Level: Intermediate
Objective: To discuss the property market and experience of expats in the south of Spain
Словарный запас: mortgage, outpaced, bursting of the property bubble, called it quits, ringside view, going down hill, boom, A glass half full, widespread sense of gloom
“Market day in the town of Nerja. Overlooked by the mountains of the Sierra de Berno, on the Costa del Sol, this place has proved a magnet for expats. But for Jackie Harrison, who moved here in the early nineties, la ‘Bella Vida’, the beautiful life, is turning ugly.”
“I’m worried about losing my house, the work at the moment, I mean, there’s no money about, there’s no economic help for anybody here, there’s no child bene?ts, you can’t claim anything… If I hadn’t got a mortgage, I wouldn’t be here now.”
“Spain, has long been a country that attracts people. There’s the weather, there’s the scenery, the way of life. But in 2011, for the ?rst time in twenty years, emigration outpaced immigration. More people left Spain than came here to live. But some, who came here during the good years, would like to leave, but can’t.”
“Pensioners, Nick and Sarah Ball, moved here from Dorset nine years ago. Their main worry is the exchange rate. The weakness of the pound against the euro means their pensions, which are paid in Sterling, are worth twenty-?ve percent less than in 2007.”
‘We love living here, but we don’t necessarily want to die here. If somebody’s trying to move back and they want, perhaps they’ve got everything out here, and when they move back, they just ?nd they haven’t, they won’t make enough money from selling their properties here, to buy anywhere in the UK.”
“Unemployment in Spain now stands at twenty four point four percent. Almost one in four people are out of work. And it’s the bursting of the property bubble which has proved especially damaging. Nicky Powells, and her mum Leslie, have watched as more and more British friends have called it quits. And as an estate agent, she’s had a ringside view of the collapse of the Spanish property market.”
“It’s just been going down hill now for about the last seven years. There’s a hell of a lot of people now who have bought in the boom, and they are trying, they need to get home for one reason or another, and they just can’t sell the properties. Obviously, because they have mortgages that are way over what the valuations of the houses are now. But obviously that’s a good positive thing for people who are coming out to buy because all the prices are really low now.”
“A glass half full, which many consider half empty. Nicky’s optimism is in contrast to the concerns of many other expats. There is a widespread sense of gloom that even the Spanish sun can’t lift.”
Comprehension Check Questions
- What are the main general worries?
- What was different about Spain’s immigration ?gures in 2011?
- What is Nick and Sarah’s main concern?
- Why can’t expats go back home?
- What is the general mood in regards to the future for expats living in Spain?
Discussion Questions
- Do you agree with that they say? Do you think it’s the same everywhere in Spain?
- What advice would you give to someone who ?nds themselves in a similar situation?
- In times of recession, do you think expats should have access to services and bene?ts equally to Spanish citizens?
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