16 Mar 2009 12:00 AM:
Hola
Both have their fair share of problems agreed, but am delighted to hear that after umming and arring my best friend's decided enoughs enough, the UK is on self destruct mode, and has decided to sell up in the uk before her property dives in value again and buy in Spain- after renting longterm to test the area obviously.
I said: are you sure? as she is a bit of a rut-pup, and she said, she's accepted the UK is going into a 1930 depression, property is falling by her by a minimum of £20grand per house,and now her 2 kids have safe jobs its now or never. With that in mind she's decided to downsize and buy a small UK property with a builder that will pay her mortgage for 2yrs (she didnt need one but took one out a tiny one just to move and have the financial benefit offered from the builder eg hips,stamp,moving fees etc) plus she will be nearer an airport that flies winter and summer to where she is going. Anyhow she is buying in Spain and as I speak its almost a done deal.
what I wanted to say was, she has been lookiing on here for a while reading what people say etc and she found it factual,friendly and funny but more so noted people call it as they see it, so I am sending thanks to you all.
I know downsizing in the UK when the kids get jobs etc seems a big leap, but she is so so happy she has pushed them out as it means she is free to do what is right for her. Janice I said, you and Mick have been excellent parents, but when you get to 50 you dont need that big 4 bed house anymore, what you need is a smaller 3 bed property (if you must hang onto something in the UK) and near to an airport that flies all year not just in certain months then you can 'buy-right' and come and go as you please not as the airline pleases. She burst into tears as she was pleased to hear these words as they lifted any guilt about urging her kids to stand on their own feet and cut the apron strings.
What can I say other than she is now on the way over with her cats after doing all the micro jab stuff and is like a new women, a fair few wrinkles have faded and she doesnt have panic attacks anymore. Janice occ uses my login to mooch around here for info she seeks, then she calls me to share it, so I have to say: folks living in Spain, ALL your points of info fact or opinion have made her sit up and see how her life was going down the panand how to turn it around.
Yes Spain has its issues, but nothing like the £40grand bill per person to bail out the UK?
I want to echo her thanks, without a forum like this my best friend would never have had a place to turn to for the info she needed to make a decision she is more than happy with that suits her and Mick. As for the kids? They can visit when they want, but its time for them to go their own ways and free up the coffers for mum and dad.
If anyone reading this forum site in need of info or advise, I say this : you wont find better, honest and supportivie people than here.
If anyone is thinking of downsizing in the UK to flee to Spain, well this is the place to knock around your thoughts and questions. Some answers may not be what you want to hear but they will be voiced for your own protection, kinda like a nudge into reality, but the majority of answers will be given from those who have trodden the path before you, and their experience etc is invaluable,honest and priceless.
I thank you all for helping my friend do what was right for her, as a friend I backed off as it had to come from her, and through this site all her dreams have come true. I cant think of a better way to show that its not always British is Best but more so BritishCome Spanish is best, at least you can say you lived life to the max. Now so can Janice and Mick, their new adventure is about to begin and I thank you all for helping her climb out of the rut she felt she was in due to the state of the UK.
Forum thread: uk V spain? my friend says thanks for helping her find a way forward that suited her.
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07 Oct 2008 7:59 PM:
no you have gotten my reply all wrong.
i agree very much with your view on a proper site, what i dont agree with or perhaps have worries about is simply who will control it, how can you stop the victor meldrews from forever moaning, and by that i mean moaning just to get their moaning fix.
plus i am also worried about people making off the cuff remarks, eg why are you now having a go at me for simply defending a persons position regarding the yahoo shine front page, i am not (as you put it) advocating anything, i do however agree that to get this place to a standard that will - shall we say - at least survive , then the bar has to be raised. By that i do strongly think that people should firstly be more considerate to other's views, who would run into a show house/flat and say 'give me one with a view of washing and ironing, i want to buy/rent that one ?' would you ? or have you chosen a view ? i see nothing wrong with expressing my view on washing, if i wanted to look at washing lines all day i'd buy next to a chinese laundry. (apologies to anyone chinese, or owning a laundry - it is merely an example, nothing personal)
if you can set up such a system i am sure you'll have a lot of support, including mine, if it is set up properly. but, and again whoever is going to oversee it continues to have to 'have the last say or point the finger' in a tone that upsets then it will soon become worthless.
sorry, but your last sentence has upset me, it is wrong to make that accusation of me, i do not see anything raised on these dunas sites as that bad, they may not be pleasent to read, but the majority are words of truth, and you cannot or should i say should not make such a comment to those who speak with sincere honesty, or find the courage to express what is tormenting them on a daily basis ,it is wrong and degrading, and i am most upset by it.
if my portrayal of my upset, hurts your feelings i apologise upfront, at the end of the day all i want to see is progress, and if it means thrashing out unpleasentries so be it, at least the issues get raised, but please dont resort to throwing a return comment that offends, it is uncalled for. i still stand by my belief that i have a right to say i am offended by washing/ironing in public view, it may seem trivial to you, but i am sure you also feel strongly about something which to another seems trivial. the only difference is how people take it on board, right now you have made me feel like my opinion accounts for nothing, and even more i also feel even more upset that you have added a closing jibe towards me.
so please, whatever you set up, allow people to have their opinion and dont make their trauma worse by a judgement which is from your side only. i had great admiration for what you had just written until your 'advocay' comment, then i just felt empty and my hopes of improvement betrayed to the point i almost feel like chucking my keys into the sea and getting on a plane back to the uk and saying 'sod it' - that's right, your comment made me feel totally worthless and stupid for sticking up for someone who had referred to a yahoo shine header page (which clealry you had not seen) and I am now asking myself the question, how is anything going to be sorted if when people speak on behalf of or defend those who feel too frightened to speak for themself all they get is an off the cuff reply ? well it wont because people will soon take the view, if it doesnt affect me dont get involved and that is what i would hope would be avoided, though right now its how i feel.
i am sure deep down you didnt mean to upset me, and i am sure your are as frustrated as others, but to make this work everyone needs to depersonalise and just put efforts into pulling in one direction, until the jobs done. i still think you can pull it off as long as you can stand back and say ; that may may not be a big deal to me, but it clearly is to someone else, and address it, it could make all the difference, and soon people will take notice, they will realise something no matter how small will get due attention and not be dismissed as trivial.
for what its worth, you have my blessing on this venture, and as long as you can detach from your own opinion you clearly will make it successful as you are full of determination and obviously most capable. but even now, after writing as near an essay, all i can think about is your closing sentence, and it will take a while for me to recover from it, as they say : the first cut is the deepest ,and my whole being feels its been cut to the quick.
oh4
Community thread: white sky viewing card skynet?
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04 Oct 2008 5:16 PM:
Fionn,
I shall be SORRY to see you bow out, for what its worth I TOO THINK YOUR comments have been very very helpful, as its been mentioned before by many, you have lived here, moved on and are in the privilidged position of being able to give an honest opinion based on comparison (spelling not too hot today folk -sorry).
I dont get why people want to 'hush/cover' things up because they are so scared of loosing rental. My view on rental is : if you have to rely on it you shouldnt be buying.
No doubt that comment will upset a few, but its the reality of life, even more so with the euro blah blah blah.
Like Amandarowan, I second the value of Fionn's input, yet it worries me that these forums are about to become forums where anything mentioned that upsets someone else for whatever reason eg : so close to the honest truth, that it will become a forum based on :you can only speak if you're 'in my gang' - very much a playground attitude leading to outcasting those who's opinions you don't like or worse still. putting those owners in an 'exclusion box'
If a 'closed shop' is the only means of communication, well, count me out, freedom of speech and information is what having Englsih roots is/was all about, and now it looks like they are to supressed, unless of course you see everything through rose tinted glasses and remain in denial and grovel to those who will 'censor your opinion'
Personally I doubt people give a hoot about what's said or done anymore on Dunas, there are enough links re Dunas where owners have expressed their views on it being .......................................................... or bad. So what good is gagging people when the information confirming owners' bad comments are already on the web. Like it or not they are owners and have a right to say what they think. Police it, and it looses its credibility
my advice to those who dont like what people say to the point you feel it will hinder rental , dont waste your efforts moaning, put them to better use and sell up then you wont have to worry about being reliant on rental.
None of us are happy about the euro, dropping property prices, credit crunch and people not thinking about having overseas holidays or safeguarding themselves with hotel holiday packages instead of rental and flight only. But its life, people with property overseas have had a good run for their money for many years, if people didnt heed the warning that the 'property bubble' was about to burst, well, that's their own issue, but thinking you can solve things with a 'policed closed shop' is nothing more than 'fools gold' IF you bought the right property IN the right place it will rent, its that simple.
I will not be giving any of my time to 'closed forums' to me it's like saying "you can only come to the party IF .......... and these are the conditions" Sorry folk, not my style, I'm one for open hearts.minds,opinions and facing your fears/worries. Thats life - warts an' all !
oh4
Community thread: white sky viewing card skynet?
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30 Sep 2008 5:07 PM:
I shall soon be on my way back after attending the funeral of a dear friend, and due to my dear friend's upset I stayed longer than planned but kept looking at the Dunas bloggy to see if anything dramatic was going on.I was most upset by the way SallyP's posting was received and out of sympathy feel I need to show the link below so people can see that it was a major yahoo announcement on the www.
SallyP - I too saw it when it was first advertised, took me a while to locate the page you had used for reference, but I could not let the matter be left as it was, for your sake if nothing else,though the whole thing seems to have quietened down and the subject laid to rest for the sanity of us all.
For everyone to see, it is below, but if you want to see the full edition then hopefully the oldlink below will work if pasted into 'file'/open' if not then it is pasted as best as possible below.
blog.wired.com/business/2008/03/yahoo-can-stick.html
Yahoo Sticks It Where the Sun Don't Shine
By Betsy Schiffman  March 31, 2008 | 3:41:42 PMCategories: Yahoo
Yahoo likes the ladies -- or it thinks it can profit off them, anyway. The company rolled out a women's site today called "Shine," which will cover parenting, sex and love, healthy living, food, career and money, entertainment, fashion, beauty, home life and astrology -- pretty much everything we hate about women's magazines.
the following is the follow up article (on yahoo shine) regarding the displeasure of people using washing lines when they should not be eg : have signed a property clause agreeing not to ( ie ; washing/line should not be viewable from anywhere or any other property) & likewise the same applies to ironing outdoors - further down in the responses, but I am not trawling through 120 plus since ? to find it, its there if you read through the whole 'home section'
HANGING CLOTHES OUTSIDE ON A CLOTHES LINE
- Posted by Eric S Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:42pm PDT
Often times you need to read between the lines with laws.. In vancouver clotheslines are not allowed either but portable dryers that open up like an umbrella are allowed.. as they are not stationary and u put it away afterwards. I think drying clothing outside is environmentally friendly and simultaneously makes clothes bright and smell fantastic... However clotheslines are really eye sores and thats why there were likely band in most places.
Community thread: white sky viewing card skynet?
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24 Sep 2008 11:21 AM:
how does all this affect 'show dogs' as in shitzu's and the like, as they are for showing and natually wont have any outside contact.
Forum thread: Do not take your dog to Spain
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