montgomail

Some people, myself included, have a holiday home in Spain and so have a vested interest. For that reason, I keep an eye on the political situation and also enjoy sharing experiences with other Spanish property owners. I do enjoy living in the UK and have no reason at all to leave and see that Spain has very similar social problems to the UK.

Another reason for me surfing the forums is that I am fascinated by the ex-pat psyche.

dazzle

Well I for one own a house in Spain and I've picked up alot of useful information on here.

Mitzyboy

Because despite its many minus points with the general attitiude of many people there and the over taxation, I actually think its one of the most beautiful and diverse countries in the world and despite having travelled around it a lot theres still a lot more I'd like to see.

I've travelled a lot in my time around the world, and once I've settled properly here I hope to do some more, but the key words were "given the absolute choice". If I had the finances available to keep two homes AND travel then I'd happily do that just so that in the couple of months summer than sometimes happens in the UK I could enjoy the countryside and fantastic scenery there, visit friends down the pub for a pint etc etc. Instead, I've now become ecologically unacceptable and started using the cheap airlines like a taxi service when I need or want to pop back there.

Beachcomber

When I read threads like this I often wonder if the people who are moving to Spain now would have done so in the early 1980s at a time when:

1.- Franco had died only a few years earlier.

2.- The most recent attempted coup d'etat was still very fresh in everyone's minds.

3.- Spain was not a member of the EU and there were no reciprocal rights of work, abode, health care etc.

4.- Part of the process of applying for permission to live and work here meant waiting for hours in a filthy hospital to get a blood test and a chest X-ray and obtaining a certificate from the police in your country of origin to the effect that you had no criminal record. (A requirement which, alone, would disqualify many present day incomers!)

5.- There was no satellite television or local English language radio stations the only contact with the outside world if you didn't speak Spanish being rather hit and miss reception of the BBC World Service on a short wave radio or foreign newspapers which arrived several days after their date of publication.

6.- Telephone calls to the UK cost nearly £1.50 per minute assuming you could actually find a telephone that was capable of making an international call.

7.- There were no internet fora on which to bounce around ideas and ask for help

8.- Very few Spaniards spoke English.

9.- Surfaced road were few and far between and petrol stations even more so. (I still have the map where I have a note to 'fill up here' because it was the last petrol station for 160km.)

10.- The Guardia Civil were a menacing overbearing military force wearing black patent leather hats.

11.- The National Police wore sinister brown uniforms and would shoot you as soon as look at you.

12.- The Policia Municipal (as they were called then) consisted mainly of frail old men who looked as though they would barely be able to lift their gun let alone point it in a straight line.

OK that's twelve and there are probably many more but this is not a list of reasons for not moving to Spain at that time. It is testament to the fact that I am very glad that I moved here when I did and that I at least had a few years of living in a proper foreign country rather than the bland European clone, Brit infested, concrete jungle that it has now become.

TheArmChairDetective

FAntastic, I measure up.

Do you know if they currently have any vacancies please?

Beachcomber

leighbloke

As it seems to do on many threads around the subject of reasons to emigrate, this one is polarised by the UK knockers - and if someone doesn't despise the UK they are subjected to ridicule. ie wigan v spain Ha Ha HA very funny.

As has been shown on many other threads the reasons many give for moving to Spain are figments of the UK press and their own imagination.

I don't know the facts, but I'd wager several results of moving to spain are:-

Broken Marriages
Financial ruin
Being ripped off - with no recourse
Difficulties surrounding illness
Developing blindness to piles of rubbish on the roadside
Lack of support
Lack of opportunities
Descent into babbling on web fora
Learning how to dodge packs of stray dogs
Taking advantage of your relative wealth
Having bars on your windows
Searching hard for the things you took for granted in the UK
German friends
For those working, a lower standard of living whilst working longer hours
With Children - limiting their future prospects
Cold draughty nights in winter
Being mithered to death to buy something you don't want whenever you set foot into a town.
Seeing real poverty everytime you leave a town


I've not mentioned what you may have left behind my moving aroard: -

Friends
Family
Football/rugby/cricket
Theatre
A sound saleable financial asset
Safe roads
1st world infrastructure
etc

Just supporting the UK which gave the vast majority of you the wherewithall to consider emigrating in the first place.

king kong

Hi all ,Well im new to expats so ill say hello to you all .
This thread intrigued me as i have lived overseas for neally 20 years and have recently returned from the uk after a 5 week stint on holiday and i found it to be a vibrant and interesting place to be .
The uk certainly didnt dissapoint me in any way and i found the people to be friendly and hospitable and apart from the usual whinging about bills and foreigners [whats new ],it seemed to me the country was doing well on the whole with no old bangers on the motorways anymore and the friends i have are all doing very very well .
In regards to the kids playing up ,well what do people really expect when they give them these ridiculous ASBO's ,it like a red rag to a bull and sure the kids are going to give the cops the run around .When i was ateenager in the uk there was nothing to do but hang in big groups at bus stops etc ,its this very reason they look threatning ,i say we should start including the kids instead of isolating them from society ..
It seems to me most on here seem to put money and sunshine above all else ,these wont replace what you are culturally and although you may not know it now but some of you will realise quiet badly that swoping your country and culture and everything you are for some villa on one of costas will be abig big mistake .

bramblebush

My main pulls are Friends, Family and the language.

Incidentally I am in France but do love Spain.

Mitzyboy

Thats a bit of a huge assumption to make my friend. Granted you've been at it for 20 years, but many people here took the decision for specific reasons and its not for you or anyone to question that.

I, unlike some on here, will not forget that I am British and always will be. I made the conscious decision to move here as a lifestyle choice ... just because I am British doesn't mean that I have to live there, just as if you are a religious person it doesn't mean you have to go to church to justify your feelings.

In this modern day and age living in another country in Europe is not such a big thing with communication and transport being what it is now, and its my firm belief in years to come we'll all be well mixed together with huge numbers of EU members living in other countries.

So although I respect your experience of living abroad, I don't think a 5 week period in todays modern Britain after being awol for 20 years can even begin to give you an idea of what the country in general is like now.

Are you leaving the UK again?

king kong

Aperson can remain british wherever they are but depending on their needs as a person will define how they settle in their new country of choice ie if they are happy to lie in the sun all day with a sub standard of income but a larger house [maybe ]then moving to spain or aussie is a good move .
Please dont think this was a 5 week stint in 20 years ,i am a regular visitor to the uk and am well aware of the expense of living there and the social problems and the income potential that i could earn has been well researched by myself .
No one can run away from their problems be they living expenses ,social problems etc they are everywhere in every country .
I am pleased for you that you have found your utopia and like the majority that leave the uk you are in the majority .
For me personally being british is something a lot deeper than money etc ,i actually feel in touch with the land and the people and it history which is something sadly people in england seem to want to give up so easily these days .

Mitzyboy

Well, sorry I can't quite agree. Thats the point I was making. I haven't given up my culture or my history, yet I live in a different country. I don't have a sub standard income, but again it wasn't all about money. I don't laze about in the sun every day, in fact I seem to be always busy. And I'd say that goes for most of the people on this forum.

I for one wasn't running away from anything .... this is an adventure which I intend to enjoy as best I can ... maybe one day I will return to the UK, I don't know. This isn't a dress rehearsal, and you've got to make the best of it. I must admit it annoys me a little when people come on here saying that expats are running away from things ... thats not always the case at all.

But then again from what you say you don't live in the UK either ... as I asked before are you leaving the UK again, or have you already left.

As for losing touch with history, well, unfortunately it almost seems to be a criminal offence to be proud to be British in the UK now, and thats not the fault of the people I can tell you that for sure

gallerie9

That sums it up really well mitzyboy, our opionion to .

TheArmChairDetective

Hi King Knong,
welcome to the forum.
Thats was a strange way of introducing yourself.
I am glad you have an opinion and don't feel under attack when people disagree with you.
I must point out though that some of the things you have written need to be countered.

If you didnt see any old bangers on any road you must have had your eyes closed. For some people running an old motor until the mot runs out and then getting another is a way of life.
It is nice to hear that your friends are doing very very nicely, err compaired to what please?

You obviously have absolutely no idea as to what an ASBO is or what it is for.
Whilst I will conceed that nowdays they are handed out to people of all ages for the stupidest of things, the one thing they have never been is a red rag to a bull. A badge of honour for some maybe.
I think you will remember that what you did as a teenager is something that you wanted to do and not something you were made to do. That being the case you were isolating yourself, neh?
I also like the way you bring up culture, I'm not sure that you actually know what it means. The United Kingdom is a Multi-Cultural society, that means we all do things differently around here
It's not all tiffin, Gin and Tonics after croquet and the harbour gun being fired at noon anymore.
But please make sure you continue to contribute with your opinion on how "US" british people feel. I honestly value your opinion and hope to read more.

leighbloke

Interesting that you don't think the cars on the roads are getting less bangeresque - you must live in a very underprivaliged area.
And how can you question the extent that someone rates success? I detect a little pomposity - and it was in your post, do they do ASBOs for that??