Over the past 10 years or so the number of UK citizens who have relocated to Spain has increased dramatically. One major contributing factor is that because of EU membership, Britons are free to go live and work anywhere they like within the membership states, immigration without need for permission no need for any work visa nor any need to apply for residency unless a pensioner or unemployed. An enviable freedom of movement with a lower cost of living and a near perfect climate makes it the logical choice for the many thousands that decided to up root and move to another country. But no small feat really because we are taught from childhood to be cautious “the grass is not greener” and all that kind of stuff but at the same time we have the notion that if we don’t give it a go we will regret it and “you only live once” you know!
I suppose another reason why so many pick Spain is because they think that they already know it as so many will have visited before on vacation. They are only a couple of hours away from the UK so family and friends aren’t gone forever and they know that if they stick to the coastal areas it will be like one long holiday and with so many English speaking residents it is indeed possible to live indefinitely with the merest hint of Español. Those essential words “dos cafe con leche” and “gracias” will suffice for many a year, I have heard the expression British Spain but I’m not really sure how many of us quite want it to be that easy.
We all (at least most) of us have the earnest intention of integrating with the Spanish people who have the reputation for having a better grasp on life, being more caring of their children and elderly and generally understanding that life is not all about having the bigger house and a more expensive car.
Good intentions however do not make it easy to learn another’s language and admiration of another’s culture does not make it any easier to integrate into it. For the Brits, with our reputation (I think), for seeming to be “aloof” it is still about upbringing and not wanting to look stupid when we don’t understand spoken Spanish and for many I think it is also our inherent shyness amongst strangers that makes it more difficult to join in.
It is unfortunate that for many of us what could be an ideal chapter in our lives has been interrupted by another of life’s little events. We have become used to the boom and bust economy of Britain wrecking our plans but I suppose we had hoped that we would be insulated from it here. No such luck, it seems now, more than ever the Worlds economies are so intrinsically bound together so no matter where we are in the world, what affects one will affect us all!
For those working here finding employment will be increasingly difficult and with so many businesses, and especially those linked to property, going under, many of the other businesses that willingly or not are by default linked in to the expat property owning economy and they soon will start to feel the pinch as well.
Pensioners have seen serious downturns in their retirement incomes from UK funds as the € has firmed up against the value of the £. I am not an economist but I have heard that that it will be the UK’s intention to join the € so the powers that be do not really want the £ to rally in strength. A powerful pound as we have become used to it in the past could indeed be a thing of the past.
For Spanish income tax payers it should be remembered that mortgage interest counts against your tax calculations so for many who can prove an income it could be worthwhile considering taking a mortgage on your property that you might have bought for cash or you maybe increase it if you already have a small mortgage on.
This global economic cycle, “or the proverbial b%%%% up!!!!” caused by the so called experts who are supposed to know better than the rest of us, can’t go on forever and perhaps a cash injection is what is needed to replenish your rainy day fund!
Houses for Sale in Spain - Now at Rock Bottom Prices!
