Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
#91
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
Borign? Boring?
http://youtu.be/0ekqsHP9Sck
http://youtu.be/0ekqsHP9Sck
#92
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
Yes I do think that they think we are rich, on the other hand we think they are!
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, we most probably have more money in the bank... but they own much more property and land than us!
But in my view it matters not a jot who has more than whom, we all get on well and actually like each other, that is what really matters and what makes for a contented life here.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle, we most probably have more money in the bank... but they own much more property and land than us!
But in my view it matters not a jot who has more than whom, we all get on well and actually like each other, that is what really matters and what makes for a contented life here.
#93
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
Some people have money and some just donĀ“t have a lot, everywhere. But getting on well,as you say, is the main thing
#94
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Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
I'm neither rich or poor and I try to get along with my neighbours. I've spent years trying to 'fit in', copying how they dress and act, the hardest thing was trying to stop saying Por Favor at every opportunity, because the Spanish don't.
But it all went wrong years ago when we found a house with a large swimming pool and fell in love with both. It got worse when I fell in love with a large, foreign car that was going cheap.
There is no point in dressing in tatty jeans when I step out of my front gate, it makes me look silly. And there's even less point in stepping out of my large foreign luxury car in a tattered top, it makes me look even sillier.
But I need to put up with my Spanish neighbours when they ask me for a cigar, because on their reckoning anyone driving a 'ministero's car should be smoking cigars.
But it all went wrong years ago when we found a house with a large swimming pool and fell in love with both. It got worse when I fell in love with a large, foreign car that was going cheap.
There is no point in dressing in tatty jeans when I step out of my front gate, it makes me look silly. And there's even less point in stepping out of my large foreign luxury car in a tattered top, it makes me look even sillier.
But I need to put up with my Spanish neighbours when they ask me for a cigar, because on their reckoning anyone driving a 'ministero's car should be smoking cigars.
#95
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Location: Brussels
Posts: 887
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
You've gotta be joking ...or , sadly : thoroughly mislead ?
Some of the best-est times of my ( long ) life were in Toronto , Montreal AND in Belgium ;
some of the most disappointing , emptiest , totally wasted days of my ( long ) life were at Puerto Banus , Tenerife , Malaga , Nerja ( Axarxia ) , Gibraltar , the whole C. deSol stretch...
A-ha , each to their own , someone said , muucho earlier ?
Some of the best-est times of my ( long ) life were in Toronto , Montreal AND in Belgium ;
some of the most disappointing , emptiest , totally wasted days of my ( long ) life were at Puerto Banus , Tenerife , Malaga , Nerja ( Axarxia ) , Gibraltar , the whole C. deSol stretch...
A-ha , each to their own , someone said , muucho earlier ?
#96
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
You've gotta be joking ...or , sadly : thoroughly mislead ?
Some of the best-est times of my ( long ) life were in Toronto , Montreal AND in Belgium ;
some of the most disappointing , emptiest , totally wasted days of my ( long ) life were at Puerto Banus , Tenerife , Malaga , Nerja ( Axarxia ) , Gibraltar , the whole C. deSol stretch...
A-ha , each to their own , someone said , muucho earlier ?
Some of the best-est times of my ( long ) life were in Toronto , Montreal AND in Belgium ;
some of the most disappointing , emptiest , totally wasted days of my ( long ) life were at Puerto Banus , Tenerife , Malaga , Nerja ( Axarxia ) , Gibraltar , the whole C. deSol stretch...
A-ha , each to their own , someone said , muucho earlier ?
By the way if Spain was as bad as you say, why did you keep coming back for more ?
#97
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
You've gotta be joking ...or , sadly : thoroughly mislead ?
Some of the best-est times of my ( long ) life were in Toronto , Montreal AND in Belgium ;
some of the most disappointing , emptiest , totally wasted days of my ( long ) life were at Puerto Banus , Tenerife , Malaga , Nerja ( Axarxia ) , Gibraltar , the whole C. deSol stretch...
A-ha , each to their own , someone said , muucho earlier ?
Some of the best-est times of my ( long ) life were in Toronto , Montreal AND in Belgium ;
some of the most disappointing , emptiest , totally wasted days of my ( long ) life were at Puerto Banus , Tenerife , Malaga , Nerja ( Axarxia ) , Gibraltar , the whole C. deSol stretch...
A-ha , each to their own , someone said , muucho earlier ?
#98
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Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Brussels
Posts: 887
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
1 ) my ( South African ) wife was driving me mad about "the weather" , anywhere in NW EUrope ( until she finally accepted , just how bad the groceries' shopping and attitude to animals were in Spain , inter alia , not to mention the lunatic driving habits and prevailing bad manners there ...);
2 ) I myself (sadly , mistakenly ) hoped , based on suggestions of many others , that there were things , where I , maybe , just maybe , was ill-advised , or wrong : e.g. the tax-es , the medical arrangements , this'n'that ; but , that's all gone now ;
...as it happens , I would have , then , somehow , accepted to live on the Costa Brava , perhaps , anywhere between the French border and almost Barcelona ...but then the mrs. : wouldn't ( oh , but all that darn driving ! ) ;
BTW : I do manage quite well in Spanish language , if/when I must .
Anyway , for my own money , the quality of life is at least equal , if not better , or : Very Much Better ? :
anywhere in BeNeLux, Germany , Austria , Malta , Cyprus , Slovenia , maybe : even in Croatia ?
A recent reliable newspaper report showed that a children's ( something like X-box ? not sure ! ) game , selling for 12 quid in Regent St. , London W1 , costs upwards of Euro 29,99 in Madrid and Barcelona ; so , what , exxxxactly , should we discuss here ? A St. Miguel ? Or the ridiculous property collapse , still pending ...
#99
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
For 2 main reasons ( and I made anywhere between 12 and 15 exploratory visits , of varying lengths , between , say 2001 and 2007 ) :
1 ) my ( South African ) wife was driving me mad about "the weather" , anywhere in NW EUrope ( until she finally accepted , just how bad the groceries' shopping and attitude to animals were in Spain , inter alia , not to mention the lunatic driving habits and prevailing bad manners there ...);
2 ) I myself (sadly , mistakenly ) hoped , based on suggestions of many others , that there were things , where I , maybe , just maybe , was ill-advised , or wrong : e.g. the tax-es , the medical arrangements , this'n'that ; but , that's all gone now ;
...as it happens , I would have , then , somehow , accepted to live on the Costa Brava , perhaps , anywhere between the French border and almost Barcelona ...but then the mrs. : wouldn't ( oh , but all that darn driving ! ) ;
BTW : I do manage quite well in Spanish language , if/when I must .
Anyway , for my own money , the quality of life is at least equal , if not better , or : Very Much Better ? :
anywhere in BeNeLux, Germany , Austria , Malta , Cyprus , Slovenia , maybe : even in Croatia ?
A recent reliable newspaper report showed that a children's ( something like X-box ? not sure ! ) game , selling for 12 quid in Regent St. , London W1 , costs upwards of Euro 29,99 in Madrid and Barcelona ; so , what , exxxxactly , should we discuss here ? A St. Miguel ? Or the ridiculous property collapse , still pending ...
1 ) my ( South African ) wife was driving me mad about "the weather" , anywhere in NW EUrope ( until she finally accepted , just how bad the groceries' shopping and attitude to animals were in Spain , inter alia , not to mention the lunatic driving habits and prevailing bad manners there ...);
2 ) I myself (sadly , mistakenly ) hoped , based on suggestions of many others , that there were things , where I , maybe , just maybe , was ill-advised , or wrong : e.g. the tax-es , the medical arrangements , this'n'that ; but , that's all gone now ;
...as it happens , I would have , then , somehow , accepted to live on the Costa Brava , perhaps , anywhere between the French border and almost Barcelona ...but then the mrs. : wouldn't ( oh , but all that darn driving ! ) ;
BTW : I do manage quite well in Spanish language , if/when I must .
Anyway , for my own money , the quality of life is at least equal , if not better , or : Very Much Better ? :
anywhere in BeNeLux, Germany , Austria , Malta , Cyprus , Slovenia , maybe : even in Croatia ?
A recent reliable newspaper report showed that a children's ( something like X-box ? not sure ! ) game , selling for 12 quid in Regent St. , London W1 , costs upwards of Euro 29,99 in Madrid and Barcelona ; so , what , exxxxactly , should we discuss here ? A St. Miguel ? Or the ridiculous property collapse , still pending ...
http://www.news.royalmailgroup.com/n...Office_network
Cheaper than Portugal? No, I don't believe it either, but there you go. And of course living there is obviously different to taking a hoiday.
A long time since I've been to Belgium but I thought it's very much underrated. I suspect winters there are dire, but I may be proved wrong.
#100
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
For 2 main reasons ( and I made anywhere between 12 and 15 exploratory visits , of varying lengths , between , say 2001 and 2007 ) :
1 ) my ( South African ) wife was driving me mad about "the weather" , anywhere in NW EUrope ( until she finally accepted , just how bad the groceries' shopping and attitude to animals were in Spain , inter alia , not to mention the lunatic driving habits and prevailing bad manners there ...);
2 ) I myself (sadly , mistakenly ) hoped , based on suggestions of many others , that there were things , where I , maybe , just maybe , was ill-advised , or wrong : e.g. the tax-es , the medical arrangements , this'n'that ; but , that's all gone now ;
...as it happens , I would have , then , somehow , accepted to live on the Costa Brava , perhaps , anywhere between the French border and almost Barcelona ...but then the mrs. : wouldn't ( oh , but all that darn driving ! ) ;
BTW : I do manage quite well in Spanish language , if/when I must .
Anyway , for my own money , the quality of life is at least equal , if not better , or : Very Much Better ? :
anywhere in BeNeLux, Germany , Austria , Malta , Cyprus , Slovenia , maybe : even in Croatia ?
A recent reliable newspaper report showed that a children's ( something like X-box ? not sure ! ) game , selling for 12 quid in Regent St. , London W1 , costs upwards of Euro 29,99 in Madrid and Barcelona ; so , what , exxxxactly , should we discuss here ? A St. Miguel ? Or the ridiculous property collapse , still pending ...
1 ) my ( South African ) wife was driving me mad about "the weather" , anywhere in NW EUrope ( until she finally accepted , just how bad the groceries' shopping and attitude to animals were in Spain , inter alia , not to mention the lunatic driving habits and prevailing bad manners there ...);
2 ) I myself (sadly , mistakenly ) hoped , based on suggestions of many others , that there were things , where I , maybe , just maybe , was ill-advised , or wrong : e.g. the tax-es , the medical arrangements , this'n'that ; but , that's all gone now ;
...as it happens , I would have , then , somehow , accepted to live on the Costa Brava , perhaps , anywhere between the French border and almost Barcelona ...but then the mrs. : wouldn't ( oh , but all that darn driving ! ) ;
BTW : I do manage quite well in Spanish language , if/when I must .
Anyway , for my own money , the quality of life is at least equal , if not better , or : Very Much Better ? :
anywhere in BeNeLux, Germany , Austria , Malta , Cyprus , Slovenia , maybe : even in Croatia ?
A recent reliable newspaper report showed that a children's ( something like X-box ? not sure ! ) game , selling for 12 quid in Regent St. , London W1 , costs upwards of Euro 29,99 in Madrid and Barcelona ; so , what , exxxxactly , should we discuss here ? A St. Miguel ? Or the ridiculous property collapse , still pending ...
Personally, outside of my UK home, all things considered, I'd still probably settle for Spain or the Canaries, though I do have a soft spot for Croatia and Cyprus.
#101
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Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Brussels
Posts: 887
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
Corrections :
a ) the attitude to animals we experienced in ( most parts of ) southern Spain , was nothing but revoltingly sub-human , savage , stone age primitive and sadistic ;
- all those poor starved-to-death dogs , rummagging the new motorways , between Malaga and Nerja and further ? The donkeys , the horses , injured , mal-treated , what an insult , to any a decent person ! ...
What ? In a so-called "civilised" country , of the 1st world ? Someone's just joking , or drunk , or ill-informed here ( all of which : could Never-Ever be viewed in Canada or Belgium , the so-called , yet , so much more civilised "boring" places , which is how I started this exchange ! ) so , maybe , some literate people could re-assess ? ;
b ) I can walk out , in a "prime" quartier of Capital of EUrope into a really nice bistro/bar and get a glass of ( world's best ) Belgian beer , Stella Artois/Jupiler/Leffe whatever , for less than 2 Eurobuxxxx ; show me , where , in Barcelona , one can obtain such a thing , at a similar price , please ?
( As it happens , I hardly ever drink the beers , as we normally the prefer wine ...which , also , the French varieties , is much better value for money , than the Spanish product , anyway )
What's the point ?
a ) the attitude to animals we experienced in ( most parts of ) southern Spain , was nothing but revoltingly sub-human , savage , stone age primitive and sadistic ;
- all those poor starved-to-death dogs , rummagging the new motorways , between Malaga and Nerja and further ? The donkeys , the horses , injured , mal-treated , what an insult , to any a decent person ! ...
What ? In a so-called "civilised" country , of the 1st world ? Someone's just joking , or drunk , or ill-informed here ( all of which : could Never-Ever be viewed in Canada or Belgium , the so-called , yet , so much more civilised "boring" places , which is how I started this exchange ! ) so , maybe , some literate people could re-assess ? ;
b ) I can walk out , in a "prime" quartier of Capital of EUrope into a really nice bistro/bar and get a glass of ( world's best ) Belgian beer , Stella Artois/Jupiler/Leffe whatever , for less than 2 Eurobuxxxx ; show me , where , in Barcelona , one can obtain such a thing , at a similar price , please ?
( As it happens , I hardly ever drink the beers , as we normally the prefer wine ...which , also , the French varieties , is much better value for money , than the Spanish product , anyway )
What's the point ?
#102
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
You seem to forget that although Spain appears up to date in many areas, modernisation and typical Western ways were held back for about thirty five years during the Franco era and before, when it was much like a third world country in many respects, so even now there is some catching up to be done.
The attitude to animals is no doubt one of them, though I believe much progress is being made and I have seen similar sad sights in quite a few other EU countries.
The attitude to animals is no doubt one of them, though I believe much progress is being made and I have seen similar sad sights in quite a few other EU countries.
#103
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Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Brussels
Posts: 887
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
a decent raincoat still suffices , Novemeber to February , after which it gets better !
And , noone needs winter car-gear !
( Better than U.K . , I reckon ? )
Bright , sunny , blue skies , 27-28 C today in Bruxelles/Uccle , what about the weather in the place you live ?
Last edited by Ray51; Apr 21st 2011 at 7:01 pm. Reason: correction
#104
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Posts: 887
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
You seem to forget that although Spain appears up to date in many areas, modernisation and typical Western ways were held back for about thirty five years during the Franco era and before, when it was much like a third world country in many respects, so even now there is some catching up to be done.
The attitude to animals is no doubt one of them, though I believe much progress is being made and I have seen similar sad sights in quite a few other EU countries.
The attitude to animals is no doubt one of them, though I believe much progress is being made and I have seen similar sad sights in quite a few other EU countries.
however , I'm perplexed and totally lost , as to which other EU-countries could Ever be so cruel to animals , domestic or the other ?
Talking now , from the viewpoint of a person who has been from St.Petersburg to Prague & Budapest , to Croatia , Bosnia , Serbia , and better ( westerly e.g. Austria/Switzerland and the lot ) ;
sadly , at my ( over ) 60 years of age , I think the Spaniards are the most cruel , savage , primitive nation in EU , where any animals are concerned ; so , next when Banco Santander also fails , they can whistle for my 3 EUrocents ....
#105
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Posts: 887
Re: Do you think the Spanish think you are rich?
All this miracle/s of thousands of years of human civilisation : could be , including a few decent people around you , not only the bloodthirsty ignoramus Torreros/Caballeros , con dos Sombreros ?