Originally Posted by JnK

As we woke up yesterday to yet another grey damp day, more traffic jams in our small Wiltshire market town, more scrums down Morrisons with grumpy miserable looking people with enough food in their trolleys to survive a 40-day siege, and hardly a smile or a merry christmas, we are just so glad to have the opportunity to give Spain a go and are so looking forward to a very different Christmas next year.

Thanks to all who've added to this thread and a very Merry Christmas to you all, closely followed by a happy and prosperous 2009!
JnK

Originally Posted by spainboy

I agree.

Its ok people saying there are endless traffic jams in the uk and its one big fiasco but has anyone ever been to alicante, especially at Xmas? It once took me 1hr just to get out of the city and onto the autopista.
It doesnt matter where you are in the world you are gonna experience bad traffic and Spain doesnt have any exceptions.

Originally Posted by spainboy

How is Spain cheaper??
On a whole I don't think it is when you compare it to the wages out here. Iam still living out here and I pay 750 euros in rent. I can get something at 500eu but it's a slum. My internet charges with telefonica is 40euros plus tax,plus line rental so in all its about 62euros. In the UK you can get ADSL,line rental, mobile contract and digital TV channels for £30 with Virgin.
In Leeds I can rent a luxury apartment for less than £500

My electricity is 125euro every 2 months for a 2 bed house. My parents pay £70 every 2 months. Gas in Spain is cheaper cos we are on bottled so we normally spend 27euro a month compared to £40 in the uk but my mums central heating is on most nights in the uk.

Shopping at the moment is cheaper back in the uk. I went back 4 weeks ago and they are having big price wars on at the moment. There are a lot of 2 for 1 offers and you can get a trolly full now for about £35. The only supermarket in spain I find cheaper than anything in the uk is Mercadona but you are limited to what you can buy and dont do a lot of good tinned food, but for essentials it is very good.
Beer,cigarettes and petrol cheaper in Spain and road tax is cheaper but I find 2nd hand cars much dearer than back home. There is no council tax in Spain but I dont particuarly think renting is cheaper in spain either.

Both countries have their pros and cons and of course you do have the weather here although saying that in June, July and August I much prefer the Uk weather. As for beauty(countyside) the UK for me wins hands down.When you drive through the dales,the lake district or the cotsworlds nothing in Spain compares to it. I live on the costa Blanca and it's baron but I do know its not all like that and I know in the North its very much like the UK.

I do love both countries very much but I cannot slate Blighty in any way.It is still one of the nicest countries in the world.

Originally Posted by DebsyW

The spanish are worse than the english in supermarkets - they push in, do not queue and will give you a smile and a merry christmas if they are relaxed and in a good mood (if you are a stranger). They dont have the same shopping mentality at christmas as it isnt the same as in UK but I know how spaniards panic. If there was a war (knowing how spaniards evacuate the beach at the first drop of rain) I would rather be in the UK than in Spain

What ruins the UK is the weather. UK has some fantastic countryside and some good beaches but it lacks sun. When there is the annual 3 days of sunshine it is a beautiful place to be.

Have a prosperous 2009 and hope your dream comes true

Originally Posted by jdr

Errrm, noboby gets in front of my trolly unless they have the right licences. ;-))

Originally Posted by DebsyW

The spanish are worse than the english in supermarkets - they push in, do not queue and will give you a smile and a merry christmas if they are relaxed and in a good mood (if you are a stranger). They dont have the same shopping mentality at christmas as it isnt the same as in UK but I know how spaniards panic. If there was a war (knowing how spaniards evacuate the beach at the first drop of rain) I would rather be in the UK than in Spain

What ruins the UK is the weather. UK has some fantastic countryside and some good beaches but it lacks sun. When there is the annual 3 days of sunshine it is a beautiful place to be.

Have a prosperous 2009 and hope your dream comes true

Originally Posted by rugbymatt

Yeah, but, you look like a train robber, so who is gonna mess with you eh?

Originally Posted by jdr

We all get through at customs ok, but the mother in law always gets frisked. lol

Originally Posted by rugbymatt

Bet its the high light of her year!

Originally Posted by spainboy

How is Spain cheaper??
On a whole I don't think it is when you compare it to the wages out here. Iam still living out here and I pay 750 euros in rent. I can get something at 500eu but it's a slum. My internet charges with telefonica is 40euros plus tax,plus line rental so in all its about 62euros. In the UK you can get ADSL,line rental, mobile contract and digital TV channels for £30 with Virgin.
In Leeds I can rent a luxury apartment for less than £500

My electricity is 125euro every 2 months for a 2 bed house. My parents pay £70 every 2 months. Gas in Spain is cheaper cos we are on bottled so we normally spend 27euro a month compared to £40 in the uk but my mums central heating is on most nights in the uk.

Shopping at the moment is cheaper back in the uk. I went back 4 weeks ago and they are having big price wars on at the moment. There are a lot of 2 for 1 offers and you can get a trolly full now for about £35. The only supermarket in spain I find cheaper than anything in the uk is Mercadona but you are limited to what you can buy and dont do a lot of good tinned food, but for essentials it is very good.
Beer,cigarettes and petrol cheaper in Spain and road tax is cheaper but I find 2nd hand cars much dearer than back home. There is no council tax in Spain but I dont particuarly think renting is cheaper in spain either.

Both countries have their pros and cons and of course you do have the weather here although saying that in June, July and August I much prefer the Uk weather. As for beauty(countyside) the UK for me wins hands down.When you drive through the dales,the lake district or the cotsworlds nothing in Spain compares to it. I live on the costa Blanca and it's baron but I do know its not all like that and I know in the North its very much like the UK.

I do love both countries very much but I cannot slate Blighty in any way.It is still one of the nicest countries in the world.

Originally Posted by arko

How can you compare the Costa Blanca to countryside in the UK?
Have you ever been to Extremadura, Galicia or the Sierra de Huelva? There's some amazing beauty spots in Spain that you could never find back in UK, and of course vice versa so it's difficult to compare. It's unfair to compare parts of a country that have been ruined by high-rise building projects and thousands of tourists trampling over it with some of the best countryside the UK has to offer.

One more thing on what you said Spainboy: renting a luxury apartment in Leeds? Don't think I need to say anything else

It's no surprise that there are literally hundreds of thousands of Brits living in Spain and Portugal. Life here is good if you can afford it or if you are prepared to do things differently to how you did them before. I alaways say that I'd rather be poor in Spain than be poor in U.K.

Originally Posted by me me

That depends on your definition of poor. I dont think anyone on here has been "Spanish Poor". You cannot compare being poor in Spain to being poor in England. As a child of poor Spanish parents who had to emigrate to the UK, I find the remark a little bit flippant. My parents were staving, they did not want to leave Spain but they had no choice. We (ex pats) chose to come to Spain, we did not have to leave the UK in order to give our children a chance in life. Get out and about to see what "Spanish poor" really is, before you make light of it. I have cousins who have worked for really terrible wages, they have families, and could not afford to eat if they did not get help from friends and family members. No such thing as Working tax credits or housing benefit. If you would rather be poor in Spain, than in the UK, you need your head examining. If you saw the real misery that is happening in this country, you would be shocked and not make such sweeping comments based on your privileged position.
Please dont make light of a situation that you dont understand.

Originally Posted by me me

That depends on your definition of poor. I dont think anyone on here has been "Spanish Poor". You cannot compare being poor in Spain to being poor in England. As a child of poor Spanish parents who had to emigrate to the UK, I find the remark a little bit flippant. My parents were staving, they did not want to leave Spain but they had no choice. We (ex pats) chose to come to Spain, we did not have to leave the UK in order to give our children a chance in life. Get out and about to see what "Spanish poor" really is, before you make light of it. I have cousins who have worked for really terrible wages, they have families, and could not afford to eat if they did not get help from friends and family members. No such thing as Working tax credits or housing benefit. If you would rather be poor in Spain, than in the UK, you need your head examining. If you saw the real misery that is happening in this country, you would be shocked and not make such sweeping comments based on your privileged position.
Please dont make light of a situation that you dont understand.