I was thinking of going to spain, maybe moving there, to see what it’s like.  What does the “relaxed lifestyle” mean?  Like what is relaxed about it?  Thanks.
I want to learn as much as I can.  Thanks.  I’m so tired of America.

We today have a new thing for are American buddys…. its called a Cement Boot…

For Beating us at football today “All US Citizens Must Assume the Position” for the Cement Boot….

😊

Relaxed is Horizontal here in Spain !

MAC31
, relaxed is horizontal?  What does that mean?  Thanks.
And do you like it there?

I forgot you do not know the European joking mentality….

Ok… Relaxed is Like when you lay down… like when you sleep…. That?s what its like here.. No Stress… Unless you have commitments in other places like finances… etc…

Other than that Spain is what you make it…

Click on the “Forum” Tab on top of this webpage… and browse through all other subjects and topics thats listed…

It give you information what Spain is about.

MAC31, should I learn the European joking mentality?  Lol.  Because if I’m gonna go there…

Well I think it you should so that you’ll know if what you said already make them laugh or not.

The relaxed lifestyle is the most attractive thing about being here…....absolutely no pressure to conform to the way people think you should look or fashion trends to keep up with….......just free style, and it’s great.
If you don’t have to work,  you can be as busy as you like, or do absolutely nothing all day, and then go manic the next morning and pack loads of things in to the next 24 hours…....brilliant.
Everything is as good as you make it….socialising, shopping, sun sand and sea…..staying at home and enjoying a good quality of home life is also attractive. The language is the only deterrant, and the system, which changes week by week!!!!
Come on over…......it’s a great way to be living.

Jualsy - 11 July 2009 08:38 PM

The relaxed lifestyle is the most attractive thing about being here…....absolutely no pressure to conform to the way people think you should look or fashion trends to keep up with….......just free style, and it’s great.

You don`t go out for Tapita on Sundays before church then.

If you don’t have to work, you can be as busy as you like, or do absolutely nothing all day, and then go manic the next morning and pack loads of things in to the next 24 hours…....brilliant.
Everything is as good as you make it….socialising, shopping, sun sand and sea…..staying at home and enjoying a good quality of home life is also attractive. The language is the only deterrant, and the system, which changes week by week!!!!
Come on over…......it’s a great way to be living.

This is great, but most retired people have this lifestyle all over the world.

Having lived and worked in Spain, being part Spanish and married to a Spaniard i`d say Spain to live is not so straight forward.

In many towns you`ll find Spaniards are judgemental, the word Guiri is there for a reason.You`ll be judged by your appearance and behaviour.

Workin hours in Spain do not help much, procedures can be stressful.

It all depends on your life in Spain as in any country within the EU or the world, Spain won`t make your bills disappear and your debts fly away.

Out of the 20 or so Spanish Engineers I worked with, most were in financial difficulties, you find these out every year in Spain when negotiating there working Convenio, they were always working long hours with not much overtime.

The one major point that most foreigners miss with Spanish culture isn`t that Spain is stress free, but how Spaniards deal with stress.

I`ve worked with guys who knew they wouldn`t get home until 11pm in the night, but that AM they`d still go for a 45 minutes breakfast with the rest of us, they wouldn`t rush.In the UK I`d have been flapping around, missed the breakfast and got stuck into the work.

That doesn`t mean they weren`t stressed, they just didn`t want to show they were.

In Spain the workin week is accepted by there wives that husbands will work long hours and will relax at the weekends. In my place we did Guardia calls on weekends, which meant having the company phone and any calls were ignored until Monday. They didn`t understand the reason for working weekends.

They don`t moan as much, they don`t complain as much and outwardly they don`t show it. Spaniards never disscuss finances, even avoiding the subject with relatives or friends. You have to push a Spaniard to show there weakness.

So yes being retired in Spain is attractive.

Working for a company in Spain though is very different and very hard for a Spaniard, add another very for a forigner.

Santi, you make some very valid points…......maybe we get away with a lot because we live on the coast, in Torrevieja, and sadly we don’t know any Spanish people because everyone we come into contact with is English!! Very sad, but we cannot master the language as far as conversation is concerned. No one looks twice at anything we wear….casual seems to tick all the boxes.
I do know that I wouldn’t be over here if we were working…..the routine and the heat would be too much. we are both retired and loving the life style we choose.

I am not keen on Spanish food to be honest, but I have tostada con tomate almost every day out or at home!!! Church is not my venue….I prefer Kingdom Halls!!

Jualsy - 12 July 2009 04:00 PM

No one looks twice at anything we wear….casual seems to tick all the boxes.

Its going to be very different in the Costa`s full of guiri`s.

My mother in law looks like she`s goin for a posh meal, just to buy bread.

The evenings with the grandchildren always involves named cloths, gold on the kids and walking on the square chatting with the towns folk.

Many Brits believe there socialising, they are, but its about showing off.

Hola and Corazon excist because Spaniards are gossip`s who judge people by the cloths, jewellary and looks.

My OH studied PR in Uni in Spain, she had to appear in Uni everyday wearing make up and cloths of acceptable appearance and standard, you don`t get that in the UK.

I am not keen on Spanish food to be honest, but I have tostada con tomate almost every day out or at home!!! Church is not my venue….I prefer Kingdom Halls!!

We have it every weekend in the UK, even better with Jamon.

I do miss the espeto of Sardines in the chiringuito`s, but sticky toffee pudding with devon cream makes up for that.😊

“sticky toffee pudding with devon cream makes up for that.”

I can get it in Iceland over here now!!!!

Jualsy - 12 July 2009 05:45 PM

I can get it in Iceland over here now!!!!

Yuk.

I lived in the Costa Del Sol, you could get anything from anyone there.

Just google one of the buy business in Spain site`s, one of them has over 300 expat shops for sale in the south.

Having said that most of the time the temp in summer was 30 degree`s ish and winter around 15 degree`s.

The last thing you want to eat would be a pudding.

I prefered the Granizado`s with Baileys or a Don Pedro cocktail whilst watching the sun setting over Malaga City and walkin on the beach with the feet in the surf, worrying that on Monday I`ll have to work in the heat and face hour long traffic jam on the A340 at 8AM before even getting the hassle from the office and having to work until 8PM.:(

Santi - 13 July 2009 01:14 PM

Having said that most of the time the temp in summer was 30 degree`s ish and winter around 15 degree`s.

Wow, this must be awesome. And you forgot swimming in the sea. 😊 No wonder the lifestyle is relaxed. 😊)

44 degrees here yesterday and today…........bit like getting into an oven like a roast chicken!!!
AND its going to be hotter next month!!!
PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE don’t let’s have any power cuts….howe would we cope without thwe fans and AC and cold drinks!!
We are so spoilt, eh?????

xjessie007 - 25 July 2009 01:30 AM

Wow, this must be awesome. And you forgot swimming in the sea. 😊 No wonder the lifestyle is relaxed. 😊)

I was surprised how much I missed cold wet weather.

Every winter we would travel to Granada for weekends in the Sierra Nevada for the snow.

Its great for that and sunbathing.

It wouldn`t be a popular area otherwise.

But my typical workin day would be this.

Wake around 7am, leave house 7.30 and travel 12 kms into Malaga city, arrive into Office around between 8.30-9 ish, depending on how many shunts happened around the Granada/Malaga interchange.

Temp normally in traffic around the 20 degrees already, so Aircon already on.

10.30 I`d have second coffee and breakfast in the bar with the lads, which was normally Lomo Adobado in bread roll with green pepper and mayo.

11am would leave and travel to my calls, which usually where around 18 visits in and around Marbella, so i`d get into Marbella area around 12.30, again depending on how bad traffic and how many accidents occurred.Normally once a month the road would be either closed for a few hours of a lane blocked.

In one bad week when the rain arrived, it closed everyday, it included a bus crash, a cyclist killed, a lorry turned over and several 4+ car accidents.

Anyway I`d work through the calls through lunch doin the English clients, i had to leave the Spanish until after 5pm as there having lunch and don`t want me visiting. If I didn`t have enough english clients I`d go to a bar for some beer and tapa. Sounds great but the more time I`m waiting the more hours I work.

PM temps would be around 30 degrees, in August 40`s are the norm, so I`ve changed my shirt for the third time due to sweat. We all carried towels and deodorant in the vehicles for the summer. I`d usually spend around 3 Euros in shops for fresh cold water as well, drinking around 2-3 ltrs.

My problem was the car would be too hot to get the aircon working quick enough before reaching the next client, so it rarely worked well.

I would then leave Marbella around 7pm and suffer the traffic back to Malaga and my home, trip took around 2 hours as the traffic around the airport/Malaga city would be jamned with commuters.

So home around 9pm.

Great for 5 days a week.

Come Saturday and Sunday, yep relaxing, so no choice really, too tired to do anything else.

After several years I`m now back workin 9-5 with an hour lunch doin the same job in the UK, with only 8 clients a day, i earn nearly ?10,000 more a year and haven`t regretted the move back.

I travel to Spain now for holidays and visiting my OH parents and family, like before.

I`ll leave hot climates for when I can retire.

Jualsy, whos your favourite drug dealer?