The largest group of people who play bowls in Spain are the English.

Amazing where these threads lead to.

From Crime and Crisis to a Bunch of English Wrinklies playing with their bowls or petanques in Spain......

I agree. I've got quite lost since I put up my own personal experiences, in response to the OP's request.

At least he joins in (from Tokyo?) I wonder if we have given him what he was after? Is there some subtext we have missed?

Crime in Malaga is down for the second year running.

One of the comments in the Sur newspaper was "because not so many Brits are there now.

Thanks, dr & others for giving personal experiences - I'm trying to persuade her indoors to re-locate to Spain and need all the evidence I can muster on this matter!

Well, if bowls don't appeal to her, does she like Karaoke? Spain's full of it. The same with Bingo.

Bullfighting is on the way out, but most towns have Fiestas on a regular basis, and if you don't know the history of the Moors and Christians you soon will.

Spanish people love parody, you often see such shows on TV, they love to take the mickey out of their political leaders, and when spring starts burn their effigies in the streets.

And if she likes football, start packing.

we could go on forever with the largest goup of people who watch Eastenders in Spain are English.

The biggest users of HP fruity sauce in Spain are the English.

The largest group of people inSpain that buy the Sunday Mirror are English...... and so on.........

But everyone knows what I was trying to say, or should know what I was getting at

Karaoke? You 're joking.

Bowls, bingo & bulls don't impress her either - lots of other things about Spain (including the footie yes) she likes but of course visiting on brief hols is not the same as living in the country, that's where you lot come in. Thanks.

Because when us latinos are not working on the coffee and banana plantations and the sugar cane fields, we like to keep ourselves entertained by stealing other people's stuff

Well they clarify on most forms that they give you a selection of races which consists of White/Caucasian, African, Asian, Alaska Native/Native American, etc. and then they have a separate ethnicity box that asks two simple questions and a box next to each: "Hispanic/Latino" "Not Hispanic/Latino". I always check the white/caucasian box (because I am, just like JLFS), and "Hispanic/Latino". Though to me it seems the way they ask you this, is if the Spanish are some kinda white race that deserves to be treated with minority/disadvantaged status like blacks

I just think it's really weird that Europeans and Americans care so much what race you are, in Puerto Rico nobody gives a damn what you are, you're either Puerto Rican or you're not, doesn't matter if you're a black one, brown, or white.

Hi Chris,

Nice to see you on hear again. All this Hispanic/Spanish confusions started because a poster more lor less said that most of the beggars on the streets wer Hispanic, I said that was not true as I have
not seen any south American beggars.

Apparently he meant Spanish", which of course would be right because the majority of the populaton in Spain is obviously Spanish. (it stands to reason).

We are not it the habit of referring to ourselves as Hispanic, we call ourselves Spanish/Espanoles, it just the way it is.)

The rest I am sure you have read for yourself where all the thread lead, and I do like your banana plantation answer.

FFS, Give it a rest
You say tomeato, I say tomato

I don't know or care if the guy busking "Streets of London" and girl selling the Big Issue and the old woman with a baby selling lucky white heather are Spanish, Romanies, Romainians and/or members of your EE gang / revolution / conspiracy.

Getting back to the subject. There have been beggars and pick-pockets for centuries. IMHO there are no more now than when I first visited spain. Of course there is crime, but no more than in many other and better than some countries.

I hope OP enjoyed his visit and the unfortunate experience does not put his wife off

Yeah I have. Love how BE threads always goes off on weird tangents, and it's always that one person that derails the whole thread and everyone else just follows along

Yeah it makes since you call yourselves Spanish. I've only heard a few times that Spaniards call themselves Hispanics as well, but for me I think of you as European and me as Hispanic, even though we share the same heritage.

Not at all since the perpetrators were foiled and she's not easily put off, even by my bad habits (sic).

We must have visited over a dozen times since the late 90s & noughties mainly doing spectacular scenery, food & Paradores but the incident described was a first. When I was a student in Pamplona (World Cup year '82)there were a lot more local beggars with obvious physical disabilities but I was never a victim of crime even on our drunken escapades. The only danger I encountered was in Madrid where some fascist ultras had a go at the English supporters in the streets around the Bernabeu after the segunda fase match vs Spain and the police got heavy-handed with los hooligans (as Marca and the rest like to label fans over from England) in the bars/cafes.

Crime is a different story in South America where I lived for six years after finishing uni but this is not the thread to discuss it.

It would appear from your explanatory post that you would definitely want to integrate completely and that would solve most of your crime concerns, because crime is less prevalent in Spanish areas untouched by tourism and foreign immigration.

If you were a student in Pamplona, why not return to that area?

I suppose the trouble is that if you like brilliant scenery and value eating out in classy restaurants, then those areas will have attracted people generally and where there are people, there will be crime.

It's a dilemma for Spanish people and expats alike, the more you have, the more people will try and steal it from you. I knew a local Spanish businessman who drove around in a Rolls Royce. He was soon targeted by a criminal gang and subjected to a particularly nasty robbery in his own home.

The same gang carried out many similar robberies, all over the place, before they were eventually caught. They weren't Spanish.

If anything you get even more brilliant scenery and good food in the north of Spain, yet crime (with exception of ETA stuff) is supposed to be far less there. It's certainly the case that in villages there you can leave your front door open - you don't get the grills over windows either. Maybe the rain deterrs the housebreakers?