Obvioulsy you are independant, I am thinking more along the lines of when that it no longer the case.

I have heard of a few cases , of differing nationalities, Germans, Swedes, Brits ,where more or less housebound people have been getting care from a friend or nieghbour, and for some reason or otherthe neighbour cannot carry on "caring" for them, either through becoming ill themselves or leaving.

That is when the start reality sets in, and from what I hear, most people wisely go back to a country where they at least understand the language 100 percent.

And therefore maybe it might be a good idea to forgo the sun and return before you are unable to?

Seriously, if you are old, frail and houseband, and alone, how are you going to manage?

That is what I meant to say as well, but you get the gist/jist.

And sometimes it is not se easy to go back before, especially for the "I will never go back" group, they sort of see it a "failure"

It's true that in extreme cases, aged expats may be better off back home, but ordinarily Spain offers much more for its pensioners than the UK.

But I am talking about expat areas like Torrevieja, which has boundless facilities for pensioners. The Spanish council has built a giant social centre for it's pensioners, but expats with residencia are welcome and make much use of the facilities there, including an afternoon disco.

There are also expat social clubs galore, aimed at pensioners.

I read yesterday that Carrefour are selling all of the food products to pensioners without VAT, a saving of around 8%, I can't imagine that happening in the UK.

And pensioners get heavily subsidized holidays in Spain too.

Such as? In the village I was in, there appeared to be nothing for frail elderly people who had no family. There was a pensionista, but that is of no use at all to a housebound person who can't care for themselves.

On the contrary it happens all the time.

The ability to enjoy yourself at fiestas etc without the Nanny State and do-gooders telling us what we can and can't do.

and usually without the Yobbo p...s heads.

One thing here in Spain I have noticed, and I don't know if it's the same for others, I never feel like I want a holiday to some exotic place.

If I won a competition for a holiday in Barbados say, I would give it away

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

I would advise a frail and lone expat in a Spanish village to get home as quickly as possible.

But I was talking about an expat area where there are hundreds of thousands of others.

A very valid point too, Spanish people seem to be able to consume great amounts of alcohol and go home without even considering getting into trouble, shame the same can't be said about the UK

Nearly every fiesta has some trouble, you can read it in spanish newspapers. As for quoting fiestas as a reason for staying in Spain There aren't that many in a year. What would have kept us in Spain was if we could not have sold the house. Didn't fancy locking and leaving.

I have seen a lot who move to Spain and don't think much about location when they are old. Couples stuck in the middle of nowhere. Only one of them drives, lots of steps, lugging gas bottles around. It is clear some only speak a smattering of Spanish...do they really want to be stuck in hospital with no common language.

When we moved to Spain we thought well at least we won't be spending thousands every year on holidays. That lasted about 3 years, nothing like a bit of proper winter sun and seeing a new country/area.

If you ever win that competition, please pm me

That was only one reason of many for us to Spain. We have been relatively lucky I suppose in that we have been able to find work and make a go of it here. Many people may not settle here and return to the UK, but we have settled and wouldn't go back unless we absolutely had to.
We have actually witnessed very little trouble in our years out here and fiestas we have been too have been in general a joy without any hint of threat or trouble.

If you can't go, can we be second on the list?