Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Thank god you are back, people have been running a mock around here, I tried to stop it but I'm just one against so many!!

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Yeah right.....

Who was that troll ?

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Its a long story ............ :)
Suffice it to say all is under control ;) ..... well as much as it can be on here

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Good luck with that!!

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Waiting two years for a telephone line, waiting two years for the Enelco to connect two simple wires next to yr front door so you can have an electric supply. Having to wait six months for the water company to turn the lever in your padlocked meter box to turn your water supply on. Having to wait at least two months for almost everything....The locals not knowing how to use roundabouts and getting constantley overtaking when turning a corner!!!! :frown:

Once you overcome this, the place is wonderful. Must admit, Living in a quiet little village is wonderful, and the spanish are wonderful and helpful. The down point to living in this wonderful village is the English who only pleasure is to back stab one another and cause as much trouble as possible. :thumbdown: I's rather stay with the spanish any day! :thumbup:

Now if you had asked me what I liked, the list would have been longer! :thumbsup:

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

This isn't a problem, the problem is everyone else thinks they can do the same! lol

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

I've perfected it now, I can take up 2 parking spaces as well as the next man ;)

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

This thread was put in to run alongside the thread on what is disliked in UK that is better in Spain - for a balanced overview.

I totally agree with you about that fact that what people like tends to outweigh what is disliked.

I am told by friends and family that they do not want to hear me going on about the things that I like/love about living here so I do try to acknowledge that it is not perfect and like all places has its downside but I do not manage to find many negative things so continue to bore them to death.

Rosemary

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Rosemary?

You forgot British kids swearing at the top of their voices in the streets.

To get onto more positive thoughts though, here are some things I love "just to name a few" (Not nessicerally in order):

The Sun
Springtime
The weather
Jasmin
Dama de la noche
The Spanish
Spanish food
Coffee
Lemons
Tomatos (*real* Spanish salad ones)
The wife 'Spanish' (I did say not nessicerally in order so I think I'm safe)
The relaxed rhythm


Cost of living was on the list but it got scored out just after the Euro replaced the peseta.

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Incorrecto. I did not forget the British kids swearing at the top of their voices because the only time we hear that is when we visit places where there is a Brit population. We are the only brits in our town so happy we do not hear the swearing. We had a real shock when we visited Javea one day and a couple of teenagers were walking along swearing their heads off, that was when we realised that we did not hear this like we had in the UK.

Agree with all of your positives and would like to add oranges as we live amongst the orange groves. Birdlife is another as we see so many egrets, herons, hawks and sometimes eagles so that is a positive too.

Rosemary

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

OK, now I understand what Rosemary meant.

Birdlife yes, Flamingos (Fuente de la Piedra, the largest breading area in Europe for pink Flamingos), vultures and storks, the list is actually endless....

I envy you living around orange groves... I did some work over a week for a TV commercial on an orange grove in Malaga a few years back. Yes I also love oranges, the owner would give us a bag of oranges when we left each day which where delicious, I asked him why I couldn't get oranges that tasted like this in the shops and he told me because they where all sent to the north of Europe, thanks Brussels. Thankfully I have friends and neighbours with fincas and huertas so we still get great tasting fruit and veg.

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

Everybody is entitled to their opinion and personally I always find it interesting to hear about what you love and hate of Spain and often find myself agreeing with a lot of the points that you mention...

Could you elaborate on this?:confused:

There are things I hate in Spain too, here are a few that come to mind:

-Looking for a parking space in cities
-Drivers behind me that keep about 1 metre gap between my car and theirs while driving at high speeds on the motorway
-The loud noise that the rubbish track makes at the wee hours
-Noise in general (specially of car horns)
-Unbearable heat
-It is sooo easy to open any sort of account, i.e. bank, mobile, etc.. and virtually impossible to close them!

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

I know it's only semantics, but I don't actually hate anything about life in Spain..............but there are a few things I don't like too much.
I think that was the point you were trying to make, wasn't it Rosemary? (Because you often talk about how wonderful your life and experiences here are / have been)

One of the differences that I'm still struggling with, is the lack of "please and thank you", but I've posted that on another thread!

Also, I find it incredibly sad that the general attitude to littering in this area seems the same as it was in the 70s in the UK (but then so many of the positive factors about life here are also akin to 70s Britain)
We live in a beautiful village, but there's SO much litter in the streets and along the verges every day :(
When I spoke to some teenagers about it, they thought it was fine to just drop litter anywhere (other than outside their own doors! :ohmy:) because "it provides jobs for the women who sweep the streets!!"

My other pet hate is that so many people - men and women - clear their throats and spit in the street.
As our front door is a congregation place for young people, I actually lost my rag last summer and told them that I find it unacceptable for there to be gobs of spit on my doorstep!! :eek:
Although that seemed to do the trick, I still have to clear away sweet wrappers, crisp packets, pipa shells, dog ends and coke cans on a daily basis - despite the fact the bin is 2 metres away!! :mad:

I'm less than keen on the "I'm awake, so everyone else must be too" attitude that seems to prevail (worse in the summer time)
So, if the bedroom window is open because it's still 35 degrees at night, then it's "wakey wakey" at 6am, when the clubbers returning from the next town are beeping their horns, have their car stereos blaring and are yelling at each other from 2 feet away and waiting for the churreria to open!:curse:

I understand (and agree with) other people's views that we are foreigners in Spain and shouldn't interfere with the Spanish way of life.
We don't have a right to come here and start trying to change things in a hugely cultural way; but I don't think there's anything wrong in exploring with people how things might be done differently, to the benefit of the whole community.
I know I'm not alone in disliking these factors of life. When I sit with my neighbours in the Plaza on a summer's evening, these are some of the topics we discuss; and none of them like rude, inconsiderate people.
It's just that my Spanish friends seem a bit more laid back and accepting; so there's a balance to be had, I suppose.
I am learning not to let things get to me so much, but I'm also not prepared to just let things be if they directly affect me.

An example is my immediate neighbour (who the whole village refers to as a nuisance!) but that's as far as it goes, because they don't have to live next door to him! :frown:
Now, when his TV is so loud that it can be heard 2 streets away at 3 am (!) I go and ask him - politely - to turn it down.
He hates me with a passion, but he does it!

The other thing I'd like to see change is the attitude of some people towards the care and treatment of animals. However, I think this will be a slow process, and that it should be led by Spanish people, so that Brits aren't seen to be interfering with the cultural way of doing things.
Much as I don't like what I see sometimes, I don't think it's my place to strongly offer my opinion.
I have asked polite questions, and sometimes I have seen positive change as a result of this; but the process will take time.

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

brisca, can I borrow your neighbour for a few days please!:sneaky:

Re: Things we hate about Spain......
 

With pleasure..................just PLEASE don't send him back!!!!!