The British on the Costa del Sol : transnational identities and local communities

The 'British in Spain' achieved notoriety during the 1980s. As a group they were stereotyped as being made up of exiled criminals, drunken hooligans and inward looking pensioners - unwelcome colonisers reconstructing their own insular 'little England'. The British on the Costa del Sol presents a more complex picture. In this first book length ethnography of the British expatriate community, Karen O'Reilly draws on history, social geography, tourism studies, and theories of ethnicity and community to frame detailed interviews with British migrants themselves. What emerges is a rich account of who migrates, their reasons for migration and the day to day realities of expatriate life. Whilst Britons migrating to Spain have not integrated into their host communities, neither have they colonised swathes of the Spanish coast. The author presents instead a marginal group occupying a liminal space between two countries and two cultures. The British on the Costa del Sol is a lively and accessible account of an under researched transnationl community, and will appeal to social anthropologists and sociologists as well as to the general reader. 'Brits in Spain' first achieved notoriety during the 1980s - popularly imagined as a group made up of exiled criminals, drunken hooligans and leathery looking pensioners - welcome to 'Little England'! The British on the Costa Del Sol is the very first book to study this British expatriate community in any great depth and, through use of interviews with members of this community, paints a far more complex picture of its members. In doing so the author explodes the popularly held stereotype of 'Brits in Spain'. What emerges is a rich account of who migrates, their reasons for migration and the day to day realities of expatriate life. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Map 1: The Spanish mainland......Page 11 Introduction: the 'Brits in Spain'......Page 12 Setting the scene......Page 34 Migration......Page 50 A way of life......Page 80 Ethnicity and identity......Page 97 The construction of community......Page 129 British migrants: betwixt and between......Page 151 Notes......Page 178 References......Page 182 Index......Page 194 Annotation This book is the first to study the British expatriate community in Spain and explodes popular stereotypes of 'Brits abroad'. This is instead a rich account of who migrates, their reasons for migration and the daily realities of expat life

'Brits in Spain' first achieved notoriety during the 1980's - popularly imagined as a group made up of exiled criminals

When I first met my partner, Trevor, in 1988, he had a dream to move to Spain. Karen O'reilly. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [171]-181) And Index.