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Welcome to the May issue of 'The Word on the Street'. This is your monthly news and information from Spain provided by Ábaco Advisers. We hope to keep you in touch with the news, events and just a little bit of gossip.
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Improving your property with a mortgage in Spain
After a lean period, mortgages are available again in Spain. Read in our article about Anthony Dewhurst and how he used his mortgage to make his new property in Spain even better:
Read the article
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In fourth place is... Spain!
The fourth healthiest country in the world! Congratulations to Spain for its continued high ranking as one of the healthiest places to live. The average life expectancy is 82.8% and Spain is only beaten by Japan (83.7), Switzerland (83.4) and Singapore (83.1). This is only one of many statistiscs that you might want to take a look at if you’ve time:
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Tourist tax
People booking a holiday in Ibiza or Mallorca this year will have noticed the appearance of an additional tax on their hotel bill. The tourist tax is levied at €1 or €2 a night depending on the rating of the hotel. For more information about this unpleasant addition to holiday costs:
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Tesco comes to town
Or at least it should be doing if you have El Corte Ingles somewhere close to you. It has been published in the Guardian that Tesco is to stock some of Corte Ingles’ products in their stores in the UK in an agreement that will allow the Spanish department store to stock some of Tesco’s most popular products too:
Read the article
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Salvador Dali
Spain has never been short of its charismatic characters. One of these is Salvador Dali. You are likely to be familiar with at least some of his work as this famous artist was quite prolific and also dabbled in many different types of media. So, for example, did you know that he wrote a cook book? For this and other interesting facts about his life:
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It’s twice the joy - a twin epidemic in Spain
Spain has seen the birth of an unusually high number of twins in recent years. The main reason for this is the increasing use of fertility treatment as more mothers are waiting until they are older to have children. An interesting article from El País in English gives some of the background to this unusual phenomenon:
Read the article
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The dream is over
It looks as though the Paramount project in Murcia has finally bitten the dust. According to this article in Murcia Today, the land could be reclassified as agricultural. There had been speculation that it might have been redesignated for building use:
Read the article
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Not just about best beaches
It’s not just blue flag beaches we should be interested in but also water quality. This map of Europe shows you the water quality in different parts of Europe. Spain comes up with 1,821 of its bathing spots recorded as being excellent but 58 spots rated as poor. This is topped by Germany with 2,070 of excellent and 5 of poor quality:
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Museums off the beaten track
If you’ve done all the biggies but your thirst for the museum experience in Spain hasn’t been quenched you could take a look at this article from The Local. This isn’t a list of the good and great so you won’t find the Prado or Reina Sofia. But you will find a slightly more unusual selection to explore:
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Motoring fines to watch out for
You may have come across On The Pulse’s article as it has already been shared almost 383 times on Facebook. If you haven’t, then you might like to read about ten fines that you could be given for a range of reasons that you might be unaware of:
Read the article
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The world’s biggest cruise ship...
...comes from Barcelona. And how about this for a list of what you can find on board? It has its own water slide, 1,400 seat theatre, surf simulator and rope slide. If you’d like to take a browse:
Visit the website
This enormous ship recently completed its maiden voyage and docked in its home port once more. It can host 6,400 passengers, has 18 decks and is longer than the eiffel tower is high. A pretty amazing spectacle.
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How do Europeans find a new home?
This interesting study from REMAX ‘At home in Europe’ looked into what Europeans are looking for when it comes to housing. They surveyed more than 8,000 people aged between 20 and 59 years old from 16 different European countries. Just one of the interesting facts that they found was that on average, Europeans view seven properties and take less than two months to find a new home. To find out more:
Visit the website
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This week’s news round up
We’ve recommended them before, but Murcia Today does provide a really good round up of news in Spain on a weekly basis. This week’s includes the latest from the forthcoming Spanish general election, the continuation of the debate over bull fighting, a football bulletin and updates on Spanish property:
Read the article
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Looking for somewhere different to visit in Barcelona?
Barcelona really is a fountain of tourist attractions. However, if your source of places to visit should be drying up a little you might try the Labyrinth Park of Horta or the Parc del Laberint d’Horta. It’s the oldest park in Barcelona and actually has to limit the number of people who enter every day. The labyrinth itself looks quite a challenge:
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Holiday scams
Online booking of holidays has enhanced the opportunities for many families wanting to mix and match arrangements or who simply find it easier to access alternatives online. However, there have been warnings issued this year that online holiday scams are on the increase. If you are planning on booking online, you might want to check this article from the guardian about how to avoid fraudulent travel websites:
Read the article
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What interests you?
We would welcome any suggestions for future themes you would like us to cover either in the newsletter or in an article on Spain Explained.
Please let us know by email at newsletter@abacoadvisers.com.
Thank you!
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