# How do you feel affected by the crises?!



## malin75 (May 9, 2012)

Hi,
I'm moving to Barcelona with my boyfriend (who is born there) in three weeks and cant help to feel worried about the situation there.

I'm curious to here from you all who lives there now how you feel affected on a daily bases by the economic situation in Spain!

Happy for answer and if you would like to share this with me cause I really don't know what to expect!
Thank you in advance!
/Malin


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

malin75 said:


> Hi,
> I'm moving to Barcelona with my boyfriend (who is born there) in three weeks and cant help to feel worried about the situation there.
> 
> I'm curious to here from you all who lives there now how you feel affected on a daily bases by the economic situation in Spain!
> ...


hi!


just read any of the recent threads & you'll know exactly how we've all been affected by the crisis!!


some perhaps not personally, but none of us can fail to see how it is affecting others on a daily basis


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## malin75 (May 9, 2012)

:ranger:


xabiachica said:


> hi!
> 
> 
> just read any of the recent threads & you'll know exactly how we've all been affected by the crisis!!
> ...


Hi,
Thank you I have and will continue, but would like more personal contact conversations like how do you get affected, how d u feel now living in Spain now from then?! Do you feel like leaving or you feel you can't or wont?!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Crisis ! there is a crisis! where-away?

Joking apart this is my home, this is where I live, home is no longer a rainy cold scruffy town, 2000 miles to the N. North East and has not been for quite a number of years. When I leave this sunny isle I am always glad to return.

The only effects that we have felt is Diesel has increased in price, still under a Euro per litre though. Everything else for us, is more or less the same and the quality of life here is far better, healthier and cheaper.

Did you know we are almost 1,500 miles south west of Barcelona snd still part of Spain?

Go to Barcelona and enjoy the city!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Hahaha.
I've just a class with a student from 5:00 - 6:00 where we talked for 1hour in Spanish about the crisis! He'll still get charged for it of course. 

I'd just come from another company where they are cutting down on everything coffee, first aid kit, parking places - and me! I'm going from 8 hours a week there to 4. I've been with this company for 8 years and I've seen it go from about 50 to 500 to 30 in this time. And that just about sums Spain up. Would other people agree?

The guy I went to afterwards is the head of his own company where he employs about 25 people. He agreed with me that Spain needs investment to come out of the crisis, not only cuts (neither of us offered any solution as to where this investment might come from ) We also agreed that Spain is made up of a huge amount of small to tiny companies. These companies couldn't afford to take on too many staff to cover busy periods or even a more permanent increase in business because the financial payout was too much. Now that's been changed but it's too late - now there are more than 5m unemployed and it's going to take years to get them back into employment.

We also agreed that it's going to get much worse before it gets better. He said it was like a house of cards waiting to be nudged into falling down.

So far I haven't been very effected personally but I do feel the walls closing in. OH was unemployed for a few months, some classes have closed (I'm a teacher), I have seen lots of shops close down, I know a few young very well educated people who have never worked at 26/ 28 years old, my daughter will be affected when she goes to uni next year or rather we will because the fees have gone up...

It's not good, it really isn't. Sorry I can't think of anything positive to say ATM...

PS Can't see me leaving though. Where's better or has better long term prospects for an over 50 year old who's spent 25 years in this country? Apart from anything else, this is my home.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

We in the Canary Islands were beginning to pull out of recession, until the recently imposed European austerity measures. Now we are, against the better judgement of the local politicians, slowing down.

Could the answer be for Spain to opt out of the Euro, reinstate the Peseta, devalue and look after its own finances at a speed that suits Spain?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Hepa said:


> We in the Canary Islands were beginning to pull out of recession, until the recently imposed European austerity measures. Now we are, against the better judgement of the local politicians, slowing down.
> 
> Could the answer be for Spain to opt out of the Euro, reinstate the Peseta, devalue and look after its own finances at a speed that suits Spain?


The man that I was chatting to thought that that was a sure fire way to hell. I don't know enough about it to say one way or another.


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

How do I feel?
Confused! 
We can see the effects of La Crisis every day, businesses closed, beggars knocking the door, the local authority often failing to deliver services, etc.
And prices have risen, particularly electricity, but many food items too and yes, diesel is getting pretty costly compared to even one year ago!

But what bothers me are the proposed changes to things like health care entitlement and the confusion voiced by expats (and sites trying to provide information for expats) is not helping.
I'm self employed and pay national insurance and taxes in my own right, but my husband is a pensioner and it appears that it is EU pensioners who are facing the most uncertainty.
And what really concerns me is that, unless you have total command of the Spanish language (and are a news addict), you are often the last to know exactly what is going on.

My internet business is only just ticking over right now (most likely the result of the _global_ crisis) and provides very little net wages after I have paid insurance and tax. I had been thinking of letting it run down, giving up being self employed, and getting state healthcare under my husband's entitlement. But now I'm not so sure.

Yes, the sun still shines (its still 30 plus degrees as I write this) and that's a real bonus as I love the sunshine.
But if it was up to me, I would go back to the UK, as grey as it most often is.
There is uncertainty there too, and bureaucracy abounds, but nothing like in Spain and the crisis seems to be making things worse on that score.

So, I don't know if its all down to La Crisis, or just my tiredness with bureaucracy and struggling with my internet business. But, given the option of living on one of two sinking ships (Spain and the UK), I would choose the one where I can understand the rules.


*HOWEVER...*
Having said all that *Malin*, your situation is very different to mine.
If I were you and had a boyfriend living in Barcelona, who was born there and can help you find your feet, I would definitely give living there a try!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> The man that I was chatting to thought that that was a sure fire way to hell. I don't know enough about it to say one way or another.


No me neither, we shall have to wait and see.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Hepa said:


> Could the answer be for Spain to opt out of the Euro, reinstate the Peseta, devalue and look after its own finances at a speed that suits Spain?


 The problem with that is that the lower the pesata devalues, the harder it would be for Spain to buy in imports - not least oil. Imagine a life without petrol

Jo xxx


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## malin75 (May 9, 2012)

Thank you all for taking your time to answer the thread.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Solwriter said:


> *HOWEVER...*
> Having said all that *Malin*, your situation is very different to mine.
> If I were you and had a boyfriend living in Barcelona, who was born there and can help you find your feet, I would definitely give living there a try!


Yes, I agree with that


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Where I am it used to be quite vibrant & enjoyable there was optimism & a belief that it could only get better. That's all gone now , along with any foreigners that had children/needed to work , leaving only the older retired & odd younger ones (like us  ). Everywhere you go now seems quiet & empty : It isn't but compared to before it becomes quite depressing.

In all honesty many of the retired ones aren't likely to see the return of better times, they won't live that long, & that is there own opinion ! I agree , I also wonder whether I'll see them & I'm still a fair bit off of pension age ? hwell:
The situation here doesn't appear as bad as in other parts of spain , then that might be due to the amount that have always worked under the radar .
I find it all quite depressing these days & don't really know what the answer is.

To the Op , take no notice of me becoming melancholy , you should have no problems especially with a spanish partner !


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

Pesky Wesky said:


> The man that I was chatting to thought that that was a sure fire way to hell. I don't know enough about it to say one way or another.


If it happens to Greece we could see how they deal with it and then judge whether it could be beneficial to Spain or not.

Greece stepping out is becoming likelier by the day.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

jojo said:


> - not least oil. Imagine a life without petrol
> 
> Jo xxx


We have no need to imagine, it is happening at this exact moment, we are already in the process of becoming a fossil fuel free island. Firstly the generation of electricity finally electrically powered transportation. see the B.B.C. Link

El Hierro - The Future Self Sufficient Island | The Energy Collective


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

My spanish family are beginning to move their meagre savings out of Spain. They are nevous about the banks, nervous about the value of the Euro.

Even two years ago noone would have believed their current desperation. Things are changing fast.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

The problem with Spain leaving is that they are the 4th biggest contributor to the eu after France ,Germany & Italy but the only one of the top 5 who receives more back than they pay in ! So they would be worse off at the start.


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## nigele2 (Dec 25, 2009)

Gus you mean the Euro presumably which raises an interesting question. If Greece leaves the Euro and defaults certain commentators say that under current legislation they would have to leave the EU. And I can believe that if you don't pay debts to fellow members and/or the European bank then that would be the case.

Would the eu change the rules if Greece goes (and equally for Spain)? Or ignore the rules as they did when the countries entered the Euro ? Or expel them and use the opportunity to introduce immigration controls?


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Of course, I can only speak from personal experience and that applies to all of us.

We have noticed very little change so far, other than the massive increase in the price of diesel over the last few years, but since we try not to make unnecessary journeys and try to do more that one thing whenever we go anywhere....

AS a pensioner I have noticed that the £/€ exchange has improved my pension income since the FX rate is the best it has been for several years. Since much of the production around here is agricultural (principally olives, cherries, almonds, etc) life continues at roughly the same pace - there is always work to be done.

SWMBO has a part-time job at the local Academy (in fact she IS the local branch) teaching English and her workload is increasing all the time and already most of the places for next year have been filled.

Elsewhere it may be very different....


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

malin75 said:


> :ranger:
> 
> Hi,
> Thank you I have and will continue, but would like more personal contact conversations like how do you get affected, how d u feel now living in Spain now from then?! Do you feel like leaving or you feel you can't or wont?!



The crisis has affected my partner and I only in so far as it has reduced the amount of interest we receive on our investments. Our daily life isn't affected at all because we don't need to work and have an income sufficient to maintain the same lifestyle we enjoyed in the UK.

We are quite happily settled here and I doubt we shall leave. But we are among the lucky ones. Sometimes I get quite frustrated at the fact that so many British would-be immigrants seem oblivious to the extent of the economic crisis here in Spain. Don't people watch the news or current affairs programmes


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> The crisis has affected my partner and I only in so far as it has reduced the amount of interest we receive on our investments. Our daily life isn't affected at all because we don't need to work and have an income sufficient to maintain the same lifestyle we enjoyed in the UK.
> 
> We are quite happily settled here and I doubt we shall leave. But we are among the lucky ones. Sometimes I get quite frustrated at the fact that so many British would-be immigrants seem oblivious to the extent of the economic crisis here in Spain. Don't people watch the news or current affairs programmes


Obviously not.
Although I have noticed that UK news is pretty shallow/ superficial/ limited/ local... If you want to find out about other countries and areas no doubt you can, but it's not immediately offered. Much of the news is concentrated on the UK and any disaster which involves a British tourist abroad! When I went to the UK after living in Colombia I realised that South America for example doesn't exist according to British news.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

More signs of the times:


a young Spanish woman in our local tabac putting a few cents on the counter to buy three cigarettes;
a distraught family bringing an obviously much-loved pet dog to our perrera begging us to take it amidst floods of tears because they can't afford vet care for it;
a homeless person sleeping in a cardboard box on a patch of waste ground in this affluent area;
increased incidence of desperate people stealing from our charity shop...

add to the previously mentioned woman doing her washing in the river and the German begging for money for a ticket home...

I make no apologies for the fact that, in the light of daily experience, I get exasperated when I read posts from wannabe immigrants who seem to think that wanting to be in Spain is reason enough for them to move over and get a job......It is heartbreaking to see a queue of hundreds outside the local employment -or should I say unemployment - office.

To anyone who wants to come to Spain for the 'dream' and will 'do anything, have loads of determination, optimism, will work hard' and so on....: if almost six million Spaniards can't find work, what chance have you, a non-Spanish speaker most probably, of finding work? 
Isn't it likely that these Spanish unemployed people have similar determination - in many cases accompanied by desperation as there is no welfare state to support you in time of need here in Spain.

Not to mention the fact that if there are any jobs going......shouldn't a Spanish unemployed person who may have a family to support have priority over someone who is fed up with the grey skies and rain of the UK and doresn't realise how lucky they are to live in a country where if in need you will receive comparatively generous state help


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Obviously not.
> Although I have noticed that UK news is pretty shallow/ superficial/ limited/ local... If you want to find out about other countries and areas no doubt you can, but it's not immediately offered. Much of the news is concentrated on the UK and any disaster which involves a British tourist abroad! When I went to the UK after living in Colombia I realised that South America for example doesn't exist according to British news.


Same when we went to live in Prague! More news about Austria and Hungary than the UK...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Obviously not.
> Although I have noticed that UK news is pretty shallow/ superficial/ limited/ local... If you want to find out about other countries and areas no doubt you can, but it's not immediately offered. Much of the news is concentrated on the UK and any disaster which involves a British tourist abroad! When I went to the UK after living in Colombia I realised that South America for example doesn't exist according to British news.


At least when I was there, in Colombia there was good coverage of UK, US, Europe in general news but then after I married the person who was responsible for the International News on Noticias Uno, it all ceased and "world news" ended up like the "world series" - not going outside the immediate area. 

Quote: "South America for example doesn't exist according to British news" (end quote) other than how much it was Colombia's fault that all the cocaine was harming dumb Americans and others who took the stuff. When will the governments of the countries that use the stuff crack down in their own back yard and eradicate the use? The stupid attitude of some (especially in US) calling for the likes of agent orange to be used - complete waste of time and of great harm to the (often innocent) local population. All that will do is move the supplying country to elsewhere.


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Obviously not.
> Although I have noticed that UK news is pretty shallow/ superficial/ limited/ local... If you want to find out about other countries and areas no doubt you can, but it's not immediately offered. Much of the news is concentrated on the UK and any disaster which involves a British tourist abroad! When I went to the UK after living in Colombia I realised that South America for example doesn't exist according to British news.


One of my daughters likes to keep tabs on us by finding out all she can about what is happening in Spain, but apart from some information on the BBC News channel, she has to go online to do so.

But when we thought about moving to Spain, we found out everything we could - about culture, climate, laws, economy, in fact, everything we could think of.
What we found though was that many websites offering information were completely out of date and this applies even more today. And its not only websites - some forums too are extremely old.
Unless you know how to check on publication dates, you could be reading completely out dated information.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Solwriter said:


> One of my daughters likes to keep tabs on us by finding out all she can about what is happening in Spain, but apart from some information on the BBC News channel, she has to go online to do so.
> 
> But when we thought about moving to Spain, we found out everything we could - about culture, climate, laws, economy, in fact, everything we could think of.
> What we found though was that many websites offering information were completely out of date and this applies even more today. And its not only websites - some forums too are extremely old.
> Unless you know how to check on publication dates, you could be reading completely out dated information.


BBC 2 Newsnight often does features on Spain as do The Guardian -although predictably from a left-wing viewpoint, The Independent and BBC Radio 4 often has reliable reportage from Spain.


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## Solwriter (Jan 10, 2012)

mrypg9 said:


> BBC 2 Newsnight often does features on Spain as do The Guardian -although predictably from a left-wing viewpoint, The Independent and BBC Radio 4 often has reliable reportage from Spain.


She does all that (except Radio 4 ) but finds the BBC News channel best (when you look at the news running along the bottom of the screen).
The Telegraph online also has a few articles on Spain and the crisis for another viewpoint.
I often read the comments on articles (even though they usually annoy the hell out of me!), as they often contain the odd gem of information.


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