Re: Costs
 

the answer to your question is YES

how you are going to do it is your problem, but if that is your budget then you are the only one who is going to make it work

other people have other figures but their circumstances are different, with vet bills and food my little dog needs €100 every month at the moment.

Re: Costs
 

That is actually a valid point. Most of the grumpy people in this world try and excuse their grumpiness by saying that they're not very good in the morning (or the evening). I think being grumpy is a chosen lifestyle and has nothing to with the position of the sun in the sky.

As a keen observer of humanity, I often see a group of locals when I venture out to get fresh rolls just as the sun starts to lighten the sky. Around a dozen of them sit there with their coffees and brandies, both Spanish and foreigners, and they all have one thing in common, they are grumpy and look it.

Some of them are still there in the afternoon, blankly staring into space.

I suspect most of them live on much less than 20K and would only see the Sierra Nevada ski slopes if they were taken there in chains.

Re: Costs
 

Christ, the good people of Playa Flamenca must be quaking in their boots.

Re: Costs
 

now remind me again - what was one of the reasons for not wanting to live in a Brit Expat community..................

Re: Costs
 

Well I have to admit the phrase SHUT YA MOUTH (in caps) doesn't inspire me with confidence that my contribution will be taken nicely, but it occurred to me that the 'guesstimate' of 650 rent 500 etc seemed to have overlooked a guaranteed-to-exist but variable-in-its-level-and-impact factor. Namely bills. Will you be likely to put the aircon on all of July and August? Need heating from Oct through May? Do you use the oven for cooking the whole time? Use cubic metres of water on washing your car/ will you only rent somewhere with a pool....etc etc...
Just saying..........

Re: Costs
 

There is indeed one good point in not living in an expat community, and I've observed it many times. You can't be insulted if you don't understand what people are saying about you.

I watched a group of elderly, English lunching ladies leaving a Spanish restaurant after a meal and the owner came out as they were walking away and called them all the nasty names under the sun.

They turned, smiled and waved at him, calling out 'grassy arse', and walked away smiling.

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But it's lots of fun when they are talking about you thinking you don't understand when in fact you do.....as you enlighten them the look on their face is priceless! :rofl:

Re: Costs
 

am I falling into a trap...........oh WTH, why would the owner be calling them all the names under the sun ??
they paid ?
they ate ?
they drank ?

he got business, made (potentially) a small profit

does he think he is English and can go around having a go at all bloody foreigners ??

perhaps one or two of them did know a little more Spanglish than anyone realised :eek:
but were too polite to respond
:thumbup:

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They didn't leave a tip?

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A lot of people give the reason for needing to learn Spanish as being able to know what people who you come into contact with are saying about you....note; not what they are saying in general.

It makes it sound like an everyday occurance, 3 outwardly respectable ladies having lunch, obviously not drunken louts, yet the waiter/owner always seems to be calling them fit to burn in these stories.:confused::confused:

And the reason for all this name calling seems to be because they can, because the ladies dont understand Spanish.....dont make me laugh.....:thumbdown:

I spend a lot of my time in bars:lol: and such, and I have never seen this happen, not in the way that these "urban tales" are told.

If it does happen, it is for a stronger reason than the waiter knowing the customers dont understand Spanish and decides to insult and take the piss.

A little less exaggeration would not go amiss sometimes when posting, after all less is more.

Re: Costs
 

I would suggest that the bars you visit in the course of your business are Spanish city bars that seldom see an expat, never mind a group of expat ladies coming for lunch.

As for Spanish people not talking about expats when they're in the vicinity, I suggest that my knowledge of the subject is a bit better than yours, I hear it every day. It doesn't bother me nor does it offend me, it's normal behaviour.

You seem to have missed the entire context of the discussion to append your personal comment about unnecessary exaggeration, not exactly a morning person, are you?

Re: Costs
 

So there are no visiting foreigners to Alicante city centre not even for a day out? dont me laugh .


I was not talking about expats, I was talking about people who dont understand spanish in general, I have never seen them treated with disrespect for no other reason than their lack of understanding spanish which you seem to see everyday.

Re: Costs
 

My simple point was, and is, that sometimes not knowing the language can be bliss. Here's another urban tale then, this one's two days old:

Where I live, we are flooded out with Spanish holidaymakers at the moment, and a group of them sat next to us on our favourite Spanish bar terrace, usually full of guiris. The holidaymakers were friendly people and tried to make conversation with the people around them, friendly expats.

After a few attempts they gave up and one said that the place was full of Ingleses. My wife heard him and explained that the people at the table opposite were Russian, the next table contained Germans, an elderly man right next to them was Spanish, but deaf, and the noisy people at another table were Scottish.

One of the Spanish ladies asked if my wife came from Barcelona, she does have a trace of Catalan, having learned the Spanish language as a young person in Catalonia. I couldn't speak for laughing.

The holidaymakers came from Bilbao.

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I've met foreigners who've learnt English over a time in England and picked up a bit of the local accent - normally happens when people learn at a younger age though.
Not surprised that your "Spanish holidaymakers" turned out to be Basques. Their economy has weathered the recession a lot better than other parts of Spain, so they can afford holidays. Plus it rains a lot up there, so a bit of Med sunshine probably appeals to them (same as it does to us Brits).

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I lived in Holland for 3+ years. It is a difficult language to learn. Many speak very good english and like to show their skill and will respond in English when you attempt a conversation. I realised I must be improving, when they started to answer me in German.

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There's been a long tradition for Basques to come to these parts for their holidays. A few years ago some of them put a bomb in the Queenburger in the centre of town and blew it up. Luckily they had given a warning first.