JLFS

Pensioners are not given money for nothing, they have earned their pension and at retirement age they have the choice of spending their money in whatever country they chose to live in, all above board.

Spain just happens to be one of those countries, so I dont see it as ironic.

steviedeluxe

What an amazing thread. Some new posters here, with good points. Plus I agree with Agoreira that there are still good British workers, when they are given the chance. Best wishes to the op, a good attitude and willingness to ask advice, can be half the battle.

bil

The point is, there are positives and negatives, whether you like it or not.

Not everyone who tells you 'It's great' is your friend, and not everyone negative is your enemy.

What you perceive as negativity may just be the cold water of realism.

bil

Well, if there weren't some good workers, then the UK really would be in the shit.

However, there is a big slice of underclass that has no interest whatsoever in working.

steviedeluxe

From what I've seen, a lot of it is down to loss of confidence. How does the unemployed school leaver compete with the confident multi lingual Pole? I agree that attitudes need to change, but we make it too hard for the youngsters when we constantly knock them. Just my opinion, I'm sure most will disagree. As I said, it's sad.

jojojojojo

Come over to Spain by all means, but dont burn your UK bridges and always keep a bit of money by to pay for your return if you have to. Just remember the sunshine 8 months a year doesnt pay bills. Maybe the novelty has worn off for alot of us living here and now all we can see is the reality - dont knock or ignore it. I love it here as much as anyone else, but I can certainly say this much, we'd be financially soooooo much better off in the UK.

As for foreigners taking jobs in the UK, well they do it here too, eventho the Spanish only generally employ other spanish (mainly only family or friends), but alot of polish come over and work for so little that its hard for them to refuse

Jo xx

JLFS

Advising people to keep some money aside for the journey home may be seen as negative to some, especially the ones who want to hear, "go for it" if it is your dream but it is very sound advice,

There have been so many comings and goings and some went back with the clothes they stood up in an very little else, after selling all they had in the UK-

They belived the "if you want it badly enough you will suceed" theory, which is not foolproof.

Not burning all your bridges is the best advice, because even for the most determined, things can go wrong, or simply not be what is expected.

Better to rent out the house in the UK rather than sell and rent here.

If things are meant to work out they will, if not, well there is always plan B.

Chiclanagir

I agree with you. If you are not able to "talk the talk" giving all the bull shit you don´t get the job even those on minimum wage. I feel sorry for youngsters today.

JLFS

What a nice turn of phrase.....

Chiclanagir

Hear, hear. Andalucia at it´s best.

bil

Thank you. It is sadly true that most people don't want to hear anything other than that which reinforces their opinions.

Mitzyboy

It's a shame really. In 5 years or so of being on this forum I have seen people come and go. I've seen people be given good (negative) advice and ignore it. I've seen people return to the UK after ignoring the advice.

I've seen others make a go of it and make their dreams a reality.

One thing though I think I'm fairly sure of. You have to be a certain kind of person to leave the country that is your home, where you were born and bred, and shuffle off to a new country where you don't know the language, don't understand the way things are done, and will be away from your friends and family.

To those of you that worry about negativity on this forum ... well ... it is based on peoples experiences here. People you should listen to. Not everything is good. There's bound to be some aspect of negativity. Counterbalance that with the positive comments and try to get a balanced view. But do not dismiss negativity as just people moaning. There is a story and background to that negativity that should not be ignored.

licinius

You hit the nail on the head Maggie, the only thing Britain has going for it is the benefits system. people will always moan but who cares, just look after number 1 & trust me you will love life in Spain.

agoreira

There always will be abusers of the system, but for the genuine one's in trouble, that have lost their job etc, the UK benefits setup is a vital financial safety net. And whilst most of the Poles are good workers, let's not suppose that they all are, there are immigrants from all manner of countries on benefits in UK. Reading a Spanish in UK forum, there are contributors there that seem to know the UK benefits system inside out, they are certainly not above claiming either. Whilst loads of Brits do make claims, there are thousands of others that don't apply for monies that they are entitled to, the benefits budget is always well under subscribed, there is always a lot more allocated than is actually claimed.

Lynn R

IMO it is the British education system which is failing our young people and not preparing them properly for the world of work - put this alongside the glorification of so-called celebrities and we end up with a lot of youngsters who are barely literate (in spite of the fact that some of them have been awarded degrees) and yet expect to be able to earn megabucks for very little effort. It grieves me to hear people saying they are not prepared to consider this or that job because "it's not what I really want to do". How many people do they think there are in the world who spend their lives doing what they really want to do, for heaven's sake? The ones who can are the lucky few, the rest of us recognise the need to earn a living and get on with it the best way we can.

Those of us who do not choose to live a life of idleness at the taxpayer's expense, that is. My god, I sound like a Tory - which I'm not. I believe in the old maxim "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need". There are too many people around today who have forgotten the first part of the equation.

It's strange to read of someone wishing to leave the UK to make what they see as a better life for themselves in another country, whilst resenting those who have gone to the UK for exactly the same reasons.