poollounger

I thought I might try this thread in view of the comments about success/failure and people failing to settle. We can have lists of the things people think will improve their lives in Spain. The maybe we can start another thread about the things they hate in Spain.
Things I hate in Britain which I think are better in Spain

Cloudy skies

Declining manners and courtesy

Processed food unless one is paying high prices

Life is lived indoors

Short summers

Pubs serving pre purchased food from wholesalers like Brake Bros

Cost of prawns

American influence creeping everywhere.

Lochy

Just back from a few days in the UK. Was amazed that they bleep our swear words in tv programmes, even after 11.30 at night and that they can't print whatever that big brother contestant said to that other big brother contestant! Don't see that happening in Spain where they show 18 rated films at 3 in the afternoon!

Lochy

Oh, and UK supermarkets where you can't buy basic fresh foodstuffs like beans and lentils but where they have row after row of freezers selling chips.

lynnxa

[QUOTE=Lochy;4917858]Just back from a few days in the UK. Was amazed that they bleep our swear words in tv programmes, even after 11.30 at night and that they can't print whatever that big brother contestant said to that other big brother contestant! Don't see that happening in Spain where they show 18 rated films at 3 in the afternoon![/QUOTE]

which, since I have kids..is one of the things I don't like!!

Rosemary

Price of prescription medication.

Rosemary

Lochy

I saw the exorcist in a free outdoor cinema which started at 19.30. Loads of kids. When I mentioned that I thought that may not be appropriate, people told me to stop being so British about it!

SoJohn

good thread.

Council Tax(rising above inflation every year)
Stealth Tax on goods and services
Lack of affordable, quality housing.
Yob culture

mikelincs

So far I agree with all the points, and yes, I do think they are better here.

Lochy

Yob culture has to be one of the worst things about the UK at the moment. Town centres across the country are dominated by young drunk people, so nobody else wants to go near. Never seen this in Spain, where they always tends to be a mix of people out and about.

Rosemary

At our Crema last year I stood on someones high step in a doorway and ended up with a group of lads in front of me. The sort of group that I would have been very uncomfortable with in the UK, yes I felt uncomfortable but not for me - for them with this stupid woman standing behind them.

Rosemary

lost in spain

A Spanish friend of mine says this is a big problem in central Malaga and the government are trying to entice young people away from drinking excessively in certain outdoor areas in the city by offering alternative activities for them.
I think alcohol abuse is a problem here in inner city areas.

But I agree in general you dont get that feeling of menace from young Spanish people, like you can do in the UK. Binge drinking in the uk is an obscene phenomenon. And now theres a spate of those grim programmes when you see cctv footage of rough looking young girls on hen nights getting pissed, falling over and fighting.

But then again the media in the uk is so negative, if you got all your information about England from the TV you would think you were going to be stabbed everytime you left your house, theres no balance in the way things are reported.

Lochy

There is a different attitude, i think, to alcohol over here. You'll never hear spanish saying that they're "off to get pissed" tonight, which a million Brits will be saying as we write. And it's not just a saying, that's what they're gonna do!

Spaniards do, apparently, consume more alcohol in an average week that Brits. As you say, though, what I'm talking about is this feeling of menace you get all through the UK due to the behaviour caused by binge drinking. It's a nice element of the spanish culture that if someone sees someone 'misbehaving', they still feel safe enough to confront them about it. This happens less and less in the UK.

Rosemary

Where we live the biggest difference regarding drink seems to be that many of the young people do not drink. I have seen a group of young men mixing summer wine with lemonade so that they can have a longer tasty drink that is even weaker.

I was in the local supermarket when a group of lads came in for their party drinks, plastic cups, plastic plates etc. At the checkout I looked in their trolley and it was full of coca cola, orange juice, lemonade, limon, crisps and nuts. No alcohol to be seen and they were so jolly and excited about their party.

Maybe this is partly due to the size of the town and the fact that everyone seems to know everyone else but I understand that it is really not the done thing to get drunk anyway.

Rosemary

lost in spain

[QUOTE=Lochy;4918789]There is a different attitude, i think, to alcohol over here. You'll never hear spanish saying that they're "off to get pissed" tonight, which a million Brits will be saying as we write. And it's not just a saying, that's what they're gonna do!


Yes, I agree. I never understood how people could be proud of getting so drunk they ended up peeing in the wardrobe of throwing up in their shoes. That is a part of the drinking culture in England, and I cant imagine a group of young English drinkers being tempted away from a night on the beers by classes in theatre skills or painting, which is whats on offer in Malaga province.....

Rosemary

[QUOTE=lost in spain;4918838] Music is their passion here and it appears to be a great honour to be in the town band whereas in UK my grandson is labelled as a dork because he plays trombone in a town band.

Rosemary