Sally Redux

steviedeluxe

We've all heard the stories of how English interlopers are deemed unwelcome in certain Scottish and Welsh villages (where they are sometimes burnt out). I remember working in Glasgow once, and being advised by a Scot not to think of buying a place in a village. He told me "don't worry, it won't be because of your English background, they just don't like outsiders. I'd get the cold-shoulder treatment too because I come from Glasgow!"
Having said all that I'm sure you get good and bad villages. I suppose that the problem is you're stuck with the nasty population if you choose the wrong village. If you have unfriendly neighbours in a city, you can always choose more amenable friends or people in the next street/neighbourhood to associate with.

Cape Blue

I now have Bill in my head as the shopkeeper

agoreira

Yes, but that's the way Bil is! There are no honest MP's, all priest/clerics are paedo's, everything in UK is carp, in Spain, perfecto, all Spanish are friendly, nobody speaks to anyone in UK. I think when the whole village is against you, it begs the question "Can they all be wrong?" Bit like my marching in the Forces, I was the only one in step!

Sally Redux

Sorry bil, love that series though
Sounds a bit fishy.

EsuriJohn

But it is true isn't it? Did you swing both arms forward at the same time?

agoreira

Noooo! I was going, left, right, left, they were going right,left,right! They were all hopelessly out of step, I was the only one that got it right, but they wouldn't listen!

jdr

Sounds like you are still doing it now.

Rosemary

Don´t you just hate it when the world is out of step with the only person who is right.

Rosemary

bil

Oh I think that's unfair. There may well be an honest politician. When we find him or her I plan to make a fortune exhibiting them round Europe in a glass case.

Priests, well I have come to the conclusion that as the pope says it is fine, and since he can't be wrong then we shouldn't criticise it but accept that their profession has to have some perks.

Carp are actually a nice fish, surprisingly intelligent and social.

As to being the only one in step. Sometimes that really is the case.

bil

So did I. Very, very clever. A tad wierd tho...... bit like where I was, come to think of it.

Mataroni

[QUOTE=whitelinen;9271530]I think it all depends on the individual. What sort of person you are.

I've lived in both cites and villages in Both England and Scotland before moving out to Catalunya. I've never had and problems with getting along with any of the locals. but perhaps that's because I'm an easygoing person who akes things with a pince of salt. Some ribbing about the accent/pronunciation is to be expected, but haven't we all ribbed someone else about their accent at one time?

It's the same with us when we take a trip to Andalucia, people down there take the mickey of our Catalan accents. (the advantage of this being we can talk about them in Catalan )

It's true though about where you live. Also the people who live there. The people who THINK they have money are generally more snobbish.

Good thead by the way!

Lynn R

When I got married I moved to a village about 40 miles away from where I was brought up, but still within Lancashire. I couldn't believe it when strangers would turn around in the pub and say "You don't come from round here, do you, you talk funny"!

They were friendly enough, though, but wouldn't have taken kindly to anyone moving in to the village and trying to throw their weight around or criticising how things were done. You often read of things like people buying second homes in the country in England and then starting to complain to the local Council about agricultural vehicles being driven down the lanes, smells from farmyards, and so on. No wonder they don't go down too well with the locals.

I think there is a lot in what JLFS says about people retiring to Spain, we have much more time to engage with our neighbours and don't mind stopping for a chat 10 times on the way to the shops in the morning. In the UK, certainly in the winter, I used to go to work in the dark before my neighbours were up and about, and get home after dark when they were all inside watching TV. I rarely saw them, much less got to speak to them.

Mataroni

Not just the retired people though. My partner and I both work but still go out at the weekend for walk and it's amazing how packed the sea front is with people strolling along, even on a bad day. And in summer in the evenings it's always nice to go to a 'chiringuito' and just chat to people. And not only to people we know. I must point out that we do have a young child which is always a great conversation starter, especially when people here you talking in English, even if it is to ask if you give English classes!

Rosemary

Something I always found strange was the fact that we had a sea front about 4 miles from our house in the UK and would walk on it regularly but no-one ever acknowledged each other. In the opposite direction and about the same distance there was a trail using an old railway line and everyone spoke to each other.

Rosemary