What a DUMP

[BAS]

3 ex Gil councillors off to jail for illegal building licences, 19 Guarda arrested at the
airport for bribery, Mayors, Councillors, Police, Notaries, Lawyers arrested and jailed
for corruption, innocent people having their homes demolished and land grabbed,
illegal building sites abandoned and left to rot.
The Spanish haven't got it yet, they have killed the goose that laid the golden egg.
Who would want to live in this country. In a very short time, the CDS will be a waste
ground with thousands of properties blighted, closed shops, resturants, bars.
What a dump.

[Beachcomber]

I really wish, with all my heart, that I could disagree with at least one word of this post.

[Bongtrees]

Whilst all that may be true at least most of us are not freezing our wotsits off and able to sit out in the sun unlike are some in another country that dare not be mentioned.

Nobody is forced to stay in Spain, for those that want to go back but cant sell, mothball or rent out your property and go back and rent.

For those without means of support as long as you can get enough together for a deposit on a place in the UK they can then get the system to support them and pay the rent and rates.

What more could anyone want?

[Devils Advocate]

Whilst all that may be true at least most of us are not freezing our wotsits off

Ah, so Hillys post in DIY on lagging the outside pipes in Spain must be a misprint then ......it just doesn't happen there does it?

There are a lot of people as Beachy always says who are absolutely stuffed at the moment in Spain and on the verge of losing everything if certain powers that be get their way.
I still like the place a lot but in a "there but for the grace of god" sort of way, certainly glad we're not permanant until the much needed changes happen.

DA

[Bongtrees]

DA you are very quick to criticise, Hilly might live up a mountain, several do on here but I dont.

As stated previously the sun is shining its been 21 deg c here (Valencia) for many weeks now and is again today, thus no chance of freeezing ones wotsits off.

As for inside my house I have oil fired central heating, hot and cold air con units and a multiful stove.
So no chance of pipes bursting inside my house when they dont even freeze outside.

As for lagging pipes I have some cold water pipes outside above ground and in the 7 years I have lived here none have frozen. I have never even seen a frost where I live.

As for waiting for changes to happen, I think you might not live long enough.

Cake anyone?

[Beachcomber]

... Nobody is forced to stay in Spain, ...

No, but it has been my home for twenty five years and I do not wish to be forced out by increasing hypocrisy and corruption.

... go back and rent...

I wouldn't need to. I have a perfectly adequate property in Dorset which I could move in to tomorrow, but that's not the point.

I stay here because I want to not because I have to but that is not going to prevent me from commenting on the constantly worsening political situation in Spain for both foreigners and Spaniards.

It would, indeed, be a sad indictment on the country if the only reason one could find for living here was the nice weather.

[wagon ropes]

Hear, hear, Beachcomber. Just because we love living here doesn't mean we are blind to it's faults.

What I will say is that the list of things that are wrong with the UK now is so long that I would bore you all to death if I started to itemise them. Suffice it to say that they add up to a darned sight more than the cons of living in Spain.

[Jool]

I absolutely agree with you Beachcomber - it is all such a waste. You certainly learn about how to live with constant change in Spain...no other way......

I don´t know why it is that people leap to defend Spain whenever anyone criticises it, I bet they all criticised the UK or their own home lands when they lived there!

Spain is not perfect. For now it is where we still want to be.....but everywhere I look these days I see life getting harder for everyone.....how bars and restaurants keep going I don´t know and even many local markets are only half full compared to last year.......

[Devils Advocate]

I was criticising nothing Bongtrees, just commenting really. I too have a house in Spain and like you I pay all the taxes and running costs on it for using it maybe 10 weeks a year if we're lucky. I love the place or I wouldn't have bought there.
I also love to hear the guys on this site relaying nice stories, happy tales etc. and would love Spain to become stable, vibrant, fair and honest once more............I too have a vested interest

It does make one think though when you hear respected people on here including Beach telling it like it is, this thread by BAS is also worrying for owners INCLUDING ME

As I say I love to hear about the nice things in Spain from like minded people out for a good life but then you get the people like yourself and a couple of others on here who have to compare everything to the UK. You did it on the Town hall thread when people were talking about Spanish building licenses, you piped up with "well you need them in the UK too for minor works", a ludicrous statement and the reason I entered that thread.
Similar here, a serious post is made about serious problems which are close to home for a lot of us and you say "well it's warmer here than the place that can't be mentioned"
Say something nice about Spain without justifying it , it makes it sound more genuine and after all there's still a hell of a lot of nice things to say about Spain..as there is the UK also.

DA
ps Bongtees I always for some reason thought you were Canadian apologies if I'm wrong.

[Kathy]

Spain is anything but a dump.

Spain is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Its like about 50 countries rolled into one.
Take time to admire their amazing historical architecture, Baroque Churches, Aqueducts, Mosques, Bridges,the work of Gaudi. Its one of the few European countries that hasn't been totally sprayed with pesticides and wild flowers grow in abundance. The geography of Spain, the rich varieties of Spanish cuisine from province to province, the fact that people still have time to stop and chat. Lie down on the ground and just look up at the trees, the cork oak, the pine trees, the chestnut and the palms. The variation of landscapes, the lush green fields of Galicia, the beaches on the Costa de la luz, the plains of La Mancha, the idyllic coves of the Balearic's, the volcanic landscapes in Lanzaorte and the list goes on.
They have amazing traditions here, can you imagine a public gathering like El Rocio, with very little police presence?

At times I find Spain extremely frustrating, Ive been here for 16 years and have no plans to relocate.
Ive never yet seen a perfect country, I remember once going to an island off the coast of Honduras, it seemed perfect there, a picture post card scene, until the sand flies began to bite and my legs were temporarily paralyzed whilst swimming in the ocean from the poison.
Without a doubt the sun is a major influence on all the residents, Spain wouldn't be the same without that huge golden star at the center of our solar system.
Whilst Spain has the sun, the tourists and residents will still arrive.
At the moment the world and the media are bombarding us with words like "crisis" " recession" and its filtering right down.
Everyone is scared to spend anything, they have done a great job.
Thankfully the lawyers, notaries, civil servants etc now have strong signs that things must change.

Just imagine if the power of the media could be turned into positive thoughts.... love......tolerance.....respect......justice.......peace, I,m not saying we should all turn into tree huggers, but then again, don´t knock it till you´ve tried it

[Jool]

Well I would hug trees in the depths of deepest Andalucia if I thought it would help and the powers that be would listen!! Anyone else join me?

You are right about Spain but any kind of corruption or shady dealings anywhere in the world makes people unsettled and these days it seems the word Spain and all the other dodgy stuff come together in the same sentence and people´s consciousness... sad but true......yet easily remedied.

[Miro]

Good news everyone! There are still a couple of places in Spain that are "authentic". One is Valldemosa in Mallorca (lovely place, actually), but the other is right here on the CDS - who'd have thought it? Good ol' Torrie, the next World Heritage Site?

Torremolinos has charm.
This at least is the opinion of visitors, residents and many others who have spent some time in this quiet, yet cheerful Costa del Sol town. It’s secret appears to be that it has managed to preserve its authenticity despite being a tourist destination for the masses for 40 years.
This opinion has been backed by fashionable architects, who have praised the hotels that were built in the 1950s and 1960s.
Perhaps it is thanks to their support that Torremolinos is, along with Valldemosa in Mallorca, one of the only two Spanish places to be included on a list of the 50 most authentic places on earth published in the “Highlife” magazine distributed to British Airways passengers.
Torremolinos and Valldemosa appear alongside other “authentic” places such as Los Angeles, Paris, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw, Damascus or the island of Zanzibar.

The article defines an authentic destination as a place that feels comfortable in its own skin, irrespective of the vast numbers of visitors its receives.
“After 40 years of mass tourism, Torremolinos continues to evolve and, away from the coast, it’s a bustling Andalusian town. The high-rise 1950s and 1960s hotels are now admired by fashionable architects. The campaign to make it a Unesco World Heritage site begins here,” reads the article, compiled by a number of travel writers who contribute to the magazine.

The writer adds that if Phoenicians, Romans, Moors and Castilians have been unable to move the roots of Andalusian culture, then an army of scantily clad suntanned northern European tourists won’t be able to either.
When asked about a place which the majority of experts agree has suffered the negative effects of tourism, the author of the report questions this opinion about Torremolinos. He explains that in fact the village that Torremolinos once was has become an authentic Andalusian town, where people have ‘churros’ and coffee at eleven followed by long fish lunches and keep out of the sun’s rays in the summer.
He points out that there are thousands of British and German residents in Torremolinos who enjoy a completely different lifestyle but that everyone lives together in harmony.

Hooray for Torremolinos!!!!
(article published in Sur in English today, and Costa del Sol News)

[Kathy]

One of the most trendy Magazines around- Wallpaper has cited Torremolinos as a fine example of 50´s 60´s and 70´s architecture.

"Hay gente pa tó"

[Miro]

Does it also mention that architecture in those decades paid little attention to aesthetics? Just take a look at Tres Torres in the centre to see my point. You don't need a map to find them. You probably don't even need to open your eyes, since the architect responsible for them clearly didn't. These structures can rival anything the former Eastern Bloc threw up (pun) during the same period. I've never actually been inside one of the apartments, but I have seen photos of them in their original state. They included a circular, bright red, bath tub. How very kitsch. How very Torrie!

[Kathy]

A retro red bath could be worth something now

[Miro]

For those who are not familiar with the towers, here are some flix. (sorry, none of the bath tubs!)
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=tres%20 ... 4914%40N00
I notice the photographer uses the word "brutalism" in his description. Interesting.

[Kathy]

I like the exterior spiral staircase.

[Ama]

I love this page, Torremolinos in the 60s & 70s
http://personales.ya.com/mundopop2/torremolinoschic/

[Kathy]

Love those postcards of the shopping streets

http://personales.ya.com/mundopop2/torremolinoschic/

A friend of mine has just bought a house in Oxford and decorated it 70´s style and shes made killing on it.

Thats an amazing historical documentation. Well done to the web masters.

[katy]

What a fantastic site...happy days, makes me feel quite sad. Can't remember much about Torremolinos except there were some impressive mansions between the Pueblo and Benalmádena. It was all very glitzy, remember my parents going out to dinner there and wearing evening dress. The area of Montemar was so nice and now it's run down with tatty Brit bars and closed up shops.

I have a photo of myself about 7 years on the walls of Fuengirola castle and there were only fields surrounding it. ahh well...progress!