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How To Retire Without Money
By Bob Belmont
CHAPTER 9 SPAIN
Page 1 of 19
IN A NUTSHELL. For some reason most of we Americans who have
never visited Spain think of this country as a small one and
it comes as a shock to find that of all of our States only
Texas and Alaska is larger than she. And her population is
pushing 50 million which makes her one of the more populous
countries of Europe.
Possibly our ignorance of Spain is due to the fact that few
members of this generation have visited Spain. Her civil war
broke out in 1936 and didn't end until 1939. Hardly was it
over but the Second World War began and for nearly seven years
Europe was wrapped in conflict and tourism was a forgotten
luxury. Both Spanish and American officials are trying to
ignore the fact now but Spain was, and is, a fascist country
and during the war she supported the Axis Powers. This
undoubtedly helped, when the war was over, to keep American
tourists from the country. For years Spain was virtually
ignored.
Tourists were coming to Europe as never before, but the main
points of interest were further north, England, France,
Switzerland, Italy. In 1947 only 3,700 of our countrymen
entered Spain and the figure only slightly more than doubled
in 1948.
But finances have been chaotic since the war and everywhere
prices have literally zoomed. France, once a bargain paradise,
became as expensive as the United States, or nearly so. And
Switzerland and Italy trailed not far behind. Rumors began to
drift up from the south that Spain was still operating at
pre-war prices. That you could travel in Spain at a fraction
the price in the more popular tourist countries, or could
retire on a pittance.
And nothing spreads so fast in the traveling set, and those
who live permanently, or semi-permanently abroad as such
rumors. Thousands began to drift into Spain, and then tens of
thousands, until at this writing at least a million Americans
visit
Spain each year, and thousands have become permanent
residents.
Of course, just because a country is cheap is no reason to
retire there. Possibly the cheapest place I have ever been is
the interior of Turkey. I would estimate that given the
current black market rate of exchange, you could live there
like a pasha for $500 a month for a couple. But what would you
do? What would you see? Who would you talk to? You might live
in a palace and have a swarm of servants on $1000 a month in
one of the smaller towns of inland Turkey—but you'd probably
go stark raving mad after a couple of months or so.
But Spain offers a good deal more than economy. Her scenery is
varied, her climate probably the best in Europe, with the
possible exception of the Greek islands, there is a wide
Anglo-American population which guarantees companionship if
you cannot find it among the Spaniards, and the luxuries as
well as the necessities of life are available.
§
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. All you need to enter Spain is your
American passport. If you decide to stay for more than six
months you'll need a resident's permit but this is no more
complicated to
acquire than expending a few minutes at the local police
station. In fact, as soon as you leave your hotel or pension
and take up residence in a house or apartment, you are
supposed to register the new address with the police. However,
these things are usually handled in a rather lax way.
>>> CHAPTER 9 SPAIN
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