Over the last couple of weeks we have started buying the Sunday Times again, not for the news (all papers can only really print old news in this digital age), but for the aesthetic pleasure of sitting down and reading an article in a café while enjoying a cup of café con leche, a chat and the inevitable buzz that is Spanish Café Life, or as the perfect accompaniment to a Sunday Brunch.

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So how did this all come about? I received this email about 4pm this afternoon:

Hi

I work for Sky News in the UK and we are covering the impact the falling pound is having on ex-pats, especially those in Spain. As you run a Spain ex-pat site I was hoping you might be available to talk to us this evening - about 8pm Spain time (7pm UK).

The average weekly wage in the UK is £457, said Simon Fraser, president of the Retirement Institute at Fidelity International. But in retirement Brits can expect to receive just £215 a week on average, which would be less than those working a 40-hour week on the minimum wage of £5.52 an hour. [Telegraph]

I have a feeling that this news could lead to a bit of stampede to the Doctors here in Almerimar and El Ejido as people ‘rush’ to get existing ailments sorted out in case the same happens to us:

The provincial government in the Costa Blanca is changing the law because it claims elderly people who have made their home in the region are placing too high a burden on the health system.

According to C. Perry Yeatman and Stacie Nevadomski Berdan, the authors of Get Ahead By Going Abroad: A Woman’s Guide To Fast-Track Career Success, there is indeed another secret: working abroad gets you up the career ladder faster - especially if you are a woman struggling to break through the proverbial glass ceiling at home.

Two million British citizens have left the UK in a decade, the greatest exodus from this country in almost a century, new figures will show.

And who can blame them!!!!!! Never a week goes by without us meeting some people from the UK that have either just moved here or are thinking of moving over here from the UK and the message is pretty much the same:

• Too Expensive
• Poor Quality

Thanks to Richard for sending this information through regarding pensions for Expats in Spain

Any idea that the exodus from Britain of those settling abroad might be waning appears wildly premature. The latest survey predicts 1.8 million Britons retiring abroad by 2025 and 3.3 million by 2050 (Telegraph)

Not only does it look from the above that more and more people are set to leave the UK, but it also appears that very few have any intention of ever returning:

The ‘credit crunch’ that many expats thought they had escaped when they left the UK for a life of retirement in Spain seems to be slowly eroding the quality of life for many. Prices have in effect soared by 17.6 per cent over the past 12 months, as the pound’s value has slid steadily against the euro. Last week, the exchange rate dipped to 1.25€ to the pound for the first time, compared with 1.60€ not so long ago.

With all the recent focus on the strays it is good to see that there is an ‘up side’ for many animals, and that as an Expat there are some pretty interesting ways to make money - even if you think you have retired!

Paul and April Carrier set up their Alpha Dog Centre at Rota, near Cadiz, eight years ago, and now run courses on obedience training, guard and defence work.

Ok here is a question regarding British expats here in Almerimar, and in other parts of Spain: Are we colonists, isolationists, or integrationists?

I was reading an amusing article today written by someone living in rural France, and his classification of 3 types of expats could equally apply to expats in Spain, and if you read the article in full below, you will be able to compare places in Spain to those typified by the writer in France.

Today I read yet another article, about the dreadful situation some British expats are in, with their homes threatened with demolition due to illegal building which they knew nothing about. This follows on from previous posts the last of which was:

Expat Homes Threatened

It is frequently said of Almerimar that it is a place that you either Love or Hate. Maybe that is a bit strong but funnily enough, when I was at the airport on Sunday, a couple of people that used to own a Franchise in the business that I was involved with came up to me. To say I was surprised …… Anyway they live in Mojacar, and he said to ME about the area that you either love it or hate it.

It seems as if the credit crunch in the UK is definitely beginning to bite. I was reading a new property article this morning about the market in the UK, and included was some news on property sales in Spain. This came via one of the big UK house builders who have a mainland Spanish part to their business, and who have reported a big downturn in sales over here between 2006 and 2007.

Following on from my previous article: Homes in the Sun Under Threat, it appears that the demolishions have actually started, and this one is actually in Vera, in our province of Almeria!

“A British couple living in Spain have become the first expatriates to see their home demolished in a move that threatens thousands of properties built on the Costas. Thousands more expatriates living on the Costas could see their homes demolished after it emerged the properties - bought in good faith - had been built illegally. Local corruption and the flaunting of planning laws have allowed swathes of the Spanish coastline to be developed during the last decade.

This article is not really about life abroad but highlights what may be a big reason why so many Brits are currently choosing to leave: The British Emigrating. According to official figures England is about to become the most crowded country in Europe, with only Malta having a higher population density.

I know that right now I like living in Spain and more specifically Almerimar, but it is always good to have lots of others in agreement:

Apparently a recent survey by the 24-hour currency exchange firm UKForex has found that: “Nearly eight out of 10 expats are happier living abroad than they were living in the UK” AND more specifically, “those choosing Spain as their new home are the happiest of all, with more than 90 per cent saying they are happy with their lives there.”

We’re always hearing about the increasing number of immigrants in the UK, but it is the rate of emigration that is currently going up year on year, and after Australia and New Zealand, Spain is still high up in the choice of countries. I found an interesting article this week that talked about who and why people are leaving Britain and which age groups are going where.