Rosemary

Here we go again. It does not matter who does what provided that they are living their life how they want to. Dipping into Spain or living here permanently is personal choice. Where any of us choose to live in Spain is again personal choice. No one person should try to ram their choice down the throats of others.

Full time or part time does not matter one jot because the important thing is living our lives in the manner that we wish.

I live in a small Spanish town, I know no other English people and only meet and speak with other Brits once a year during a weeks holiday. This is my choice, it suits me fine and I do not really care what choices other people make provided that they have chosen what suits them and that they are happy and content.

Rosemary

tebo53

Well said Rosemary, I fully agree

scrubbedexpat142

I was wondering what the point of this thread is when I realised that the OP is also the one who objects to expats having the right to vote.
What is the real motive here?

bobd22

Maybe the OP believes no one is allowed a free choice on anything😃

dougal03

Poor Bridie, you are not exactly committed one way or t'other since you only spend a few months here & then toddle back to UK.So you don't really fit in in either place.I also don't understand why you feel it is"so much stress" to relocate to another country.Only means a longer trip to arrive &,just my opinion,think of it as a big adventure getting involved in a new culture.A bit like being"born again"Surely so many of us can't be that wrong,quite a number of us have been here a long time now.

scrubbedexpat142

I'm detecting serious envy...

missile

A key board warrior

Loafing Along

UK has ‘worst quality of life in Europe’ while Spain has second-highest | Olive Press News Spain

Moses2013

I wouldn't give much on that. After all, it's an Expat paper.
Ask the many young Spanish who are struggling to get by. The people here are too focused on the country, rather than the location. Let's face it, both countries have ugly parts. The only difference is that Brits have enough money to go abroad and experience the nice bits. And France tops the list, because people retire at age 60. Tell that to someone in their 40's commuting to Paris every day:-). It's more an attitude problem and the young person in Iceland is happy to go out in the pouring rain and boil an egg in a hot spring. The older generation also have different values. A lot of British think quality of life is baking in the sun until you have leather skin, while the person in Norway is happy to cycle to a lake when it's not so hot.

bobd22

I totally agree, the whole thing comes to choice and circumstances for individuals. The full quality of life survey is here without cherry picking .

https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/data...of-life-survey

Hornets_Nest

Bridie55 - so you are in Almunecar? I've holidayed there twice in the past 2 years both around Sept/Oct but as far as settling there perm - it's not your typical UK migrant destination. I like the town because it is more Spanish than the resorts West of Malaga - there plenty of good places to eat and drink and the mountains and Granada/Malaga aren't too far away - OK the town is a little on the scruffy side but that is part of it's charm though I'd imagine it's heaving in peak season. Would I want to live in Almunecar ??? I'm not really sure ...

Leper

I hear what Bridie55 is saying and can identify with the sentiments. Spain is not for everybody, but for those using Spain for 50years, 5 years, 5 months, 5 weeks, or even 5 days, it's their own business. I don't recall ever seeing anybody pressganged into moving to Spain and never have I seen anybody pressganged out. We are all different and want various experiences out of everything we do. So, Bridie55 is entitled to his/her opinions.

For the record I see people arriving in Spain listening to real estate agents as if they were paragons of the truth and within 5 days arrange for the deposit on a property having done no homework whatsoever. Some of these are in their 60's or 70's lasing out their life savings for a non thought out adventure of owning a slapped up apartment on the Costas. Of course, they are entitled to spend their money as they please, but if you are going to spend less than 6 months per year in the sun, why tie yourself down? Renting makes more sense.

Bridie55

Exactly what I was saying but I've given up on replying as it obviously upsets some of the forum old guard. Funny I watched a BBC program in Spain the other day, 'BBC One launches new daytime series Get Away For Winter'. So I'm not the only person who doesn't want to leave UK for good.

Mark_Stewart

I guess it depends on where you move to, I had a very hard time finding work in Catalonia. I ended up being an English teacher, such a big change from a high level telecommunications and data engineer. The first few years were happy and like a holiday, but when the crisis hit I saw the real colours of the locals. The fanatical hatred of the Spanish came through and everyone who wasn't third generation catalans suffered. On my visits to other parts of Spain the feeling was much different, still very much sun, sea and sangria. You have no doubt seen all the trouble the catalans gave caused in recent times, you could hardly miss it. Even today the people of Barcelona don't want to be part of the regions push for independence. My advice is stating clear of the region as beautiful as it may be, there are much more welcoming regions in the south and to the northern coast (albeit freezing cold - very similar to winter in the UK). Spain has some exceptional places to live and visit, but do your homework, not everyone is friendly towards the British, well I'll change that to the English..... They seem to like Scotland and Ireland. Stay close to the coast as they seem to be much more accepting of migration, its the deep rural areas I've found the most problems. Also you may be tempted to join the ranks of tax avoiding locals, but don't, keep your accounts up to date and pay your taxes. The town hall come down heavily on migrants not paying their way, even when they turn a blind eye to their own whilst not paying tax on a garage repair themselves. It's a queer old place is Spain, the weather can be spectacular, and the history is immense, but know your place.... You are now an immigrant. Enjoy your time, find some English friends who have been there some time (you will need them to help you with the curious rituals in any Spanish region).

Moses2013

I can't agree with your comments about Catalonia and what you've experienced can happen all over Spain. You say "On my visits to other parts of Spain the feeling was much different, still very much sun, sea and sangria". Well of course it will feel like that if you're on holiday and especially if people rely on tourists. Go to the Costa Brava coastal resorts like Tossa de Mar, Malgrat, Lloret, Platja etc. or further down to Salou which is like Benidorm. If you go away from the touristic areas, be it Madrid, Seville, you will face the same problems. Racism is also a huge problem in Spain and even footballers in Malaga feel unwelcome. This is also about Chinese and many Spanish see them as a threat.
https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/01/08...34_109052.html