When in Spain....

[LensCap]

SPAIN - You Must be MAD!!

Spain is okay for a quick holiday in the sun, but if you're thinking of living there and doing business with the locals, forget it! They are about as backward as can be, (and I've met some dumb people in my years but these guys take the cake), and they are also about the most dishonest, two-faced and corrupt people in Europe. .. Sure they seem all friendly on the outside, but they will rip-you-off any chance they get - and the government and councils are certainly no better, if anything they're lots worse.

Then there is all the red-tape you'll have to jump through, basically just another excuse for the council to take your money (and the town major to pocket his "commission"). Hell you can't even get the local electric company to connect you to an existing network without first paying for and presenting new architect's plans to the council for approval. .. And don't forget that nothing useful happens in under a month, (not even installing a phone line), and you'll generally be luckily to get any of your business's required permissions in writing in under two-years. .. And once you do, (if your business hasn't already folded whilst waiting), the local police will hassle you constantly because you are a foreigner, and do their damnedest to fine you huge sums of money for any of a million unwritten infractions until you come to your senses and close your business.

Talking about the police, do be very very careful of their National Police unit, the ones in dark uniforms. They are all pretty ignorant and love to be extremely violent, (even against women and their own people, especially young students), I've seen more than a few women brutally punched and slapped in the face by police officers during my time there, including one girl who's face they smashed against a car window and then dragged her down the road by her hair. So until someone complains and Brussels steps in and controls them I'd keep well clear of these bastards. Obviously it would seem Spain has no independent investigations unit of it's own to keep a check on their police force, none that works anyway .. hey, don't you just love corruption!

As for motoring, the same warning applies. The Spanish coppers delight in stopping cars at random (day or night) and will find any excuse to give you a £1000 spot-fine (and they'll even follow you to the nearest ATM if you don't have the cash). The special guard (Guardia Civil) do seem to have done a complete 180. They use to be the worst until the late 90's, but are now generally the most educated and polite. But again, you still don't want to get on the wrong side of them. If you do have problems I strongly suggest you call your embassy immediately and ask for help, especially if no one in your family knows your in Spain.

Buying a house in Spain is another nightmare. Firstly you have to contend with a bunch of cheating estate agents (many of whom are sadly British), who think nothing of selling you a house that is not fit to live in or does not have all it's papers. Then of course there is their commission, which they invent themselves (depending on how much money they think you have) and can be as high as 30% of the house value. Of course all the lawyers work on kick-backs too, so DON'T use anyone your estate agent recommends, BUT DO use one as buying a house (or car) in Spain without a lawyer is asking for trouble. You could very well end-up homeless and paying off thousands that other people owe, and your "friendly" estate agent will just sit back in their chair, count their money, and laugh!!

Remember too that Spanish building work is EXTREMELY substandard compared to northern or eastern Europe, so be very careful what you buy. Walls are generally not roof-supporting, so you can put your foot through the brick-work (and so can any burglar). Again nearly everyone in the building trade will try and stick-it to you, demanding cash upfront and returning shoddy or unfinished work, if they even bother to finish it. Plumbers, electricians and Spanish "skilled" workers are all the same; expensive and pretty useless. Tip: Get some Bulgarian or other EU national to do most of the build, especial brickwork and flooring. In typical Spanish style, any defects in your new home will be covered over with a thick plaster (never repaired), and it is not too uncommon for buildings to crack severely or break apart completely, and older houses to collapse under the weight of a bit of snow. Some exterior walls (even on rooftop gardens) can fall down just from leaning against them - so don't!

Then of course there is the siesta, another excuse not to work. The only thing these people seem to do well is waste money on food, fancy dresses and parties (fiestas) where you're only welcome if you're a local (they even advertise and display all related information in their own obscure dialects so foreigners can't understand it). The council spends millions from Europe's budget to pay for these week-long events, billions of fireworks and closing-off entire towns to traffic so they can indulge themselves for another week. (And next week there will be another one).

It must be mentioned too that the Spanish are generally extremely racist and think they are better than the rest of Europe. Never before have I heard a nation of people so insulting about the people in the countries around them, and they have a vast loathing towards anyone coming from eastern Europe. Don't think you'll escape by being a pom either. They are all too happy to take your money, but equally quick to insult the hell out of you behind your back. (And you don't need to be in Ibiza or Benidorm to hear it).

Somehow these peasant farmers seem to have forgotten who dragged them off of their donkeys and kicking-and-screaming into the 21st century - but sure they still manage to pull-the-wool over the eyes of those "do-gooders" in Brussels offering big financial handouts.

Sure, some of the foods good (but not much), the beaches are okay (but by no means the best), and some of the women are hot (if not very stuck-up their own arse) ... but you can get all of this in a hundred other countries that actually welcome you and WANT you to be there.

Spain?? - Personally I'd keep well away from the place!

LensCap

[charliebrown71]

I've never seen such a negative and full of topic commentary about my loved country...I don't know where you come from to compare, but as Eric Clapton used to say "Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself..."

[paul163]

Originally Posted by LensCap

SPAIN - You Must be MAD!!

Spain is okay for a quick holiday in the sun, but if you're thinking of living there and doing business with the locals, forget it! They are about as backward as can be, (and I've met some dumb people in my years but these guys take the cake), and they are also about the most dishonest, two-faced and corrupt people in Europe. .. Sure they seem all friendly on the outside, but they will rip-you-off any chance they get - and the government and councils are certainly no better, if anything they're lots worse.

Then there is all the red-tape you'll have to jump through, basically just another excuse for the council to take your money (and the town major to pocket his "commission"). Hell you can't even get the local electric company to connect you to an existing network without first paying for and presenting new architect's plans to the council for approval. .. And don't forget that nothing useful happens in under a month, (not even installing a phone line), and you'll generally be luckily to get any of your business's required permissions in writing in under two-years. .. And once you do, (if your business hasn't already folded whilst waiting), the local police will hassle you constantly because you are a foreigner, and do their damnedest to fine you huge sums of money for any of a million unwritten infractions until you come to your senses and close your business.

Talking about the police, do be very very careful of their National Police unit, the ones in dark uniforms. They are all pretty ignorant and love to be extremely violent, (even against women and their own people, especially young students), I've seen more than a few women brutally punched and slapped in the face by police officers during my time there, including one girl who's face they smashed against a car window and then dragged her down the road by her hair. So until someone complains and Brussels steps in and controls them I'd keep well clear of these bastards. Obviously it would seem Spain has no independent investigations unit of it's own to keep a check on their police force, none that works anyway .. hey, don't you just love corruption!

As for motoring, the same warning applies. The Spanish coppers delight in stopping cars at random (day or night) and will find any excuse to give you a £1000 spot-fine (and they'll even follow you to the nearest ATM if you don't have the cash). The special guard (Guardia Civil) do seem to have done a complete 180. They use to be the worst until the late 90's, but are now generally the most educated and polite. But again, you still don't want to get on the wrong side of them. If you do have problems I strongly suggest you call your embassy immediately and ask for help, especially if no one in your family knows your in Spain.

Buying a house in Spain is another nightmare. Firstly you have to contend with a bunch of cheating estate agents (many of whom are sadly British), who think nothing of selling you a house that is not fit to live in or does not have all it's papers. Then of course there is their commission, which they invent themselves (depending on how much money they think you have) and can be as high as 30% of the house value. Of course all the lawyers work on kick-backs too, so DON'T use anyone your estate agent recommends, BUT DO use one as buying a house (or car) in Spain without a lawyer is asking for trouble. You could very well end-up homeless and paying off thousands that other people owe, and your "friendly" estate agent will just sit back in their chair, count their money, and laugh!!

Remember too that Spanish building work is EXTREMELY substandard compared to northern or eastern Europe, so be very careful what you buy. Walls are generally not roof-supporting, so you can put your foot through the brick-work (and so can any burglar). Again nearly everyone in the building trade will try and stick-it to you, demanding cash upfront and returning shoddy or unfinished work, if they even bother to finish it. Plumbers, electricians and Spanish "skilled" workers are all the same; expensive and pretty useless. Tip: Get some Bulgarian or other EU national to do most of the build, especial brickwork and flooring. In typical Spanish style, any defects in your new home will be covered over with a thick plaster (never repaired), and it is not too uncommon for buildings to crack severely or break apart completely, and older houses to collapse under the weight of a bit of snow. Some exterior walls (even on rooftop gardens) can fall down just from leaning against them - so don't!

Then of course there is the siesta, another excuse not to work. The only thing these people seem to do well is waste money on food, fancy dresses and parties (fiestas) where you're only welcome if you're a local (they even advertise and display all related information in their own obscure dialects so foreigners can't understand it). The council spends millions from Europe's budget to pay for these week-long events, billions of fireworks and closing-off entire towns to traffic so they can indulge themselves for another week. (And next week there will be another one).

It must be mentioned too that the Spanish are generally extremely racist and think they are better than the rest of Europe. Never before have I heard a nation of people so insulting about the people in the countries around them, and they have a vast loathing towards anyone coming from eastern Europe. Don't think you'll escape by being a pom either. They are all too happy to take your money, but equally quick to insult the hell out of you behind your back. (And you don't need to be in Ibiza or Benidorm to hear it).

Somehow these peasant farmers seem to have forgotten who dragged them off of their donkeys and kicking-and-screaming into the 21st century - but sure they still manage to pull-the-wool over the eyes of those "do-gooders" in Brussels offering big financial handouts.

Sure, some of the foods good (but not much), the beaches are okay (but by no means the best), and some of the women are hot (if not very stuck-up their own arse) ... but you can get all of this in a hundred other countries that actually welcome you and WANT you to be there.

Spain?? - Personally I'd keep well away from the place!

LensCap

Let no one pay attention to what this hustler says.
I don't know if this guy is an Anti Spanish.
Let them tell all the German or English retirees about how they live in Spain.!!!