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How To Retire Without Money
By Bob Belmont
CHAPTER 9 SPAIN
Page 3 of 19
Mechanics in Spain are good and repair prices low unless new
parts are involved. The gas is expensive and of very poor
quality and the oil is horrible.
§
THE SPANIARDS. It is possible to type a people such as the
Swiss or the Danes with a certain amount of accuracy but when
you take a country as large as Spain it becomes as difficult
as it would be to type the American. Obviously all Americans
aren't the same—neither are all 60 million Spaniards.
In Andulusia in the south, for instance, live the gypsies and
although I have no prejudices in matters of race, nationality,
or
color I think I can truly state that the Spanish gypsy is the
dirtiest, most poverty stricken, most dishonest, most
untrustworthy people I have met in Europe, certainly they are
the most lazy and shiftless. To the other extreme you have the
residents of Madrid and also the Catalans of Barcelona who are
modern, aggressive, hard working, honest folk who differ
comparatively little from the average American.
Personally, I like the average Spaniard. I find him honest;
clean, to the extent his poverty allows him to be; hospitable
far beyond the extent he can afford; in love with his country,
but with an amazing lack of knowledge about the rest of the
world; a lover of his family, but also of good wine and good
food, not to speak of good folk music. He is also, in spite of
all misinformation to the contrary a hard worker (except for
the gypsies).
§
MONEY. Spain has one of the softest currencies in Europe, and
all indications are that it will become softer, especially if
Uncle Sam discontinues plowing large sums of dollars into the
shaky economy. At this writing, officially the peseta sells at
a tourist rate of 45 to the dollar but in Tangier you get
53.50 to the dollar. I have seen it as low as 62 to the dollar
in Tangier which is an indication of how greatly it can
fluctuate.
No laws are broken by bringing pesetas into Spain. You are
allowed to bring 10,000 of them for each member of your group.
And you are also allowed to have your bank send you 3,000
pesetas a day. Before coming to Spain, however, I'd check this
again with either the travel agent, your bank, or your money
exchange house since laws can change quickly in this field.
§
WORK PERMISSION. You are allowed to work in Spain only if you
have a work permit and if the job is of a type that a Spaniard
could not fill. Actually this doesn't really affect you since
Spanish pay is so inadequate that you would not be interested.
As in all economical countries, labor prices are appallingly
low. If you're interested in working, you'll have to swing
some deal that involves a job other than an ordinary one for a
Spanish concern. If
you have some angle that will help tourism or in some other
way attract dollars or other foreign currency, the authorities
couldn't be happier.
>>> CHAPTER 9 SPAIN
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