End of the Eldorado dream: A plunging pound and property crash have left thousands of expat Britons on the breadline
As a successful entrepreneur, it was nothing but Prada and Versace for Angela Nolan, a woman who had so many designer shoes her friends joked that she'd give Imelda Marcos a run for her money.
So quite what they would make of her current predicament the 64-year-old can hardly imagine.
It is not what she's wearing (a smart black wool jumper and trousers set off by a pink pashmina) but where she bought it.
There are very few, if any buyers for properties in the Costa del Sol, leaving many expats unable to move back to the UK
And that's just the start of it. 'I used to have pedicures and manicures every three weeks, but I've not had anything like that for months.'
Angela, who retired to Spain seven years ago, is trying to make light of the situation.
But the truth is that she is so worried about money that she goes to bed early rather than switch on the heating.
She has also scrapped her usual Christmas dinner with friends and is looking for other ways to cut down her outgoings.
'I've never worried about money before,' she says,' but now it's all I think about. Did you know a canister of heating gas has gone up from 9.4 euros to 13.8 euros - that's a 46.8 per cent increase.'
Like tens of thousands of expats, Angela is struggling.
All along the coast, from Alicante on the Costa Blanca to Marbella on the Costa del Sol, a very middle-class dream is crumbling.
The aim was to escape a life in Britain where crime was rampant, the weather miserable and the cost of living high.
Now, in Spain, a legion of pensioners finds itself trapped by rising prices, a property market that has completely collapsed and a pound that has fallen almost 20 per cent against the euro.
With the two currencies approaching an unprecedented one-to-one parity, it means that those surviving on state pensions paid in pounds have seen their monthly payments fall by hundreds of euros.
Private pensions are similarly affected by the falling pound, while those who support themselves from the income on their savings have been hit by swingeing interest-rate cuts.
Source: Daily Mail.
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If UK joined Euro on its own conditions ages ago then this sort of issue would be mitigated. Do you think if this was explained to UK expats they would be against joining euro? I'd guess 90% yes vote among them would be guaranteed.
If sterling stays retains about parity with euro for a sufficiently long time (say 2-3 years) then the case for joining euro could be argued successfully here.
As a successful entrepreneur, it was nothing but Prada and Versace for Angela Nolan, a woman who had so many designer shoes her friends joked that she'd give Imelda Marcos a run for her money.
So quite what they would make of her current predicament the 64-year-old can hardly imagine.
It is not what she's wearing (a smart black wool jumper and trousers set off by a pink pashmina) but where she bought it.
There are very few, if any buyers for properties in the Costa del Sol, leaving many expats unable to move back to the UK
And that's just the start of it. 'I used to have pedicures and manicures every three weeks, but I've not had anything like that for months.'
Angela, who retired to Spain seven years ago, is trying to make light of the situation.
But the truth is that she is so worried about money that she goes to bed early rather than switch on the heating.
She has also scrapped her usual Christmas dinner with friends and is looking for other ways to cut down her outgoings.
'I've never worried about money before,' she says,' but now it's all I think about. Did you know a canister of heating gas has gone up from 9.4 euros to 13.8 euros - that's a 46.8 per cent increase.'
Like tens of thousands of expats, Angela is struggling.
All along the coast, from Alicante on the Costa Blanca to Marbella on the Costa del Sol, a very middle-class dream is crumbling.
The aim was to escape a life in Britain where crime was rampant, the weather miserable and the cost of living high.
Now, in Spain, a legion of pensioners finds itself trapped by rising prices, a property market that has completely collapsed and a pound that has fallen almost 20 per cent against the euro.
With the two currencies approaching an unprecedented one-to-one parity, it means that those surviving on state pensions paid in pounds have seen their monthly payments fall by hundreds of euros.
Private pensions are similarly affected by the falling pound, while those who support themselves from the income on their savings have been hit by swingeing interest-rate cuts.
Source: Daily Mail.
--------
If UK joined Euro on its own conditions ages ago then this sort of issue would be mitigated. Do you think if this was explained to UK expats they would be against joining euro? I'd guess 90% yes vote among them would be guaranteed.
If sterling stays retains about parity with euro for a sufficiently long time (say 2-3 years) then the case for joining euro could be argued successfully here.
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