Better late than never

**Billnot** · 06-05-2010, 04:54 AM

I thought I'd posted my "hello" some time ago, but I must have forgotten to click "send" so here it is, a bit late as I've already made several other posts.

I'm British by birth but a Spanish resident for the last ten year. One of an official 250.000 such "expats" (plus probably about three times that number of unofficial ones). Theoretically I'm retired, but although the 71 year old body may be failing the mind still needs something to keep it occupied.
I registered my first domain (craybbs.co.uk) in the UK in 1998 and then let it lapse. I started again in 2001 with billnot.com, and over the next few years built up a small collection of websites each with its own domain name. Most are still active and not for sale. But I learned how domain registration worked, and eventually decided to join the party. I bought a load of (mainly worthless) .info and .es domains when 1 and 1 were offering them at €1,99 each. A few days later I made my first sale (skybox.es) I wish I could say that from then on everything was rosy, as that was a bit of a fluke as I've since only sold two other domains. I'm a bottom feeder; cheap and cheerful. I'm not looking for vast fortunes which is just as well as I'm not likely to find one. I look on my domaining as a paying hobby.

I'm getting lots of help from DNForum and have started making fewer mistakes. So thanks for having me.

**stewie** · 06-05-2010, 05:13 AM

Billnot

**jdk** · 06-05-2010, 08:32 AM

**Carter** · 06-07-2010, 05:17 AM

Welcome to DNF!

**David G** · 06-07-2010, 10:19 AM

welcome.

Always wonder why there are so many Brits who are called Expats?

Also not sure what the word means (but think I know) which term is mostly unknown in this area of the world. I am sure very few people here would have any idea what it is.

**stevo** · 06-07-2010, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by trader

welcome.

Always wonder why there are so many Brits who are called Expats?

Also not sure what the word means (but think I know) which term is mostly unknown in this area of the world. I am sure very few people here would have any idea what it is.

An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin term expatriātus from ex ("out of") and patriā the ablative case of patria ("country, fatherland").

Oh... Welcome aboard Billnot!

**Billnot** · 06-07-2010, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by stevo

An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin term expatriātus from ex ("out of") and patriā the ablative case of patria ("country, fatherland").

Oh... Welcome aboard Billnot!

Thanks for the welcome.

In answer to both of you, it's probably one of those differences between British and American English. For example, no British person would ever call themselves a"Brit". That's purely a North American term. It's also very political; I prefer to think of myself as being European rather then either British or Spanish. There's also the difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and The British Isles, but since we're all friends let's not go there.

Stevo is right in his dictionary definiton of Expat, but to somebody in the UK it's a term, often of derision, for somebody who has abandoned the UK to live permanently (not temporarily) in another European country, usually France, Greece, Cyprus or Spain. Many of us (I'm one of them) live in specific areas of our adopted country where we form a significant part of the population. In my own village, 40% of the registered population was born in the UK. Since many expats choose not to register officially, the real proportion is undoubtedly higher. Spanish is only the third language, after Valenciano and English, spoken here.

I'm sure that the other British members of DNF knew exactly what I meant in my original post.

**CureCancer** · 06-07-2010, 03:15 PM

Welcome

**David G** · 06-07-2010, 05:25 PM

but why do so many move away from England?

**Billnot** · 06-08-2010, 05:33 AM

Originally Posted by trader

but why do so many move away from England?

In my case, it was that I wanted to live in Spain, not that I wanted to move away from the UK, moved without the help of any all-in package and knew what to find when I got here. However, I'm not very typical.

For many years, some Spanish Town Halls, in conjunction with the Spanish construction industry and what you would call Real Estate Agents, (often the same people had interests in all three) promoted and encouraged immigration, especially from what was perceived as the richer north of Europe. They targeted the retired and about to be retired in particular. They promised luxury housing on managed private estates, 300 days of sun per year, a lower cost of living, helped by an exchange rate of 250 Pesetas (and later 1,5 Euros) to the Pound, and a lazy lifestyle where almost everything was done for you. They organised everything, from the mechanics of moving to the opening of bank accounts and the dealings with Spanish officialdom.
A few were out and out crooks, and have made alarming headlines in the UK press, but the majority, whilst undoubtedly in it for the money, offered something which whilst not the paradise they promised was at least good enough for the expats, in general, to be happy. The rules of the European Union make it very easy to move from one country to another, and things like pensions are protected in that the person must be treated in the same way as if they were still in the UK. So the retired expat enjoyed the same income as if they were in the UK, but with a lower cost of living.

However, I think your question should be in the past tense, as currently more people are moving back to the UK from Spain as are going the other way.

In the last few years, for some, the dream has turned sour. Spain is no longer much cheaper than the UK; in some respects it is now more expensive to live here. The exchange rate dropped to as low as 1,05 Euros to the Pound and is still at about 1,15 The management companies have cut staff and services, plus the regional authority has withdrawn health care services for a particular category of expat. Many of the less committed are trying to return to the UK, not helped by a property glut which means property (Real Estate?) prices have fallen dramatically from the peaks of 2005 and 2006. Even I am feeling the pinch, hence my interest in trying to make a few Euros by domaining!

BTW, I have an expats website