better quality of life
Jul 24th 2007, 11:11 am
#16
¿Dónde estoy?
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: my paradise - Jávea
Posts: 13,330
Re: better quality of life
You know its odd that you should say that because when I lived out there I used to see people come out on holiday and fall in love with the place, they would then move out there to start their new life in the sun, and they couldn't be told, if you tried to warn them or advise them on all the pitfalls and dangers all they would say was "you haven't been back to the UK for years, you don't know how bad it ia back there so you cant know what we have had to go through!"
Well time would pass, they would carry on like they had back home and life would become progressively worse, and at about 4-6 months usually they would be absolutely broke, miserable as sin and desperate to get the hell out of "this frigging country!"
The ones who survived hit the ground running, they fought hard to make a new life, they used their energy to make a new life, and if you asked any of them they would tell you that they worked twice as hard in Spain than in the UK..........but they wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.
Well time would pass, they would carry on like they had back home and life would become progressively worse, and at about 4-6 months usually they would be absolutely broke, miserable as sin and desperate to get the hell out of "this frigging country!"
The ones who survived hit the ground running, they fought hard to make a new life, they used their energy to make a new life, and if you asked any of them they would tell you that they worked twice as hard in Spain than in the UK..........but they wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.
Jul 24th 2007, 11:15 am
#17
¿Dónde estoy?
Joined: Jun 2004
Location: my paradise - Jávea
Posts: 13,330
Re: better quality of life
couldnt agree more - but sometimes when I say this to people they think I am being negative or trying to put them off coming when thats not the case - we had a nice life in England both earning decent money and doing ok, we think sometimes to ourselves "what was we thinking moving to Spain" " why would anyone want to put themselves under this much pressure"
but there are lots of plus sides to living here but it all comes down to the fact that no one really knows what its like ( or even if Spain is for them) until they live here - in the 4 1/2 years we have been here we have seen so many people come and go and all the friends we made when we first arrived have left to go back
but there are lots of plus sides to living here but it all comes down to the fact that no one really knows what its like ( or even if Spain is for them) until they live here - in the 4 1/2 years we have been here we have seen so many people come and go and all the friends we made when we first arrived have left to go back
if you look in my photos, there is one taken of a lot of 'mums' of different nationalities at my younger dd's 5th birthday (she's 8 now)..........only 1 of the mothers in the photo is still here
Jul 24th 2007, 11:34 am
#18
Not Junior but not Senior
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,052
Re: better quality of life
I think the difficulty with this post is a definition of what constitutes a 'better quality of life'. This will mean entirely different things to different people.
Listening to Posh on TV she was definitely expecting a better quality of life in the USA.... and many would envy her life. I sincerely don't.
A life completely free from stress ?? Well get measured for that coffin...
It amuses me that some of the Chiclaneros head to Malaga and Fuengirola for their holidays.
A lot of common sense in the many replies.
However....
I was at a wedding in Folkestone this weekend. Wonderful venue on the cliffs looking over to France. Folkestone on the up. And yet there was something sleazy about it, that places like Chiclana or Tarifa if we want to compare with a busy port do not have. They can be a bit hick, have many tourists, but there is still a different atmosphere. Admittedly the weather helps. And Pete, in case you haven't realised, Spain had the smoking ban long before Britain..
Listening to Posh on TV she was definitely expecting a better quality of life in the USA.... and many would envy her life. I sincerely don't.
A life completely free from stress ?? Well get measured for that coffin...
It amuses me that some of the Chiclaneros head to Malaga and Fuengirola for their holidays.
A lot of common sense in the many replies.
However....
I was at a wedding in Folkestone this weekend. Wonderful venue on the cliffs looking over to France. Folkestone on the up. And yet there was something sleazy about it, that places like Chiclana or Tarifa if we want to compare with a busy port do not have. They can be a bit hick, have many tourists, but there is still a different atmosphere. Admittedly the weather helps. And Pete, in case you haven't realised, Spain had the smoking ban long before Britain..
Jul 24th 2007, 11:38 am
#19
sun lover
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: hertfordshire
Posts: 362
Re: better quality of life
Pjj I don't think Spain is being negative in any way at all, they are being realistic thats all.
It is a hard country to live in if you have to make a living, made easier by the sun and constant holiday feeling that people out there have, you ask anyone out there who has to work and I guarantee that 85-95% of them do more than one job to survive, even some of those who decided to move out to retire end up picking up some work just to supplement their living standards.
ask any one who has ping ponged or even moved away and they will tell you that they never realised how hard life could be out there, if you don't have to work then good on ya, but some of us will and that wont be easy.
It is a hard country to live in if you have to make a living, made easier by the sun and constant holiday feeling that people out there have, you ask anyone out there who has to work and I guarantee that 85-95% of them do more than one job to survive, even some of those who decided to move out to retire end up picking up some work just to supplement their living standards.
ask any one who has ping ponged or even moved away and they will tell you that they never realised how hard life could be out there, if you don't have to work then good on ya, but some of us will and that wont be easy.
like ive said in my reply to spain early on in thread most of us on here know we going to have to work when we live out there ! just answer this question rugbymatt you are making the move to spain your self WHY?
Jul 24th 2007, 11:41 am
#20
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Kent - Gandia - Kent
Posts: 2,002
Re: better quality of life
working (and very hard at that) and speaking another language
as long as people are prepared for that then things will be a bit easier
out of interest pjj what area are you moving to ? and what work are you going to be doing ?
Last edited by spain; Jul 24th 2007 at 11:53 am.
Jul 24th 2007, 11:42 am
#21
sun lover
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: hertfordshire
Posts: 362
Re: better quality of life
Hmmmmmmm a better quality life ..
Well i would say for me a few key ingredients are missing in the Uk to make the quality of life right .
1/ Time .. Time to be outside for most of the year ,instead of a few days grabbed here when you can .
2/ Time .. Time to spend shopping at a time thats convenient rather than rush to catch the shops before they shut..
3/ Time .. Time to grab a few hours in the afternoon to pause the day and snooze (Siesta) , before the evenings activitys
4/ Time .. To walk out along a pretty beach or Marina during the evening and then have a meal outside at 10pm and watch the sun set
5/ Time .. To drive on roads that hardly ever jam up with over congestion
6/ Time .. To swim , fish , shop , barbecue , or whatever
7/ Time .. Time to grow your own fruits and vegetables in your own garden
8/ Weather .. Weather to allow you to do things ,rather than be stuck indoors every night like as in UK
9/ Weather .. Weather that allows you to use a boat in clear clean waters
10/ Weather . Weather that makes you feel happier
11/ Money & Cheap living expenses .. Money saved by the Spanish way of life , makes your money go farther
12/ TV access to full UK television stations plus European .
13/ Being able to be in the mountains in the morning , and enjoy a afternoon swim and a beach barbecue at night
14/ Being able to watch Uk news and thank god your no longer there ,and not think ohh heck what they gonna tax us with next .
15/ Being able to fly to and fro the Uk if someone forces you
and know its only a 2 hour trip . and cheap .
16/ Being able to stick £ 10 worth of fuel in the car and drive for days
17/ Being able to sit down have your meal in a restaurant and have a smoke after if you choose to and pay £ 1.50p a pack
18/ Being able to escape the keeping up with the Jones and get of the treadmill of the Uk way
19/ Being able to clear the mind and find that new business venture , with a high influx of tourists all eager to spend money ,lots of possible business ventures are there for the grabbing
Will stop now or we will be here all night ..
Well i would say for me a few key ingredients are missing in the Uk to make the quality of life right .
1/ Time .. Time to be outside for most of the year ,instead of a few days grabbed here when you can .
2/ Time .. Time to spend shopping at a time thats convenient rather than rush to catch the shops before they shut..
3/ Time .. Time to grab a few hours in the afternoon to pause the day and snooze (Siesta) , before the evenings activitys
4/ Time .. To walk out along a pretty beach or Marina during the evening and then have a meal outside at 10pm and watch the sun set
5/ Time .. To drive on roads that hardly ever jam up with over congestion
6/ Time .. To swim , fish , shop , barbecue , or whatever
7/ Time .. Time to grow your own fruits and vegetables in your own garden
8/ Weather .. Weather to allow you to do things ,rather than be stuck indoors every night like as in UK
9/ Weather .. Weather that allows you to use a boat in clear clean waters
10/ Weather . Weather that makes you feel happier
11/ Money & Cheap living expenses .. Money saved by the Spanish way of life , makes your money go farther
12/ TV access to full UK television stations plus European .
13/ Being able to be in the mountains in the morning , and enjoy a afternoon swim and a beach barbecue at night
14/ Being able to watch Uk news and thank god your no longer there ,and not think ohh heck what they gonna tax us with next .
15/ Being able to fly to and fro the Uk if someone forces you
and know its only a 2 hour trip . and cheap .16/ Being able to stick £ 10 worth of fuel in the car and drive for days
17/ Being able to sit down have your meal in a restaurant and have a smoke after if you choose to and pay £ 1.50p a pack
18/ Being able to escape the keeping up with the Jones and get of the treadmill of the Uk way
19/ Being able to clear the mind and find that new business venture , with a high influx of tourists all eager to spend money ,lots of possible business ventures are there for the grabbing
Will stop now or we will be here all night ..
Jul 24th 2007, 11:46 am
#22
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Kent - Gandia - Kent
Posts: 2,002
Jul 24th 2007, 11:50 am
#23
sun lover
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: hertfordshire
Posts: 362
Jul 24th 2007, 11:55 am
#24
ex-squaddie
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Aylesbury, UK
Posts: 4,605
Re: better quality of life
Well I'm ******g loaded so it's easy street for me anyroad up!
As the great Paul Young once said - "Wherever I lay my hat......that's me casa".
As the great Paul Young once said - "Wherever I lay my hat......that's me casa".
Jul 24th 2007, 12:13 pm
#25
Straw Man.
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: That, there, that's not my post count... nothing to see here, move along.
Posts: 46,302
Re: better quality of life
That said I didn't think twice about making the move, and I would make the same conclusion any day of the week, I love Spain, warts and all, and there are many warts, it is far from Eden, you could argue where is.
Spain isn't the guilt edged country that many think it is, the easy going lifestyle is a facade, many of the companied you have to deal with are 5 times more ruthless and cut throat than many of their British counterparts, the rules regarding the control of the population is much stricter there than here, and lets face it, some things are infinitely easier here than there......take me paying tax for example, I pay 18% at source, so my Tax Returns take me 20 mins online, and thats it.
All that said the benefits are plain to see.
Jul 24th 2007, 12:52 pm
#26
sun lover
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: hertfordshire
Posts: 362
Re: better quality of life
well ive had a few offers so far job which sound quite promiseing so has my o/half i know someone who has a estate agent in the area and he mention to me that hes thinking about taking a back seat and chilling out and said he would like me to come and work for him running the place but i would consider any thing but who knows we i aint going to be out there till end of jan 08 and work wise for my girlfriend she has quite a few friends in the village who have bars and restaurants so i think she will be fine we aint got to work straight away ,we planned to put enough money away to live off for a least year so we aint got to put ourselves straight in deep end like ive said before on here its been are dream for a long long time we have work so hard to get this far when we get out there we are going to just take it in our stride enjoy and experience this beautifull country and see want it has to offer we will treat it as a working holiday and if we like it we will stay if we dont we will come back how bad aleast we will would have had a great time 
Jul 24th 2007, 12:58 pm
#27
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Kent - Gandia - Kent
Posts: 2,002
Re: better quality of life
hi spain im moving to costa tropical la herrdura well ive had a few offers so far job which sound quite promiseing so has my o/half i know someone who has a estate agent in the area and he mention to me that hes thinking about taking a back seat and chilling out and said he would like me to come and work for him running the place but i would consider any thing but who knows we i aint going to be out there till end of jan 08 and work wise for my girlfriend she has quite a few friends in the village who have bars and restaurants so i think she will be fine we aint got to work straight away ,we planned to put enough money away to live off for a least year so we aint got to put ourselves straight in deep end like ive said before on here its been are dream for a long long time we have work so hard to get this far when we get out there we are going to just take it in our stride enjoy and experience this beautifull country and see want it has to offer we will treat it as a working holiday and if we like it we will stay if we dont we will come back how bad aleast we will would have had a great time
well ive had a few offers so far job which sound quite promiseing so has my o/half i know someone who has a estate agent in the area and he mention to me that hes thinking about taking a back seat and chilling out and said he would like me to come and work for him running the place but i would consider any thing but who knows we i aint going to be out there till end of jan 08 and work wise for my girlfriend she has quite a few friends in the village who have bars and restaurants so i think she will be fine we aint got to work straight away ,we planned to put enough money away to live off for a least year so we aint got to put ourselves straight in deep end like ive said before on here its been are dream for a long long time we have work so hard to get this far when we get out there we are going to just take it in our stride enjoy and experience this beautifull country and see want it has to offer we will treat it as a working holiday and if we like it we will stay if we dont we will come back how bad aleast we will would have had a great time I really do wish you all the sucess in the world - Spain is a beautiful place
Jul 24th 2007, 1:00 pm
#28
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 827
Re: better quality of life
So many people move to Spain and live in expat ghettos. Hardly any fully imerse themselves in a typical Spanish lifestyle. So all these people claiming that Spain provides a better quality of life are talking from a foreigner's point of view that probably has very little similarity with a Spaniard's.
Those of us that have moved to Spain are likely to be affluent (compared to a typical Spaniard) ex-uk house owners who feel we are in a position to be able to stike out on a new life. We are probably all at a stage in our lives where we feel that having a bit of capital behind us gives us a reasonably safe cushion for which to try something a bit more exiting.
This topic has been thrashed about on expat forums for years with the same results - Those that can afford it can make a reasonable living wherever they choose to live (as long as the money doesn't run out), those that can't will probably just stay at home.
Do you get a better quality of life in Spain? You do if you can afford it. But ask the same question on any other country's expat forum and you will probably get the same answers. Spain is no different to anywhere else really - ok there's a lot less rain here than in the uk, but when you're stuck indoors in the heat of the summer surviving on air-conditioning and can't get out to do a bit of gardening or even for a nice stroll down to the shops for fear of collapsing from heat exhaustion, is that a better quality of life?
As for me, I've lived in Spain for nearly three years now and still work for a living. Do I have a better quality of life? I would say so, but I still speak hardly any Spanish.
Those of us that have moved to Spain are likely to be affluent (compared to a typical Spaniard) ex-uk house owners who feel we are in a position to be able to stike out on a new life. We are probably all at a stage in our lives where we feel that having a bit of capital behind us gives us a reasonably safe cushion for which to try something a bit more exiting.
This topic has been thrashed about on expat forums for years with the same results - Those that can afford it can make a reasonable living wherever they choose to live (as long as the money doesn't run out), those that can't will probably just stay at home.
Do you get a better quality of life in Spain? You do if you can afford it. But ask the same question on any other country's expat forum and you will probably get the same answers. Spain is no different to anywhere else really - ok there's a lot less rain here than in the uk, but when you're stuck indoors in the heat of the summer surviving on air-conditioning and can't get out to do a bit of gardening or even for a nice stroll down to the shops for fear of collapsing from heat exhaustion, is that a better quality of life?
As for me, I've lived in Spain for nearly three years now and still work for a living. Do I have a better quality of life? I would say so, but I still speak hardly any Spanish.
Jul 24th 2007, 1:08 pm
#29
sun lover
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: hertfordshire
Posts: 362
Re: better quality of life
5 years of dreaming and saving and working very hard to get this far and its just about to pay off ! ive read on so many forums how many people have gone out there with not enough money and no real planning and come back after 6 months !
Jul 24th 2007, 1:09 pm
#30
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Kent - Gandia - Kent
Posts: 2,002
Re: better quality of life
why is that ? do you live in a "Brit" area so feel you dont really need to ? cant be bothered ? havent enough time ?