Best thing about being an expat?

Travel & Holidays Travel & Holidays: Chat / Discussions
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21

How long have you lived in Spain, Victoria?

Do you speak fluent Spanish now? :slight_smile:

22

:lol::lol: Must have missed that one.:slight_smile:

23

I miss being an expat .
I spend a lot of time in spain but despite having fluent Spanish i don’t really enjoy it the Spanish are ok it’s the British that are awful .

24

I think something happens to some Brits when they holiday especially in Spain
its like they revel in bad behaviour
not all Brits but those that do make it difficult for the rest of us

25

I don’t believe it’s being British that causes that problem, it’s the excessive booze! :frowning:

From what I’ve seen on TV programmes it’s the ‘sun, sea and sex’ hedonistic resorts coupled with cheap drink, promoted by the pubs and clubs there, that make it bad for the reputation of anyone who’s British. :frowning:

26

It only seems to be the British who earn the reputation though Baz
booze is available to all nationalities.

27

I have lived in Spain for over ten years now. First in a tiny hamlet amongst Spanish. Then I moved south. I find my best time was with the Spanish. They accepted us into their family. All the near by neighbours spoke to us and when we moved away it was with a very sad and heavy heart. We still keep in touch and I have more contact with them than I do with the people round me now. I cannot say living amongst the Brits is a pleasure unfortunately. I have found them snobbish and unwilling to embrace the locals and the way of life here. Some brits are friendly but very very few. Viva España I say.

28

Yes, true, I see what you mean. You only have to look at cities and towns here in the UK to see the ‘lager louts’ here too. As someone who is teetotal, and almost always has been, I really would not like to be subjected to that reputation just because I am British though. :wink: :slight_smile:

29

Hi All been catching up with the comments
I have lived in Spain for 13 years and yes I am a resident and pay Spanish Tax which is far greater than the UK
I live in a Barrio called Campana which is in Nueva Anadlucia but our complex is residential and has many Spanish living here we all get on great there are one or two who rent out but not many so 12 at night most people are tucked up in bed as they have to work the next day
The lock down for us was not too bad as we have gardens and terraces to sit in and because we have a dog walks in the Campo no problem
We all rather like no visitors not good for the economy but you cant have everything moneys taken a bit of a battering but I have not put petrol in one of our cars since 13th March and still got 1/4 of a tank the pound is slowly coming back and the stock market is up and down but monies going back up so all in all very happy and the sun is shining

30

I always found that despite the pandering, the best bit was coming home

31

Best thing about being an expat?


 living in the country you choose to live in, rather than the country you were born in to.

You’ll never know 'till you try it. :wink:

32

Ditto. What a life!

33

Just as a matter of interest what happens to the British living in continental Europe in 2021? Do they become citizens of the country they are living in?

I have asked this in the Brexit forum but they are too busy going over the same old ground and burbling on about fishing rights ad nauseum.

Better to ask the people actually living in Spain, France etc, what arrangements have been made?

34

I have family living in Spain and had checked to see what happens to them following Brexit. The following links are I believe the official versions and do seem to give the information required:

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/british-citizens-europe-after-brexit

35

Thanks for that, very interesting.

36

Surely if they feel strongly abou it Brucy, they only have to take
out citizenship dont they??

Donkeyman!

37

Oh dear Assman, it is obvious that you have no idea about some of the requirements for taking out citizenship. There is no “only” about it.

38

The uk doesn’t do much for us Australians who were born in the uk. Frozen pensions and not exactly welcoming at the airports. Questions about how long you intend staying in God’s own etc. We won’t be going over there again now ,it is too far though we enjoyed our stay just before The Plague started.

39

I did it in one day Brucy ?
Nothing to it

Donkeyman!
40

I’m not an expat (yet) but I think the best thing must be hearing about all the crap that goes on in the World in a foreign language so you can’t understand a word of it.