by state broadcaster NHK TV. They took the commentary feed in Catalan for some unknown reason even though it was advertised for us viewers here as coming with dual commentary option, Japanese or Spanish!

SaritaBarcelona

It's not just you...