Exchange Rates not much better
The exchange rate between UK Sterling and the Euro continue to hover around 1.10, which means that the agony is prolonged for those on pensions, in Spain, who were used to getting 1.40 . This factor, in addition to the credit crisis, is having a knock on effect to the Spanish economy, particularly in the Costa Blanca area. If people on pensions are unable to have as many “menu del dia” as they did before, restaurants will suffer, as will the entertainment industry per se.
Supermarkets carry on , as people always need to eat and clean their houses etc, but there are so many in such a small area around Torrevieja, that you wonder how they survive. A year ago Iceland were recruiting on a large scale, but I have heard that staffing levels were reduced due to drop off in business. This may have been because they opened San Javier and La Marina stores, which generated more overheads, whilst dispersing customers away from Torrevieja store, to go locally.
There seem to be many supermarkets, with many branches, such as Lidl, Consum, Carrefour, Mercadona. How do they make money? There are more supermarkets in that particular area per square kilometre than in the whole of the Scarborough and district area in the UK.
For people on pensions affected by the recession, then you should consider ways to raise more funds, by way of such vehicles as lifetime loans.
