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Posts: 407
Joined: May 26 2010
From: Sarpsborg,Norway
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
Dress code in Spain is very free. Just wear something please.
Granada is full off hippies, punks, scumbacks, alcoholics, drugadicts etc, so your piercings etc, wont be noticed very much.
Feels odd to say i am relieved Anders
quote:
Wow!
Can you draw your pension at age 20 in Norway?
Statoil must be doing better than I'd thought..
Hey Ron, I think statoil is going well! but it is actually a "disabled pensions" or whatever you would say in english And i am 19, not 20
quote:
Thats a good wage over here. Your money will go a long way. 100 a month on guitar lessons and strings. 500 rent on a studio appartment 100 Mobile phone bills (Phone calls are criminally expensive in Spain) 20 euros day food, drink, groceries, bus rides, internet = 600 per month
Total 1300 per month
If you dont eat out every night and buy food from the markets you can live on even less. Fruits such as tomatos, avocados, oranges are 1 Euro a kilo right now, A white loaf is 70 cents and a litre of beer is under a Euro. A kilo of Pasta ( 3 good meals) is under 1 Euro. Chicken and fresh fish are also inexpensive but beef and lamb are pricey. The things that cost money in Spain are electrical goods, computors, heating, electricity, phone calls, petrol, and beaurocracy...you have to pay a tax or charge to get anything done. If you are not running a business and have a income from another country then you can live in relative luxary on very little. If you share an appartment and reduce you bills to 100 week then you can live here easily for under 1000 per month.
Hey Pim that actually sound good to me .. And that cheap beer, is it any good?
I have trouble actually finding anything fresh here, i went to the groceries store the other day, almost all the tomatoes were half spoiled, the lettuces were getting old too, starting to turn brown, and fish, well here in norway fish is frozen goods now mostly. it irritates the crap out of me, since were supposed to be a fishing country, but we export everything to other places, i have to travel 2,5 hours for a fresh fish market...
Posts: 1827
Joined: Jul. 8 2003
From: Living in Granada, Andalucía
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to odinz)
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ORIGINAL: odinz And that cheap beer, is it any good?
In my opinion Alhambra beer is the best in the world ! There are cheaper beers around but I wouldnt bother.
There are thousands of people here earning and living on only 1,000 euros a month. My friend has a mortgage and a child and manages to live on that.
Fresh fruit and veg, like Pimiento says, are abundant. A crate of strawberries for only 2 euros. In Granada for every beer you buy in a bar you get a tapa, a small but sometimes big plate of food. You'll soon find the best bars for tapas. A Menu del Día, a full course meal offered at mid day, can be had for as little as 6 euros, and often includes a beer and bread.
And with your piercings, you will feel right at home
Posts: 407
Joined: May 26 2010
From: Sarpsborg,Norway
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Kate)
sounds good Kate, freshness is nice, and i love a beer in the evening
I hope i can meet some people, of the foro and others, so i can be shown where the good places to eat out, and dring out is and such.
Are there any areas that are better to live in than others for example?
Hey Estevan, thanks alot, i also hope it will be a good time, I have never really traveled anywhere before or anything either, so it will be really exiting, the furthest south ive been is north denmark
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to odinz)
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I have never really traveled anywhere before or anything either, so it will be really exiting, the furthest south ive been is north denmark
Of course the more language preparation you can do, the better. The sydspansk is rather different from the norddansk - but being there you can learn fast.
Posts: 407
Joined: May 26 2010
From: Sarpsborg,Norway
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Estevan)
Yeah the norddansk is way harder, we say here in norway "hvis du Vil snakke som en danske må du ha en potet i halsen" ( if you want to Talk like a danish you must have a potato in your throat)
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to odinz)
quote:
if you want to Talk like a danish you must have a potato in your throat
(Umm..I think Anders has a second potato stuck somewhere else ATM... )
I'm sure he'll be OK in the long-run though...
I've only been to Denmark once and found it ultra-conservative, with lots of rules and regulations regarding social behaviour.
But, that being said, it was very clean and charming and the people were very nice.
My first encounter with Norway was being flown into Trondheim where I joined a marine seismic exploration team.
In the next 12 months we went from Kristiansand in the South ...all the way up to Hammerfest in the North.
South Norway was a pain....man....all Christian and religious and no drinking and staying at home on a Sunday and saying prayers or reading the Bible.
(Even worse than Scotland in the 60's. )
In a big city like Bergen, (even in the 80's) there was only ONE pub open after 6pm. When you got there, it was so mobbed, you could hardly get up to the bar.
You could get a drink in a restaurant, but had to buy a meal. (very expensive BTW )
I remember being in a town in South Norway, where there was no bar, but you could go to a Hotel (which didn't have a bar) and go to a room where there were other people and be served a drink there. They had a fold-down bed attached to the wall, to comply with the local legal requirements of it being a "bedroom". I didn't know that at first...and thought it was just an "emergency bed" in case someone had consumed too much...and was very civilized and thoughtful Nordic hospitality..
Now the NORTH of Norway was a WHOLE different kettle of fish!
Tromso was FANTASTIC, with pubs and partying going on till the wee hours.
There was a place called "The Cowboy Bar" which had saddles instead of barstools....crazy place...
And then you stagger out into the snow to be greeted by a spectacular display of the Northern Lights!
(Like getting a bonus tab of acid dropped into your beer.. )
If you talk about "Lord of The Rings" landscape, then here you have it.
Great, earthy people too!
(And beautiful girls! )
I wish I could have spent longer in those Northern towns.
As different as Stornoway is from Lockerbie in Scotland IMO.
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to odinz)
Hi Odinz,
Travelling is one of the things you'll remember all your life. The peope..the places...
On a different note...
I just received the "Simon & Garfunkell Concert in Central Park" DVD today and had a few beers and watched it...
What at gas to see after all these years...
"We work at our jobs... Collect our pay... Thinking we're cuisin' down the Highway... But in fact we're slip slidin' away...
Slip slidin' away....Slip slidin' away.... Y' know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin'away...."
OR...(Thinking of Simon here...)
"When I think back on all the crap I've learned in high school It's a wonder I can think at all Though my lack of education hasn't hurt me much I can read the writings on the walls
Chorus: Kodachrome, they give us those nice bright colours They give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph So mama don't take my Kodachrome away
If you took all the girls I knew when I was single Brought 'em all together for one night I know they'd never match my sweet imagination Everything looks better in black and white"
Good stuff...great concert!
Tomorrow I think I'm gonna watch "The Last Waltz" with "The Band"!!
Flamenco's great, but every now and then I like to have an injection from my own culture.
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Kate)
quote:
In my opinion Alhambra beer is the best in the world
Kate...... You might have been to long in Granada. Are you ever going somewhere else. I´m not a big fan of Spanish beer. But the wine is good and cheap.
No problems with potatoes here. I stick´m up everywhere. Funny enough, in Denmark we say that if you want to speak with american accent, you have to have a potato in your mouth.
Confusing this with potatoes.
With respect of money. You dont need much. The 20 year old spanish living in Spain get along with 500 - 600€ a month (or less)
Posts: 407
Joined: May 26 2010
From: Sarpsborg,Norway
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
No problems with potatoes here. I stick´m up everywhere. Funny enough, in Denmark we say that if you want to speak with american accent, you have to have a potato in your mouth.
Posts: 1827
Joined: Jul. 8 2003
From: Living in Granada, Andalucía
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
quote:
ORIGINAL: Anders Eliasson
quote:
In my opinion Alhambra beer is the best in the world
Kate...... You might have been to long in Granada. Are you ever going somewhere else.
LOL Anders I really dont like beer, at least English beer, so Alhambra for me is perfect though dont know what that says about Alhambra for you die hard beer guzzlers. And yeah I have been here a long time, apart from regular family visits to Vietnam and Wales I am happy to stay home. It suits me here, an aging punky hippy flamenco
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to odinz)
I suggest checking out the Christina Heeren foundation annual course. I did the summer course last summer, and it was lots of fun. There are some pretty famous teachers in the annual course, like Nino de Pura, and Pedro Sierra. The course is in Seville. You should be able to find a shared flat there for around 350 € /month. Food, etc in Seville is very cheap in comparison to Norway. You will need to have at least a basic understanding of Spanish, as it is used in all classes. I recommend Michel Thomas' course to quickly gain a basic understanding. You should be able to find it online. Its audio only, so you can put it on your MP3 player. Website: http://flamencoheeren.com/
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Pimientito)
quote:
quote:
The 20 year old spanish living in Spain get along with 500 - 600€ a month (or less)
Thats because they still live with their mother Anders!
Nope, you´re wrong there. My wifes kids dont live with us and thats what they have. Besides many poorly paid full time jobs dont give more than 6 - 700,-€ a month. Many people in Spain live for very little money.
I´m personally living for around 800,-€ a month. This includes mortgage, everything for the house, landline phone, cell phone, internet, vacations etc. shared with my wife and besides that I have my own car and my own money.
Ok, I dont go out much and I´ve never had a lot of money, so I´m not used to using a lot of money.
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
Yeah but you can't run a car and a mobile phone, have a mortgage and afford to eat on 500 per month....at least not in Granada. I agree there are a lot of low paid jobs but many of them are not contracted and paid in black money which is why Spains unemployment figures appear to be so high. If you live with your parents then 500 euros in your pocket isnt so bad but if you have to finance everything in your life on less then than 800 then its pretty difficult, especially in a city.
I would agree that if you live in the country that its probably easier to make ends meet but in the last couple of years everyones bills have rocketed. Electricity, heating fuel and petrol are 40 percent higher than a few years ago and wages have fallen. I drive a lot every week and as we have winter snow in Granada, I feel these increases a lot. After adding maintenance, insurance etc. on the car, and social security contributions I would find it impossible to live on 800 per month.
RE: I need help, from anyone really. (in reply to odinz)
Pimiento,
Each and everyone their story. We all have our very different needs.
But some of what you say is not true. The price of petrol today 25/4 2011 is EXACTLY the same as it was summer 2008.... Electricity is higher, but not 40%. Firewood costs 1 cent more a kilo since 8 years.
Here in Spain, there´s a tendency to yell so much about prices, but we are still in a country where I can go to the city and have a beer for 1 euro and where electricity etc. is a lot cheaper than in other countrys
The minimum wage in Spain 2011 is 641,40€ for a full time job (around 4.30€ and hour), a standard pension is about the same or less. Some have to live for that amount of money.
Since my wifes kids are 24 and 25 respectively, I´ve met a lot of youngters around 20 years. Most of them live for something like 5 - 700€ a month in Sevilla which is most expensive city in Andalucia. They hang out together, make botellón, dont call much on the mobile phone. Mostly blind calls and SMS, they never eat on restaurants, no cars etc. They pay 200 - 250,-€ for a room in a shared flat.... It all sounds like pretty much the same lifestyle that I had when I was their age. They are pretty happy with it and so was I. I prefer to jam out in someones home or on the street than in a bar.
If you want to take guitar classes, then you need more money of course. When I take classes, I pay 75,-€ a month for one hour a week and that gives me more than enough to work on for a week and in general I find it to be pretty hard work, so I only take classes a a few month a year.