Are you more sociable in Spain?

[IreneD]

wanna be my friend

There's an offer I can't refuse or can I ..........I'll think about it

[Chunky Monky]

The one and only time I tried terrified us both I just kept scrabbling at the door for the gears

Was your OH scrabbling at the passenger door to get out?

[IreneD]

No, he was paralysed with fear, Chunky

[katy]

Irene you should give it another try ASAP. I have known quite a few women who gave up driving once they moved to Spain. The longer you leave it the harder it will be and at least you don't have to pass a test . Just start with short runs, negotiate a couple of roundabouts and you will soon be back into it. Have you read the book "Feel the fear and do it anyway"

[Julie]

Hi Irene

The ladies who called could of been looking for your donation to the local fiesta, in our area it quite normal for every household to donate 40 euro, or less if you can't afford it, bu then you can invite the world and its wife to the fiesta.

[IreneD]

Katy, no I haven'y read that book but I've heard of it. I'll see if it's on Kindle - thanks for the encouragement

Julie - oh no!! I feel terrible now! I wonder if that was what they wanted? Oh dear........I'll try and find out, maybe we can contribute late.

[Julie]

I wouldn't worry, they will come back next year ja ja !

[asiwalkedout]

Definitely, life seems to be much more in the street, mainly because of the weather I guess. When I'm in Spain I stay in La Linea with family and there is a very active local Spanish community there. Of course it helps if you can speak Spanish but lots of people can also speak English. Also there are a lot of Brits living there who work in Gibraltar so the bars are always busy. I like the community there and the mixture of people.

[Chunky Monky]

Definitely, life seems to be much more in the street, mainly because of the weather I guess. When I'm in Spain I stay in La Linea with family and there is a very active local Spanish community there. Of course it helps if you can speak Spanish but lots of people can also speak English. Also there are a lot of Brits living there who work in Gibraltar so the bars are always busy. I like the community there and the mixture of people.

It's the first time I've ever heard of anyone having a good word for La Linea!

Enjoy.

[sujee]

In the UK our social life was work and family orientated. Once retirement came, we could no longer afford to go to the pub or eat out much. Since coming to Spain, we go out to local bar almost every night and often go out for lunch as the dia is so cheap

We have deliberately not joined the local expat circle it is far too small and incestuous and why cling to people you don't really like just because they speak English. However we do sometimes join some of the expats for a drink if they are already in the bar but get sick of their xenophobic and bigoted attitudes. I meet up with some of the ladies once a fortnight for coffee but am longing to leave after 15 mins. We are on nodding terms with many of the local Spanish and even have brief conversations now our Spanish is improving. OH has still not been invited to play dominoes yet but local bar owner's wife goes out of her way to talk to me and another woman thumped on the back at a local market just to say hello .

We are very happy with our own company and when OH is back in UK for a few days I love the isolation.

[fyfin]

I would say without a doubt I am more sociable here in Spain. The main reason I suppose is that I am now retired but when I retired I moved to Spain pretty quickly so I didn't get the chance to see how it would be back in UK.
In our town there is a mix of Spanish and ex pats most of whom are retired as well with a smattering of the usual "we can fix anything Brits" who will invariably rip you off. The Spanish are definitely in a majority and we are on nodding terms with quite a few but long conversations which you feel they would like to have are a no no because our Spanish just isn't good enough but we can have exchanges about the weather!
Previous posters have mentioned the problems with expats thrown together and this is very true, suddenly you're in a small community (in our case a small town) where invariably you will get to know most of the expats, but we are lucky that we have made friends with decent like minded people who are simply enjoying their retirement and want a quiet life. They are able to warn you about the ones to avoid for various reasons and then you soon find out for yourself and it's quite fun, a bit like a soap opera.
There's the guy, who when he's been out drinking, (and that's every day usually but more intense on a Friday and Saturday), will start swearing loudly at his wife and chucking things around, so the whole street can hear (with windows open this weather). Then the next evening he'll be singing love songs to her on the karaoke.
There's the guy who left his wife for the hairdresser but he's completely bald so it's not for the free haircuts I guess. The relationships that break up and start up are always a bit of a talking point and as I said it's a small town and if you have something to hide it'll soon be the latest talking point.

But, my wife had made friends from her line dancing and by tagging along with the other husbands I have made friends with them and joined their little domino club. We were persuaded to take our guitars along to the open air jam session held at a local bar and although we are not as good as the two guys who started it, we are now very much a part of it and have made more friends that way as well. As we live in an apartment block we have also made friends with some of the couples here and one couple rescued a lovely dog from the streets where he had been dumped 3 weeks before and we love to look after him if they go away for a few days - more exercise walking.

For me the weather is a big factor as well, most days we will wander out for a tubo or tinto verano €1.50 with a free tapa and spend an hour or two just chatting to whoever happens to be there.

We're both really glad we made the move and it's amazing how quickly time passes and boredom simply doesn't exist!

[Julie]

Fyfin, that's a lovely summary. Its good to know that people are settled and happy because being unsettled were you you are would be awful. I don't spend much time in Spain now due to illness, but I still speak to my friends and neighbours, last 3 times I have been over we have visited other parts of Spain for a few days which I have enjoyed a lot, off to Madrid and Toledo in September, just hoping it won't be too
hot

Enjoy !! Life is too short not to

[IreneD]

That is indeed a lovely summary Fyfin and is very much our experience, too. Mixed comments about the expats from others, I see. Our expat community seems to be quite large although most of them live in the campo surrounding Canillas, not so many in the village as we are but at ferias and the like they seem to congregate and there are are lots of 'em. I was amazed at a recent concert (organised by a Brit with Spanish participation in the entertainment) - we were with our friends on a table of 11 people and they know dozens of people! Loads were coming over and greeting each other! OH and I sat there grinning inanely lol.

It was a good evening because there were also plenty of Spanish people enjoying it, too and I like that 'our' group can speak Spanish (some better than others) and the camaraderie between Brits and Spanish was good.

[anyroads]

"a good word for La Linea! "

Would that be dynamite ?

anyroads

[gus-lopez]

No.

[quebin]

No.

I'll join that club.

[katy]

Irene, I remember those "do's" very well. Good to know the kissy kissy set are still around

[IreneD]

No kissing involved, we are British doncha know Nah, people were just coming over and chatting

Maybe the Marbella set are different to the off-the-beaten-track set

[jogger]

I shouldn't really post on this thread because we don't live in Spain as yet. We have just moved to a larger village with a station which will reduce my commute by up to two hours a day and will rent very easily when we do get to Spain. The company I work for will offer us severance in two years time. The target date which will have me at 57/58
We often say when we move we will have to get involved a lot more with the local community than we do. The trouble is we are really content in each others company. (that could change on early retirement) The intention will be to join some sort of walking club or something, we would also like to integrate with the locals. Procrastination is the issue with us when it comes to ssocialising. Irene I will check out the Spanish language site and fyfin that was an excellent post. We are looking at moving just inland from Velez Malaga so mostly Spanish as you would expect in spain .

[issiell]

I am an Australian and have been living here since March 2013 and have only Spanish friends here, the locals have been wonderful and I have marvellous neighbours, but it would be nice to speak English sometimes. Does anyone live in or near Martos?