NEGATIVES OF LIVING IN SPAIN

quote camposol

Sahara rain which leaves everything dirty and streaked

never noticed

Lack of regulation

positive in my opinion

Police tolerance of UK plated cars owned by residents

positive in my opinion

high electricity costs

yeah thats a bit of a pisser

complex tax laws

yeah thats a bit of a pisser

High costs when selling houses-estate agent's commission, plus valia etc

yeah pisser

Conflicting advice from professionals

just makes it more fun

Lack of care for vulnerable people-homeless etc

meh, you make your own luck in this world

Lack of hygiene

i have a problem with my glands, its not that i dont wash

Inconsiderate, impatient careless drivers

positive so i fit in better

Lack of respect for laws eg smoking

positive

Invaders in huge camper vans taking over car parks

never bothered me

Spitting and littering;chewing gum ruining new paving

yeah i gorra stop that

high winds

stop eating beans and lentils then

damp, cold winter- freezing bathrooms  (yes we all know it's not as bad as UK)

never had a problem with damp or freezing bathrooms

Hi All

If any of the moaners in spain end up in heaven, I get the feeling the moaning will carry on.

too many fit angels!

god is just too nice!

golden gates are just too shiny!

Life really is too short, how lucky are we to be in a position were we can choose were we want to live.

If you don't like what you are doing, do something else.

Well pointed out, Eggie and Tamara.  An opinion or point of view is just that and is always based on one's own experience.  Why is it that some folks, when reading a different opinion or point of view to their own, take it as a personal insult?  As to Mungry's replies....I haven't laughed so much in months whilst reading eyeonspain.  Thanks!

By the way, I am not meaning anyone in particular when I say people take other folks' opinions personally!  I have noticed it many, many times over the years that I've been reading eyeonspain.

everyone gets out what they put into it

unless its a bank deposit on property.

my personal experience of spain goes from algecirous to malaga.

thats it. as far as i am concerned the rest is pretty pointless.

i once went to granada for an hour.
in the morning i was stood on my balcony in marbella in short sleeves and a few hours later i was stood in granada shaking like a dog shitting razor blades.
i wont be going back there in a rush.
and nobody spoke english.

so to me granada is a bit of a pointless place but i am sure for the people that live there its a great place.

i used to live in spain, work in gib and spend my weekends in morocco.
so this meant i had 3 currencys in my wallet at all time.
this was awesome and i felt like an international jetsetter (ghettho style)
i would just open my wallet to look at it and be happy every time i did.

yet i would hear people that lived in spain and worked in gib complain that it was a pain in the backside that they needed to have 2 currencys in their wallet.

attitude

we all live in our little insulated areas and mine is the english speaking costa del sol.
banus, sotogrande, marbella where i expect people to have a decent grasp of english because of all the english that fund it and keep it so wealthy.

my arrogance knows no bounds and i tell spanish people they shouls learn english and they in turn tell me i should learn spanish.

is there really any negatives that affect me?
not really

i justt face them and deal with them but whenever someone had a problem they call me and some people get themselves into stupid situations through just pure idiocy which i often have to get them out of.

do i have anything to complain about really?
 

not that i can think of.

i could complain that the kettle gets calked up a lot.
but insead i go into gibraltar to buy english water for the kettle from morrisons.

my buddy was saying the other other month that he dosent like the liner in his pool.
its a blue plastic coating and he much prefers tiles.
we were jsut sat laughing that were having such a stupid discussion or maybe such an awesome problem.

personally i dont understand why someone would want to live in these `spanisified` places in the hills because i like to be in my little britain ghettho.
i see people saying negative things about the english ghetthos.
they happen in every country and if you want the spanish lifestyle and stuff then good for you.
i want england in the sun and i have it.

paradise for me pretty much.

yep, you may see me complain about something or make fun of something.
but for me this is paradise.
if i really think about it there is nothing i can complain about.

but thats me and nobody else.
i want what i want and i get what i want eventually.

you also have to remember as well as all the people complaining on this forum there are also a ton of english people with plenty of coin too busy living their lives in their big ass villas and nice businesses to even consider complaining.

this website is a very small demographic of english living in spain and it was actually setup to capture a share of people that were buying property in the property boom.

these people had money pre credit crunch and good jobs and they were buying and coming to spain in a boom.
 

now this is a property forum for people that have lost their deposit, there is a credit crunch, a recession and spain is in a bit of a mess.

so its going to be a a bit negative.

by the look of the timeframe a lot of the people on here have been in spain they came in the boom and that boom has well and truly passed.

so things are often a bit bleak for people.

every week a new set of people wake up and try and start recovering their deposits.

by the time they get to the forum they are angry and often negative towards spain

people come here to ask about a problem with a bill or something legal.

so they often come negative and they of course blame spain because a lot of the problems people have is ones they have never encountered in the uk.

from my experience people stay in spain 1 year, 2 years, 7 or 20

the country as far as english expats has a very cyclic nature for some reason so as a load more people are getting off the jet2 flight to a new life all smiley  and fresh and the last thing they are goign to do is complan about anything,

then are there people that have been a while trying to exit and sell their propertys.
so they come to the interent to sort problems out.

it is what it is and there`s nowt as queer as folk.

thats about all i know about spain after living here for nearly a decade.

and on that note i will depart for a while because i have work to do

see you in a few months peeps.

bobaol-these are my views and experiences;they are not wrong, untrue or rubbish if they don't match yours. Have to comment on a few of your points:

sahara rain-it is obviously more of a problem on Camposol. everything gets coated-you either have to use a pressure washer to get rid of it or paint it over, which is not practical .  one year it looked as if a giant cup of cocoa had been tipped over the urbanisation. Pools became like mudbaths , with villas streaked and brown. Although it has never been quite that bad since, if it rains and the wind comes from the south I can assure you it is  hard work to clear up.

Yes there are people sleeping rough, or living in poor conditions  in UK,  but far more help is available to them in the way of shelter and food. Here the number of animal charities far outweigh the ones for humans. Only recently I saw someone going through the bins and eating out of an old yoghurt pot.

You are indeed fortunate to have police that do something about illegal cars.Police here just ignore them

My bill for 2 months electricity, (was away for two weeks in UK)  two people, potencia 3.5 kw, was 153 euros.Gas cylinders about 100 euros, for hot water and fitted gas fire.My daughters bill for gas and electricity over three months was £250 total -gas cooking hot water, and central heating, on all the time for family of 4.

Tax-if a tax accountant finds the new 22 page form on declaring assets  outside Spain difficult, what aboutt the rest of us?tax llaws are complex and different accountants interpet them differently-why else did I pay 4 times more with one than another.

Hygiene-not talking about plumbing, things like:

Waitresses handling pets and then food, people  not washing hands when wrapping cheese after touching raw meat, not washing hands after using the toilet. often  no soap or paper  towels in toilets, sometimes in medical centres and supermarkets where staff use the same toilets as customers.

Double glazing would not improve the warmth in a villa with no wall  insulation-the heat will pass out through the walls anyway.

I have a heated towel rail-with tiled floors and walls it doesn't give out much heat but is nice for warming towels and clothes. Damp-yes, many have a problem with mould.

Smoking-laws are not enforced here-smokers canopies are supposed to be open on 2 sides, not pulled down to make an enclosed smoking area.Smoking  is against the laws within hospital and medical centre precincts, but smokers are ignored.

Camper vans -just look at Lidls's car parks.

The bit about living on benefits-didn't get that-care to explain?

 aye the English do have attitudes................but don't confuse English with the rest of the UK

Living in Spain is great!

The paperwork is a pain, but i had a good laugh with the official at the residencia place when I forgot pay the tax for the second time.

My ex got stopped by the police then a few days later was having a coffee & coñac with them while on there shift.

Sometimes there are some difficulties but most days i wake up and the son is shinning.

I get to see my daughter more now as she comes over for the cheep holidays.

Lots of my new English friends bend over backwards to try and help out with the daily issues of life.

This web site seems to have a whoooooole load of people who only contradict each other (thats a positive if you have a sence of humor).

The spanish keep bring me  a whole load of oranges & artichokes (hate them).

Its waaaaay cheeper than starbucks here.

There are nice restaurants everywhere.

Menu del dia!!!

Chocolate & churros.

Rioja

Fiestas

If you want to celebrate English stuff.....guy forks etc you can all ways find something.

Pallea,

getting your veg at the indoor market.

Sky tv

watching spanish tv and changing the language option.

Having long talks into early hours on the balcony and not having to come in because it is cold.

The Sahara rain, which Mungry had never noticed and Bobaol thought was a minor nuisance,  has struck again-pool is a muddy puddle white walls streaked with brown,  steps and balustrade browneverything absolutely covered-a nightmare to clean, only a pressure cleaner is effective. I think Mother Nature has it in for us here!

Hi Camposol

This is not meant as an antagonistic question at all but why do you stay here when your life seems to be a catalogue of negatives and complaints.

For sure if I felt remotely the same I would have been off somewhere else some time ago.

We live not far from each other and I really would like to understand what keeps you in Spain or at least Murcia.

Regards

Barry

Well how about the fact that it is near impossible to sell a house unless you giva it away, of course? As I said,I feel I am being realistic. I am sure there are many who feel the same but won't admit it.

Obviously you've had a different type of rain, perhaps "non stick" or else your garden is miniscule. I estimate my husband took 3 hours with the karcher, and even now there are bits he didn't get round to cleaning. There's no way the clean rain is forceful enough to wash it away.

 Hi Campasol. Do you mind if I ask how long you have lived in Spain and if you knew quickly that you weren't going to be happy or was it a lot of things building up over time.

12 years. I don't think anyone realises suddenly that Spain isn't the laid back, cheaper less stressful place it's made out to be; You have to live here for a long time; I am certainly not the only person that feels ground down over a period of time.  There are more removal trucks going to the UK than coming here.Things that I find stressful may not bother others. There are many reasons for the way I feel, and I am not getting into any more arguments.

 The positives and negatives will depend on where you are in Spain and what you personally like or dislike.  One person's negative will be another person's positive.  Also how flexible and open-minded you are prepared to be - it is a foreign country, after all, and even in the coastal zones with a lot of British residents,  things are different!

My pesonal negatives are:

- Un-insulated houses, freezing in winter

- Bureaucracy which is so complicated you have to pay a gestor to do things for you

- A totally different attitude to animal welfare, amongst older Spaniards especially, which can often result in unnecessary suffering.

Positives - too numerous to mention!  But top of the list must be the mountain view from my window, which puts me in a good mood when I wake up every morning. 

i cant see why this saharan sand can be a problem.

there are millions of unemployed people in spain

throw one of them a few coins to clean it up while you sit drinking beer and smoking a joint.

simples.

" Hardly something to get stressed about considering the glorious weather we've had this winter" ??

This winter is a normal one for around here !

Camposol you have to remember that alot of the dust is from the open land all around. Think yourself lucky you don't have them ploughing around you when it's dry or come summer the wind comes up so depositing all the combine cuttings in the pool !!lol.

You would't really want the sort of police enforcement that you only have to pop into Andalucia to see on a daily basis. Pop down to Albox ,Arboleas , Vera, Antas , etc; & you'll near enough find them on all & every roundabout each day . Fines dished out left right & centre & everyone moaning about it.

I just read through all the responses to see who was the original poster so I could address them directly. So, Steve&Hayley, here are my negatives of living in Spain. These are just mine - they may not be yours or anyone else's, and as I'm an optimistic, adaptable person, I haven't gone looking for them, it's just what's arisen in the 5 years I've been here. I don't want to put you off, so I'll suggest simple ways around it where I can.

The postal service - this is absolutely dire.

You'll be used to mail dropping through your door in the UK, but in most cases, you have to go to mail boxes set some way away from your properties, or you may have to queue up at the post office for the single hour that it's open to the public. We use a mail service. It costs us 7 Euro a month, but it's worth it to ensure that our post is kept safely until we can collect it at our convenience, and these places usually offer other useful services at very reasonable cost.

Spanish drivers

Spanish people are wonderfully laid back - until they get on the road. Then they'll break every traffic law they can. I often think they set themselves a daily target. Just be extra vigilant, and don't assume that you'll have right of way on the roundabouts, or that nobody will overtake on a bend, because your assumptions will be totally wrong. Spanish driving laws are very similar to those in the UK, but you'd never know it.

Bureaucracy

Everyone says this, because it's the biggest negative of the lot. There's nothing you can do about it, except put yourself in the hands of the experts, and don't expect a result tomorrow - or even next week. Every time you do something official, take all the documentation pertaining to your identity and your life in Spain - residencia, NIE, passport, house deeds, etc - and then you won't be in the position of queueing for an hour, only to find your missing a piece of paper.

The price of alcohol

Yes, this is a negative if you happen to like a tipple or two, because it's far too easy to be out of your tree by lunchtime every day, and then you might as well be anywhere in the world. It's not so bad  when you're here on holiday, because it's a temporary boozefest, but when you live here, you need to take notice of what you're drinking, or you'll soon be sampling the excellent Spanish health system first hand.

That's about all that really bothers me  personally, and as you can see, I don't let it spoil my day. You've made a good decision to move here - I'm sure you'll enjoy it, because you're coming at it with an open mind.