Again, I'm sad to see that for many people here the main reason to live in Spain is the weather, so they make sure that they live in ghettos in order to minimise their contact with the Spanish.

Of course, as HGB put it, "And the good? From most of this sprawling coastline full of expats you can walk to the glistening Mediterranean sea in a few minutes, you will never miss anything from back home because you will be back home, but in perpetual sunshine."

Wanna choose my lottery numbers for me?

Yes. I think that's very sad!

I did come here for better weather but solely for medical reasons. We chose to live inland and 'mix' with the locals. Every day I seem to hear of yet another family going back, either to UK, Holland or some where else. Soon there will be only the Spanish unless they're moving out as well?

Bit of a sweeping patronising statement eh

So who exactly do you think are the people here who live in a ghetto?

Thats not the case with most of the expats I know.
When we came here we made a point of trying to avoid built up expat areas, and thats the case with the few Brit friends we have here in Spain. So I live maybe 7 kms from the coast but its not overun by Brit Expats here. Some, yes ... but no ghettos as you describe

Where these ghettos exist, it seems to be the same with any nationality. French, Germans, they all seem to form a colony somewhere. It happens in the UK as well with immigrant groups. Just because it happens here though doesnt necessarily mean that its the norm

or that it is a bad thing.

True, other than the damage it does to the country where it exists

What damage?

Hasnt society/humankind always lived like this in groups or clans of some sort?

Fish and chip shops, english pubs, british supermarkets etc etc etc
Benidorm, Levante

And yes I know about the extra revenue for the area argument

Oh its a bad thing. When I first came to Spain at around 18 years old and saw these places, I thought if I were 18 and Spanish then I'd burn these places down!

Imagine if there were say, lots of Germans all living together, just outside of Brighton, where you can only find German spoken, with German shops and businesses - and Brits were unwelcome. Wouldnt you find that an afront to your country?

My wife got angry one day when we were in Mijas. We met an English couple in an English cafe. My wife couldnt believe there were no menus in Spanish. It is incredible that a business would set itself up in the middle of a Spanish village and not even put the menu in Spanish. It is an afront to the local people.

In Catalunya a business must have all its information in Catalan and a Catalan speaker always available or risk being fined or shut down. Imo it should be the same in the rest of Spain. A business must have a Spanish speaker available to clients or be shut down

Maybe partly due to my luck with the weather, as well as the beauty of the place I really fancied moving up there at one time.

I recall one week in particular, back in the days of the colder Winters, being amazed not only to see Palm trees, but also an Orange tree thriving outdoors.
I believe it was at Culzean Castle in late May.

I got back to my place in the N.E. in early June in time to experience a covering of snow every day for a week and still not a fresh blade of grass to be seen for the stock to eat when it cleared.

Even just crossing the N.Pennines in Spring to the English N.W. lowland areas, only about 60 miles from my place, there is always a huge difference in the growth and vegetation.

Substitute the word German for gay to see just how stupid you really are

I bet loads of people on this forum have health problems, due to high blood pressure, all the ones who see in a damage/insulting/an affront/wanting to make you burn it down/ opinions about expats who choose living together rather than "going it alone".

What ever happend to the laid back,live and let live people that you used to be, granted some were born with a brush handle up their backside, so know nothing else.

Those who have a funny turn when they see a fish and chip shop, those that cringe with embarassment when a Brit bar with pub grub opens in their village.

OMG someone has has karaoke on a Tuesday night, how barbaric and chavvy.

For whatever reasons people choose how they want to live, just like they did in the UK, it may not suit you,but then again your life will not suit them.

And if all the expats lived the Spanish life and "integrated", gave the fish and ships and the British leigion a wide berth, what would the other who already live that life have to feel superior about.

By way of the other expats "living the Spanish way" they would have no one to look down on.

Agree with you that it is sad.

We did not come here for the weather but to experience a different culture and live a different life.

We chose to live in a town with Spanish people and no other Brits and this has worked out great for us. We chose an ordinary town not too far from the coast but not directly on the coast and this suits us well. The people in our town are wonderful, they are friendly and very inclusive so we felt settled immediately.

Rosemary

I have no problem with British bars and fish and chips in Spain. Indeed some even hire a Spaniard in case they have Spanish clients, but I do have a problem when they are deliberately exclusive and want nothing to do with the local population

And for whitelinen. If 20,000 gay people took over the town I grew up in, started speaking in a language I couldnt understand, took over lots of shops and businesses, set up their own schools and shoved their kids into my schools who didnt speak my langauge and excluded anyone who was not gay from the areas of the town they lived in, then yes I would feel exactly the same.

Luckily gay people arent so uncivilised