No one want to move to Andalucia - says it all?

[laswalkirias]

Well Frog i thought I was abitchy old queen until I started reading your "posts". I am really a very nice man after all!

[frog]

well,im not a bitchy old queen,i just get sick of the 'oh it so lovely here',attitude,'we have been here a few months its the dream we allways wanted'

sure there are a few that get on ok but they tend to be the better off,i am just saying what i see every week,broken dreams and a lot of lost money

maybe 5 years ago i would not have been so critical,it was easier then,now its a big risk if you are not well backed

i see people buying bars that have gone bust and they are so happy,of course i dont tell them that they will be skint in 6 months,but i know they will be

i see people still waiting for apartments that are 5 years late,giving up and going back to uk

i see old couples resorting to timeshare touting or scraping a living selling blanket trips

i could go on but the blinkered 2 house owners and hippys will still not get it

go on,sell your house in uk,pay off your morgage,come to spain and lose the lot in a year,see if i care,i dont but dont moan like the 2 bar owners i have met this week that have lost 150000,68000 in less than a year

one last thing and a good point i think,out of all the people i met in the first 5 years i was here(hundreds as i ran a bar) and got to know,there are maybe only 10 left,5 years later

sarcasm welcome

[Lavanda]

Dear Frog,
What you write might have real value for people considering moving here. I think people are only a little concerned with HOW you communicate those thoughts. Of course life here is not all fantastic from the very start. There are always problems. I actually burst into tears of frustration in my local Ayuntamieno one day as I couldn't understand WHAT they wanted me to do. But the frustration, like the remedy, was down to me - no one else. If people do the research (as Beachcomber is always banging on about), take considered steps to cover all their bases, learn the language, take extended trial runs here if possible, etc. etc. then the chances of success here are increased. If a person sells all their possessions in the UK, drags an unwilling family here, buys a bar and fails I might be sympathetic but that person has been rather irresponsible and has not taken the time and trouble to, for example, read all the threads on this site and LEARNED the pros and cons of life here.

I wouldn't dream of using sarcasm on you - it would be wasted but how does reasonableness get you?

[BENIDORM]

In the early, damp dismal hours of the morning, Mr.Frog emerges slowly from the evil smelling waters of his pond, his bulging eyes blink as the flashing lights of the late night clubs startle him.
He struggles slowly along the vomit stained streets on his nightly pilgrimage, to see if he can find any tasty morsels of gossip.
He spits and mutters 'Things ain't like thay used to be', and he remembers the countless times he has watched the happy carefree families moving their worldly goods into bars, only to watch their tear stained faces as they leave penniless 6 months later.
So you can call him a cynical,heartless ,uncompassionate ,evil old pond life...but he is only telling it as he sees it...isn't he ...?...

Regards,
Gordon...

[hiker]

i see old couples resorting to timeshare touting or scraping a living selling blanket trips

i could go on but the blinkered 2 house owners and hippys will still not get it

go on,sell your house in uk,pay off your morgage,come to spain and lose the lot in a year,see if i care,i dont but dont moan like the 2 bar owners i have met this week that have lost 150000,68000 in less than a year

one last thing and a good point i think,out of all the people i met in the first 5 years i was here(hundreds as i ran a bar) and got to know,there are maybe only 10 left,5 years later

sarcasm welcome

Sobering words and well worth heeding. I think if you prepare for the worst then your surprises will be pleasent.
I'm moving here in Feb next having sold my home in Ireland and paid off the mortgage. I will put 25K aside and the balance goes into one of them longterm deposit account that cant be touched for 12 months.
I will rent a small place, sign up for 3 months intensive Spanish in the Quorum School in Nerja.
At the end of my 25K ( a year maybe) I am either paying my way or I'm on my way back to Ireland.
Am I being naive or realistic?
Answers on the back of a tenner please.....

[Lavanda]

Hola Hiker,
Nice photo!!!! 25k is realistic, I think, but depends on what you rent and how you live. Spanish classes are a great idea - you might get free ones from your local Town Hall. Your plan sounds pretty good to me and you have the chance to make it work. Good luck!

[hiker]

Hi Lavanda. Me and Sean Bean are dead ringers for each other (I wish )
As for renting, I have my eye on a few town houses up in Frigiliana for around the €500 per month mark. 2 beds, one bath, clean, simple and central (to Frigiliana) €6K per year. Spanish classes €2.5K (x2), 6 hours X 5 days X 12 weeks. Leaves about €14K (about €1200 per month) to pay for food, fun, odds'n'ends. I think the fact that we are non-drinkers, non-smokers helps too.

I have studied the Nerja Town Hall a bit and it seems to be very good for helping foreigners. Free lessons in Spanish sounds like a great idea. I will investigate.
Also I believe there is an english lady elected as a councilor on the local town council. That must make a big difference.

[Paula]

I'm not being a cynic, nor meaning to be inulting to anyone........but, stick with the lessons you have planned. If you work hard you at least should come out with a reasonable amount of Spanish at the end of it.
The town hall lessons have a bit of a mixed bunch, lot of pensioners with time on their hands etc etc, you may find it holds you back somewhat and you will have wasted a year, maybe gaining enough Spanish to hold a bit of a conversation with a patient waiter.

[Lavanda]

Yes Paula, good advice. I was forgetting what I was writing for a moment. My free Spanish lessons only have three people in them so we get lots of one-to-one attention. Nerja would be completely different. Sorry. Second glass of red ... but that's still a nice photo!

[Paula]

Three people!! Gosh you're lucky!! I remember doing the equivalent in UK about 10 years ago, had 45 in the class, it was dire That was when "Place in the Sun" was watched by about 60 million viewers. Decided National Health lessons were not for me and went private

[Julie]

My local class has up to 8 people in, sometimes just 2 depends on peoples work commitments, no other Brits and teacher speaks no English, if you don't want to learn, you don't go there, shes only about 28, but takes no prisoners, so to speak.
You have to prove you live in the local area, thats it, your on your way, i would reccomend it to anyone. When we had the fiesta, i was the only Brit out of all the diferent villageson the trip, helps the lingo no end

[frog]

beachy,i like that you are wasted here like me ,i also see lavanda's point but top marks to hiker,if all that moved here thought like that then they may get on

perhaps i am a bit rough with how i portray life here,i like it but i think people should be aware that its quite hard at times and im getting boring now,you are likely to lose a lot of your hard earned uk cash in a short period of time

if you dont drink/smoke or own a house here then these days not much will be cheaper than uk

[santamaria]

Dear All, I must say how much I have enjoyed watching how this thread has developed.

I think for anyone thinking of moving to Andalucia, this thread offers a reality check but doesn't crush dreams. The posts by Frog and the responses had me in stitches. Especially Frogs, reference to our Novelty house, he he.
Written whilst toasting by the fire, from my novelty house,

[katy]

I have been around this forum since 2004 and have seen it evolve to give better realistic advice. In the beginning any small comment of anything negative about Andalucía and the poster would be slated. Still a bit of that around but more discussion on different points of view now.

Worst advice on here are the cost of living threads as two people cannot be the same when comparing heating and rates etc.

[frog]

well good luck santa,dont forget my pressie in a few weeks,i do hope all works out well for you,glad you dont take everything that is written here to seriously,i for one tend to generalise and try to warn a few it may not be that great here but there are always exceptions and i hope your one
i want a wii by the way for the missus

[santamaria]

Dear Frog,

Don't worry u r top of Santa's list.

[elgordo]

hi all
ive been ofline for a while but im catching up now yes frog and beachcomber are right if you say move anywhere after a dream you will crash before i moved to spain i did my homework.
after taxes i have 1200 pounds about the same in euros so im not as hard up yet, yes people i know did not do there homework and are broke some gave back thier keys and went back, others cant they are in between a rock and a hard place.
i feel deeply sorry for them especialy those with children if i was them i would not know what to do yes im on pensions but i earned them with 40 years hard service i hope i dont go hungry but ive burnt my bridges im here to stay.
david

[Lavanda]

That pretty much sums up the situation for us as well. As far as 2009 is concerned we are rolling up our sleeves, tightening our belts, lying low and just getting on with it. We will have to wait and see how things unfold. I've been reading all the predicted forecasts of when and by how much the pound will recover but the truth is, no one knows. If we did have a crystal ball all this mess would have been either averted or prepared for. No?

[toddcl]

Pound making a slight recovery at nearly 1.12 at close on Friday.

Crime is rising in the countryside as many spanish have lost jobs and gone on the olives.
Problem is all the looky looky men from the coast that come inland from November to March and now have no work or money. petty crime is on the rise but you cant blame the spanish for puting family first.

My friend just back from Almeria says a quater of the new build estate he lives on, have either passed the keys back to the bank or have the houses up for sale at half price trying to salvage a few pound. one 180,000 property is up for 78,000 and still no takers.

[Bluebell]

I've been living in Andalucia for 4 years now, not long, but I feel really settled and at home here. It's not been easy, but most stuff worth doing is that way. The first year was the hardest. Good luck to all who try to live their dreams... better than not trying.