So many signs telling me to leave . . . (photo)

[Alan]

This is a photo of Hamilton town centre, taken today. Spot anything?

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[Marbella]

Looks a pretty place despite all the to let signs.

What's happened, has a superstore opened just out of town?

[Alan]

Yeah, just out of view an Asda has opened. It's the size of a football park and is open 24hrs per day (most of the time). Watch the South Park episode "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes" - it is pretty close to what has happened here.

. . . yet we still shop there.

[Marbella]

That's a tragedy. Someone might try to persuade me that this is progress, and call me an old stick-in-the-mud but I don't believe ripping the heart out of town centres like this is the way to go.

[Ben]

So with all these signs telling you to leave, are you heading South any time soon? :)

[Brian]

So with all these signs telling you to leave, are you heading South any time soon? :)`

There's that little thingie about a J-O-B.

Any leads yet, Alan?

[Ben]

You can always T-E-A-C-H E-N-G-L-I-S-H ;)

[Alan]

I saw Ben's post this morning and couldn't think of an answer to it.

I want to go to Spain, but

I don't speak SpanishI would probably pick up enough Spanish to live given a few months. I've written a fair few posts in Spanish, so judge for yourself where my level is at. My spoken Spanish is far behind.

There's no money there.But I could double my salary by moving to England. Moving to Spain would bring a salary of probably €30,000. It's a comfortable salary, but I can earn much more elsewhere. I think it would be sensible to earn a bit of cash here before moving to Spain. There's even an argument for moving to England (I don't want to live there) and I'm talking to some companies in the North of England.

My girlfriend isn't too keen on itShe has very reasonable reasons for wanting to live here, but has conceded that it would be an excellent idea to retire to Spain. She is also a professional person with a Masters level education and she is keen to become Chartered. Afterwards, I don't know.

It would cause problems if I wanted to bring up kidsBeing separated from family etc.

At the moment, I feel very depressed about the whole thing. Part of it is this country and part of it is the lack of direction in my life.

We're going to Spain for a couple of weeks to have a holiday and relax. I think that will help our decision.

[Ben]

I don't speak Spanish
There's no money there.
My girlfriend isn't too keen on it.
It would cause problems if I wanted to bring up kidsBeing separated from family etc.

At the moment, I feel very depressed about the whole thing. Part of it is this country and part of it is the lack of direction in my life.

We're going to Spain for a couple of weeks to have a holiday and relax. I think that will help our decision.
Well, I think the only real problem, and a very worthy one, is that your girlfriend doesn't want to move. That is certainly a tricky one. Hoever, not speaking Spanish is no problem, I moved here with no Spanish... and yours is already very good. It would be excellent within months.
'There's no money there' - there is plenty of money really, and cost of living is slightly lower. The point is though that what you loose in salary you gain in quality of living twice over, and that is what it's all about.
'It would cause problems if I wanted to bring up kids' - There are many many foriegn kids in Spain, all bilingual and all with a unique perspective on two cultures. I for one am looking forward to it (some day!!)

These are hard decisions to make, but remember, you can always give something a try and then head back if it doesn't work out! And as for not having direction in life, do not worry about that.... I didn't have much clue about what I really wanted to do until a year or two ago, and even now I wake up quite often trying to work out exactly where I'm going! Who doesn't?

Hopefully things will be clearer after your holiday.

[Alan]

Absolutely :) I'm kidding myself by putting it third in the list. But again, she is adamant that she doesn't want to stop me from going. What to do.

[ValenciaSon]

Alan, I have to agree with Ben. Your spanish is more than adequate. I believe you would only gain proficiency if you immersed yourself in the culture. I know your reasons for hesitation are compelling and only you can decide which direction to take. I hope it works out for you.


Carpe diem!

[Marbella]

What to do.

Random thoughts....

Looking at your photo, you are young and all being well should have plenty of time in life to make mistakes and recover from them.
Spain will always be there but your girlfriend may not.
You are obviously a clever chap and will make a living in Spain if you choose to go all the way.
Compromise - if you earn good money in England, it will fund plenty of weekend breaks and holidays to Spain while you decide what to do.
You could persuade her to try it out for a few months and maybe, just maybe, she will be smitten with Spanish life.
Isn't it great to have choices in life?

[richardksa]

Alan,

Sometimes we regret the things we have done, but worse than this is to regret what you have not done. And if I look back at my life to review the choices I made, even when I could not predict the outcome, I have very few regrets. (Oh heavens, this looks like a rough draft of "My Way".) For the really important things in life the feelings and wants of others have to take second place. Otherwise your famous last words will be, "If only...."

[Marbella]

Just to continue the theme of getting the most out of life, I read this quote in the Guardian today. Alan Clark was an MP and superb diarist:

...the late Alan Clark was asked if he had wasted his life on wine, women and song, and he replied "Song?"

[gary]

Absolutely :) I'm kidding myself by putting it third in the list. But again, she is adamant that she doesn't want to stop me from going. What to do.
How about take the plunge - go on holiday for a fortnight, take any gig you can get, stay on for six months see if you can make it crack and take it from there, its only 3 hours by plane....

For all the reasons I mentioned previously now is the best opportunity you'll ever have, if you were my son (Mikey's probably about your age) Id tell you to jump - have a go - grasp the ortiga - take a risk - and if you try and fail once or twice you'll be a better person for it, but youl never have to look back and regret that you didnt try.....

[gary]

Just to continue the theme of getting the most out of life, I read this quote in the Guardian today. Alan Clark was an MP and superb diarist:

...the late Alan Clark was asked if he had wasted his life on wine, women and song, and he replied "Song?"

Or George Best

"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars - the rest I just squandered."

[richardksa]

I would never have imagined I would ever need to learn "ortiga"! What would be the equivalent phrase in Spanish?

[Marbella]

Yeah, just out of view an Asda has opened. It's the size of a football park and is open 24hrs per day (most of the time). Watch the South Park episode "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes" - it is pretty close to what has happened here.

. . . yet we still shop there.

Timely: "No superstores 'means prosperity'"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5115990.stm

[kyle]

I would never have imagined I would ever need to learn "ortiga"! What would be the equivalent phrase in Spanish?

"tomar el toro por los cuernos" ? (also coger in Spain, but watch out with 'coger' in south am. :) )

[gary]

"tomar el toro por los cuernos" ? (also coger in Spain, but watch out with 'coger' in south am. :) )


Just looked it up - you could get into terrible trouble with that one!!

[Alan]

Here is the montrosity that is the 24hrs Asda.
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[Brian]

Hey, el Listo!

What happened to your avatar?

[Alan]

Ah I was gonna change it then had a problem resizing the image. Then I forgot about it. U missin looking at my face? :D

[ValenciaSon]

El Listo,

Is Asda affiliated with Wal-Mart? It seems like I can make out the word Wal-Mart on the sign.

[Alan]

They were bought over by Walmart. Just another step to world-domination. Asda and Walmart behave in the exact same way. Well except Asda isn't allowed to sell ammunition . . .

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[Brian]

Ah I was gonna change it then had a problem resizing the image. Then I forgot about it. U missin looking at my face? :D

Absolutamente.

Actually, ValenciaSon started the movement away from anonymity when he removed his Spock avatar. So, peer pressure, and I put my grizzly visage up. Now, you become Sr. Anónimo. :confused:

[Brian]

They were bought over by Walmart. Just another step to world-domination. Asda and Walmart behave in the exact same way. Well except Asda isn't allowed to sell ammunition . . .

95

According to Wikipedia, Asda is yet to conquer the UK:

"Tesco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco) has 31.1% of the UK grocery market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNS_Superpanel) while ASDA's share is 16.4%"

[Alan]

The story is quite different in Scotland. I think it has the biggest share of the market here. There's another one of these stores only 4 miles away.

[gary]

According to Wikipedia, Asda is yet to conquer the UK:

"Tesco (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco) has 31.1% of the UK grocery market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNS_Superpanel) while ASDA's share is 16.4%"

Asda is short for Associated Dairies, a Leeds based firm that only started a few decades ago (before that Craven Dairies) - as you guess they were milk guys to start with, then they opened up retail outlets they did their own meat and poultry and opened bakeries, I actually worked at one of their bakeries about 30 years ago

But

What you have to remember is that ASDA = WALMART hence the recent explosion in large super stores stores, the old US Imperialism thing;). We even have a McDonalds in the carpark of our Asda!! Though why anyone would need to buy milk at 4am I have no idea! Tesco on the other hand are making the move to get into the US. On balance I think your lot are bigger than our lot. The UK market is profitable as we are used to paying through the nose for stuff. There was a noticable price drop on food when Walmart took over Asda.

we have Asda, Morrisons, Tescos and KWIK Save all within two miles of our house and two Asda Hyperstores and a Morrisons Hypersore within 6 miles. All the Asdas and the Tescos are 24h

There are also local shops for the stuff you forget... I know there are supermarkets in spain, but I never visit one. I usually stay at the Hostal Barcelona on Calle Rosser in Barcelona. Its a residential area of oldish apartments. As i walk down the street which is no longer than 100m there is a butchers, a bakery, a confectioners, two small general stores, three holes in the wall where you can buy fresh veg, a garage, two Tabacs, a newsagent, a furniture shop, electical goods shop, two banks, three furniture shops, a place to buy bottled gas, a dozen bars, there are two italian restaurants and a cuirry house within 50 yards of the end of the street, a tubestop and a bus terminal all of which serve a community - ie those who live in the buildings above. They are not faceless, they have to keep up their standards or they wont survive, oh yes, and chemists (pharmacies) are everywhere, it is almost impossible to take a photo in the area without including a green cross in the background - how ill do the spanish get!?

[Alan]

It's no wonder the high street can't cope - there are 7 very large supermarkets in Hamilton (town of approx 60,000 people).

Asda (above) and two more within 10 minutes drive.
Morrisson's - another brand new hypermarket
Sainsbury's - slightly smaller, but still pretty big
Somerfield
Kwiksave
Aldi
Marks & Spencer

. . . but no Tesco to be seen :)

And of course we have Farmfoods, Iceland and all the usual small chains too. Independents have no chance.

[Brian]

I'm afraid you'll see the same thing in Spain with the proliferation of Hipercor (a Corte Inglés hypermart) and the French Carrefour, which just opened its 22nd hypermarket in Indonesia (http://www.carrefour.com/english/homepage/index.jsp)!

[gary]

It's no wonder the high street can't cope - there are 7 very large supermarkets in Hamilton (town of approx 60,000 people).


sorry forgot Aldi, Lidl, Netto.......de da de da de da......

[gary]

I'm afraid you'll see the same thing in Spain with the proliferation of Hipercor (a Corte Inglés hypermart) and the French Carrefour, which just opened its 22nd hypermarket in Indonesia (http://www.carrefour.com/english/homepage/index.jsp)!

Yeah but in in spain many people still live in the city centre whereas we all moved to the burbs where land was cheap for the superstores ... this trend is now being revived in the prosperous cities - many more apartments in the town centre - and no grocery shopping - people have to drive out of town to shop for food. though there are still the trad markets...

[ValenciaSon]

I was amazed when I read that Carrefour opened its 52nd store in Asturias and that there are 14 stores in Spain alone, not to mention penetrating Indonesia. I'm surprised they are not in the US yet.

[Brian]

I was amazed when I read that Carrefour opened its 52nd store in Asturias and that there are 14 stores in Spain alone, not to mention penetrating Indonesia. I'm surprised they are not in the US yet.

Yeah, it's weird. Well, at least I have my shelves stocked full of Carrefour brand pimentón, hierbas provencales, and azafrán.

[Edith]

I was amazed when I read that Carrefour opened its 52nd store in Asturias and that there are 14 stores in Spain alone, not to mention penetrating Indonesia. I'm surprised they are not in the US yet.

I haven't seen them in Holland either. Our supermarkets are very small compared to foreign ones, one of the reasons being that many Dutch people are quite stingy buyers. Especially as far as food is concerned. The French, the Belgians and the Spanish like to spend much more money on good food! :D A favorite saying of the Dutch is 'it costs too much!'. :eek: Even in your own country you can experience some sort of culture shock every now and then. ;-)

For instance, we are supposed to be fish lovers but the average Spanish supermarket has got more fish products than the biggest Albert Heijn (our most exclusive supermarket) in Amsterdam! Te duur! (too expensive)