20 YEARS BEHIND? – I hope so!

Dave Bull takes a look at the claim that Spain’s is behind the times compared with northern Europe.

When we consider moving to Spain, how much thought do we really give to how different it may well be from our home country? Especially those of us from the north of Europe because I’ve spoken to many whom consider Spain to be similar to Britain, but hotter. ‘A bit backwards’ is another popular myth that visitors have often been warned about when looking to make the move permanently.

If your vision of Spain is drunken Brits making plenty of noise and dodgy policemen, then head to Benidorm where they do it very well – entertain Brits that is…not provide dodgy policemen. But if you call having cops that demand respect and who can still put the fear of god into teenagers in a PC mad world then yes, Spain is ‘a bit backwards.’
You see in Spain policemen are still treated like grown-ups who can smoke and have a beer during their shift without getting suspended and will carry out their job with the utmost efficiency – you always know where you stand with the Guardia Civil. The local cops are a different matter, a lot more friendly and willing to listen to what you might have to say – even acknowledging that you’ll ‘only be five minutes’ as you park illegally next to them…but what they boast in amiability they lack in local knowledge and ask any one of them, in any town, in Spain and I guarantee you they won’t be able to give you (accurate) directions to your hotel; the default, ‘and when you get to the end of that road…ask again’ usually saves the day for them though.
And perhaps some might claim that Spain is ‘a bit backwards’ when describing its citizen’s driving skills (I’m talking in general – Fernando Alonso has proved himself fairly capable behind the wheel…)but let me tell you that in the 12 years I’ve been here they have improved immensely. It’s rare these days to find a car tooting behind you because he wants you to go faster. They’ve not been good and they’re getting better. That said, a car attempting to parallel park in front of you is always a delay worth watching as they do still tend to gauge the length of their car by hitting the ones either side of the space they are attempting to fill.

You’ll see some accidents too, and wonder how on earth a five car pile-up can happen in a tiny side street where it’s impossible to reach 15mph, but that’s Spain and it’s different. It’s a country where you’ll see more dogs as passengers on motorbikes than anywhere else (someone was paid to count?) and where the majority consider Bullfighting as cruel. It’s not Benidorm – that’s a great place for its own reasons, but Spain is Spain, and if respecting cops - who use common sense rather than red tape - and common sense are backwards, I’m happy to be behind the times here.

This article was written by Dave Bull for of MASA International who are experts in the sale of property in Spain
You can follow the adventures of Dave Bull in Spain by following @DavejBull on Twitter