Farang Gunned Down in Hua Hin

[chuckwoww]

I think the Spanish would like to devalue but they're stuck with the Euro. I got the impression the only thing keeping it all going is cheap flights on Ryanair and Easyjet.

[drogon]

If the crisis had happened a few years ago you could have been right.

 

Now this is not entirely the case

 

They are currentmy thanking the euro (and the EU help).

 

Spain suffered from:

. property market and construction sector crisis and unfortunately they were the basis of Spain economy

 

. general crisis affecting other countries -> some effect on the property market catering to foreigners and on the tourism industry

 

Positive point:

. The Spanish financial and banking sector is probably the one having suffered the less of the crisis in the whole world.

(strong regulation policy edicted by the Spanish central bank some years ago -> forcing Spanish banks to invest carefully)

 

. The spanish government has some quite big funds to inject (which they already started) in the economy -> let's call that, "government savings from times when cash was abundant)

 

Now:

. Government is trying to diversify the economy

(especially develop more its exporatations)

and they have the funds to do it

 

. They are thanking the EU for helping to keep things at a reasonnable level

 

. Banking sector is doing business as usual and currently on a buying spree elsewhere

 

. Unemployment is at its highest in Spain but they are mainly poorly qualified people, most of them from the construction sector. (and most of them South Americans)

 

About ryanair/easyjet: I use them a lot to travel through EU.

Curiously, most of the time I would say the passengers are 20-30% tourists/the rest being EU expats...

Almost every trip from MDD I encounter some expats I already met on a previous flight, they usually work for multinational companies here or embassies or private business.

 

Sure some Spanish regret the peseta but they are usually the same ones who regret Franco....

 

Curiously, there was recently a study pusblished by the tourism authority -> it showed that for last year the biggest spenders (by a big margin) were EU tourists going to Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla etc...so all the big cities rather than the "cheap tourists going to costa something".

 

Of course the biggest spenders are the "permanent tourists" (expats and retired people) simply because they have an income far above the equivalent one for Spanish people. (until recently it was still the case for UK retired people)

 

 

 

[chuckwoww]

Thanks for that. You obviously have a clear grasp of the situation in Spain. I hadn't been there for about 30 years so it was interesting to see the changes. I was amazed how modern and 'European' it has become so I guess there is a whole generation there that has benefited from the Euro.

 

I know in the old days Spain always devalued its way out of trouble but they don't have that option anymore. The construction boom is definitely over, for now, but they seem to have done OK out of it.

 

I guess time will tell what happens to the expats living there. I met a few. My impression was they mostly have property elsewhere which isn't worth so much anymore. Not to worry....the booze is cheap, the sun shines and it's great lounging by the pool complaining.

[samak]

i also was in Spain (Costa Del Sol and Granada) this year and was also suprised how far developed Spain is; Spain was pretty behind the rest of Western Europe in the past but not anymore...

[chuckwoww]

The security guards in Malaga bus station ride Segways. Very odd.

[drogon]

Clear grasp? Not really but I work and live here and more important my job involves meeting many business people and anywy I can read newspapers like everyone else.

 

Yes Spain has probably been the "little tiger" of EU, went there in 1984 and it was a bit like Anatolia in Turkey...

 

Now they are (from the infrastructure point of view) on par with other EU countries such as France, UK etc...

 

Socially this is another matter, the new generation (what they call the "after Franco" one) is qualified by EU standards.

 

Sadly the older generations are still a bit "not up to date" so to say.

 

The young professionals (in their twenties-thirties) are at the same level as their EU counterparts in their own fields but not their salaries...

 

In Madrid, the most expensive city in Spain a young uni graduate (depending on his/her field) can expect to earn at best 18-22K euros gross per year which translates roughly into 15k-18k per year net.

 

About the UK expats (I seem to remember they are not far from one million? Could be wrong)

most of them are stuck and not smiling anymore.

 

They usually sold their property in the UK to retire to Spain -> bought a house/contracted a loan to get one and then lived with their pensions.

 

Problem, pound has lost ground against euro, cost of living has risen a lot in Spain.

 

Now many are trying to go back to the UK but:

- the ones who contracted a loan have difficulties to repay them (like 98% of the Spanish they signed a loan with variable interests)

 

- the ones with their property, with the property market having gone down are now unable to sell their houses for a decent price.

(I met a couple who bought their house around 400K euros and now its value has dropped to 300K at best)

 

Tough times for many people in Spain, luckily their banking system is in a very good health compared to others in the world.

[FarangFatal]

Not that this topic go off.... What bout the poor fellow that was gunned down? Is he OK? or what?

[BelgianBoy]

Here is the latest news :

http://www.bangkokpost.com:80/news/local/136038/three-held-in-murder-attempt-on-american

 

errrr.... how do I reduce the links?

Amazing that a prime minister needs to intervene in order to speed things up !

 

BB

[Faustian]

Hardly amazing...sadly.

 

Also it's amazing that the "mastermind" is still at large, even though they clearly know who it is. Nice of them to publicly name them, gives them time to leave the country. How convenient. .

 

I guess they had been paid off before. Obviously it's now not enough.

[Central Scrutinizer]

Scapegoating by the police (and government) is very common here when the actual perpetrator has money and influence. Rarely do the 'masterminds' and bosses get taken into custody, or if taken in they find their bail is easy and low, and they then lay low for a few years using the court system to delay delay delay until things quiet down and blow over.

 

The police usually know who they are.

 

One thing I have noticed is it is very common for the lower echelon crooks to sing like a canary and reduce their jail time and/or to keep them from the executioner. It seems quite common. Also, intimidation and paying off witnesses works a charm here usually. Rare to see anyone step forward and testify as a witness to even very high profile crimes.