Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)By Nicola Cowell
THOUSANDS of staycationers who are flocking back to Spain due to the British rain have the right idea, according to ex-pat pensioners.
In fact, as many as seven out of ten pensioners who have retired to Spain say they do not miss home and have never considered returning.
And six out of ten of them have had a better experience living here than they expected.
In the survey of 1,300 ex-pats, carried out for Natwest by the Centre for Future Studies, it was found that 92 per cent of ex-pat Brits chose to live among the natives instead of heading for ex-pat communities.
According to Natwest, the key is planning ahead and people who secured a job in their new country before jetting off were much more satisfied.
It is estimated that there are 900,000 pensioners living abroad, with 115,000 of these in Spain, and 150,000 Brits left the country for sunnier climes last year.
Pick your polls. At the beginning of the year, a poll commissioned by Moneycorp, the UK foreign exchange specialist, found that 74% of those living in
Spain are considering repatriation, and I bet a massive chunk of those are pensioners. Yes, it’s so great being a pensioner in Spain currently, which is why Chris Bryant, the Consular Minister, has been visiting Spain to help with scores of pensioner expats who are facing bankruptcy and ruin because of the crisis and ongoing property sector problems.
Natwests “planning ahead” advice is laughable; how could one plan ahead for a property crisis of this magnitude? Did Natwest’s international division advise about Spain’s economic problems? No, of course not. In fact, at that time they were probably still encouraging people to take on big mortgages to buy homes overseas.
Of course pensioners can have a good life in Spain, but they need fat pensions and savings, and also some family support, to do it all, and the vast majority do not fall into those categories. One thing is certain, you can’t plan ahead for anything in Spain; it is far too volatile a country (in my opinion).
That survey must had been done in or around Marbella
lol.
And how many pensioners can “secure a job” before coming to Spain exactly? And why would they want to if they are retirees? Great logic from Natwest.
My advice would be don’t get old in a(ny) foreign country unless you have a large supporting family with you!