Much of our citizenship has been expelled from our country in different decades for different reasons.
We have from the political reasons stemming from the Civil War to the economic reasons which even today urge a large proportion of our youth to continue to look for beans in other countries… Many of the new current emigrants are not like that anymore young .
At least part of the diaspora left in a simpler way, without having to feel expelled from Spain, and more as a personal option to achieve better professional, economic status, or simply to be one of those young adventurers of which Fátima Bañez spoke when she was Minister for Labour, Social Security and Migration.
This second group can usually return with the ease with which they left the country: without drama and without having to do too many numbers.
A large proportion of the first group to be displaced yearn for a solid opportunity to return to their city, region or simply to their country, but they still have in mind the image of that country they left as they decided to emigrate and they remember the last few months filled with doubts, problems finding a job and sadness at having to pack your bags and leave the only place you have ever known, leaving family and friends behind.
This week, one of those emigrants who appears to be among those who would only be returning to Spain for their retirement announced that she and her British partner have decided to bring their return to Spain forward by two decades.
…every time that happens you imagine many things.
Returning as pensioners is somewhat more or less common and since Brexit many families have chosen to return to their country, perhaps because of doubts about the UK economy, the new opportunities coming from Spain or the shift to the Environment and the loss of the sense of belonging that was taken from us in 2016 with the referendum to leave the European Union.
Most of those who return do so once they have the safety net of a British nationality, acquired through their extended stay in the country, which assures them that should there be a potential problem upon their return, they can return to Spain. One of these problems could be adapting to the country or the way of working.
In the last five years I have seen many people returning home and with the first families to return I have to admit my disbelief at this decision. He gave them a maximum of 6 months to tuck in and return to the stable UK… and neither was it.
The doubts that we emigrants have dissipate over the years. Sons and daughters are born, we support them at work or we buy their first house. The initial shock of the new culture, language and ways of working passes more or less quickly, but those of us who have spent several decades abroad, besides adapting to the “new” country, feel that “our Spain” has changed a lot.
The changes are in every respect and while some things of 90’s Spain are missing, the modernization and progress in many other areas is appreciated.
I won’t comment on everything that frustrates even those of us who decide to leave our country, but I would like to highlight some of the improvements that can be seen in a more modern, European country, but at the same time still retains many traditions or customs at which are appreciated.
After more than three years without a vacation in Spain, these days I enjoy the proximity of the Spaniards, the fresh products, the spontaneity of the people or the fact that in a city where you don’t know you, the neighbors greet you.
Changes over the past two decades are forcibly pushing Spain towards convergence with the rest of Europe, and while wages are still not in line, the drop seen in wage troughs is far from a sign that they are on are on the right track.
Those of us coming from the UK miss very much the days when a pound sterling was exchanged for 260 pesetas or for more than 1.5 euros and on many occasions the bargain that has come to Spain has been on many products stopped shopping at a price sometimes higher than the price paid in the British Isles.
Many British tourists have been complaining in their tabloids for a number of years about the rise in prices in Spain or now about the limit on the number of drinks they can have in the “all inclusive” establishments they usually visit. The approaching parity with the euro has resulted in a loss of purchasing power and they have become much less attractive as tourists for the Spanish tourism sector.
For those of us still in the UK, there is an existential doubt right now: should we return to our country at a certain age? Is it really as good as it seems when we return on vacation? Has the economy recovered and can we be attracted to work in similar positions?
British pensions are nothing special and if the UK continues the current trend and is again the ‘sick man’ of Europe as it was in the 70’s, our dream of retirement and a future in our country may not be in the future exist. Perhaps we are doomed to seek our retirement in Bulgaria or Romania as this is starting to become a trend and returning to our country will never happen.
Return plans… where are they?
We’ll have to wait and see what happens… or take the risk and buy a one-way ticket without further ado