27 Nov 2017 5:22 PM:
Bit of a reality check:
Of all the Spanish provinces, when it comes to the economy Almeria is one of the worst served. For the last fifty years and up to the crash ten years ago, the only activities employing large numbers of people were agriculture, tourism and construction. The latter went by the board with the crash. This means that the number of people actually in proper employment is low, and that most of the jobs are low skill, low paid - there is no real industrial base
No village, however charming and Spanish in nature, can support even one bar never mind a number of them if there is no money available to spend there. The agricultural workers, who are largely immigrants from North Africa, have neither the money nor the inclination. Tourism is seasonal and the waiters and cleaners certainly don't have the means to support a selection of bars. Which leaves the expat settlers, without whom whole villages would by now be in ruins as the young have had to leave to find work where the work is and houses and land have been bought by foreigners who have settled here and transformed the fortunes of the place.
Three years ago we spent New Year's Eve in our favourite bar in Bedar. The restaurant area was filled, apart from our table, exclusively with Spanish. Roll on one year and there were no Spanish to be found. I asked the owner why not and he replied they have no money, and without the foreigners he would have no business.
So although I get the romantic idea of the little Spanish village with a choice of bars and no non-Spanish I am afraid it is a needle in a haystack. If you are happy to live in such a village without the bars then there are plenty of lovely hamlets around but I don't think this is not what you are looking for, Zd
I agree 100% with Floella - research, research, on the spot not on the internet. You wouldn't buy a new car just by reading the manufacturer's promotional literature and based on a few reviews.
Thread:
Almeria villages / recommendations
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