Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

They don't smoke much either. There's been a very serious anti-smoking campaign in the states for decades. It's not very socially acceptable over there. Politicians get the piss taken out of them for it. Many of the big movie stars now refuse to appear in films funded by tobacco companies and romanticise smoking in the film. You may notice that smoking in films has declined significantly in the past decade, and even when they do, it's often portrayed in a dubious context.

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

They are too busy eating ;)

Americans have a weird relationship with alcohol going back to the prohibition signs and the association with religion and sinning

Despite not drinking or smoking, Americans die much earlier than Europeans. Probably due to girth sizes and exclusive (i.e. non-inclusive) healthcare

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

No they don't. It's roughly the same, depending on what aspects it is measured by. But this points out why such measures are much too simplistic to be relevant:

The myth of life expectancy

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

What a shockingly poor article

It takes a graph about breast cancer survival rates and extrapolates that Americans do not have poor life expectancy compared to Europeans

One thing has nothing to do with the other

Just an example of how someone can misuse data if they want to

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

I'd agree; you rarely see drunks here & Basques do like their food & drink.
Those you see worse for wear tend to be in the fiestas, especially the following morning when they've been up all night. But aggressive? Never.
I'm not implying there's no alcohol problem because I'm sure there is.

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

Does that make sober Germans angry, arrogant, and aggressive?;)

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

Here's my view of longevity. It comes from a deeply personal current experience that I swear to you is the absolute truth, and is extremely saddening.

My mother is 98 years old. She is physically unable to care for herself, yet has the mental capacity of a 40 year old.

My father died nearly 30 years ago. They truly loved each other and were partners for life. Since my father's death, it has been as though half of her is dead. She feels incomplete and has nothing to look forward to. Now, she requires a team if people to watch over her and take care of her 24x7 She's not ill, she's simply old. She resides in a £3000 per month care home, which is far from posh. She has no pride or dignity. She is seriously depressed and only wants to die. Her life savings is being used to support her, along with my own contributions.

But no, she can't die. There is a team of doctors, psychologists, and various medical professionals who ensure she retains her health as long as possible, completely against her will, and at massive cost to taxpayers, which she also feels extremely guilty about.

I don't smoke and don't drink much, but considering that I really don't want to end up like my mother, I sometimes wonder if I should.

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

No, but they tend to be serious and have limited sense of humour when sober.

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

This is a very difficult subject and I fully understand your sentiment.
We have old parents and my wife would like her dad to just go to sleep as he has no quality of life, but he is kept alive. Very sad.

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

You could say the same for most parts of Suffolk and Norfolk as we can not tar everyone with the same brush, there are many Brits who are ashamed of other Brits, I am sure if Cman had a Brit wife he would act the same way, meal and drinks, not bingeing

My view, when I want to go out and get smashed, the last thing I want is food, I want to go out and get completely of my rocker, but ill opnly ever do that where I know it is acceptable, sometimes accidently you can be in the wrong place.

Don't get me wrong another day ill happily do a tapas route or just go and have a meal with or without alcohol, but sometimes Brits Scots Irish and welsh just want to go and get hammered, but those that do it daily as they do where I live, well that's not really normal but its their money, its just the same crowd that would be in the Monday club or at Wetherspoons at 10 am in the UK, I never see any of the core drinkers in Wetherspoons eating food.....ever

I don't understand where aggression comes from though, I have never knowingly been that way but maybe a change of drink can send you that way / maybe people are that way fuill stop

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

Andy: why don't the Welsh qualify for a capital letter in your post? We are just as good as everyone else! (There's a topic to produce a load of bigots!)

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

Bullshit. I have saved over €5 per month on internet (although it's still more than double the price of elsewhere for lower performance). Electricity has become a lot less expensive since we turned everything off and live in the dark. We don't have to cheat the system for UK TV.. We have satellite. Unfortunately, the power to run it is expensive...

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

I knew someone would spot it, Honestly I did

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

Why is there loads of houses and I mean millions in UK with ugly (eye in the beholder) Solar panels on there roofs and not much Sun, yet here you have the sun 300+ days a year with rip off electric & the only panels I see are in the campo ?

Re: Are prices going up/down in your part of Spain?
 

Look further afield dear! Keep your eyes open too.