Hi There.
I have been living in Gibraltar for 3 months, and absolutely love living here, as do my little boy and husband. I travel into Spain 2 or 3 times a week for kids activities and exploring. Having spoken to other expats living in the Costas, I feel we made the right decision by living in Gib not Costa del Sol. We get the best of both worlds. For us Gibraltar is a friendly, safe, relaxed place with a huge mix of nationalities and activities for everyone. Admittedly it is hardly the culinary capital of the world, but with Spain on our doorstep we are spoilt for food shops and restaurants.

Enjoy! There is a lot of history to the place, lot more than there is to see if visiting the average spanish village. Many knock the place after a quick trip down Main St. bit of a snob thing, fashionable to knock the place.

I think you hit the nail on the head, for some reason Gibraltar is very very unfashionable at the moment (with those who DON'T live here) and as you said it is therefore fashionable to criticise the place. Often by people who have never explored it, lived here and also those who can't afford to live here!

No, it just reminds me of Jaywick in the UK and the blue bombers when I was a kid on holiday. lo

we used to go to Jaywick!


isn't that where all the streets were called after cars/car manufacturers?

Actually, it seems more accurate to me that it is only the people who live there that defend it.

As for affording to live there, it's hardly a rich man's land like some claim it to be....sure there are the Ocean Village's etc, but look out of your balcony window and what do you see?
Ocean Heights on one side, and Watergardens on the other.......

Thats it, and no drains, the blue bombers as we called them, ex army fuel tankers used to come round and suck the chemical toilets out. yuk

Some pics here

I've had a long association with Gibraltar and have no knowledge of chemical toilets in any permanent buildings there, would you like to expound ?

But on a point of interest Gibraltar has a saltwater infrastructure which is used for toilet flushing and fire hydrants

Have I got me wires crossed ???

yep

they were all taken before my time there - but if memory serves me it hadn't changed much by the mid 60s

it has always struck me as funny that we'd go during the 'Vauxhall fortnight' (my dad worked for them) & stay in 'Cortina Road' or something along those lines

Probably not Fred. I used to live there in the early 50s in the blocks overlooking Europa Point two of which have now been replaced. Directly in front of us was a tunnel leading down to the beach, which oddly enough was called Tunnel Beach and at that time was still lined with bunks as it was used as bomb shelter during the war. The blocks used to have round water tanks at each end which caught the rain that ran off from the roof. This was the only fresh water supply we had. Water for bathing, toilets and washing was salt water. Our block's claim to fame was that Gunner Portlock, the guy who looked after the apes at that time, lived in our block.

At that time the area outside the casemates was mainly sports fields so it was far less crowded than it is now and was then a good place to grow up.

Jim

Unfortunately it is now a concrete jungle

But still a lot better than most of the Spanish coast.

If there are strict border controls on land between Spain and Gibraltar, what about if you set sailing on your private boat? Does Gibraltar have very extensive territorial waters or do you get stopped by the Spanish Coast Guard almost as soon as you have departed the quay in Gibraltar?

Once again different interpretations.

Gibraltar / UK claim three mile territorial waters.
Spain claims that under the Treaty of Utrect 1713 Gibraltar has no territorial waters, even to the point where some years ago when Gib built houses / Morrisons on land reclaimed within it's harbour Spain sent protest to some world organization or other that Gib was infringing Spanish territorial waters.

Recently a month or so back Gib sent a Guardia Civil vessel away that was checking paperwork on vessels in Gib waters. I believe the vessel in question was a Spanish one. I was expecting Spain to react in it's usual manner by causing long frontier queues.

http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=17274

However on a normal day to day basis yachts going to and from Gib have no problems.

There are quiet a number of RYA sailing schools operating out of Gib as the waters there are still considered tidal and of course international destinations are close Spain, Portugal and Morroco

Didn't this have something to do with the EC giving away some of Gibraltars environmental waters to Spain?

http://en.mercopress.com/2009/08/18/...enge-before-ec

Jim