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

[Scot]

We will still be here to June (at least) and don't claim family allowance cos we are in Spain? Should we be claiming now? I won't be able to jump through hoops so I don't think I'll qualify for the disability

[Lavanda]

Rob a bank, Scot! You'll be well looked after immediately!
Ooops! I forgot! Someone's already robbed the banks!

[K chameleon]

[SimoneIcough]

Hola

I have lived here for the past 10 years and I have loved every minute, however, these past 2 years have taken their toll, life has got harder, however, the economy has been partly to blame for that!

I have seen many people hot foot it back to the UK since the credit crunch hit and I do wonder why!

Banco Santander who are a major bank in Spain did not over lend money to their customers so they managed to escape the bank crisis, the problems of the World crisis came from the UK and the USA so why go back to the UK when a lot of the problems started there and are continuing to slide down the slippery slope, it would appear that a Spanish bank actually had their head screwed on, were not greedy and did not lend out more than they had, a different story for the UK banks!

In my opinion there is nothing left for the UK now except to become a place where refugees live, our heritage is being stripped from us, health and safety has gone chuffing barmy and the rules and regulations are now so ridiculous you walk around the country feeling like a naughty 3 year old, it says a lot when we need warnings that food is hot so be careful when eating it! When did we all become so lazy and start needing lessons in not eating hot food because we will burn ourselves!

The country is a joke! I used to be proud to be British, now I am not so sure, the USA has influenced us so much that we are also now a "suing country", we used to have common sense and be the British Empire, now we are an island that is riddled with expats claiming dole or using our NHS system for their own gain and the British people are left behind, no one cares.

At least Spain still has some morals left and they take care of their own people first, so they should, I wish the UK could follow suit on some of the Spanish way of running a country, don't get me wrong Spain has it's fair share of ups and downs and situations that make you so angry that you want to burst but the general rule of thumb is to look after their own and I wish the UK could be the same - like we used to be!

Now we seemed to be more worried about what the refugees and foreigners think - who cares, welcome to Britain now live like us or b***** off back home!

Rant over hehehe

Simone

[K chameleon]

Hand clapping smiley needed

Love to all us Brits

[Scot]

The UK is now a suing country thats why you need the warnings on the hot food !! I am all for being self sufficient and I worked in the UK for 25 years, sometimes holding down 3 jobs at a time. I'd welcome the opportunity to do that here. It doesn't happen and if you do manage to find a job (my last offer 2 years ago was 6 days week in real estate office full time 400 euros month) you cannot live on the wages. You cannot make money in Spain if you are an honest, hard working individual. And even tho we have both worked here for 3 of the years, there is no help if you need it, if you are desperate. I pay for my health care here 276 euros a month, just for me. I'm not complaining but simply pointing out that no one has a bottomless pit. Wheres the give? It can't be ALL take. My OH is ashamed to be part Spanish not proud like he once was - the greed here is immense. And please tell me whats wrong with EXPATS claiming dole? And as for the wind...............

[JAWG]

When did we all become so lazy and start needing lessons in not eating hot food because we will burn ourselves!

The UK is now a suing country thats why you need the warnings on the hot food !!

This all started when the idiot in the US ordered a hot coffee in McDonalds and the spilled it all over him/herself. Then sued McDonalds, won the case, got a large payout. Now to protect themselves from this idiocy, McDonalds and most other places put warnngs on their carry-out packages.
I have a lot of trouble believing that a person could get paid for spilling their coffee all over themselves. Only in the USA. Unfortunately, it isn't still just in the USA. Other cultures have seen a way to get rich quick (especially the legal profession), and the suing is spreading rapidly.

[frank]

Oh, as to the benefits (literally) of the UK - I'm amazed to be to informed that we will get not only child benefit, but my son when 16 will get £30 a week for school/college, I will get some sort of disablility benefit and I might even get ..................................... A CAR!!!

Mark is quite right to point out that jobs here in UK are hard to come by, and will probably get much, much worse, but if I had to choose between being out of work in Spain or UK, I know where I'd be better off. Jobs are getting fewer, and pay less, but statistically you still stand more chance of a job in UK, especially as there is no language problem.
No idea how much disability pays out, but it seems to be quite a lot, so best of luck to you.

[MarkF]

And Frank is right too Yes, if somebody in Spain has experienced such difficulties that they are totally without cash, then, yes, you'll be better off in the UK. Benefits will kick in after some months and yes, you will have a better chance of gaining employment.

But...my comments were aimed at people thinking things were "as they were". Bloke would come back and straight into work, maybe not what he wanted but work all the same. Woman would pick up some part-time work, admin maybe, to work around school hours. Bingo, life kicks off again, well, that won't happen now and people need to understand that, it's not scare mongering, it's the truth.

What I said about high wage earners fighting over minimum wage jobs in a few months, might not be true, but I honestly think it'll happen. Fortunately I'll be back there then.

[katy]

I agree with you about Surrey. Saw lots of staff wanted in Farnham and Guilford and yes the restaurants are busy. Lots of people carrying purchases. Unlike Spain there are no visible signs of a downturn.

I may not be there all the time (although I have been at least 5 times since August), but, I see a lot of difference to Surrey and the CDS. I also know people scattered around various places in the UK and none of them have much change.

My Cousin's husband lost his banking job in January (he is 51), he started working for another bank this week, with a slightly higher salary.

I reiterate, I saw no sign of a downturn in the UK., here on the coast it is visible in restaurants, shops and with people I know who are not doing well.

[Scot]

I, for one, appreciate your honesty. I am hoping to come back to a part time job to fit around the kids But, I'm not without money yet - simply planning ahead. Thats the one thing that Spain has taught me

[MarkF]

I reiterate, I saw no sign of a downturn in the UK., here on the coast it is visible in restaurants, shops and with people I know who are not doing well.

With respect Katy, although I am not there all the time I run a business in the UK, I have fitters all over the place, that's why I travel the UK. The downturn is obvious, blindingly so, it's very worrying. I'd refer you to my previous post about 3000+ job applicants for 150 seasonal zoo jobs, you don't need to consider the facts for too long to reach the correct conclusion.

[frog]

well i told you all 9 months ago that spain was a s hhitole unless you were rich with a house in uk an a house sorry villa here
nobody listened as usual,more worried about my spelling if i remember

[IreneD]

Myself and my family haven't noticed much change in our own day to day lives, but if I look for the signs, they are there. I was looking at the Situations Vacant section in our local paper and there are hardly any jobs advertised, whereas not so long ago, there were 2 or 3 pages of jobs . There do seem to be several carers wanted in old people's homes, but that was about it. And my son-in-law works in the Jobcentre, his job is dealing with employers wanting staff and he's a bit worried about his own job, as enquiries from employers have just about trickled to a standstill. The other thing he's observed is a lot of the Polish community have gone back to Poland as there is very little work here now, with factories closing in our area.

[Chrissie]

well i told you all 9 months ago that spain was a s hhitole unless you were rich with a house in uk an a house sorry villa here
nobody listened as usual,more worried about my spelling if i remember

I remember that froggy - I may even have been a member of the "Spelling and Grammar Guardia"
You've proved to be right though!

[greentrees3]

The whole health & safety thing in the UK drives me mad as well. When I was back for last christmas in the UK, I heard an announcement in the train station which had to have been new. I can't remember how the 'warning' ended, but it started something like "Parents and guardians are reminded the station platform can be a dangerous place..." Something to do with trains they mentioned..

I'm leaving Spain soon but not because of the crisis- rather I had been thinking about it at least for the past year and that I wanted to move on, but that I did lose my job where I'd been for three years just made it easier for me. I have no desire whatsoever to stay in the UK, but I see it as a necessary evil for the time being- for career advancing reasons. London is home to most of the interesting big companies of my field and supposedly there isn't as much as a problem for us yet- plenty of hiring still going on.

Most of the people I know here in Spain work as funcionarios- not sure how it is in English. Their jobs are supposed to be safe and secure forever, but even now they're telling me they might try and change the rules to be able to lay some people off.

[Jool]

The great thing about the UK is you only need to be an idiot to survive there, a warm female voice tells you when lift doors are opening/closing/stopping at which floor and to be careful of hot/cold, steps, ledges, in fact anything you may encounter in everyday life........buses in London only take you if you have paid for a ticket beforehand so no confusion there, make sure you have change get it from the machine in right money as no change given and its as easy as pie.......they will tell you they can´t take you with a smile as you have no ticket.........

Everyone will warn you about all sorts of things, wash your hands after going to the toilet, expect to have 30p to pay at Victoria station, 30 p for a pee....!!!!! Hot drinks in cartons are , wait for it, HOT, well I never, cold drinks are cold, nuts contain nuts, milk chocolate contains milk, now you would not have known any of that otherwise would you?

Roads have crash barriers whereas in Spain you are expected to know, by magic, that there is a sheer drop on a cliff edge........perhaps a clue that you are on the edge of the land but never mind, in the UK you get signs everywhere telling you all sorts of obvious things.......and shop assistants smile at you and are nice as opposed to looking at you severely as though you have deeply offended them for ever.........one man even told me I walked too fast to be able to see what I was looking for so walking slow is best in shops in the UK, all good helpful customer service you know..............

[frank]

The great thing about the UK is you only need to be an idiot to survive there, a warm female voice tells you when lift doors are opening/closing/stopping at which floor and to be careful of hot/cold, steps, ledges, in fact anything you may encounter in everyday life

All totally superflous of course, unless you happen to be blind! Then you might find it useful. How else do you know what floor you are on? Ask a blind/poorly sighted or disabled person where they feel better catered for, Spain or UK, it's no contest. I attended a language school in Spain with a disabled friend, in a wheelchair, and it's a joke.

Hot drinks in cartons are , wait for it, HOT, well I never, cold drinks are cold, nuts contain nuts, milk chocolate contains milk, now you would not have known any of that otherwise would you?

It may seem totally over the top, but I can't say it upsets me that a bar of fruit and nut says it contains nuts, or that a lift tells me we are on floor 5!
Someone here bemoans H&S in UK, and whilst a lot does seem silly, certainly in jobs like construction Spain would benefit from taking H&S far more seriously,the death rate is ridiculously high. H&S is a bit of a joke in Spain.

[Scot]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like (Lavanda apart) you all want to go back?? Only joking, tho in an ideal world, we'd all have a place in each country. Just going to check my euro millions numbers from last night! Incidentally, I enjoy the pavements in the UK

[katy]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/art ... buyer.html

An alternative to the UK. I have been, things are really cheap. Some real poverty around though