READING
A. Read the article and then choose the best title for it.
1. Britons in Spain
2. The end of a dream
3. Orijuela isn’t Benidorm!
When a million Britons emigrated to the coasts of Spain in search of a better life, they had no idea that
an economic meltdown would leave them with mounting debts.
Orihuela Costa, on the Spanish coast, is the town with the largest percentage of British people anywhere
in the world outside the United Kingdom. You can play lunchtime bingo at the Judge's Chambers, eat a
beef-burger at Sunny Jim's, buy a copy of The Daily Mail, The Sun or Heat magazine and do your
banking at the local Bankinter where the staff are all fluent English-speakers.
Newcastle-born Bob Houliston surprised many people when, with the help of the party he helped to
form, he won the elections and became mayor of Orihuela Costa; knocking out the Partido Popular
which had ruled this stretch of the Costa Blanca since the end of the Franco era. Houliston is no stranger
to politics. He spent ten years working for the diplomatic service and then thirty years in the European
Commission before retiring and moving to the Costa Blanca with his Spanish wife Isabel.
Orihuela Costa differs from Benidorm – perhaps the most famous ex-fishing village in the world –
because while Benidorm is a major tourist resort, Orihuela Costa is a place where people go – in the
words of a local estate agent - “to live the dream”. These days around 30,000 people live there.
It is currently estimated that one million Britons live for all or part of the year in Spain. It is one of the
most remarkable European migrations of the last half century. Unlike most large-scale population shifts
which are driven by economic factors or the search for a better life, the Britons came to Spain primarily
for the weather; for a relaxed lifestyle amidst the sun, sea and sand.
Fifty years ago, only well-off Britons could afford such a radical change of lifestyle and the wealthy
bought villas in the Bahamas or the Côte d'Azur. But flights became cheaper and the pound became
stronger. Then the British property market boomed, providing overnight wealth to many. Suddenly
fantasies became realities and hundreds of thousands modestly well-off people wanted to buy a second
home in Spain.
But since ‘la crisis’ arrived in Spain three years ago everything has changed. The property market has
crashed and there are more than a million empty, unsold properties across the country. Many expats
wanting to return to Britain have no hope of selling their Spanish homes. Meanwhile, emigration from
Britain is at its lowest since 2001. The great British exodus to Spain has come to a stop.
A recent report from Spain’s National Institute for Statistics shows that for the first time in ten years the
number of immigrants leaving the country is greater than those coming in. Today the British expats can
be divided into three groups; those choosing to stay until the crisis is over and things start to pick up
again, those who sell up everything and leave … and the third group; those who would like to return to
the UK but cannot do so because they are unable to sell their properties. The Costa boom is over.
B. Decide whether these statements are true or false according to the
information in the article.
1. British people who emigrated to Spain knew that they were taking a risk.
2. The British people living in Orihuela Costa have integrated into the Spanish way
of life.
3. The mayor of Orihuela Costa is a member of the Partido Popular.
4. British people don’t choose to live in Benidorm.
5. The main reason for British people emigrating to Spain was the climate.
6. When British people started buying homes in Spain in the 1960s, they sold their
homes in Britain.
7. The number of British people emigrating to Spain has remained stable in recent
years.
8. These days there more people leaving Spain than entering Spain.
C. Find the words in the text that mean:
1. A situation where something fails or becomes weaker in a sudden or dramatic
way.
2. Changes in position or direction.
3. A sudden increase in trade and economic activity; a period of wealth and
success.
4. A situation in which many people leave a place at the same time.
Definitions from: http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com
D. Write a synonym, a definition or a sentence for the meaning of these
words and expressions:
1. To knock out
2. well-off
3. ex-pat
4. To pick up
Source: The Observer, Sunday 4 December 2011- Economic crisis: The pain in Spain