Where do I fit ?

Hi Peeps,

I was reading a blog re ex pat V tourist recently, and it got me thinking !.

I have a home in UK and Costa Blanca, my home in Spain is not rented out and is my Spanish home when I am there (12 weeks a year).

I try to live and behave like a local when in Spain, so am I still a tourist ????.

I am not ex pat as I obviously dont live full time in Spain.

So where does that leave me and does it matter ???

Comments would be welcome.

Slanche

Bbb

 Perhaps you're a tourpat 

Mark

 Hi Bdd

To me a tourist is a been there done that traveller.

If I can borrow a line from a song, "wherever I lay my hat, that's my home". When my wife and I go to our place in Spain, it is where we can relax and not try to run around, see and do everything like a tourist would do. 

To loosely quote Yoda, " Spanish you not, British not everything change to, just be".

Now I am going to pour myself a strong drink to justify me typing the above.

Hi Bbb

I certainly wouldn't refer to you as a tourist, as you say "I try to live and behave like a local when in Spain".  To be quite honest, that is a more positive attitude than some expats who live in Spain but who live and behave the same as if they were back in the UK!

Maybe you are an ex-ist?!

Sue

To me it's more a 'state of mind' or manner in which you conduct yourself as opposed how long you stay in a certain place. For me, the word 'Tourist' carries (quite unfairly and unreasonably, perhaps) a few negative associations, and it brings to mind noisy, drunken Holidaymakers disrespecting the locals, refusing to at least try and speak the local language or eat the local cuisine.

Again, I'm possibly stereotyping unfairly, but I would say that anybody who visits the same area regularly does not fit this description, but I'm damned if I know what a better word for them would be.

I don't know where you fit but......

I have the same problem the other way round??

I lived in Spain for sixteen years with my family , two children at that time age 2 and 10 they both went to school in the mountains where we lived with the local people and lived the life of a spaniard.

We have a finca with almond trees and when the Sheppard comes buy our land we chat to him when we see him.

We have now move back to England because of work, our son now 26 lives in our finca and looks after it when we are not there.

Our daughter moved back to England with us and is now going to collage .

Both my husband and i have jobs, i work in a hospital but i feel out of place some times i get on better with the foreigners then i do with the English who have live and work there all there lives. 

My simple answer is....who do you support ....in the world cup England Or Spain ?...not allowed to say both lol

Well being Scottish no competition then lmao, but seriously thank you all for te responses as Tumbit say's more a state of mind perhaps, funny enough despite the language issues  I do not feel out of  place when in Spain which I supose is the best way to feel.

Slanche

Bbb

luton town

I  am  a  big  sports  fan  Tennis,  Football  and  F1  and  i  hang  my  flag  up  when  the best  man/team wins.

Now  i  know  where  i  stand  but  has  i  have  live  in  England  less  then  a  year  i  will  give  it  another  year

and  think  about  it  again.

Thank  you  for  your  help  any   thing  to  do  with  sport  or  cars  is  my  sort  of    languish.