Chit Chat
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pros; the weather
cons: everything else Nothing in Greece works The spanish hate anyone who isn't spanish Gibraltar is a dump |
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pros - the weather
cons - its full of drunken brits |
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Seem to be a lot of stabbings/shootings/repossessions lately. Learn the language and pretend to be someone else? (Scandanavian?) And who wouldn't want to stab the average Brit? Sunshine has its price.
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The weather is better some of the time but a lot of expats come back to uk in July and August because it's too hot every day.
You also need something to do all day which is why so many people who go to those places end up drinking themselves to death. Nothing to do except meet up with other expats and have a drink which is very cheap. If you go as a couple in later life one of you will die leaving the partner to probably sell up if they can and come home. Generally 5 years is as long as most people stay and always remember it doesn't matter where you go you always take with you the bloke who gives you all your problems. |
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big h is right about gibralter nothing to do there and is a dump
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Decent Gala casino in Gib last time I was there, about 4 years ago.
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Nothing in Greece works
___________________ like the UK then |
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not sure if 3 months of heat in south Med ie Malta is pleasant to have to put up with ,i'd possibly sooner have 3 months of cold - northern Med is fine
i see here (Southern England) as having 6 months of decent weather and 8-10 months Malta if you take out the ridiculous 2 months of extreme heat - so the weather isn't that much of a bonus imo - Southern England is fine . If you live in the north west of England,Scotland ,Ireland or (north west of Oxfordshire) where you don't get much decent weather then will be almost certainly be worth the trade in |
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What do you want to know specifically? I lived in Spain for many years and worked for a Spanish company for over a decade.
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how much is rent , pay for average job ,
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im thinking the OP is planning moving there as the UK is sh1te
i have the same long term plan , south coats of france would be ideal  but ill bear with spain |
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coast*
slippy is gambling allowed anywhere in spain , i remember a company over there where going to join up with laddies or billys |
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TheChaser, I'm a bit busy watching the dogs on RPGTV right now, I'll post later on or tomorrow more in depth about life in Spain. Where I still have a villa there is a gambling company that opened up not long ago that show all the British racing and have a SSBT.
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no probs slippy
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I guess it'd be fine for a very long holiday but wouldn't fancy getting involved with the property market over there it all just seems too risky & you'd likely get stuck out there & unable to sell up if you wanted to move on quickly
May as well just rent if decent apartments are still cheap but then you may as well just go & rent in Thailand or somewhere similar (also interested in hearing slippys insight) |
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The property market in a lot of countries can be an absolute nightmare. Very dodgy vendors, estate agents and legal system and too many properties being built for purchasers seeing everything through rose coloured glasses so when it does go down you're left with a totally unsaleable property.
The OP needs to say why he wants to go and what he intends to do. |
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the xpats that go back during summer must be soft.
the costas are a good 5 degrees below Brisbane. |
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It's a great time to buy a place in Spain now with the sterling to euro rate high, you could easily pick up a very decent 3 bed villa for about £150K or a nice 2 bed apartment near the coast for £80-85K without much difficulty. Budget for your utility bills for about €125 a month roughly which would include community fees. Yes the weather is just incredible, someone seems to flick a switch in the middle of May and you are looking at months of scorching weather, even the locals struggle in the Summer when the temperature can hit 50C.
It has its plus sides but don't go out there on a shoestring budget, there is literally no work out there. Aged Under 25 there is 50% unemployment and the country is pretty much bankrupt. My neighbor is chief of police for the Alicante region and he has to send his troops out to revenue raise fining motorists for anything as the local council have no money to pay the civil servants wages. Don't buy to let, that's a non runner. You'll have to pay a keyholder commission and to organise airport transfers, cleaners etc, if you are lucky you'll get 12 weeks rental per annum and those will be the weeks you'll want to be there anyway. From the start of October til about now, Easter, the place will be like a ghost town. Bars and restaurants will be closed as it's not worth the owners while to stay open during those months. As a holiday home it's ideal, a short flight which can be very cheap but living there full time can be very hard work. I've done it and glad that I did but I'd never do it again. |
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SSBT = Self service betting terminal by the way. Places like Benidorm have regulated betting shops like The Winning Post for example, well run with SIS showing and will take hefty wagers on pretty much anything.
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i'll add a bit.
mountains dont do horseracing on their es site. ladbrokes opened up as sportium.es and do do horseracing. bet365.es has horseracing. no other online bookies do. exchanges have in principle been ok'ed for the spanish market but there are no details as of yet as to how this will work and when ...aparently they are working on it. the good news is as poker revenues are falling in spain they may have to allow spanish players back in to the main pool but this may well take time. yet to be known if you will be restricted by the online bookies...as the spanish government would lose out either way it will be interesting to see if a bookies licence could be at risk if they started the restricting policy ...you pay tax (20%)on profits over 2500 euros. interesting to know of the betting shops in benidorm slippy. |
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The OP posts and then disappears.
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watched an interesting documentary last night about Costa del Sol
Last Brit Standing  well worth a watch on catch up , Iplayer |
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Cazn't see the big attraction of the Costa del sol - although no expert - would prefer Menorca or south of France or even Australia .
Costa del Sol from waht i can make out - tower blocks seems to be all along the coast - x little in the way of greenery and scenery,very arid - x a fair few stereotypical loud brits abroad types , more than enough in fact - x summers a little too hot and dry - x too may old people wearing bad clothing -  no real diversity ,ie nice old English pubs and rivers etc - x Bad british food in a lot of places - x boring i'd imagine in winter - x |
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Hey Coach
No I agree it wouldn't interest me either , was just more interested in how bare the place has become the last 2 years , most brits have gone & the only ones left are really struggling as there's no work or tourist trade to piggy back off , looks a right dosshole of a place tbh anyway  |
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Lots of people mention the south of France , seems nice just quite boring to me .
Australia's very expensive wherever you go I'd prefer to travel around Asia than Spain any day of the week , though parts of Greece look very nice  & dirt cheap though no doubt they can't stand us brits either ! |
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south of France isn't everyones cup of tea ,but i like the rustic ,rural peacful life but accees to going out and clubs etc when i wish .
i just like a simples life - i don't mind the UK but its feckin expensive (then so is SOF ) and seems to be a right shambles these days - took me ages on wed to get to the recycling centre ,blue skies ,dry and a light breeze -but the place was shut feckin health and safety  on the way there i notice that had workmen had taken up a couple of pavement stones - fair enough - 'cept - in came the A team - bollards ,diversion signs ,flashing lights tri way traffic control ,flourescent strips ,a team of safety officials in bullet proof jackets and steel hats and not a lot else going on . what a fookin ordeal gettin anything done - no wonder you don't venture out far moony lad |
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SlippyBlue, I agree with much of what you say, except for €125/month for bills. Community fees vary greatly as I'm sure you know, and broadband ain't cheap. I'd say electricity is about the same as UK price.
Coachbuster, don't think the Costa del Sol is all tower blocks, it ain't. There are some lovely little placse still, even on the coast, east of Malaga. They aren't all Torremolinos. As for being arid, are you kidding? Plenty of diversity if you take the time to look. |
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Malaga looks quite nice - will have to pop down there one week during the football break - i'm sure there are some very nice places around . But i suppose the nice places will be very expensive .
so we're back to the same problem we have in the UK i guess - anyone nice is too expensive |
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anywhere
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Of course. If you want fish and chip joints all over the place, head for Torremolinos.
This time of year, head inland. I'd recommend a drive from Almunecar ( a busy town east of Nerja) following the old mountain road to Granada. Breathtaking scenery, lush and green, and some gorgeous villages with very cheap fare. |
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Alias, I've driven that mountain road to Granada as well, absolutely stunning. I ended up staying there for far longer than I had originally planned, it's a lovely area around there most definitely recommended it.
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If anyone has knowledge of such matters for north-west Spain (Asturias, Galicia) I'd welcome your advice.
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it rains a lot
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Slippy,you've had a good life you bugger
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 Well, I have been here there and everywhere in my time Coach. I'm off to New Zealand to see my family and friends later this year, probably June or July and my old schoolmate has invited me to stay with him in Brisbane as well. He's my age and is retired now, all he does to keep busy is deep sea fishing, going to the races and playing golf and live poker tournaments. It's all good ! Can't wait to be honest to get away for a few weeks. |
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can you take me and Moonbeam along ?
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sea fishing off brisbane.....im well jelus.
did a spot of fishing close to the gold coast in a tiny boat....happy days drove from torremelinos to almeria.....almunecar does look a nice place. wasnt overly impressed with malaga when i stayed there...2 day max visit imo and thats being generous. almeria is far more relaxed....quite like it down that way. |