Domino

not sad, just a good memory
saved me from asking Google

mikelincs

The UK you are talking about must be in a parallel universe, we talk to neighbours every day, have conversations with shop keepers, and are recognised by them, we walk or take public transport everywhere, and have NEVER had any problems, and yes gthere are areas around where we live that we would avoid after dark, just as there are areas in towns and cities in Spain that we would have avoided for the same reasons, we lived in Spain for 5 years, and enjoyed it, and are now back in the UK and enjoying that as well

Domino

Agree Mike.
I have been away several times over the decades and when I return I never feel "unsafe", just the roads seem to get narrower and dustier/dirtier than I remember

When I went back a couple of months ago I was talking to people, shopkeepers, the post office people, asking how things were, how good was it in Spain, can't wait to join you etc etc.
No violence, no problems whatsoever. Even the buses seemed tranquil, but there werent any holidays for them to take over buses.

Life in a country is based on your own expectations and attitudes, its called Integration ! ! But then the current version is the for the locals to bend to the needs of the incomer. Some hopes !

jackytoo

We have felt safe in both countries. There are places in both countries I wouldn't feel safe but stay away from them. Same the world over I suppose. We have had decent neighbours in both countries. Plenty of crime in both countries if you read the news but haven't exactly seen it happening. In Calahonda (CDS) lots of tourists have been mugged crossing the underpass under the A-7, read about plenty of crime in Estepona too, only a few months ago a 70 yr old Brit was mugged and stabbed......something happening in every city every week all over the world.

Lots of twenty somethings travel all over the world with confidence and nothing happens

HBG

I would never run down the UK, but there are parts of our major cities that are unsafe and downright dangerous, and it doesn't do any harm to mention the fact.

To save going into detail, it's the areas where we had the recent riots, those are the dangerous places.

cricketman

A Spanish clown has been cycling around the world over the past few years. He has no money and relies on the hospitality and kindness of the people he meets for food and shelter.

He said the biggest thing he has learnt is that the world is a very safe place full of good people. The very opposite to what the politicians and media want you to believe (his words, not mine)

megmet

Has nobody ever told you.....age is just a frame of mind?
Some people were just born old....thank God I'm not one of those!

HBG

I wasn't born old either, I was born free.

That illusion lasted until an extremely fat man working for the US border control agency spotted an innocent mistake on my visa application at Philadelphia airport.

I got over that, and also that time when I was queuing up to renew my padron here in Spain.

I think age and freedom are all in the mind.

agoreira

I wish it was! Agree to a point, but I'm out nearly every day walking considerable distances, thinking positive all the time, but that doesn't alter the fact that after a day out in the countryside some bits ache that never used to! I agree if you think old, spend the day on the sofa watching the tele (or dare I say, spend all day writing in forums Not you!) you'll be old long before your time. So yes, agree with the positive thinking bit, but the aches and pains will still appear. Mind you, if you have a secret formula to avoid it, I'm all ears.

Lynn R

Another one for whom reality has dawned - I met an English acquaintance in the supermarket yesterday. She has lived in Spain with her Spanish second husband for 12 years, and has a daughter who has just finished her education here in Spain (she is bilingual and did quite well in school). She has told her daughter to go back to the UK (where her father and older brother still live) as there are no opportunities for her here. The brother has so far avoided being shot, stabbed or abducted.

steviedeluxe

For those who still doubt that Spain has a vibrant tech startup scene, the following article may make illuminating reading. Whether it's startups obtaining funding, Spanish startups entering European accelerator programs, companies investing in Spain or Spanish startups expanding abroad, a lot is happening and some recent happenings are recorded here:
http://startupspain.com/last-month-in-spain-1q2012/
Now obviously not everyone is a young geek, but it's clear this is where new markets and opportunities are being created, all over the planet. How about setting a virtual-bilingual-secretary service in a city with lots of startups (Madrid, Bilbao Barcelona etc) or even set up a kind of "gofer" service - when the geeks run out of ink or sandwiches or need someone to walk the dog? This area is where the jobs will be created - often on a small scale so goes unnoticed by the press. People have often gone on about how running a bar is unviable, yet that this article I've linked before shows how adapting to the new reality can pay dividends. One of the pubs mentioned there, the Triskel, has helped keep the place busy on non-sporting nights by organising networking meetings and business get-togethers.
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/glob...-in-madrid/810
In the new reality where more and more people are freelance (because the old big employers no longer exist) it makes sense to provide a service that the freelancers can utilise.

Incidentally, nothing stopping anyone copying an idea from the US and UK, geting external coders to develop the website* and starting a business in that way. For example, I see no reason why this type of service couldn't work in Spain (but it would need a good extensive network of couriers) http://www.shutl.co.uk/about

* but ask IT tech specialists to go over the specs before getting the peopleperhour mob to code.