- Business
- Childbirth & Education
- Legal Formalities
- Motoring
- Other
- Pensions & Benefits
- Property & Accommodation
- Taxes
- Airports and Airlines Spain
- Paramount Theme Park Murcia Spain
- Corvera International Airport Murcia Spain
- Join us for Tea on the Terrace
- When Expat Eyes Are Smiling
- Meet Wincham at The Homes, Gardens & Lifestyle Show, Calpe
- QROPS 2014
- Spain Increases IHT in Valencia & Murcia
- Removals to Spain v Exports from Spain
- The Charm of Seville
- Gibraltar Relations
- Retiro Park : Madrid
- Community Insurance in Spain
- Calendar Girls
- Considerations when Insuring your Boat in Spain
- QROPS – HMRC Introduces changes that create havoc in the market place
- QROPS – All Change From April 2012
- Liva & Laia : 15th November
When I moved to Spain my reasons for doing so were very few, and very simple :
1.) It was Spain.
2.) It wasn’t the UK.
And I am going to stick my neck on the line here and say that I was by no means the first to do so, and will be far from being the last.
However, I am just as much a guilty party as those who I regularly criticise, in finally ‘settling’ in Spain and then wanting to change so many things about the country. (We all know who we are)
Generally the Expat suffers the “18 month itch” : They start off by extolling the virtues of shopping at the local markets, eating at the local restaurants, banking locally and generally living the much fabled ‘Spanish lifestyle’. Further down the line, they then start lamenting the fact that they can’t find the right jar of Tahini in the local Supermarket, or the correct brand of Gluten-Free yak’s milk, or whatever, that they simply ‘must have’ for that Delia Smith recipe.
Then they move on to complaining that the local village doesn’t have a Lebanese, or offer vegetarian Croatian cuisine within spitting distance.
And then finally they decide that they require 24/7 Banking from their i-Phone, in English.
Before the 3 people who regularly skip across my blog comment (Hello Mum, I promise I’ll call you), I fully accept that I am just as guilty as many others.
Although I recognise my own hypocrisy, I think that it is essentially part of the Expat Psyche to have an inherent desire to change things. Things that in most cases simply do not need to be changed.
- When Expat Eyes Are Smiling
- Mr Grumpy v Angeles Duran
- Corvera, Castellon & Ciudad Real : THIS is how you run a private airport!
- Things that have annoyed me this week
- The Vegetarian Barbeque and the Unholy Sex
- Mr Grumpy is Intolerant
- The Only Winner of Spain's 2013 El Gordo Lottery ?
- Mr Grumpy v The Spanish Lifestyle
- Crime Pays (In Spain at least)
- Mr Grumpy and Spain v the USA
- Opening a Bank Account in Spain
- How to Reset an Electricity Smart Meter in Spain
- Medical Emergencies & Pharmacies
- How to Cancel your contract with Telefonica
- Can I claim compensation if my flight to Spain is cancelled or delayed ?
- Your Checklist when moving to Spain
- How to get your professional qualification recognised in Spain
- Etiquette when attending a Spanish Funeral
- Getting Employment in Spain
- How to vote in the Spanish Elections
- Applying for Residential Status ( Residencia) - Non- EU Citizens
- Should I Pay Voluntary National Insurance Contributions to the UK ?
- Join us for Tea on the Terrace
- When Expat Eyes Are Smiling
- Meet Wincham at The Homes, Gardens & Lifestyle Show, Calpe
- QROPS 2014
- Spain Increases IHT in Valencia & Murcia
- Removals to Spain v Exports from Spain
- The Charm of Seville
- Gibraltar Relations
- Retiro Park : Madrid
- Community Insurance in Spain
- Calendar Girls
- Considerations when Insuring your Boat in Spain
- QROPS – HMRC Introduces changes that create havoc in the market place
- QROPS – All Change From April 2012
- Liva & Laia : 15th November
- Thinking of Buying In Spain ? :Then Take The Safe Purchase Test !
- Are You Paying Too Much For Your Telephone Line Rental ?
- Spain's new UK mobile phone service
- Our most popular Funeral Plan FAQ's
- Why Plan your Funeral now ?