Rosemary

There inevitably are people who only move to Spain for the weather. Many people live in their own little world and are not at all interested in others lives.

Rosemary

Domino

then leave me out of that statement in future..

I have over 3 years invested in this country so far, I am learning the language, I am purposely living in a village outside the big city where I do not expect to be surrounded by Brits .
I have every interest in the country, its people, its lifestyle and also its history and heritage, but of course I didnt happen to mention the poverty from 5 years of recession and new govt cutbacks that are hitting people who cannot afford to live now. I am surrounded by them and although I am the guiri who is renting from a Spaniard (who has a job) I am sure the locals wouldnt want me to swan around waving the little bit of money I do have being condescending to them

People in such positions have a deep pride, they try to hide their problems, presenting a face to the world. If you have been in that position you would know what i am talking about.

So please do not give me that s***e and remember the postings I have made about the country and its problems in the past.
...........

Mitzyboy

I'm completely aware of whats going on ...... Its difficult not to be both here and in Spain ... just really saying that (obviously) it doesnt have the same consequences for everyone

Lynn R

No, of course it doesn't have the same consequences for everyone. Remember the 'Loadsamoney' Harry Enfield character back in the '80s, waving his wad of notes under people's noses and making cracks about buying whole streets of houses in the North of England? Those who have a decent job and manage to hang on to it during a recession are never affected personally and often even better off because of lower interest rates, increased personal allowances for tax, reduced prices on 'big ticket' items in the shops, etc. I know I was, in the '80s.

However, as well as it affecting people in some areas more than others, it also depends to a large extent on what kind of person you are. Some people just don't care if it doesn't affect them or their immediate family, others actually think about what it might be like if they were in someone else's shoes.

There's a family next door but one to me where only the father is working at the moment. When we first moved here the son and daughter were working too, but not any more. The daughter is now married with a small baby, and her husband who moved in with the family has lost his job too. Counting the mother and their other daughter, that's 5 adults, 1 adolescdent and 1 baby living on one (probably small) wage. Another lady a few doors away was telling me a few weeks ago they are finding it very hard. She and her husband have her elderly parents living with them, and a grown up son. She, her husband and son have all lost their jobs and it is only the parents' pensions that is keeping them going. What happens if one or both of the old people die?

megmet

Our lifestyle has not changed, when we moved here my husband had his pension but I still had some time to go before getting mine. Now even though the exchange rate is very much below what it was we do OK, simply because we now both have our state and private pensions to shield us.

Having said that, it's quite heartbreaking to see the many young people here without jobs! I believed unemployment in Alora to be fifty percent, today I was talking to a businessman in town who says it's now seventy five percent....that sort of figure is devastating for the local population, what's worse is that there is no end in sight either.

The family next door but one to us are having a very bad time, one son has had to move to Madrid for work, the other is now on a six months course for the unemployed, when he ends that then he too intends to move away.
The father no longer has a job and has started to grow his own veg amongst the olive trees, something he never did in the good times.
These are people too proud to show how they must be suffering, but goodness knows how they manage from week to week.

In our little hamlet outwardly nothing has changed, but a car ride into town and we see all the closed shops and bars (more every week), there are many more people in the streets and cars parked up....they used to all be away working for the day.
There are not so many Brits in the town either, many have gone back to the UK, some have just handed the house keys back to the bank.
But it's the Spanish that I sympathise with.....they have no place to run to and no welfare state to back them up, not even a free health service once their dole runs out.....for those of use used to something much different it's an unthinkable state of affairs!

Even our own daughter and son-in-law down on the coast are not finding it easy!
They employ an upholsterer in their shop, takings are down and customers are thin on the ground, they need to make him redundant but as he's worked for them for many years it's too expensive to let him go.....so they pay him but are not able to pay themselves, eventually something is going to have to give.

HBG

I spent longer than usual in a Spanish bar this morning because my wife was having an argument with the Spanish bank a couple of doors away. The bar was packed with Spanish people in working overalls, but I know that they are all unemployed.

They post a scout at the door and when one of the wives walk past they all hide. They're too proud to tell their wives that they've lost their jobs, so they spend a few hours in the bar every morning where the owner serves them coffee at half price along with free tapas.

It's not nice to watch.

Domino

careful H, I am sure one of the usual culprits will come on here and say it isnt like that,
but that is similar to what I am seeing, except many of the bars are not even opening until about 7 or 8 in the evening. 2 I know have put up the shutters permanant.

however, the Policia Local always go into one bar for a couple of beers for their lunch before going off to direct the coaches leaving the school, as most of the customers aren't working they are all walking home anyway.
many of those with jobs seem to be taking shorter lunchbreaks, just in case.

the other week went to garage to change the butane bottle, the guy serving speaks excellent English, has a degree in Architecture, but cannot get anything other than pumping petrol

but what do I know, I have no knowledge of the country I am living in

jackytoo

Therin lies true happiness

amideislas

Well, that's not much different than here. Except I'm not sure whether they are employed or not, or if the "wife" element is a factor..


(by the way, don't be naive - wives know about stuff like this - it doesn't take an economist to realise you don't have any money).

So, there is a local bar just down the street from us, and from about 7AM it's packed with the local "workers" - you know, the maintenance guys from Telefonica and Endesa and so on .. And a few other unrecognisable regulars

Anyway, they'll all have Hierbas (or coffee with hierbas) or beer in front of them, watching the morning news, eating a sandwich, and blabbing and playing cards, until 10 or 11 or so, and then the crowd thins out.

What I find amusing is that if my phone is out and I call telefonica, it can be weeks if anyone ever shows up. But the same guys are sitting at this bar...

JLFS

Sorry Dom,if you took my post to be an angry one at you, it wasnt, I was just answering your post about rip off Britian, and saying that compared to how Spain rips off its own, it is in a minor league.


TBH a lot of British expats dont know how lucky they are with the support that is available to them compared to Spain, Italy etc.

I see and hear about so many cases that would be totally alien to British people, and having seen how the UK look after its people, it seem so harsh and unreal to me how uncaring the whold Spanish system is to honest, hard working people, who are going through bad times.

If the UKpopulation were going through the same thing, the whole country would be in flames, and I am not joking.

Right now me and the wife and a few others are involved with a friends mothers, trying to sort her out

The story is she is nearly 62, has various medical problems which she takes loads of medication for which costs her a couple of hundred a month for the prescriptions.
She has worked in the same place for years, but the job is too much for her, but the SS say that she is not ill enough to be classed as unable to work.

Her health problems are more or less under control, but she is permanantly tired and although not exactly ill, is not really capable of working.
She has a couple of stents, high blood pressure, etc

She has also started to suffer with bunions which although seem a minor thing, added to her general feeling of "mal estar" is too much.

If she leaves her job she will not get any dole, because she made herself jobless, she would like her employer to sack her, so she can get dole.

With the time she has been there, the employer would have to pay her around 16k, she would obviously not get this money but she would be willing to sign to say that she has received it, so her employer would not lose out.

The problem with that would be that the employer would have to justify where the 16k came from, and the accounts of the business could not justify this (ficticious) payment.

We are looking down the route of her leaving the job, then having a short contract where a "friendly" business would give her a contract, (she would not work, as she is not able, but it would look like she was)

Then after a few months she could be sacked, and hopefully get the dole which should last to just a few months off her pension.

Of course all of this is illegal, but there is no other way of doing it, and TBH a woman of her age and state of health should not have to go down this route just to be able to survive.

JLFS

A very good post Lynn...........

JLFS

Followed by another good one, you have pointed out so big problems with the Spanish system and the unfairness of it all.
For the system

for the post...

JLFS

If I had a euro for everytime I have heard that......sad but what can you do?

megmet

We try our best to order curtains cushions and bed covers off them to at least find their employee some work to be doing, but they will only charge us cost price so it's not really that much help to them.
If they were to end his contract it would cost them about 15.000€ which is money they don't have, it's a catch 22 situation and I suppose eventually the shop will have to close.

Domino

This is bad news Meg, so what happens if the business ceases trading, who pays off the employee then ??
Also, what is the situation with the owners, who must still be employees and paying their taxes ??