Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

seven-day-weekend

Well! Went to the Docs today for him to sign a form to do with my husband's Incapacity Benefit. While we were there we noticed an advert for Vacuna Gripe (Flu Injection).

Asked the Doc about it, he sent us straight into the nurse, who gave us both a quick and painless injection.

Now, my husband could have one when we were in the UK, because although below State Retirement age he has had pleurisy twice and pneumonia once. But I was not allowed to have one as I was not old enough and not had these illnesses.

A few weeks ago I noticed a mammogram unit outside the Health Centre in a main village half-an-hour's drive away. Forty-five minutes later, I had been in, answered questions in my pidgin Spanish, had the mammogram, and come out again.

I have also found out how to have a smear test and will go in two week's time.

All free!

More examples of the excellent Spanish NHS.

droopsnout

Well done, s-d-w!

On Monday I had a free flu jab here, too!

Free mammograms for over-50s every two years. I think that bowel cancer screening is due to start here soon, too.

I shall live forever!!!

clearmydebts

Hey guys,

Thanks for letting everyone know about the health benefits. This is the type of things that are great to know about. It certainly sounds like a fantastic health care system.

Myself and OH have booked to go to Barcelona in January and we are looking at some land (outside Barcelona) when we are there. We have some debt to pay so won't be in a position to buy anything until early 2010 but it will be good to see what is out there.

Hope everyone else is well. How is Spain going for the ones living there?

Savvy_Sue

droopsnout wrote: »

Free mammograms for over-50s every two years.

What with that and the tights thing, people will start to worry about you, droopsnout. :rotfl:

(On a serious note, I know men get breast cancer too, but surely they're not offering male mammograms?)

droopsnout

Er, no! Mind you, with man boobs like mine it might not be a bad thing!

But Mrs DS has already benefited twice from the service.

asea

Hi

Does anybody else here live in Italy? I moved here just over a month ago & am struggling with quite a few aspects - moneysaving & otherwise!

seven-day-weekend

Hi asea!

I think we're mainly Spain and France, but always good to hear news from different places.

Welcome to the forum!

There is a good site where you could talk/find out about things Italian:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=77

I am a member of the Spanish forum there (under a different name to here).

Hope you'll stay around!

asea

Thank you!

I have to say first (feel a little like I am gatecrashing ) that I am 30 not over 60 but hope it won't matter!

I joined the britishexpats forum a short while ago, it's certainly a good resource (under the same name, I seem to have left my imagination back in London!) so feel free to say hi on there!

Can I ask how long it took you to acclimatize? I think I probably romanticised moving here a little & thought it wouldn't take long to settle, but I've found it very difficult in spite of my preparations & it has made me have quite a few low moments. This in spite of me moving to the Middle East for 4 years when I was 17 and finding it quite easy in spite of the massive cultural divide. Sometimes it feels like I will never settle (although I know I will).

Sorry about the waffling!

clearmydebts

Hi asea,

Don't worry about gatecrashing. I am 31 and haven't even moved to Spain (hopefully within the next few years) but everyone is very friendly.

I moved to the UK from Ireland about 6 years ago and although it is a different language it did tale a while to acclimatise. I think I read somewhere that it takes about 2 years before you stop missing family and friends. I didn't miss my family and friends in a strong way but I think it took me about 2 years to stop ringing them all the time when things happened. Of course I still ring them and am close to them but not in the same way as if I lived at home (friends in particular).

First of all, well done to you for making the move and realising your dream. I will get there one day but am full of admiration for the people who are doing it right now. How are you finding the language? And have you thought of doing inter-cambio to meet people? I think having low moments are to be expected. The only bonus I will have when I move to Spain is that I have already moved from my family so I won't be leaving them again.

Not sure if I have been much help but I am happy to discuss stuff with you on the forum. Use it as a sounding board and to vent if you want. I'm sure the people that have made the move will have gone through the same things as you.

droopsnout

Asea, welcome!!

I don't think it is possible to gatecrash a public forum, so please don't give it a second thought.

I think that most of us (all of us?) who have made such a big move have had our low moments - sometimes those low moments include periods of guilt, sometimes the sentiment of missing those we love, sometimes a longing for the familiar places, sights and smells we have left behind ... I expect there are almost as many reasons for a touch of regret as there are ex-pats!

There are, it seems to me, very few of us who embody the crass, gin-swigging, loud-shirt-wearing, overbearing, over-confident, swaggering, fat-cat neo-colonialists that TV has sometimes in the past depicted! Those who say they've never missed their family are either lying or don't have family!

So please do use this forum to express your worries and fears anonymously. I think you'll only ever find a friendly ear (eye?), and maybe even a useful idea from time to time.

Perhaps you could start by telling us a little more of your circumstances, so that we can picture you in your surroundings. Naturally, you shouldn't say anything you're not comfortable with, but ... Do you have a partner there? Are you in town or rural isolation? Do you like to meet other Brits, or do you prefer to steer clear of them? What possibilities exist to meet other young people (or older ones if you prefer!) in your area? Do you have children? (They're often great ice-breakers). Are you working in Italy? Are the financial problems associated with the weak pound?

I hope I don't seem nosey, and, of course, you can completely ignore all these questions (and I won't be offended!), but I feel that the more we understand the better will be the quality of any advice we may be bold enough to offer.

One thing seems clear: you've found some friends here.