English People...

Dude, give it a rest!

<<Neo Latin countries are still very united ! In contrast with germanic ones disunited.>>

If this were true, then why all these ridiculous topics that keep popping up time and again? :

Brazilian Portuguese vs. European Portuguese
Latin American Spanish vs. European Spanish
Spanish vs. Portuguese
Castilian vs. Catalan
Which Romance language is closest to Latin?
Spanish and Italian are closer than French and Italian
etc...

I can understanding discussing the differences, but oftentimes these threads devolve into bickering over whose culture and language is better.

<<hmmm Tiffany ! you just said your ex was onother "latino" half portuguese ! Is that hard to find Americans in America ? Or you really are a PRO-Latin ? >>

I'm American, and I'm half Portuguese. How are the two mutually exclusive?

"for the first time in Europe a third party UK bank NATWEST and other banks offer a MORTGAGE abroad ! where ? SPAIN !!! Brits are desperately selling their houses and go to live in Spain !!! "

There are more French living in Britain than there are Brits living in France.

<There are more French living in Britain than there are Brits living in France. >

But there are thousands of Brits living in Spain !

there are small English towns in Spain full of Brits !
the Spaniards modified the propriety law for "outsiders" because of the "british invasion "

The british dream is to have a house and live in Spain

<<The british dream is to have a house and live in Spain>>

I'm British, and it's not my dream. Wouldn't mind having a house in the French countryside, though :)

I think it's that many British people (at least those from certain backgrounds) seem to like buying houses in other countries. It's not just in Spain — places like Bulgaria and Croatia are growing in popularity now as well. Incidentally, we're currently looking into buying an apartment in Belgium.

I've also heard that there are quite a lot of Germans who own houses in Spain as well. Would that be true, Anna?

<<I've also heard that there are quite a lot of Germans who own houses in Spain as well. Would that be true, Anna? >>

It's certainly true on Mallorca - don't know about the mainland of Spain though.

Most Brits (a whopping 88%) are proud of their country - but they don't like Blair much. He came bottom in a recent British pride poll.

Blair bottom of British pride poll
11:55am 17th January 2006


Tony Blair: Not a source of pride for most Britons


Prime Minister Tony Blair has come bottom in a poll of what makes people proud to be British.

The monarchy and British politics were given the thumbs down by voters in a survey exploring patriotism.

Two thirds of those quizzed said they were proud to be British because of British history, 63 per cent found pride in the countryside and more than half were proud of the British people.

British comedy scored 52 per cent and the country's inventions 44 per cent, but the Royals inspired pride in only 31 per cent of people, while politics and Mr Blair did so in just 11 per cent.

The findings follow recent calls by Chancellor Gordon Brown for a special national Britishness Day.

[b]Sense of humour was the characteristic most associated with Britishness, topping the list with 65 per cent of the votes.

The British habit of queuing came second at 59 per cent, followed by good manners (56pc), fair play (53pc) and decency (44pc). [/b]

The research was carried out by British Lion eggs to launch its "So Very British" TV advertising campaign, which focuses on sense of humour and queuing traits.

It found overall that the large majority - 88 per cent - were proud to be British.

The most patriotic were those aged 35 to 44 with 83 per cent considering themselves pleased with the British heritage.

Those over 45 were slightly less patriotic at 82 per cent, while in the youngest category of 16 to 24-year-olds, the figure was 78 per cent.


For the survey, TNS interviewed 1,748 British adults aged 16-64.

dailymail.co.uk

Other recent surveys show that the British are more patriotic than almost every other nation in Europe with the exception of, I think, the Irish.

<Other recent surveys show that the British are more patriotic than almost every other nation in Europe with the exception of, I think, the Irish. >

Brits are chauvinist not patriotic Adam !

Then how do you explain this massive exodus of brits ?

The british media is invaded with adds - to buy a house abroad, local banks offer mortgage abroad (uk banks are the first in the world to secure a loan on foreign properties - due to a huge demand of applications )

I live in the UK and I can tell you this is true ! Brits are tired of being ripped –off ! They hate the horrible British weather, tasteless food and cultural isolation !

BBC is full of TV shows “how to by a house in Spain and decorate it “ ! 67 % of the Brits travelling to Spain, don’t want to come back to UK. They would stay there , if could afford it ! They just love the weather , food, and hospitable people , and the “all night clubbing “ as opposite with the UK – after 2 AM everything is dead ) They just love the night life there !

I don’t blame them!

>>Other recent surveys show that the British are more patriotic than almost every other nation in Europe with the exception of, I think, the Irish.<<

Even if that is the case, I don't tend to think of us being particularly 'patriotic' when compared to, say, the Americans. Or maybe it's more the difference between overt and quiet 'patriotism'.

I agree with 'I am sad ! I live in the uk' — there's television programme on almost every day which is focused on buying a house in another country here; there must be a fairly significant market for it.

And Adam, why is practically every post you make a copied and pasted article from somewhere?

Americans are patriotic? Is that a generalization? Because I think I must have missed the notice.

Adam is the copy and paste king. You'll get used to it.

Although I do pretty much agree with the original message, I did NOT post the first response (Agree...). Someone else posted it under my name. I think in my case, though, it really boils down to how pleasantly surprised people are with my excellent English and my nice (RP) accent (something rare in a foreigner and something which is not all that mundane either with an Englishman).

>>Americans are patriotic? Is that a generalization? Because I think I must have missed the notice.<<

Of course it's a generalisation. This is the view that we often get of Americans here anyway. It's quite common to have an America flag outside your house in (much of) America, isn't it? I'd likely be accused of being racist if I were to put a British or English flag outside my house here at any time other than a major sporting event (e.g. the World Cup) — just to give you an idea of where I'm coming from with regards to that.

I'm Scottish and I am going to say something that will astonish you.....in spite of all that I've said in the past (with tongue lodged firmly in cheek) I like English people very much. I have some really great English friends, from different prts of England, and I adore them. Their accents vary of course because England, in spite of its small physical size, hasa wholerange of accents......some really nice, some pretty horrid, but there you go, that's life.

We get by very well on English money, so I reckon I have to say what I have...but it truly is frae the hairt.

There's always be an England (as long as Scotland's there).... :-)