not bothered about cheap booze, though I have to admit I feel better when the sun's shining

Spain's my home though, for all its faults & undeniable problems

Yet we love living here. Amazing isnt it!

I recently had some visitors from the UK up here in Oviedo and they couldnt belive it. They said they saw no signs of a recession and there was a lot more life in the shops and bars than in the UK

There were expecting to see what they report on the UK news, empty bars and people begging for food

If you only see Spain as sun and cheap drink then you really shouldnt move to Spain

agree

for us to cheap booze has not even appeared on our wish list.

I think that was a tongue in cheek comment, otherwise why would you be here - or are you packing your bags ? ?

There are positives and negatives of living in any country, even the UK.

For me Spain seems to be more at ease with itself than the UK, yes it has problems, there can't be many places left that don't, despite the trumpeting of surveys on this and surveys on that. The only people that may be making money must be the ones publishing the surveys

Yes there is plenty of cheap booze - but you soon find it is the stuff the locals will add lemonade to. But good quality booze is available at a lower price than in the tax sodden UK.
But overall the value for your hard earned across the board seems to be heavily on the side of Spain.

Hi OK our semi was on the out skirts of London so the value was a bit more,

However look at www.fabfincas.com there are some quite cheap properties
in the 100 to 200 thousand euro range

My kids were quite young when we moved out, it was hard for them at first but now both of them love Spain and the way of life

I can think back to when I was in the uk looking at some of the teenagers with their bad attitude and lack of respect, and am now glad my kids are in Spain where they have respect for their elders and seem to be able to grow up at a slower pace and enjoy their child hood


Cheers Tony

I've got a question now for Paris Hilton:: If Spain is that BAD when are you moving back to the UK? It must be such a dreadful life for you over there
Your comment is exactly what I am talking about when I say about the lack of encouragement for people moving to Spain. Maybe you just want it all for yourself
Seeing as you see the bad things first hand then maybe positive comments would be better so that when people do move then they are more equipped to deal with the things that are thrown at them. Just a thought.

I am not obsessed with cheap booze or the weather and I am managing on an extremely low income, in an ordinary townhouse, in an ordinary town.

The most important thing that Spain has going for it is the people, for me they are the friendliest, warmest and most caring people that I have ever lived amongst so to my way of thinking Spain is rich in the best way possible.

Rosemary

I have always found the Spanish people OK, but ditto in UK as well. Not sure where you came from, but a lot of people have moved from cities to some one horse town/village where people always will have more time for each other. I doubt you'd find any difference in any large European city, people just don't have time for each other, and village life anywhere is always much more relaxed, much friendlier. Here in UK, I don't live anywhere near a large city and I couldn't wish for better neighbours, people are so friendly. I often wonder what sort of area some of you came from in UK where everyone was so unfriendly. As as an avid reader of the Spanish press, I can assure you Brits are not universally loved by all the Spanish, indeed quite the reverse. It's an eye opener reading the forums, the comments sections etc.

I did not say that people were unfriendly in the places that I have lived in the UK.

Rosemary

Hi Madlass.

I think the problem is that some people feel trapped in Spain because they cant sell their properties.

But if you are intending to buy I think its a great time as house prices are so low, you can even go straight to the banks and buy cheap repositions

Is a buyers market !!!

Tony

I've yet to see a cheap bank owned property that I would like to live in. They are still very much the worst properties on the market

That's very much the case for friends of ours across the border in Portugal. Went out to live the dream, ended up the wife absolutely hates it (hubby doesn't mind it!) and can't wait to head back to UK. But they are trapped, need to sell to buy back in UK, but not a hope in hell of selling at the moment despite being on the market nearly 2 years. Hardly any viewings, and just one offer, nearly 50% below the asking price!

Yes maybe for new comers to Spain it would be better to rent for a while so they could get an idea if they like it enough to buy.

Cheers Tony

We moved here nearly 4 years ago with our young children, it has not been easy but we have received lots of help from the people in the town, we have learnt to go with the flow, live with the paperwork and slow down living life at a slower pace. The children were young enough to pick up the language and are doing well, but it was hard work and stressful in the first 6/9 months of them being in school. We also had a contingency fund for if income dried up which happened when the work my husband was promised in the UK dried up. Life is slower and more relaxed, the children are thriving, we tackle each situation as it comes along remembering that we chose to live here, sometimes things are frustrating but this is the way Spain does things, I think the world is going to be a very different place in 8 years time when my oldest leaves university, which I hope she wants to do we can plan for that making sure she has good grades and a good work ethic, which is exactly what we would do if we were in the UK. Plan well, depending on the age of your children factor in international school fees and be prepared for the challenging experience but do be cautious, if I was doing it again I would rent my house in the UK and rent a house here as a lifeline because when things went haywire for us I did feel scared and trapped until it was all sorted out.

As someone said, moving to Spain is fine if you have an income but it's suicide for young families. Unemployment figures out today show another rise fo the third quarter (usually a time when it drops slightly) Nationally unemployment is now 25.2% but in Andalucia it's 35.42% Youth unemployment is over 52%. Not the place to consider if concerned about your childrens future!