A New Life In The Sun With Dumb & Dumber

” Disaster strikes again as Bill and Betty have 24 guests arriving in 45 minutes and they still have to build the second bedroom”

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind watching a bit of tv from time to time and this is a show that I enjoyed the first series. What seems to have happened now though is the majority of the people in this show couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery.

” With guests arriving tomorrow, Sandra decides to try the shower and sinks in the gite, to ensure the water is connected”. Shock, horror although they have owned the place 8 months, they haven’t bothered to check the water or the electrics work in the gite, they’ve just decorated and built up a new bed from IKEA. No running water, but the curtains look pretty!

A New Life In The Sun The Carry On Film Version

” Claudia has rented this stunning 9 bedroom villa in Southern Spain for a whopping £3k a month on a 24 month lease and wants to open a yoga retreat. She needs this to work as she has tied all her money up in this new venture”

Maybe Claudia should have asked that one, all-important question prior to signing her life away with this 2-year lease. The question being;     ‘Is this property totally legal for me to run a business here’

Clearly asking this would save the heartache and embarrassment of finding you cannot run any business nor use it for any type of business, because it’s an illegal build. Not to worry, instead of charging your £500 a week ( excluding flights ) for your yoga retreat spa breaks, you can go to the market to sell your cheap and cheerful yoga pants instead.

 

Described as – Series following intrepid expats as they chase a dream life in the sun. It’s more like watching Mission Impossible at times. yeah Fat Freddy who has supped 20 pints a week in his local, decides to sell up and move to Benidorm because he wants to open a British themed pub there. He’s never run a pub, nor even worked behind the bar but that’s not stopping him.

Next on the list is Maria, who after getting a divorce has decided to move abroad and set up as a hairdresser in Marbella. She’s going to work from home to save on costs and operate as a mobile hairstylist to the ex-pat community. She’s bringing across her 5 kids and 3 dogs, coming in her trusty 2003 Nissan minibus.

Finally, in this episode we drop into the French countryside to check out the new B&B operation run by Michael and his husband also called Michael. They both left high flying corporate jobs and have opened this business under a new name, after buying it as a going concern from the previous owners. Despite both Micheals never running any form of hotel or B&B, neither being a chef, never worked in hospitality and neither speaking a word of French, they decided to move to France for a new way of life. As funds are tight, they have decided not to employ staff but do all the jobs themselves and also rely on Google translate.

 

As they’ve no bookings they have decided to have an open day and invite all the locals round to visit their new business. Luckily one of their new neighbours speaks a little English and has offered to help promote the event. This will give the boys a chance to show off their culinary skills, by laying out some cold meat, cheese, pieces of cut up bread, a couple of dishes of nibbles and of course copious amounts of wine.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I love new ideas, I love that people want to leave dull, boring jobs in the grey, cold and wet of the UK. Yes, it’s fucking fantastic to be sat outdoors at 7am, enjoying the sunshine, enjoying the freshly squeezed orange juice and having a coffee for 9 months of the year. If you have a trade under your belt, such as a plumber then go for it. The ex-pat areas are always looking for jobs doing, repairs to their homes. Hey, it’s easier to deal with a guy who speaks the same lingo as you, rather than risk getting lost in translation.

What I’d say though is use your common sense. Why try to open a British Bar in the middle of Benidorm, to compete with the other 100 down the same street. They all offer Sky tv for sport, Boddingtons on draught and a full English fry up. All you’re doing here is competing on price. Ever ask yourself why these bars are easy and cheap to buy? Because the previous 10 tenants have lost a fortune, found it too hard and packed up and gone. Do something different!

 

What Is Different?

Run a B&B in France or in Spain but add value. If you’re in the middle of a cycling or motorbiking tourist route, then cater for these people. If you have a large enough plot, look at running a campsite or caravan pitches. If fishing is your thing, buy a place with a lake and offer fishing holiday. People want more than a square box shaped room, so a nice French Gite or a rustic Spanish Cortijo is a better choice to buy. If you’re able to offer something more, then this gives you additional revenue streams. Cooking classes, pottery making, glass blowing, cycling holidays, bird watching or the fishing lake setting.

 

Take inspiration and ideas from the show, but please do your homework first. Remember it’s fine going to Lloret de Mar each year for 2 weeks of laying in the sun, drinking 5 pints every night and doing sweet FA for your time there. Life’s much different living and more importantly working in the sun. 40 degrees during the day in July and August is energy sapping. learn about different places in Spain, take time to visit them. It’s even worth taking a month off and doing a rental in the area you’re interested in or doing a 3 week road trip, visiting several different resorts or areas and getting a feel for the places. Same applies to France, check out the different areas and regions by researching, then go and visit them.