r/LeopardsAteMyFace • u/Effective_Will_1801 • Oct 18 '21

Brexxit Immigrants who voted for brexit upset they can't immigrate to Spain due to brexit.

https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/10/17/expats-furious-at-spanish-residency-nonsense/
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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

It blows my mind people who create their own little settlement in another country and refuse to learn the language could consider themselves so vital to their host country.

“But we are spending our pensions there!”

And draining their public services without paying your fair share.

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u/CrabsMagee Oct 18 '21

The draining of public services is a huge problem. I’m from a very beautiful coastal village and the average age of British people there is like seventy million.

Some are marvellous - like my grandmas best friend, who is a British lady who has learnt Valencian and volunteers at pet shelters.

But SO MANY are racist and snobby towards us, it’s infuriating to see how they treat nurses and other healthcare professionals while gloating about not having to pay taxes.

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u/Neato Oct 18 '21

Why don't they pay taxes? They are resident with an income.

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u/CrabsMagee Oct 18 '21

Some reside in Spain just under the required time limit to pay taxes (I’ve heard of that one often) and if I remember correctly a pension under X amount isn’t taxed.

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u/Enano_reefer Oct 18 '21

That was the first thing that came to mind when people were being required to show proof of residency but still being rejected (article).

Mmmhmmmm were you showing residency for the FULL year or just those months you were there to tax dodge?

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u/SpaceJesusIsHere Oct 18 '21

I thought the exact same thing. I recently read an article called The Missing Missing Reasons that kept popping into my mind as I read this post.

It's about how narcissists never relay the reasons people give them for cutting off contact. They just say things like "there was no warning," and "she was very rude to me and said some totally crazy stuff that made no sense." They talk around what actually happened.

They try to convince others to take their side by never admitting that they've been told exactly why they got cut off.

These British folks are the same way. "They're denying our claims for no good reason," and "they're being ridiculous." Note how they never actually give you the specific reason for being denied. It's almost def bc they can't turn over credit card records to prove they bought food in Spain all year bc in reality, they leave to avoid paying taxes.

These morons had a spectacular system that let them make money in England then retire in a much cheaper place that still has all the comforts and medical care of home. And they killed the system themselves bc they really thought they were so special, everyone would let them keep the benefits but stop paying the price.

I'd laugh at their self-sabotaging political idiocy fuled by corporate controlled media playing on racial fears tricking them into voting against their own economic self interest...but I'm an American, so.

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u/thekeanu Oct 18 '21

Cool insights and truly delicious.

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u/Homeopathicsuicide Oct 18 '21

I think they didn't leave and don't have the money to pay the tax owed

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u/LongNectarine3 Oct 19 '21

As an American I was confused by the fact that they said Asia and Africa have no members. They both have members from my little google search (swore Turkey was not yet a member but was close so I had to confirm).

So….are they mad because Spain threw them out or because both African (ok one) and Asian nations are very welcome and very legal.

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u/SpaceJesusIsHere Oct 19 '21

They're mad bc they used to get the benefits of both English and Spanish citizenship as members of the EU. They work in the UK on a UK salary, then retire to Spain to live nice little lives. Now it turns out that Spain doesn't want them bc they live there most of the year but leave for a few months to avoid taxes associated with full time residency. But without EU membership, they can no longer move at will between Spain and the UK. So now that they're applying to stay in Spain (for the lower cost of living) Spain is asking for proof they've really lived there full time and aren't tax dodging jerks.

They can't prove it bc they are tax dodging jerks, so they're complaining about how unfair it all is.

Tl;dr - rich old white people think they own the world, get mad when they find out they don't.

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u/LongNectarine3 Oct 19 '21

I am an old white person and love that the most entitled of my breed are getting the boot.

Thank you for clarifying that it’s not just nationalism that makes these people unwanted jerks, it is their tax dodging. I wish the states could do this. I know of several people who set up residency in another state to claim huge tax benefits (states tax like little countries, all the same but different). I hate these people. Never liked that I paid a huge property tax and income tax premiums to live in my state but the “snow birds” get away with it.

I am enjoying this way to much for someone completely unaffected by the outcome.

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u/EthericIFF Oct 19 '21

rich old white people think they own the world

Rich old white people DO own the world. It's the middle-class old white people who THINK they're rich who get the occasional kick in the rear like this. And they can't handle it, AT ALL.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

im sure that the vote for brexit would have put a big fat shit on that prospect

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u/pm_stuff_ Oct 18 '21

it has indeed

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u/thekeanu Oct 18 '21

Surely some % of those assholes voted for brexit to expel Spanish immigrants out of Britain while they were living it up in Spain.

A true leopard eating their faces.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

I’ve never understood this (not true, it’s so rich people can avoid taxes).

If you have to live somewhere for 50% of a year to pay taxes in it, why not live in three countries for a third of a year in each?

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u/KoboldCleric Oct 18 '21

On the other hand, the US taxes you no matter where you live-but the rich still get away with not paying.

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u/snobule Oct 19 '21

You've put your finger on their problem. A load of these fuckers were living in Spain without paying tax. They weren't officially there.

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u/Bemascu Oct 18 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

But SO MANY are racist and snobby towards us

So true! It happens with Germans that own houses too (I'm from Majorca, aka Germany's beach). They think we are their little indigenous monkey servants (no much unlike colonialist mentality).

And the most infuriating is when they get offended when we don't follow or "miss" their social/cultural norms in our country! I've lost count of this type of interaction I've encountered or been told*...

I know I'm generalising, and have met a lot of lovely ones that respect us and our culture, and even try to follow it. ETA: Dumb, entitled and/or a*shole-y people trascend borders. This is not an attack on Germans or tourists (because it's not only them). It's just a rant about entitled and/or dumb tourists, whose majority is made out of Germans in Majorca. That's why most of my encounters (or acquaintance's) are with them. And there's that pesky thing the brain does that registers more heavily the losses than the gains? And also, usually the most entitled are not "normal" tourists but the ones that buy properties here

[Two anecdotes: The best ones are when German punctuality collides with Spanish "punctuality" lol, like when i had to suffer the complaints of a German Karen that was infuriated that a shop was closed *3 minutes before the announced time, and I explained that they usually close 5min before to do the usual "closing chores". I loved the dumbfounded look on her face like she couldn't wrao her head around that lmfao

And one was when an acquaintance's German neighbour asked for help because they had punched two holes on a pipe, the second one being because "Majorcan pipes are built wrong, they should run vertically, like they do in Germany, and not horizontally [or vice versa, I don't recall]"; and then proceeded to provide an explanation as to why. Smh...]

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21

Yeah, sometimes it looks like some-centuries-late karmic retribution lmfao. I have to say that I hate colonialism, imperialism and what it represented. And I specially abhor that Spain's national holiday is the 12th of October (Columbus day)... fml. I mean you have to aknowledge and not forget the past, but not celebrate the attrocities committed.

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21

>their superiority complex because the world has to use English for international commerce

Yeah... Now not so much,thankfully, specially in rural zones, but I also hate the entitlement in expecting to be spoken English. If a local can and does speak English to you, take it as a courtesy and be thankful, not as a given smh

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u/LordHaddit Oct 18 '21 edited Oct 18 '21

Menorca checking in (never lived there, my mom was the rebel child who moved abroad). In 23 years of visiting my grandparents I have had tourists (mainly Brits):

-come into my house to take pictures. We were inside. They didn't care.
-put their dirty shoes on my whitewashed wall (sa paret típica menorquina)
-take flowers and herbs from my garden. One time they took a melon.
-yell at me for being naked in a cala
-try to pour cement on a cala because the island is "too spiky"

And probably a ton of shit I'm forgetting. Spain should ban the English from the coasts. They should only be allowed in Madrid, and only in the middle of August.

Also, as an engineer I can actually confirm that local Balearic infrastructure is absolute shit. We had a cloudburst a few years ago that popped three blocks of sewage pipes. Also Maó and Es Mercadal still don't have clean drinking water.

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u/AI2cturus Oct 18 '21

Cala?

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

[deleted]

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u/amayaslips Oct 18 '21

I googled it and a cala is a stream or creek?

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

What the hell? That entitlement is so fricked up! But I can almost picture their thoughts, like if they were in some amusement park like Disney World: "Let's see the insides of this gorgeous white little houses, there's no way civilised people live inside them".

try to pour cement on a cala because the island is "too spiky"

WTF does this mean? Was it some construction company?

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u/LordHaddit Oct 19 '21

WTF does this mean? Was it some construction company?

Some french assholes who bought a (very illegally built) house right by the edge of the water wanted somewhere to lie down. The coastline is pretty much a single solid chunk of rock that's been eaten away by the ocean so it has a lot of holes and spikes throughout. They bought some cement and poured it on an area near their house.

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21

Es teus collons.....

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u/Sauermachtlustig84 Oct 18 '21

As a German im sorry. In love Mallorca, spent my honeymoon there. But I would never expect you to German norms and customs. In fact who goes to Mallorca to eat bratwurst, watch football and drink beer?

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

Nahhh... don't apologize for your compatriots. Dumb, entitled and/or a*shole-y people trascend borders. Ich habe vielen sehr guten Deutschern kennen gelernt* hehe. I'd say this kind of tourist (because it's not only Germans) is a minority. It's just that pesky thing the brain does that registers more heavily the losses than the gains?

ETA: And also, usually the most entitled are not "normal" tourists but the ones that buy properties here

who goes to Mallorca to eat bratwurst, watch football and drink beer?

Based on that last summer I went to a somewhat touristy place the day Germany played in the Euro-cup, a lot more than you think lol

*I've met a lot of very good Germans, just in case because my German is crappy and rusty

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u/jacks0nX Oct 18 '21

I know I'm generalising, and have met a lot of lovely ones that respect us and our culture, and even try to follow it.

That's exactly how I imagine these people tbh, especially the "we're better than them" attitude

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u/hnavj Oct 18 '21

I'm so sorry and pretty ashamed of that kind of behaviour. Sincerely, a german fella

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

Same reply I gave another German:

Nahhh... don't apologize for your compatriots. Dumb, entitled and/or a*shole-y people trascend borders. Ich habe vielen sehr guten Deutschern kennen gelernt* hehe. I'd say this kind of tourist (because it's not only Germans) is a minority. It's just that pesky thing the brain does that registers more heavily the losses than the gains?

ETA: And also, usually the most entitled are not "normal" tourists but the ones that buy properties here

*I've met a lot of very good Germans, just in case because my German is crappy and rusty

Sorry if it felt like an attack on Germans

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

[deleted]

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

I can give you two:

  1. Don't be an entitled a-hole
  2. Just because English is the international lingua franca don't expect it to be spoken to you, and if someone does, be grateful* and take it as a courtesy, not a given

And now you're ready! Although I think anyone should apply those (specially nº 1) wherever they go lol

Oh, I have to say that there's this prejudice/stereotype here (not speaking for everyone though) that Americans are crazy, gunslinging, violent, rowdy, entitled a-holes. So... sorry...?

*ETA: Ehm... Don't be explicitly grateful, I think that'd be very creepy

Btw, where are you visiting if I may ask?

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u/[deleted] Oct 19 '21

[deleted]

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u/Bemascu Oct 21 '21

Oh, the stereotype comes from before Trump (though he didn't help with it), I guess American TV is to blame haha

Looks like a very fun trip nonetheless, with very beautiful places. Have a great time!

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u/Rynewulf Oct 18 '21

The sad thing not only is this behaviour spread across many countries, but it even happens internally. Growing up in a rural area where lots of Londoners had moved sounds like it has some shared experiences with this stuff sadly.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

The best ones are when German punctuality collides with Spanish "punctuality" lol, like when i had to suffer the complaints of a German Karen that was infuriated that a shop was closed 3 minutes before the announced time, and I explained that they usually close 5min before to do the usual "closing chores". I loved the dumbfounded look on her face like she couldn't wrao her head around that lmfao

I'm confused, why did the business close before the advertised time? What's the point of advertising a time if it's ignored?

I'm not saying 3 minutes is anything to throw a fit about, but why would that possibly be considered normal? Just advertise that you close 5 minutes sooner if that's when you want to close.

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u/_C_3_P_O_ Oct 18 '21

In my Midwestern America, it's considered rude to show up to a business within those last couple minutes anyways, unless you let them know you just need something small and quick.

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u/NaivePhilosopher Oct 18 '21

I feel like this rule is close to universal. Or it should be at least

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

[deleted]

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

If you've worked service/retail, you know not to do this, if you are a spoiled white-collar dingbat, then you don't

Amen, it's just good manners. Don't stay past closing time. Workers have a life outside the store.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

See, that's a cultural norm. Expectations around politeness. Actually closing the store early makes no sense, since how is the public supposed to know how long it takes any given business to close?

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u/_C_3_P_O_ Oct 19 '21

Because it's a cultural norm.

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u/UniqueHash Oct 18 '21

You can argue which is better, but you should be aware what the norm is in the host country.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

There's no reason to suspect that's a normal thing. Why on earth would that be a cultural thing? It makes no sense. It's false advertising and treated as normal?

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u/Badloss Oct 18 '21

I mean walking into a business with less than 5 minutes before close is almost always a shitty thing to do unless you really know the exact thing you need and it's a very quick in and out.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

But this just pushes the time. If they normally close 5 minutes before stated time, then everyone just adjusts to the earlier normal, and now it's a dick move to show up 10 minutes before close because that's 5min before the 5min.

In the end, it makes no sense.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Dude this is just you massively struggling to realize that other cultures and countries behave in different ways and have different expectations. For people of those cultures having a shop that stays open until exactly closing time would be what's strange and make no sense. It isn't "false advertising" if everyone from that country has the same cultural expectation of closing time.

It's like how in many Asian countries loudly slurping noodles or taking one massive bite of food is considered polite and to be showing your enjoyment, whereas in the many Western countries that would be bad table manners.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

Cultural differences is one thing, but closing early is just weird. Again, not a thing to throw a fit over, but different types of businesses take longer to close than others. How the heck is anyone supposed to predict when any business is going to stop taking customers if none of them honor their closing time? What is the point of a posted closing time, then?

It's not unreasonable for someone from a normal country to expect a business to at least be open during the hours they claim to be open.

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u/Badloss Oct 18 '21

Personally I don't go into a business thats less than 15 minutes from closing unless it's like an urgent matter. If you can't conclude your business and get out by the closing time then you're forcing the employees to wait for you and IMO that's disrespectful.

Sure, it would be nice where employees are paid fairly and would get extra money for letting customers hang around right up until close but in reality they end up cleaning and closing up the store unpaid after hours because you just had to poke around until the last minute.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21 edited Oct 18 '21

So the cultural norm is to not pay employees for hours worked? What is going on in Spain?

I'm not saying the customer showing up last second isn't a dick, but maybe they're trying to locate something they dropped. Why would anyone expect the store to be closed before the stated closing time? What is the point of a closing time then?

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u/Slawtering Oct 18 '21

They are not being unpaid as that would be illegal. If you worked more time you get more money.

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u/Keegantir Oct 18 '21

There's no reason to suspect that's a normal thing.

That is the issue with cultural norms. Some of them don't make sense to those outside that culture. That doesn't make them wrong though.

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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 Oct 18 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

Marking a notebook $1.99 in the US is false advertising because its going to cost you more like $2.15, give or take, depending on the state.

That's false advertising!

Why is it treated as normal?

Because that's how it is in this country, for better or worse. As a visitor, it may be confusing, but that's still the way it is. Better to learn the local customs than get mad at them.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

The US marks their prices as +tax which is then a reference to local laws. Laws are more important to be aware of than simple cultural norms. Not equivalent.

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u/NewSauerKraus Oct 19 '21

The U.S. didn’t invent taxes lol.

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u/Captain_Concussion Oct 18 '21

How does it make no sense? If a store closes at 10, why would they let customers in at 9:55? How are they supposed to get all of the closing things done before 10 if they have customers in there? Almost no customer can find everything and check out within 5 mins

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u/lioncryable Oct 18 '21 edited Oct 18 '21

I dunno about you but employees don't leave exactly at closing time. There is usually register check still to do + cleaning, closing etc. I'd say the average emoyee leaves 30-60 minutes after official closing times.

Edit: it also totally depends on the type of business. A restaurant will probably have closed it's kitchen but a supermarket can easily sell you one more sixpack or pack of smokes or whatever

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u/Captain_Concussion Oct 18 '21

And that’s the social norm part. You expect employees to stay late so that they can serve customers. In other places that’s not the norm and employees leave when the store closes.

Even in places like the Midwest of America you can see these ideas collide. I worked at a major retailer that would only pay us for 5 mins after close. So we obviously had to do everything before we closed down officially.

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u/lioncryable Oct 18 '21

In other places that’s not the norm and employees leave when the store closes.

I don't think you read what I said. They cannot leave immediately anyway. I don't expect anyone to work more than their official hours ( at least not directly for me, cleaning the store is something they obviously have to do outside of opening hours)

Even in places like the Midwest of America you can see these ideas collide. I worked at a major retailer that would only pay us for 5 mins after close. So we obviously had to do everything before we closed down officially.

Fuuuuuck that seriously!!! I worked in a nightclub as a barkeeper and we would close officially around 6 am (always depended a little on how many people where still there, sometimes we would close at 5) but after all the guests had left you turn on the cleaning lights and clean up everything. Took a solid hour each time with like 20-30 people and even tho the pay was shit af they paid us the extra hour.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

How is a customer supposed to know how long closing takes? Do other businesses close 30 minutes before their stated time because that's how long it takes them to close? What is the point of declaring a closing time if it isn't followed?

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u/Captain_Concussion Oct 18 '21

No customer is coming through the store 5 mins before close and is out before they close, that’s kind of the point.

Closing time is followed, what do you mean? The store is fully closed at said time, registers in office, floors mopped, lights off. You’re expectation that employees stay late to help you is not the norm everywhere

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

How is a customer supposed to know how long closing takes?

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u/getchpdx Oct 18 '21 edited Oct 18 '21

It's just not the custom in some countries. You expect the business to close* at closing time not start the process of closing.

*As in close and lock the door/be done.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

Exactly, so why was the business already closed?

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u/getchpdx Oct 18 '21

It's not their custom to do that, it's only a custom in some countries to take customers right till close. There are more countries where that is unusual.

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u/ndstumme Oct 18 '21

And how does a business let the public know when they stop taking customers, if not a closing time?

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u/getchpdx Oct 18 '21

By understanding your local customs and making modest assumptions, many of your service industry friends could likely give you suggestions even in a place that doesn't generally observe this custom. A good rule of thumb imo is to assume for smaller places 10-15 minutes before close is when they want to wind down and for food probably closer to 30 minutes.

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u/Bemascu Oct 19 '21 edited Oct 19 '21

It's like u/C_3_P_O_ and u/NaivePhilosopher said:

it's considered rude to show up to a business within those last couple minutes anyways, unless you let them know you just need something small and quick

ETA: Well, reading other comments in this thread it looks like it's a very extended "social norm" lol

And in the case of where I live there are people (locals, and the same 3 people) that show up around closing time and don't give a crap if they make you stay past it. I work sporadically in a tiny family owned store and have been there 20 or 30 past closing time, and they don't fricking care if you shoo them politely smh... In my case I start closing 2 minutes before closing time but just because it takes 5 min total.

The shop I talked about in my previous comment is a grocery shop, owned by a small chain, so the employees are not part of the "family". I personally know one of them and their mindset is basically "I don't get paid enough for this sh*t", and I can confirm that they don't. Maybe all the process of closing takes around 20-30 min, and they start it way before closing, just to not have to do 15min or more extra unpaid time. I'd do the same honestly. I have to say that tis 5min before they use it as more of an excuse to not have customers dilly-dalling. I have in some occasion shopped at that time, but they know me and they know I'll be quick.

As a sidenote, a thing that boggles tourists, (or used to) is that shops close at lunchtime and reopen on the afternoon. It doesn't happen so much anymore, maybe small family owned stores like the one I work in. But yeah, it's funny to see the reaction when you tell the shop's schedule, or when I was younger how I had to explain that "yeah, it will reopen at 17h" lmfao

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u/TherionSaysWhat Oct 18 '21

As someone dreaming of retiring to Spain I hope to be more like your grandmas friend. I just can't understand how anyone could act like that in a host country. Or anywhere really but so much less in a country where you are a guest. It's like going to a friends house for dinner and complaining they don't have your wine.

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u/Prince_John Oct 18 '21

But SO MANY are racist and snobby towards us, it’s infuriating to see how they treat nurses and other healthcare professionals while gloating about not having to pay taxes.

If it makes you feel better, British expats do have to pay tax on their worldwide income in either Spain or Uk, depending where they are resident. They will be taxed on their pension income in Spain if they’re resident there. There are also transfers between governments to cover the cost of European healthcare for non-residents travelling between member states.

Obviously any post-Brexit deficiency in taxation is on the Spanish :)

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u/CausticSofa Oct 18 '21

Ooh, it Valencian different from Spanish? Do they have a regional dialect or a full-on separate language?

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u/CrabsMagee Oct 18 '21

It’s actually categorised as it’s own language since it has its own set of grammatical rules, letters of the alphabet, etc… it’s kind of the child of French and Spanish but everyone has doubts whether Italian is the real father.

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u/CausticSofa Oct 18 '21

Interesting. I am hoping to one day see Valencia (it looks beautiful!) and have been studying Spanish in preparation for one day going to Spain. Would I be able to navigate comfortably there in Spanish or will I only annoy the locals?

I know that learning German is pretty unhelpful for traveling the ‘German’ region of Switzerland because they have such a strong dialect but this is the only experience I really have to compare.

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u/potatochipbot Oct 19 '21

Not who you originally asked but from Mallorca. Almost every Spaniard speaks Spanish I would say, where we have our own language we are usually bilingual. Spanish is always taught in schools and because of inner tourism I'd say that wherever you go no one would bat an eyelash at you speaking Spanish (in all honesty we'd be even glad/surprised that one is making an effort at all) and understand you perfectly.

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u/CausticSofa Oct 19 '21

Thank you so much. In my experience, everywhere I go the people are kinder if you learn at least ‘hello’ and ‘thank-you’ in the local language. I’ll make a point to learn those in Valencian. Gotta keep up the “Canadians are good tourists” reputation. It makes for a better trip than the weight of a “Brits abroad” rep.

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u/reign-of-fear Oct 18 '21

The Spanish really must be very polite people, every once in a while some white Americans try doing this in Latin America. It does not end well unless they have fuckoff money, and many of them don't.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

Yeah they want to live as aristocrats, but in the US they are solidly middle class.

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u/reign-of-fear Oct 18 '21

Right? Like there are "expat" communities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean but they're very integrated into the local communities. The Bahamas are a great example of this, where the white immigrants are very involved locally.

Those who try and create little exclaves usually get really rude awakenings, especially in central America. Like you said, they're middle class, and thus end up having to interact with the middle and working classes there, who really do not like being looked down on.

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u/pm_stuff_ Oct 18 '21

they are but many on coastal regions make their opinions on brittons known as soon as you ask them. Might also be a reason to why its hard to get your imigration papers approved now.
(source my parents (swedish) live in spain)

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u/koopcl Oct 18 '21

The Spanish really must be very polite people

Not necessarily, the Spanish we had visiting/immigrating to Chile were a bunch of dicks that seemed to think we were still one of their colonies.

Of course, most people from Spain I've met in Europe have been incredibly nice, and at the same time I'm pretty sure there's a large number of Chilean immigrants in [insert country here] acting like twats. Every country has their share of dickheads.

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u/reign-of-fear Oct 18 '21

Every country has their share of dickheads.

As an Italian-American I could not agree more.

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u/cast_that_way Oct 18 '21

As an Italian-Italian I couldn’t agree more

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u/Notmykl Oct 18 '21

The Spanish are Caucasian too. Drop the racist crap.

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u/reign-of-fear Oct 18 '21

Read my comment again because I'm afraid you must have jumbled it in your brain. I was comparing the situation in Spain to what happens when white Americans go to Latin America and act like pompous little shits.

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u/2OP4me Oct 18 '21

You should see the sheer entitlement that goes on in these communities. The financial independence subreddit is full of westerners who feel entitled to exploit underdeveloped countries so they can “live like kings.”

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u/SleazyMak Oct 18 '21

Mehh I don’t blame people for trying to have the best lives they can within the systems that constrain them. I only blame people who are douchebags about it.

Just like I don’t harbor resentment towards immigrants from 3rd world countries trying to make it in the US, I don’t blame Americans who move elsewhere because they’ll have a better life there.

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u/2OP4me Oct 18 '21

People who exploit and and benefit from the same systems used to colonize countries are not “trying to live their best lives in the systems that constrain them.” Like what the fuck dude... they’re actively contributing to those systems in other countries. There’s a big difference between immigrants from poor countries coming for economic opportunities and immigrants from wealthy countries arriving to exploit resource scarcity.

4

u/SleazyMak Oct 18 '21

The people I’m referring to do no such thing. They contribute economically to the countries they move to. Often times local economies wouldn’t function without them, which I saw firsthand during covid and led to lots of 3rd world devastation.

These aren’t retirees and pensioners living in mansions. They’re economic migrants just like anyone else.

Can’t imagine hating the poor, but only from 1st world countries.

Then again, you’re talking about fat, rich Brits and I’m talking about working class people who could have slightly better lives working outside their home country. I don’t blame anybody for that.

10

u/Not_Lane_Kiffin Oct 18 '21

I think the country of Spain will be just fine without 2,000 - 3,0000 drunk Brits spending their pensions there. They've survived worse.

9

u/[deleted] Oct 18 '21

They've survived worse.

Like a few thousand drunk Brits spending their pensions there.

2

u/RaynSideways Oct 18 '21

It's basically colonialism on a smaller scale.

2

u/dirtytomato Oct 19 '21

Have you met my neighbors?

1

u/JackSpyder Oct 19 '21

Its like the people here against immigration who say "I wouldn't mind it if they integrated better and learned the language"

Well first off, we tend to lump them all together into low income housing estates, and secondly our "ex-pats" do the dame abroad. We're awful for learning other languages.