davidinspain

Spot rate 28 August 2018 1.1

bobd22

Dave I still don't get your point currency goes up and down dependent upon many factors, Brexit news being a big factor at the moment. Spot rate 22/6/16 pre referendum Open: 1 GBP = 1.3029 EUR

Fredbargate

Excuse me for posting this yet again, but these are exchange rates I have experienced since becoming an expat.

Why all this concern over exchange rates?

I have experienced 54 Escudos to the pound i.e €0.18 / £1

112 Pesetas to the pound i.e. €0.67 / £1

Long before brexit was dreamed of.

OK it's nice to get a good exchange rate but it's not the end of the world.

My £ is still worth a £

Fred James

You live in Gibraltar which uses Sterling.

It's hardly surprising currency fluctuations do not worry you..

If I lived in London, I wouldn't be too worried either!

Johncarzx

Where ever you live in the world you pay your money and take your chance. Many want the best of everything, they think the world is like Woolworth pick and mix and moan a bucket full when they cannot have everything they want. Many are more qualified at marking a bingo ticket than understanding economics. Alf Garnett all is forgiven.





Back to blighty the land of milk and honey

EllisG

They affect us as much as anyone when we want local fresh produce that doesn't make the journey down here in refrigerated trucks...we pay for them in Euros or Dirham

dougal03

I've just sold my property,no not going back to UK,but one estate agent brought round another agent,as they often do.My agent was Norwegian & introduced a very nice blonde lady who I though was perhaps Finnish or Icelandic.However she told me she was Russian & seeking properties for her clients from both Russia but also the Baltic States.I am aware that in my area we have already a number of people from there,my P.C. man is from Latvia in fact & has a number of skills & languages.So if British people are leaving they will perhaps be replaced by other nationalities.It is the way things happen.In the 30 odd years I have been resident in Spain I have seen a shift before.Maybe Brexit has just hastened that.Maybe in the Uk people are wary of eastern europeans because the unskilled are obviously tempted by the generous welfare state & tend to make their way there.However this is not the case in Spain I think or they would be barking up the wrong tree.My first tenant in my rental apartment was a young man,a plumber,from Romania some years back.He worked hard & I was sad to lose him as he needed a bigger place as his brothers,also tradesmen,came over 2 years later to join him.I do understand how hard it might be for British retired people who came here to live out their days in this nice country & spent their capital as they thought this is IT & now are struggling because of the exchange rate.It is OK for me to make comments as I can sit on the fence,having worked for a Spanish pension,but I think they will find it very hard to go back to Britain & fit in again after the kind of lifestyle they have had in Spain or indeed anywhere on the Continent..

Fredbargate

Correct Fred but I bought 2 properties in Spain when the exchange rate was 122 pesetas to the pound
I.E. my pound bought €0.73

bobd22

Fred let's be realistic back in the day of the pesata cost of living in Spain was much lower than now. Currency as I have said will always fluctuate. To say that brexit has nothing to do with the current exchange rate of sterling is nonsense . The UK shopper is also reaping the benefits of a poor exchange rate cost of shopping keeps going up and up. Yes the government blame it on everything but brexit but brexit is having an affect already before it's even happened. As for expats I said earlier that some expats can cope with exchange rate of 1 to 1 but some simply can't all depends on your income? How many posts do we see on here people asking can my wife / partner manage to live in Spain on X amount (often quite low) others ask can they move and survive on whatever benefit etc. If the pound goes low for a protracted time it hurts such people. Maybe even to the extent some decide to sell up and return ( if they own property ) or simply move back to what they knew? Of course there are other reasons for doing the same age health etc. What affects one person may not affect the other, people can say you should plan and prepare for one to one before making the move, but like most things you don't really know untill it happens. If people simply can't manage on whatever their income is then they can't manage and possible option is getting into debt spiral making your life even more miserable. Many many reasons people will return but I am sure the impending brexit it's uncertainty and worry it's causing some will be a real fact.

Johncarzx

Many people are being spooked by propaganda. Media hype.Typical Sky News ‘’Oh we have a breaking story, let’s go entertain you with more human suffering’’.

bobd22

Johncarzx

Everything you say Bob is correct. It may well be that expatiates cannot live as well as they did in Spain with a low € to £ because the £ is weak. But with the difference in cost of living between Spain and UK (fuel, food, and property rates) I don’t see how their financial problems would be resolved by jumping ship and running back to the UK. They only have the same income. Of course the benefits system is far superior in the UK (housing benefit, old folks free bungalows, free rates, winter fuel, income support, Disabilities and health conditions, Caring for others with disabilities, free NHS prescriptions, eye tests and dental treatments, blue badge and free road tax, etc.)

If you are skint you are skint in both countries. Perhaps the forum title is false (Brits quitting Spain in their THOUSANDS over Brexit fears and exchange rates) and those THOUSANDS won’t admit the truth. The article (propaganda) was written by Tara Rippin Euro Weekly News to promote their publication. The media are just churning out garbage after garbage to compete with one another.

Hornets_Nest

The point is that most people live within a budget and whilst currency fluctuations should be built into contingency planning there are no doubt quite a few people who are finding things more difficult. Brexit has caused a lot of uncertainty but in my opinion it will be those people living in the UK who will be hit the hardest, not those with reduced incomes as a result of the drop in the £. Of course things can change in the future but UK migrants to the EU still form an important part of many regional economies and that is an important factor. Whilst France isn't Spain recent scare stories about the withdrawal of healthcare for UK migrants haven't helped.

bobd22

I think John for some it will simply come down to their own situation and Spanish outgoings. Two people could have identical income one may feel well off the other not very well off. I suppose as most understand the UK system this is rarely the case in Spain as discussed on another thread language can become an issue when someone requires help finnancial or otherwise. Some think the UK benefits system will be same as when they left the UK if that was pre 2010 they will find it has changed. Some people it may be a serious illness that makes them decide UK is better for them. I suppose at the end of the day there is only so long one can lie in bed unable to sleep due to fretting and worrying? At some point some simply say sod it I'm going back to what I know and understand as I am simply no longer happy with my new life. They may be right they may be wrong I suppose.

Johncarzx

I thought I would read Tara Rippin story again posted in the OP. She is quoting the Brit population:-

‘’ Benidorm, last year there were just short of 3,000 there, down from an estimated 5,000 in 2007. Balearic islands, the islands were home to 19,803 Brits in 2007, and just 14,981 last year – down from 16,134 the year before.’’

But she fails to realise since the Spanish property crash 2007/8 new blood from the UK dried up due to the unstable property market, but the existing expatiates Burt and Betty have continued to fall off the perch. That’s maybe why you are attacked by Avalon vultures when you enter Carrefour trying to sell you double the price funeral plans.