14 Aug 2012 11:56 AM:
Spain is a beautiful country, with (mostly) super people, despite the best efforts of numerous environmental vandals (i.e. greedy builders, corrupt municipal authorities) to destroy vistas, to kill trees, to pollute and soil anything and everything not within the fence surrounding properties and urbanisations, and to fill the country with forests of display boards and flag poles that are left to rot for years. In other words, the individuals are often lovable, but when these individuals form official groupings, with tasks, deliverables etc, trouble starts.
Anyone who contemplates moving to Spain - as opposed to just spending a few weeks on holiday there, like myself, divorced from reality and reasonably wealthy - must take careful note of one cardinal fact: Spain was ruled by the Saracens, for hundreds of years, and while all this goes back to the 17th century, there is an indelible image of this era imprinted on many aspects of life in today’s Spain. Above all, the legal system is absurd and close to dysfunctional. From the perspective of Western Europe, many of the processes we take for granted in countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Scandinavia and the UK do not apply to Spain. It is still something of a Wild West territory. Even the short-holidaying owner of an apartment on a fair-sized urbanisation, with a president and administrator, knows the many frustrations that come with non-paying rogue owners, endless disputes about gardens, lawyers, pools and renovation, water, electricity, and expenses.
Living in Spain successfully (or not), boils down to your ability (or lack of it) to squeeze the positives out of the situation and displace the negatives. This is partly a state of mind – and we are all very different in this respect – but also a lot about money. If you have money to insulate yourself from the frustrations that come with owning and running a household in Spain, then Spain is great (provided you are also able ignore the environmental vandalism I started with). If you face financial pressures, I can see that Spain can be very challenging – even the climate (cooling and heating costs a lot). Speaking Spanish is a very important plus.
There is really no silver bullet for anyone who has grown so frustrated that he or she finds life in Spain a bind. Going back to the UK is one option, but again only with money. The other option is to immerse oneself more vigorously in the community, including the Spanish community and culture (in their language, of course), enjoy nature (at near-zero cost), travel in the country to explore its glorious history and stop making comparisons which focus on the good in the UK and the bad in Spain.
Thread:
BE HONEST...Would you stay in Spain if it wasn't for the weather?
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