16 Years ago today.......

[Clive]

 

Was thinking this was more like it.

[Skippy]

2 hours ago, XTreme said:

You should come up and have a look sometime Ray.

This place is the polar opposite of where you live now!

I will do Pete

[XTreme]

And it was 16 years ago today that I first set foot in Spain!

Actually it works out that this time next year I'll have spent 25% of my life in Spain.

Where have all those years gone?

[Buckster]

1 hour ago, XTreme said:

And it was 16 years ago today that I first set foot in Spain!

Actually it works out that this time next year I'll have spent 25% of my life in Spain.

Where have all those years gone?

Time flies when you spend your days getting bummed by dago midgets.

[XTreme]

10 minutes ago, Buckster said:

Time flies when you spend your days getting bummed by dago midgets.

[Tango]

23 hours ago, boboneleg said:

I'd be interested In Chris's opinion on that because I think you're wrong there.  The sort of 'Brits'  you encounter in Spain are nothing like the 'Brits' that move to France from what I see when I go there.

 

From what I've seen here so far there are 3 types of brits living here:

1 - home-from-home, living in brit areas, such as Dordogneshire, Normandy or Prevence. Mixing mainly with other brits, but generally in the "system" and paying their taxes. These tend to be the upper-middle and upper class sorts.

2 - away-from-it-all, these are brits that don't come into any particular class. They buy a place in the middle of nowhere with a vast tract of land around them and generally avoid people, full stop. They moved to France because they could buy the property and land for peanuts. Generally in the "system".

3 - escapees, those that moved to France to enjoy the way of life here. Again, they don't tend to fall into any particular class. They tend to live in places that are not overrun with other brits and usually live in typical housing. Always in the "system".

OK, sweeping generalisations,  which @MooN will probably put me right on, but from looking at various Facebook groups, that's my impression.

[XTreme]

36 minutes ago, Tango said:

From what I've seen here so far there are 3 types of brits living here:

1 - home-from-home, living in brit areas, such as Dordogneshire, Normandy or Prevence. Mixing mainly with other brits, but generally in the "system" and paying their taxes. These tend to be the upper-middle and upper class sorts.

2 - away-from-it-all, these are brits that don't come into any particular class. They buy a place in the middle of nowhere with a vast tract of land around them and generally avoid people, full stop. They moved to France because they could buy the property and land for peanuts. Generally in the "system".

3 - escapees, those that moved to France to enjoy the way of life here. Again, they don't tend to fall into any particular class. They tend to live in places that are not overrun with other brits and usually live in typical housing. Always in the "system".

OK, sweeping generalisations,  which @MooN will probably put me right on, but from looking at various Facebook groups, that's my impression.

Based on my experience here......this is how I see it!

If you have a good Private Pension along with the UK State Pension then you should be OK here.

If you have just a UK State Pension (around €800 a month) things are going to be very tight here. But not as tight as Britain because the cost of living is lower here.

If you don't have a UK Pension, you're not working and paying into the system via Social Security, Pension, Healthcare, IVA/VAT, Tax, submitting an annual Renta etc.......yet you've been here for some time (and I know a lot who are in this position).......then questions need to be asked by the Authorities. It's not fair on people like me who are on-call for work 7 days a week, and paying more a year in contributions than the annual UK Pension that actually comes in.

If these people started paying their way and weren't freeloading then maybe our obligatory contributions would be less. Ironically these are nearly always the demographic that get bent out of shape about foreigners going into the UK and milking the system, but see nothing wrong in doing it themselves in somebody else's country. And they are the ones who'll be looking out for new incoming Brits like @Slowlycatchymonkey to be their latest cash cows so they can buy themselves more time here.

[boboneleg]

@Mawsley   Isn't your uncle also the king of Malawi ?

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

9 hours ago, XTreme said:

If you don't have a UK Pension, you're not working and paying into the system via Social Security, Pension, Healthcare, IVA/VAT, Tax, submitting an annual Renta etc.......yet you've been here for some time (and I know a lot who are in this position).......then questions need to be asked by the Authorities. It's not fair on people like me who are on-call for work 7 days a week, and paying more a year in contributions than the annual UK Pension that actually comes in.

I can’t help but wonder if you’ve been keeping bad company?! You can take the boy out of Swansea but ……

That aside I appreciate your input muchly. Ignore the wind ups, the stuff you are telling me is valued.
I’m no spring chicken and the nursey bit is only a part of my multiple not quite normal jobs over the years so I know a grifter of any class when I see one, I’m no soft touch so fear not. 

Keep the good stuff coming. 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

6 hours ago, Mawsley said:

Dear @Slowlycatchymonkey

I think you may be able to help. My father is in fact a Prince in Denmark but is being forced to give away his billions of savings as it makes the monarchy look bad and shit. If I can use your bank account to store it in I can let you have like half of it or something. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how this scam works, but stick with me and I'll make both of us rich. Well, when I understand it, I'll make me rich. It's highly possible I shouldn't have told you this, forget it and just send me monies.

Dear son of the Prince of Denmark

As I told your relation ‘Sweaty Andrew’ I have no interest in your scheme. Procuring underage girls for your recruitment agency regardless of your know how in this arena is not an area I wish to invest in inspite of the ‘gap in the market’ that your relative explained or the opportunities to tap into the vast depths of millionaires depravities and their bank vaults. 

Many thanks for the thoughts not quite green enough for it.

Kind Regards

Lentamente Atrapando Mono

ps I heard there’s a relation called ‘Fergie’ who’s stocks so low she’ll do pretty much anything, try her?

[XTreme]

5 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I can’t help but wonder if you’ve been keeping bad company?! You can take the boy out of Swansea but ……

They're everywhere Caroline.......particularly in the coastal areas!

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

3 minutes ago, XTreme said:

They're everywhere Caroline.......particularly in the coastal areas!

I’ve read about them and theres some bad tenancy scams that are run in a pretty professional manner. 
I won’t be buying a property here until I can occupy it full time (which is some moons away), there’s some right royal crooked shite going in Spanish circles too!

[Six30]

15 hours ago, Mawsley said:

I think you have me confused with Lord Douchehead of Kent.

 

[XTreme]

He's got you on ignore @Six30

[Six30]

6 minutes ago, XTreme said:

He's got you on ignore @Six30

Yeh , so .

[XTreme]

Just now, Six30 said:

Yeh , so .

Well he's not going to see it is he?

[Six30]

2 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Well he's not going to see it is he?

I know….he’s more of a child than the ones he nonced 

[MooN]

On 01/11/2021 at 12:39, boboneleg said:

I'd be interested In Chris's opinion on that because I think you're wrong there.  The sort of 'Brits'  you encounter in Spain are nothing like the 'Brits' that move to France from what I see when I go there.

 

I can only really speak for the part of France I live in. France is a big place and the locals, along with their Brit immigrants, differ vastly from one area to another. 

 This part of france has it's fair share of Brit immigrants, but most of them work, rather than retiring here. Very locally the brits work on the hotel boats on the canals or in the tourist industry. on a wider scale the brits in Burgundy tend to work in the wine industry or tourism.  as I understand it the Brits on the south coast are more in line with those who emigrate to the costas, wanting to retire to guaranteed sunshine though maybe not as dodgy as Pete describes in Spain,    @Tango ? 

The Lot and Dordogne regions are allegedly heaving with brit expats ( the Dordogne has been since the middle ages and the last crusades) but I believe mostly retirees again. 

You then have the mountains and the ski resorts which are full of your younger brit seasonal workers during the ski season, but as dopeheaded and mindless as most of them are, they don't have the scammer reputation.

I think the spanish costas attract a certain type of Brit. A hangover from the days of el cheapo package holidays, freddie laker flights and an allegedly easily corruptible police force. All of which will attract a certain type of person. The now ageing brtit expat population will again attract a certain type of brit scammer, or bring out the scammer in a certain type of person... vicious circle. As the ageing Brit expats status and income is fragelised by Brexit or whatever, they will become more suscetble to the scammers, which in turn will attract more scammers... etc...ect

 

[Pedro]

37 minutes ago, MooN said:

You then have the mountains and the ski resorts which are full of your younger brit seasonal workers during the ski season, but as dopeheaded and mindless as most of them are, they don't have the scammer reputation.

That is very much an occupational hazard and not a nationality thing 

[XTreme]

1 hour ago, MooN said:

I think the spanish costas attract a certain type of Brit. A hangover from the days of el cheapo package holidays, freddie laker flights and an allegedly easily corruptible police force. All of which will attract a certain type of person. The now ageing brtit expat population will again attract a certain type of brit scammer, or bring out the scammer in a certain type of person... vicious circle. As the ageing Brit expats status and income is fragelised by Brexit or whatever, they will become more suscetble to the scammers, which in turn will attract more scammers... etc...ect

I have known a number of Brits here operating a "business" under false names......they just reinvent themselves.

[Swagman]

47 minutes ago, XTreme said:

I have known a number of Brits here operating a "business" under false names......they just reinvent themselves.

They do that here as well.

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

52 minutes ago, XTreme said:

I have known a number of Brits here operating a "business" under false names......they just reinvent themselves.

I think thats a common worldwide phenomenon. 

[Six30]

11 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I think thats a common worldwide phenomenon. 

just shows what a sheltered life the twats lived... pressing wild flowers , stroking small puppy dogs and train spotting.

[XTreme]

12 minutes ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

I think thats a common worldwide phenomenon. 

I tell you what isn't!

Around 2007/8 there were a couple here in their early 40's from up north.

They were iffy as fuck......and he was a cowboy builder.

Anyway, he got caught stealing building materials from a Spaniard's year.......and the owner was going to call the Guardia.

The guy made him an offer that if he didn't call the Guardia he'd let him fuck his wife!

[Swagman]

1 hour ago, XTreme said:

I tell you what isn't!

Around 2007/8 there were a couple here in their early 40's from up north.

They were iffy as fuck......and he was a cowboy builder.

Anyway, he got caught stealing building materials from a Spaniard's year.......and the owner was going to call the Guardia.

The guy made him an offer that if he didn't call the Guardia he'd let him fuck his wife!

Bet she was an ugly bitch.