Shopping!

11/6/2016

Supermarkets

Shopping is very different in Spain, compared to The UK. As I write this today, I have to say, I am still not used to The Spanish way of purchasing provisions. Coming from Britain, things could not be more different. There are probably four shopping areas in Gran Alacant, with The GA Centro Commercial being the biggest, The GA Centre has three supermarkets in it, Lidl, Consum and Mercadona. The three are all very different and unlike supermarkets in Britain, they do not compete against one another. There are no special, buy one get one free or two for one offers. They have their own pricing structure, and as we do, most people shop around for the cheapest goods. Apart from the local markets, there are no other small independent grocers, as there are in The UK!

Unide is our local supermarket, probably the one we use most. It is a short walk away from our house and a short drive away from The GA Centre. The food, whilst a little more expensive, is more or less comparable to the other major players. The shop is convenient and if we didn't have a car, would be the one we used all the time, as we did when we first came here. The supermarkets are also very different to those in The UK. There is less variety to choose from. The range of products on sale are much smaller and every day staples seem to be less expensive. Bread, milk, eggs are all a lot less expensive, and as long as you buy Spanish products, you will will always under cut the typical British food bill.

British Quicksave

All supermarkets have a range of British food here. The area has a huge British population, which of course puts demands on what Spanish supermarkets sell. The products are over priced, but for Brits like me, who love their Marmite, they are essential. There is also The British Supermarket, Quicksave, which sells everything British, and stocks products from ASDA and TESCO. All of

it, is more expensive than you would pay back home, but the service Quicksave offers is second to none. If you want something that isn't there, you can order it from them and they will stock it for you. A little bit of Britain in Spain and it goes down well. Everytime I go in there, it is packed! I can get Marmite and HP Sauce and Darrell can now get his vegemite, after ordering it from the shop. At 4.60€, it isn't cheap, but it does allow us, to at least have a few luxuries from back home!

Late Night

In reality, 24 hour or even late night shopping does not exist, at least in this part of Spain. Although locally there are a couple of late night shops in the local area. Orange clad outside, they sell essential items, that you may need, not for 24 hours. They usually close at two

or three o clock in the morning. They are particularly useful on a Sunday, when everything else is shut down, because here at least, on a Sunday, nothing is open at all.

Chinese Shops

I was amazed by the chinese shops in this region of Spain. The Chinese shops, just like Bazar, sell everything you could possibly need, apart from food. Furniture, to electricals, stationery and gardening, they sell literally the whole kit and caboodle. They also sell a lot of what you don't need as well. Personally I love the shops and there is always something to find. As a rule they are reasonably priced and for places like the urbanization we live in, they are a means to an end. If you are looking for something to finish off your new home, you are guaranteed to find it in one of these.

Shoppings Malls

If you want to go clothes shopping you will have to head to Alicante or Elche, which are the two closest towns, providing a vast array of shopping centres and malls, as well as department stores. 'Gran Via' is a typical shopping complex, just outside Alicante. 'Gran Via', has a large Primark, which is popular with expats, offering a large range of clothes at reasonable prices.

'Gran Via' as well as the more central 'Plaza Mar', cater for a wide range of customers on a large scale. The supermarkets, like Carrefour, offer a far more extensive shopping experience. We tend to go here, about once every few weeks to buy the things we can't

buy in Gran Alacant. Items tend to be a lot cheaper and you can also buy in bulk if you wish. The shopping Malls, in my opinion are far better than those back home. They are much larger and also offer a large array of smaller independent stores, on top of the major multinationals, like Zara and Primark.

Consumer Rights

Unlike The UK, there are no or very little consumer rights in Spain. Don't expect to take faulty items back to the shop of purchase and get a refund. Shops are not obliged to do this by law, although many do, out of good will, especially the larger stores.

Summary

You can live as cheap as you want in Spain. It can be very inexpensive on a day to day basis to survive. If you eat as The Spanish do, it can be even cheaper. If like me, you want certain British products, you will have to pay for them, but as long as you limit what you need to the basics of what you desire, that really isn't a problem. You can of course obtain most British products on The Costa Blanca. The region even has Iceland on its door step, if you wanted to stock up on frozen food. There are British specialist shops and you can also order items online for delivery. All of the supermarkets stock a range of British goods, including our local grocers, Unide, Dialprix in Masa Square and the large Department Stores in Alicante.

Furniture remains expensive in Spain, compared to The UK, Antique furniture is few and far between here, most of it, having been destroyed during The Spanish Civil War. You can of course buy it, but most are either reproduction, or completely out of the price range of most consumers.

Cars are also very expensive, holding their value well. Of course in a hotter climate, cars rust less and need less work carried out on them. We worked out that the car Darrell left behind in Britain would cost double here, to what we paid back home. The buying process is of course very different, with the added complications of the Spanish system.

Electricals, seem in the main to be far cheaper than the UK. I bought a new lap top when I arrived here, the equivalent of which in The UK, would have cost at least a third more. Televisions and Music Centres, are also much cheaper. All the time, one should always factor in the lower wages in Spain.

The difference in shopping habits is reflected in The Spanish people. They are much healthier, they use and consume less and they spend a smaller proportion of their income on living, eating and buying consumables. In the UK we do have access to far more, that one does here, but does that really make it any better. Well in conclusion I can safely say, after five months living in Spain, the way of doing things here, seems to be better in most respects. The cost of living is far lower and you only ever buy what you need. In a way, it is rather like stepping back in time, but in a good way. Spain is not for everyone, but for me at least, it has been about relearning life skills, which I am enjoying, reassessing my lifestyle and using housekeeping methods, my Mother and Father used in the 1970s. In the main I am happier now than I have ever been. Shopping is just a small part of life here, much smaller than at home. That makes me happy!

Of course everyone needs to shop, in order to survive. Once you understand, just how much you need in reality, you are able to change your buying behaviour. I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that my shopping habits in the past were wasteful and thoughtless. I would discard more than I would actually use, now it is a completely different story. Life is firmly different, living in Southern Europe. Not only the way of life and culture but every single aspect is opposite to the way I am used too. Learning to live in a different way, is part of the experience. The skills I learn here, I can use for the rest of my life and hopefully avoid, making the same mistakes, I made in the previously. It is important to use this period of my life, learning and growing, without the access of the past. Life isn't about the accumulation of things, it is about living, understanding my capabilities and limitations and most importantly being exposed to real life, without the cushion of a welfare state and the get out clauses, that were responsible for the failures of the past!