Spanish ex-pats



Harry Angstrom said:
You can call them immigrants and I'll call them ex pats. What a great language we have.

Edit, it depends upon your definition of permanent. Most of the ex pats would still see Blighty as home and if anything got a bit dodgy would be off like a shot.
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It does make me chuckle, they all fuck off to Spain etc to supposedly live the lifestyle yet they still want their British telly and the likes. :lol: That includes some of the ex-pats/immigrants/emigres *delete as appropriate that post on here.
 
spitfire said:
It does make me chuckle, they all fuck off to Spain etc to supposedly live the lifestyle yet they still want their British telly and the likes. :lol: That includes some of the ex-pats/immigrants/emigres *delete as appropriate that post on here.
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There's a big group of British expats who have no interest in the local culture. They've basically translocated their own lifestyles from UK to Spain.

We were guilty of that to a degree. We had Sky TV, and we'd occasionally shop at the local Iceland for imported British brands. Why give up the things you like if they're available? (Many of them aren't now.)

The big difference is that we mainly shopped at the weekly market and in the Spanish supermarkets (we knew expats who'd never been to either), and we socialised with a lot of Spanish friends as well as with Brits. I think the main difference between an expat and an immigrant is that, although both may settle within communities of their own (just look at the patchwork of distinct communities in London), expats have no intention other than to exist within their own little cultural island, while immigrants recognise that they're part of bigger community and make efforts to adapt to it.
 
Monty Pigeon said:
There's a big group of British expats who have no interest in the local culture. They've basically translocated their own lifestyles from UK to Spain.

We were guilty of that to a degree. We had Sky TV, and we'd occasionally shop at the local Iceland for imported British brands. Why give up the things you like if they're available? (Many of them aren't now.)

The big difference is that we mainly shopped at the weekly market and in the Spanish supermarkets (we knew expats who'd never been to either), and we socialised with a lot of Spanish friends as well as with Brits. I think the main difference between an expat and an immigrant is that, although both may settle within communities of their own (just look at the patchwork of distinct communities in London), expats have no intention other than to exist within their own little cultural island, while immigrants recognise that they're part of bigger community and make efforts to adapt to it.
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How does that work with immigrants in the UK? Most stick to their own nationality groups.

Sorry but there is no real difference in the terms and trying to separate them is a futile argument.
 
Goat Eyes said:
How does that work with immigrants in the UK? Most stick to their own nationality groups.

Sorry but there is no real difference in the terms and trying to separate them is a futile argument.
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Those communities aren't here temporarily. They raise kids here, their kids are in the school system, the second generation are often well integrated.

Expats, as used with regard to Brits in Spain, tends to refer to the retired older people who aren't raising families there and who are part of a community that is renewed and supplemented not through births but by new arrivals of the same age group.

Where we were there was a clear distinction. We knew a few Brits who had kids at the local schools, were fluent in the language, and had effectively settled. They were immigrants, and described themselves as such.

There is a massive difference, and it's highly relevant to this discussion. The expats are more likely to be under the radar (that is, they haven't done the legal paperwork that is required of all residents in Spain), whereas the immigrants are fully legal.
 
alicante mackem said:
Why? The treatment is every bit as good here. My uncle went through his cancer treatment here.
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Every bit as good and quicker no doubt.
spitfire said:
It does make me chuckle, they all fuck off to Spain etc to supposedly live the lifestyle yet they still want their British telly and the likes. :lol: That includes some of the ex-pats/immigrants/emigres *delete as appropriate that post on here.
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You'll not find any Corrie or Eastenders in my house. 'English TV' is Netflix and I streamed Louis Theroux the other day.

I don't watch English TV. The night mostly consist of Antena 3 - Pasapalabra, a bit of the news and El Hormiguero.
 
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kossoff said:
Every bit as good and quicker no doubt.

You'll not find any Corrie or Eastenders in my house. 'English TV' is Netflix and I streamed Louis Theroux the other day.

I don't watch English TV. The night mostly consist of Antena 3 - Pasapalabra, a bit of the news and El Hormiguero.
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Antenna 3! Spanish ITV.
After 25 years in Spain I detest Spanish TV.
I'm in my own cultural desert. Listening to 6music. Watching the lads on hooky iptv, Spotify etc. All thanks to the Internet.
After years of getting the footy echo sent a week later. I'm glad we can forget about Antenna 3, Telecinco etc.
I consider myself an immigrant for what it's worth.
A bit if a daft non-argument in my book but there you go.
 
pablo casals said:
Antenna 3! Spanish ITV.
After 25 years in Spain I detest Spanish TV.
I'm in my own cultural desert. Listening to 6music. Watching the lads on hooky iptv, Spotify etc. All thanks to the Internet.
After years of getting the footy echo sent a week later. I'm glad we can forget about Antenna 3, Telecinco etc.
I consider myself an immigrant for what it's worth.
A bit if a daft non-argument in my book but there you go.
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Nowt wrong with a bit of Antena 3. It's a bit of background entertainment mostly whilst we eat or I'm browsing the internet or on here at night - wind down background shite.

Better than Cuéntame which is on tonight also. I guess it's a bit different if your missus is Spanish and used to watching this shite.

I still download/stream, have Netflix, Tidal/Spotify, DAZN for sports (Spanish) etc... But I've no need for regular access to BBC1 etc...
 
I've lived/worked abroad a few times in my career, Sweden for 5 years, Saudi for 3. I always considered myself an ex-pat, but that was by my own personal definition.

Ex-pat = someone intending to return to UK at some unspecified future date.
Immigrant = someone who'd put down roots and intended to stay in new country.

Doesn't fit the narrative of this Brexit none story though.
 
kossoff said:
Every bit as good and quicker no doubt.

You'll not find any Corrie or Eastenders in my house. 'English TV' is Netflix and I streamed Louis Theroux the other day.

I don't watch English TV. The night mostly consist of Antena 3 - Pasapalabra, a bit of the news and El Hormiguero.
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Did you manage to see the cricket in the end?
 
Well that was a wasted week. The police have a different address, the one on my green card, than what is on my padrón. There is no communication between the police and the ayuntamiento so even though I'm empadronado the information hasn't been passed to the police. I can't change my green card to the TIE unless I change my address on the green card but I can't change my address on the green card because you have to change it to the TIE. Idiots at times and I'm fuming.
Joseph Heller
 
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alicante mackem said:
Well that was a wasted week. The police have a different address, the one on my green card, than what is on my padrón. There is no communication between the police and the ayuntamiento so even though I'm empadronado the information hasn't been passed to the police. I can't change my green card to the TIE unless I change my address on the green card but I can't change my address on the green card because you have to change it to the TIE. Idiots at times and I'm fuming.
Joseph Heller
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Sounds a right fuck on. Do you think thats why plenty chose to stay under the radar in the past?
 
Monty Pigeon said:
Those communities aren't here temporarily. They raise kids here, their kids are in the school system, the second generation are often well integrated.

Expats, as used with regard to Brits in Spain, tends to refer to the retired older people who aren't raising families there and who are part of a community that is renewed and supplemented not through births but by new arrivals of the same age group.

Where we were there was a clear distinction. We knew a few Brits who had kids at the local schools, were fluent in the language, and had effectively settled. They were immigrants, and described themselves as such.

There is a massive difference, and it's highly relevant to this discussion. The expats are more likely to be under the radar (that is, they haven't done the legal paperwork that is required of all residents in Spain), whereas the immigrants are fully legal.
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On holiday a few years ago in Spain we got talking to some ex pats - two couples - been there 8 years and barely spoke a word of Spanish between them

They seemed quite proud of it - completely shameless
 

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