The pain in Spain proves too much as expat Britons pack their bags

amcluesent

The low value of the pound, the end of Spain’s decade-long building bonanza and the global financial meltdown have conspired to make Britain a more attractive place to many expatriates, despite the deepening recession at home.

The Spanish sunshine and way of life cannot hide the dire recession into which Spain is falling. Unemployment stands at 17.4 per cent. No new homes have been built for four months by any big developer.

Don't they know that England is about to go bust too?

bendix

Only because the failed to plan properly.

I saw it all too often in Thailand, with expats basing their forecasts on incomes when the pounds was at record highs against the local currency a few years ago, and even then barely eeking out a living.

And then, as the pound fell - as it will always do against record highs - they wonder what went wrong.

Simple - they undercapitalised.

I'm basing my expat retirement on a £ to baht forecast of 32-35. It's currently 52 and the historic average is closer to 65.

chopperharris

Its not just spain , its all the traditional expat countries of choice.Spain has overdeveloped , and not just the costas , the banking crisis has yet to hit and developer loans are primarilly bank funded , so they have more woes to come.Unemplyment may well hit 20 percent.There is also the question of echr rulings on land grabs and renumeration.

Those leaving and selling up are in a pension trap where they cant fund the lifestyle anymore.Dont forget the unregistered semipat , when spain starts reigning in its expenses and increasing revenue this will be the first target , and then theres the court ruling on double property tax.

The uk will reign in its benefits system , perhaps by making it financially prohibitive to claim from overseas and always in person at uk offices regularly.Now is the best time to get the max money on hol homes as the price will be on the floor within the next three years , losing more than 50 percent of thier value at the top end.

One should be very worried about banks especialy spanish ones , and any like barclays that have funded or bought the debt which will soon be defaulted.

Pobby

I have friends in Spain. They moved there about 7 years ago non an income of £120 a week. Villa is paid for and they do have some savings. Their income is subsidised by a little casual work although that is getting more difficult.

In a recent e-mail, I am told that in their area, inland Valencia property values, if you can sell, are 30 to 50% off peak. It seems that a lot of ex pats would like to come back to the UK.

Another complaint is that food shopping has increased a great deal.

avantra

The pain in Spain felt mostly by the vain.

Sorry .. couldn't help it :whistle:

Dithering_Dad

bendix wrote: »

Only because the failed to plan properly.

I saw it all too often in Thailand, with expats basing their forecasts on incomes when the pounds was at record highs against the local currency a few years ago, and even then barely eeking out a living.

And then, as the pound fell - as it will always do against record highs - they wonder what went wrong.

Simple - they undercapitalised.

I'm basing my expat retirement on a £ to baht forecast of 32-35. It's currently 52 and the historic average is closer to 65.

Hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm always interested in retirement options... Do you have any family or connections to Thailand? Do you speak their language? Have you a historical/cultural attachment to that particular country or region?

I often wonder at the sense of people retiring to a place where they have no connection and are culturally and linguistically at a disadvantage. While it may make sense financially, it just seems to be akin to self-imposed exile with loneliness and isolation guaranteed. There is also the concern about the quality of the country's health services as you age, the expense and difficulty for people to travel to see you.

It just seems to be a lonely sort of life to choose at a time when one should be kicking back, relaxing and enjoying the fruits of a lifetime of working alongside your friends and within the comfort of one's family.

Even Spain would feel isolating for me as it would be the difference between seeing my children (and hopefully Grand Children) every week or seeing them every few months - perhaps even less frequently during economic downturns when flights become prohibitively expensive.

I just wonder if people really look into what their lives will be like when they retire abroad - there is so much more to consider than nice weather and cheaper living expensive. Indeed, given the number of people who return, it's clear that many don't look deep enough into such a lifechanging decision.

IveSeenTheLight

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

Hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm always interested in retirement options... Do you have any family or connections to Thailand? Do you speak their language? Have you a historical/cultural attachment to that particular country or region?

I often wonder at the sense of people retiring to a place where they have no connection and are culturally and linguistically at a disadvantage. While it may make sense financially, it just seems to be akin to self-imposed exile with loneliness and isolation guaranteed. There is also the concern about the quality of the country's health services as you age, the expense and difficulty for people to travel to see you.

It just seems to be a lonely sort of life to choose at a time when one should be kicking back, relaxing and enjoying the fruits of a lifetime of working alongside your friends and within the comfort of one's family.

Even Spain would feel isolating for me as it would be the difference between seeing my children (and hopefully Grand Children) every week or seeing them every few months - perhaps even less frequently during economic downturns when flights become prohibitively expensive.

I just wonder if people really look into what their lives will be like when they retire abroad - there is so much more to consider than nice weather and cheaper living expensive. Indeed, given the number of people who return, it's clear that many don't look deep enough into such a lifechanging decision.

Have visited Thailand quite a few times, love the Jim Thomson restaurant chain. Even been to his house in Bangkok

Living in Malaysia, I can tell you that there is a huge ex-pat community in the SE Asia countries, some of which offer excellent retirement packages i.e. MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) where there is huge tax incentives to retire there.

In the ex-pat community I live in, there is a Dutch couple who retired there about 5 years ago and love the fact of the cheaper living (You can get a meal for two for about £2-£3), increased income through tax breaks, more tax breaks on purchases i.e. cars etc plus the fact they are able to travel and explore the region far more easily than from their homeland.

Not saying its for everybody, but can be some peoples cup of tea

lostinrates

Dithering_Dad wrote: »

Hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm always interested in retirement options... Do you have any family or connections to Thailand? Do you speak their language? Have you a historical/cultural attachment to that particular country or region?

I often wonder at the sense of people retiring to a place where they have no connection and are culturally and linguistically at a disadvantage. While it may make sense financially, it just seems to be akin to self-imposed exile with loneliness and isolation guaranteed. There is also the concern about the quality of the country's health services as you age, the expense and difficulty for people to travel to see you.

It just seems to be a lonely sort of life to choose at a time when one should be kicking back, relaxing and enjoying the fruits of a lifetime of working alongside your friends and within the comfort of one's family.

Even Spain would feel isolating for me as it would be the difference between seeing my children (and hopefully Grand Children) every week or seeing them every few months - perhaps even less frequently during economic downturns when flights become prohibitively expensive.

I just wonder if people really look into what their lives will be like when they retire abroad - there is so much more to consider than nice weather and cheaper living expensive. Indeed, given the number of people who return, it's clear that many don't look deep enough into such a lifechanging decision.

I thnk Bendix might have a wife from Thailand. So, her family connections etc etc are there.

For many of us we are not straight forward born, bred resided our entire lives in one country. Its natural for those mongrels and reformed rolling stones to look at other places. Friends and family in UK are mobile, moving across country for a job or a lifestyle or staying in the area you went to university in are not uncommon. and transport is possible. Indeed, with changed ideas of family: smaller, more fragile in a selfish society, many people go months between seeing family memebrs just a short journey away. If you have a comfortable retirement income allowing frequent trips ''home'' or to pay for younger family memebrs to visit you and get a free holiday, many people that is as much as they'd see family at home.If you pension allows you a betetr standard of care in very old age than would be possible in UK, if you are childless: these are also reasons people might ant to move. f some of the possible destinations for DH and I we have friends and or family there already, one would be pretty new ground for us, but we each hoave friends of friends there, and are used to making nw friends in new countries.

I think its very, very true, that some people go into it blinded with the idea of ''being like holiday all year round'' which it generlly isn't, but neither is it an enforced exile and a destiny of loneliness and sorrow. Its what you make it, much like staying here is,

Austin_Allegro

If I had to be broke I think I'd rather be broke in Spain or on the Riviera than in rainy old England...

mewbie_2

Austin_Allegro wrote: »

If I had to be broke I think I'd rather be broke in Spain or on the Riviera than in rainy old England...

Yeah but long distance sponging off relatives is a bit more tricky.

neil324

bendix wrote: »

Only because the failed to plan properly.

I saw it all too often in Thailand, with expats basing their forecasts on incomes when the pounds was at record highs against the local currency a few years ago, and even then barely eeking out a living.

And then, as the pound fell - as it will always do against record highs - they wonder what went wrong.

Simple - they undercapitalised.

I'm basing my expat retirement on a £ to baht forecast of 32-35. It's currently 52 and the historic average is closer to 65.

Although very wise to plan 32-35. Would you even entertain it at those exchange rates?

Having spent alot of time in Thailand in the past 5 years(to much ) Being there when Sterling just tanked and going as low as 47-48 you see before you how expensive the place becomes.

I believe 60 to be more closer average and in my experience would be a more balanced exchanged rate.