10957 Expats be warned

Since when have Italians needed the excuse of a recession to blame someone else? :bigergrin:

The difference between the 'average' UK expat and those mentioned in the article is that most of us do NOT come here to sponge on the Italian economy. We have probably 'paid our dues' back home and are therefor eligible to reciprocal agreements. Well we should be if the [I]average[/I] 'Jobsworth', in the [I]average[/I] 'Comune' could get their act together to understand both their and EU laws!

In addition, the Italian building trade and small landowners in Italy have never gone out of their way, [I]'en masse'[/I], to bleed every last €uro out of expats as they have been doing for years in Spain. Where in Italy have whole towns been built to cater for expats, as they have in Spain? There they really catered to, and encouraged, the bucket and spade, fish and chips and a pint of bitter brigade to spend their money and furnish their dreams IN Spain!...

Cheap package holidays have attracted millions to Spain over the last half century. Italy has never been in that game. It's always been far more select/expensive and you will find very few [I]true[/I] 'package holidays' over here.

So we [I]may[/I] be lucky and be allowed to keep our heads and our investments - who knows?
Fingers crossed!

From my personal knowledge of the Spanish situation and having lived for a few years in Malaga, I do not believe that British residents will be badly treated. There may be the odd person who may grumble not only against the Brits but agains anyone, blaming them for all sorts of problems; therefore, this will only be a minority. Some years ago there were some complaints about some British, who were not even residents, coming to get health treatments in Spain free of charge, but there have been a few changes in the system and this is no longer possible. As for trying to find a scape goat for the evils of recession..... unfortunately it is human nature. But I would not be concerned about keeping heads or investments protected.

I say, don't rock any boats............hopefully most of us here are contributing to the country and the EU as a whole......

One of the things I particularly like here is that most government related buildings fly the EU flag, alongside their own province and at times the Italian.

How often have YOU seen the British Flag (or Union Flag) AND the EU flag flying in the UK??:no:

I think the 'British flag' isn't flown (with pride) as it used to be anymore due to it now being (wrongly) associated with the NF.

Well when we completed our house roof, we flew the Italian flag and our Geometre bought us a huge Union Jack to fly beside it. At the topping out ceremony he toasted the Regina!!! (We admired our view from high up by the chimney stack!).

At Bagni di Lucca we had British and European flags flying everywhere together with the Italian ones since the special ceremony held to remember Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning earlier in the year (see earliers posts) and they have kept them. There is also a new English School in town with 35 students enrolled from the start!!!! So British people are very welcome there, actually, I think that they would like to have more of you around. Like in the good old days of the spa and casino back in the XIX Century.....

[quote=juliancoll;103070]I think the 'British flag' isn't flown (with pride) as it used to be anymore due to it now being (wrongly) associated with the NF.[/quote]

Well not wanting to get politically, but in England as you know its being replaced with the flag of saint George.,it might have started off as a sporting thing, but with the flag of saint Andrew flying merrily to identify Scots, and the welsh dragon doing the same for the welsh, the union jack is seen as not giving the English the same identity rights as the rest. Or rather those English who want to be identified as English,in the same way as Scots are Scots and welsh are welsh.

[quote=giovanni;103057][url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20081114/tuk-expats-in-spain-may-face-anger-6323e80.html]Expats in Spain 'may face anger' - Yahoo! News UK[/url] could this be on the cards for ex pats in Italy soon? We all know about the mentality some can have,and knowing how Italian politics works by blaming anyone or everyone,could this be Italy soon if the recession bites hard.?[/quote]

Interesting but a couple of things to consider here. Firstly this is just speculation on the part of some politician or other who himself admits he has seen no evidence of this sort of attitude yet. Secondly he says there are 800,000 British people living in Spain, many of them concentrated in one particular area of the country. Many don't learn the language and retreat into Brit-ghettos. The Italian governments own figures state that there are only 84,000 British people resident in Italy ( many more second homers of course, but same true of Spain ) .These 84,000 are spread out over almost every province of Italy I should imagine.
If you do ever get into this sort of conversation with an Italian ( as I have, good natured though it was) you might want to remind them that are many more Italians living in UK than there are British living here and have been for the last 50 years or so. When times were hard here Italians emigrated all over the world ( USA, Australia, Argentina, UK etc etc ). My home town, as an example, has had an Italian community since the 1950's and I don't recall any hostility to them at all, (au contrair as the number of children of mixed Italian-English parentage proves !).
These sorts of attitudes usually thrive on ignorance, so the best thing we can do as individuals is learn the language, integrate , make friends , dispel stereotypes.
Robert ( not Angie )

I would say that the number of British people who concentrate in little guettos both in Spain and Italy are a minority and generally they are the ones who go back to the UK within a few years as they cannot be happy living like that. You need to communicate with the locals, you need to enjoy local life, that is what is going to enrich you and make your stay in a different country worthwhile. Otherwise, why should you move abroad? I think that the image of the British person getting drunk in an English pub all day, complaining about local food and feeling miserable because he/she is not in the UK, corresponds more to an uneducated tourist (there are quite a few around, of all nationalities) than a resident in either Italy or Spain.