Hi vecina

Yes in the big one on Avda de la libertad!

Intergrisors? Colongrators?

We have a lot of different names for ourselves, none of which are quite right.
immigrants, colonials, expats, exiles, emigres, Brits and so on.
Extranjeros, europeos, ingleses and guiris.
Cosmopolitans..

But the division for me is between those who think of Spain as home and those who think of themselves as 'guests'.
It's the homemakers who will want to move things around, learn and teach, join in, change and defend their local (and adopted) community. The guests will want to be second class citizens, well-behaved, polite to a fault... repeat that 'it's their country' and, of course, will never vote.

I suppose the person who really likes Spain, who moves here for the culture, the passion and the adventure, disappears into a big city, acquires a Spanish 'media naranja' and drops entirely off the radar.

A very interesting thread, for once analysing more than just the ‘them and us’ variety. I don’t fit into any of the categories, because I’m an individual, a free man who believes in freedom of movement. I’m in Spain now, and I like it, but I may take a fancy to San Diego, in California tomorrow, and move there.

But. that’s a dream, because of the enormous amount of baggage accumulated over the past years. I suppose I’ll have to make the best of it, and I don’t mind, not at all, ‘er indoors is back tonight, my grandson is out on the town with his mates, the dogs are frolicking about, there’s whiskey in the jar, and the sun will shine again tomorrow.

I don’t want to integrate, I don’t want to colonise, I want to enjoy life.

It would be nice to have the choice! At the moment I'm battling the wolves from the door, trying to talk to suppliers in broken Spanglish and seizing every opportunity to enjoy the fringe benefits of living here.
I'm not so much trying to integrate as trying to survive. I could be in pretty much any country where English is not the mother tongue, I haven't a clue what 'the culture' is here.

But what I will say is that I love it here because it feels like there is an underlying anarchy and a sort of playfulness that suits me and my flagrant disrespect for authority.

If I was in the UK I'd be on the treadmill and pretty much knowing what to expect day in day out. Here it feels like the wild west or a circus, probably not to the locals, but I'm suprised daily and challenged daily.

If I ever did integrate I'd probably get bored and want to move on. It's not likely this decade though.

If I had to coin a term for it I'd call it 'a bloke who used to live in Bolton and now lives in Spain'. Don't think that'll catch on though.

Ste.

on the money ,is their a equivalent spanish tv programme 'keeping up appearances'or love thy neighbor.were hear for a good time ,not along time .enjoy .

Sorry...I can't quite understand what you are saying there! Could you repeat it for me please? (I must be having a thick moment!)

I dont think its very fair to try to categorize people into different types or pigeon holes.
I spent a few years on a very British community way back and found huge variations in peoples attitudes.
For instance there was a sizeable group who only seemed to return to their apartments on evenings and nights,...spending most of their time clambering about in the hills and mountains taking in local customs and points of interest in out of the way villages and having a jar or two with the locals.
Likewise I've met quite a few people living in remote places way out in the sticks whose only interest in life seemed to be in propping up the bar every day with a few other fellow Brits at the one and only watering hole in the area where it was possible to find any fellow countrymen.

I think these represent the two extreme positions and that most people are somewhere in the middle. A lot of the brits who have settled in Spain have made the move from a UK urban home to a Spanish rural/seaside setting. They haven't realised that a lot of the "benefits" they attribute to Spain have more to do with the urban/rural change than the change of country.

You don't need a Spanish media naranja, a taste for the cuisine, or even a like of the telly to make Spain your adopted country. A lot is down to your personality - I've worked in most European countries, speak several European languages (Spanish the least), but in whichever country I live at the time I tend to get involved because that's the type of person I am.

Most Brits are happy in their comfort zone - and if they've moved here to retire who can blame them?

Myself, I've been put into enough difficult situations in enough countries over the last 40 years to not be too worried about language or cultural barriers to not get involved. And I like to think I'm principled enough to want to get involved in my adopted country's issues when the need arises.

Let's be honest, however much you like or love Spain, you would have to be seriously obsessed to truly say you love their TV! There are one or two things that are worth watching, but you really have to search. And if the Saturday evening film is actually decent and is not one of those daft "teen" movies, then it goes on for two hours longer than it should because of all the adverts... back I saunter to my satellite dish for uninterrupted BBC!! I have lived in Spain for 7 years, travelled here before settling, and I love love love it, and would say I follow the third way. I do think it is funny how when Spanish are abroad and see another Spaniard, they immediately bond and start talking excitedly about how they miss chorizo and ham, etc, but British people tend to pretend not to have noticed their compatriots!

I'd class myself as a pragmatic integrator.

Just because you enjoy some Uk TV, hanker after a few UK foods, doesn't mean you can't integrate.

It's the people that won't watch Spanish TV, won't eat the food, and won't learn the language that are colonists, and financial/family crises apart will be the most likely to go back to the UK.

Me, well my home is in Spain, I work in the UK (for now) and Spain is where I want to be. I prefer the Spanish diet, - I only really miss cheddar and stilton out here, - I can even do without baked beans - the alubias blancas in the jars make a damn fine substitute, and I sure as hell prefer the weather in Spain.

I cannot wait for my chance to step off the treadmill and retire from the rat race.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Just for info, I think I am a bit of a 1 (integrator), but am working to become a little more like a 3.

I love British stuff when I am in Britain, but I feel uncomfortable being in British places in Spain. Hope I can work towards enjoying everything regardless of the nationality or location