And of course the torrential rain. Very glad I don’t live on the ground floor – we have a deep river outside this morning instead of a road, & all sorts of rubbish floating along 😯
Perhaps you should pose the question again, a freind just returned to the uk and was stuck in Luton airport for hours as the access road in and out was under 4ft of water.
I am from what you uk people so strangly call “Europe”, as if the UK is not part of that 😉 and on my vacations in the uk i enjoy :
The overexpensive pound, the weird breakfast, the swolen right hand from banging into the door of the car when you want to change gear and forget that you are in a right hand drive car and have to use your left hand to change gears, but most of all things i really enjoy :
At the moment the UK is experiencing very server weather and this Summer so far has been disastrous, but one thing I have learnt is never to tempt fate ,Spain is on the edge of yet another drought ,the whole of the Mediterranean has had ultra high temperatures for weeks on end ,Large Forest fires have already affected the outskirts of Athens .
Interestingly the UK Government is considering Yet another interest rate hike to try and cool the economy ,whilst the Spanish authorities grapple with the prospect of a property led recession ,bizarrely the UK has achieved record levels of inward investment whilst we fight two major and apparently unpopular campaigns in the middle east ,have survived (Just) three recent bombing attempts ,and our guest establishments still have carpet in the bathrooms .Although I hasten to add that I personally have not come across this floor covering for a few years now, may be thats because I avoid certain establishments or I have just been lucky.
The fact is love it or loath it the UK certainly displays a great resilience to shocks and continues to surprise those who chose to alight on aspects that should in theory be quite detrimental , but in reality prove to be nothing more than observations .
best thing about england. once the current rain stops, the sun will come out, everyone will go to the beach or park to enjoy the sun and in 2 weeks there will be a water shortage 😕
About a week before the floods I watched a discussion programme on TV which stated that more and more people are choosing to holiday in the UK. They dragged in various celebs and the great and the good to say they would be holidaying in Cornwall, suffolk etc in their second homes. Many people said airport security and sub-standard accommodation had put them off travelling abroad. If the weather in the UK was similar to here I would move back.
The weather problem here is that it always seems too hot or too cold…but then I am a whinger 😉
It is not just the Brits who are considering holidaying at home , the Germans and Austrians are increasingly holidaying and rediscovering their own countries, the Germans in particular have really moped up their previously run down sea side resorts , to stunning effect , Heiligendamm for example hosted the recent G8 summit and looked beautiful, a recent trip down to Padstow proved that even in Britain the sea side is undergoing some thing of a renaissance , the associated towns of Wadebridge and Bodmin have improved beyond recognition , some way I understand still to go with the likes of Hastings and Margate etc, but as the wealth boom spreads ever further out from the south east , real regeneration is only a matter of time.
For what I gather young families and the elderly seem to be holidaying increasingly closer to home , and it is not just convenience that is a factor here, the high and increasing temperatures around the Mediterranean are proving to be a consideration for the young and old alike
Still I know how you must feel over there, in the Valencia communidad we are officially having one of the coldest summers for 20 years with tempretures struggling to get much above 30 degrees 8)
In the wake of the floods, Culture Secretary James Purnell will meet tourism chiefs from around the country and will announce a package of aid to help market Britain’s rural tourism industry.
The marketing boost is designed to make sure people planning their summer holidays in the UK are not put off by the weather. 😯
Now that’s a tough marketing nut to crack!
How about making wellies and brollies tax-exempt as an incentive?
Well on reading about the UK fab weather 😀 and our really poor comparison of 31 degrees, Im off to the beach to ensure I capture some seawater in readiness for the drought we will not have due to the forcast rains in october
……It is a bank holiday here in Spain indeed – many a visiting Brit caught out with that one today.
And some of us agents are even WORKING!!!! Despite the gloom’n’doom attitude of some agencies we’re busier than ever. What do we do that’s different? Ah yes, must be that “don’t ever lie to the client” policy.
Holidaying in the UK. Now there’s a thought. How about a nice boating trip? Or a barge on a canal? Kayaking down the Thames? I hear there’s plenty of water about this year.
The weather has indeed been diabolical in the UK and there are now concerns over the ground water levels , as we approach late summer , but one thing I do know is that Spain’s is now regarded as an unsafe
and insecure country in which to purchase a property in .
The constant flow of horror stories regarding Spanish property scandals, has filtered into the mindset of of every one I speak to , for some time now I have quietly introduced the subject of Spanish property, into conversations and universally the response has been that no one would now purchase a property in Spain , the fact is that confidence has evaporated from the mainstream buying public.
Even the adverts for Polaris World on TV , now that Jack Nicholas has high tailed off , look like some sad 1970’s advert for Chinzano, with a heavily accented Spanish bloke trying to sound sincere as he attempts to entice the remnants of jaded British purchasers to some gastly highly over developed scheme miles from anywhere sucking yet more scarce water resources from the already parched land.
A recent bank advert sums up most peoples view on Spain as two twits are seen discussing a call centre location , the clearly implied
reference to Spain and Portugal were seen purely from the aspect of a blokes golfing holiday , all a bit down market I’m afraid .
Now I fully understand that there will always be people moving to Spain ,
mainly to retire or to follow other friends and relatives , and this momentum will take time to work it’s way through , wind forward two years hence and things will look much less rosy, the years of illegal and hideous overbuilding and corruption will take a generation to overcome ,Spain’s reputation as a property purchase location is in taters , now derided as some thing as a joke , as Jack said in his last Polaris advert maybe not to day, may not tomorrow ,but the next day. I think he was more right than what he knew .
Even the adverts for Polaris World on TV , now that Jack Nicholas has high tailed off , look like some sad 1970’s advert for Chinzano, with a heavily accented Spanish bloke trying to sound sincere as he attempts to entice the remnants of jaded British purchasers……
Agree Gary. This advert has just been on AGAIN!. The ‘Spanish bloke’ is the President of Polaris World who says that (can’t remember how many) years ago Spanish property prices were attractive but (then he looks down, shakes his head) & says “now they are not”. He doesn’t tell us WHY though, does he. Very ambiguous comment.
Suzanne I have seen this ad on Sky News and don’t quiet get the point of it. I think the President says that “5 years ago”property prices were attractive. It sure as hell would not attract me to buy anything.
Gary I know that the Spanish market is getting hammered in the UK press. In some cases this is richly deserved. However, there are many parts of Spain which have not been spoiled by overbuilding and which are a delight to live in. I think it is important to maintain a balance when commenting on the market here.
Suzanne I have seen this ad on Sky News and don’t quiet get the point of it. I think the President says that “5 years ago”property prices were attractive. It sure as hell would not attract me to buy anything.
CLL
Morning CLL. Yes, I’m sure he says “5 years ago”. I suppose it’s targeting the people who want to live in Spain but now feel they can’t afford it. Then he says “you too can have this lifestyle for less than 80,000 Euros”. Going by the amount of times this ad seems to be shown, I guess they’re getting lots of 80,000 Euros!
In part:
‘Meanwhile, about 700,000 new housing units will go on sale across Spain this year, 300,000 more than projected demand, says Fernando Rodriguez de Acuna, president of R. R. de Acuna & Asociados, a real estate research firm in Madrid.
Astroc and two other Spanish real estate companies, Madrid- based Metrovacesa SA and La Coruna-based Faesa Inmobiliaria SA, had together lost 9.1 billion euros in market value this year. “There are about 60,000 real estate firms in Spain, and 75 percent of them are disasters that will vanish,” Rodriguez de Acuna says.’
Strangely, Polaris world are advertising on Spanish TV too!
I read somewhere here that most of the developments built over the past few years are almost exclusively owned by foreigners, majority being from the UK. The Spanish who can afford to buy don’t want them as they are nearly all 2 bedrooms and small so not suitable for family/residential living, neither do thye want to pay the overpriced community fees.
A law degree in Spain does not mean that they would untimately become lawyers, either as practising, legal representative, or work in the legal department of a company.
I, understand it is called “Derecho” a profession very popular with the middle classes/upper middle classes as it opens various options in the wide world as and when their contacts ( anchufes) opens the doors for them.
It should not be compared with a degree in law, which just channels you to the legal profession.
And it rained here today!! On the way back from Fuengirola with the hood down when it started. Luckily at speed the rain goes over the top, but then I hit a traffic jam……. So drying off nicely now in the office – sun trying to come out but bursts of light showers – still 27 degrees though!
And people will always buy in Spain. If the property is the right price there are buyers.
I also went to the Municipal offices to look at hte proposed PGOU plan for Marbella, and if they do the work then it will become a very desireable cosmopolitan area. I just hope they doit in my lifetime!! 😉
Gary
Think you may have stepped out of line and hijacked this thread in case you have not noticed. 😯
Agree 100% with what you say however the weathers really great here today and on Monday our whole town centre was flooded.
House prices are reported to be going up anothet 40% in the U.K over the next few years,hoteliers are reporting their worst season ever so with interest rises and the doom and gloom around then many will not be having holidays in this country or in Spain or anywhere else for that matter.
Came past the Mijas Aquapark about 2pm and there were 20 cars in the car park “under water” from bonnet to roof high!! No exit at either end, the Police & Fire Brigade had cut the armco barrier to let what cars could move straight out onto the bypass. Scene reminded me of TV pictures of England in July!!
Only difference was I came back past it at 4pm and the water had gone in this car park.
just come back (yesterday) from Zante (greek island), great beaches, no high rise or ugly buildings, clear blue warm sea, pint of cold stella in small super markets only 1 Euro, no mosi’s, nothing that stings in the sea, most of island unspoilt, didn’t see any building going on, cheap petrol etc. Perphaps the most amazing thing was watching newly hatched baby turtles making their first journey to the sea from their nests high up on the beach just as sun rises. What a place!, however when we left at 10.30 am the temperature was 41c., so to hot for some, then arrived back in England………… cold, cloudy, overcrowded, bad news on the telly, i’m walking round with my chin on the floor this morning. I know i have a good life here and have much to be thankful for, and many med’ area’s are facing water shortage, but how depressing is our weather when you come back from somewhere that you can swim in comfort in a warm sea 24 hours a day if you wished, and still still feel warm when you get out!
…yes it’s good stuff, for some reason though it was dearer in the local shops on Zante than Stella, and both are good.
We got a good deal on the holiday from a bargain holiday website (in Laganas, but away from the dreadful bit in the middle, full of UK thug clubs and bars) and were very suprised how quiet all the nice restaraunts and bars were. Nice for us but not good for them as mid season, it looked like an island set up for many more visitors? Not an easy place to make a living in the current tourist trade i would think?
getting back to the OP, just heard that due to the floods, several beaches around the UK are not considered healthy for holiday makers, so in some areas the muddy cold water has even more problems for bathers. After two weeks swimming every day in the fabulous warm blue seas of greece, i just couldn’t face taking my main family holiday in the UK. If the sea/beaches and day/night air temperature were not important to us, then we might be happy to holiday in the UK…….i’m still not sure though??
Having said that, i love the UK for walking/cycling breaks, long weekends etc.
getting back to the OP, just heard that due to the floods, several beaches around the UK are not considered healthy for holiday makers, so in some areas the muddy cold water has even more problems for bathers. After two weeks swimming every day in the fabulous warm blue seas of greece, i just couldn’t face taking my main family holiday in the UK. If the sea/beaches and day/night air temperature were not important to us, then we might be happy to holiday in the UK…….i’m still not sure though??
Having said that, i love the UK for walking/cycling breaks, long weekends etc.
A report in one of the tabloids show that a record number of Brits,(the highest since records began) are emigrating with Spain still very much in the forefront .
More are still coming into the U.K than going out, but somehow I don’t see many Spanish or Australians in the numbers that come anywhere near balancing out the figures.
Even after allowing that a percentage do return to the U.K for personal reasons or because they are homesick its clear that we are on the move in more ways than just holidays.
A report in one of the tabloids show that a record number of Brits,(the highest since records began) are emigrating with Spain still very much in the forefront .
More are still coming into the U.K than going out, but somehow I don’t see many Spanish or Australians in the numbers that come anywhere near balancing out the figures.
Even after allowing that a percentage do return to the U.K for personal reasons or because they are homesick its clear that we are on the move in more ways than just holidays.