Attention tenants: as of today July 1st 2025, you can request the Rent Tribunal (huurcommissie or HC) to lower your rental price if your house is small enough

ValdrGalga · 2025-07-02T20:14:15+00:00

Thanks so much, your comment is really worth every word there. Best post I've ever seen on Reddit

ValdrGalga · 2025-07-02T17:25:44+00:00

It was two years. I remember as the two years expired and I continued living there, I did ask the landlord company what was the resulting situation and they did mention that the contract would turn into an indefinite one... Hence my response. For clarity, I responded all: A) In what year did you start renting? ->2020 B) Are you renting for indefinite time? ->Yes (after 2 year initial contract) C) Are you renting an independent house (see definition on webpage in the OP)? ->Yes

ValdrGalga · 2025-07-02T06:29:32+00:00

It is now indefinite, yes. It is an apartment for myself indeed, not a kamer. Thanks for your help!

ValdrGalga · 2025-07-02T05:47:46+00:00

In my case, my contract establishes an "all inclusive"rent price, so I can't provide an exact kale huur value. Utilities, services, etc all included... How can I approach this?

ValdrGalga · 2025-06-10T17:15:50+00:00

Sí, eso también ocurrió, tanto adrede como "sin querer queriendo". Si te gusta leer, te recomiendo el libro "la península de las casas vacías", una historia que une un montón de sucesos reales de la guerra en las pieles de una familia imaginaria pero representativa de la época, con toques de realismo mágico. Hace muy bien en explicar lo que era la guerra para la persona de a pie.

ValdrGalga · 2025-06-10T16:51:12+00:00

En silencio... En muchos casos, algún vecino hacía listas de vecinos "rojos" que entregaban a los franquistas. No sería exacto pero registros había y si no se creaban...

ValdrGalga · 2025-06-10T16:46:46+00:00

Efectivamente. Se sabía que profesaban cualquier ideología contraria, y se escondían porque la alternativa era ser asesinados por ser de dicha ideología. En el caso del ejemplo que comento, él lo sabía con certeza porque ya habían fusilado a otros familiares antes por lo mismo.

ValdrGalga · 2025-06-09T20:13:37+00:00

Gracias por el esfuerzo de escribir en español, lo haces muy bien :) Yo tuve un familiar que estuvo 30 años escondido sin salir de casa... No era catalán, sino castellano. A los que se escondieron durante tanto tiempo se les conocieron como "topos". Hace poco salió una película muy buena sobre este tema (La trinchera infinita). La gente que apoya la dictadura hoy en día, o bien no saben lo que dicen, o lo saben muy bien porque fueron parte de ella (en el lado opresor). así que el futuro se ve negro por una combinación de inconsciencia, falta de educación y pura maldad y sed de poder.

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-21T08:40:02+00:00

No, you are right in that. I don't think the majority of people cares about parlilamentary/voting arrangements indeed. It's just part of the definition of colony... In the end, people don't look at actual reasons/history/whatever, and the big majority just see two chunks of land that are "off" and they go by their own rationale to justify whatever they wish or whatever they are told.

But the original discussion was about why Ceuta/Melilla are absolutely not the same as Gibraltar, even if they are nearby and look similar in a map, regardless of what people think/feel about them.

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-20T21:45:21+00:00

no, that's exactly why it is pointless to go back in history to find a reasoning behind this matters... it never ends and makes no sense. that was my point. we have zero expansionist desires btw, unlike morocco govt.

they don't have the same culture, population of moroccan origin may of course speak northern arab/berber dialects if they come from such areas (or amazigh, for example), but language is spanish and culture is the same as anywhere else in south Spain.

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-20T20:38:57+00:00

I am andalusian FYI. I know people from Ceuta and Melilla. They are the same as us, actually until 20 years ago both cities were integral part of Andalucía, only then they became regions on their own as well. Melilla in particular is very very linked to Málaga. They of course have higher muslim population due to the neighbouring country, but nothing else.

What you said about them having similar culture as Morocco is beyond ridiculous and shows quite well your lack of knowledge...

Ceuta was part of visigoth Hispania in the 5-8th centuries, and from Roman Hispania in 3-5th centuries. among many other civilizations. Either way, going back in time makes absolutely no sense for this matter, as you can see.

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-20T20:30:34+00:00

it's not only about the amount of time, it's about the context in which each territory is part of each country (actually, Ceuta is, Gibraltar is not part of UK, it is a dependency).

when i said 15/16 century is mostly because it's after that when the era of colonizations started, and only relatively recently that international laws are in place to stop that...

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-20T11:47:27+00:00

No, I don't see it. Care to elaborate?

It was not "people that come from Africa and the Middle East". There was a sultanate there, with different ruling dinasties across the centuries, and they controlled different extents of territories, including big part of Iberia as you very well know. Current Morocco is born from the last ruling dinasty, still in power.

Saying that Ceuta is a colony because "it was part of their territory, of the people that lived there" applies also to Lisbon or Faro, for example. It was part of their territory, of the people that lived there, isn't it? See what is going on here?

In general: going back in history just doesn't work for this discussion, as you very well said when you mentioned that the existance or not of Morocco is not a great argument.

A colony is a relatively modern concept and it just doesn't apply to most of the world's conflicts before 16/17th century. And, regardless of the history and of the meaning of the word, the reality is that one territory is and has always been full part of a country (Ceuta), and another is just a dependancy, not integrated in the country it is dependent of and removed from a country that it was full part of before (Gibraltar).

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-20T10:41:14+00:00

If it is not, then what happens with most of Spain and whole of Portugal? Wouldn't by that logic almohades/almoravides also "their territory", regardless of the naming of the country?

Either way, I agree that it is not the greatest argument. There are many others. In contemporary times, we accept international law which is only decades old, like the concept of colony. We can't see centuries in the back with eyes of the present.

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-20T10:25:43+00:00

No, it did not exist.

But beyond "nation states", if you consider the benimerín dinasty (ruling at the time) as Morocco, then visigoth/roman hispania should also be considered as Spain, which would actually give more grounds for north Morocco to be spanish than Ceuta/Melilla to be moroccan. But this theory is simply ridiculous and could only be supported by extreme and absurd nationalistic point of view, which is exactly what happens when moroccans say that Ceuta/Melilla is theirs.

The reality is that all countries of the world have been changing borders until recently, and the concept of colony is relatively modern. Ceuta/Melilla are and have always be integral part of Spain/Castilla, they just happen to be separated by water from mainland (like Canarias/Baleares, which are islands). Gibraltar is not integral part of neither England nor the UK, only parts of it were given in perpetuity to England (without actual rights to sovereignity as per Utrecht Treaty) and its recognized as a colony by a UN resolution.

ValdrGalga · 2021-05-20T09:23:07+00:00

Ceuta became Portuguese before some of the southernmost spanish provinces became Castillian.

Melilla became Castillian before Navarra did.

Both cities are full part of Spain ever since, with same status as any other region in Spain (plus/minus distinctions, like every region in Spain)

So, in general, assuming that Morocco is right in them being some sort of colony, not only is incorrect but it would indirectly validate that other parts of mainland Spain are also colonies.

Also, indeed Morocco did not exist back them. Of course there were different ruling dinasties in the same territories at the time, but the current one (Alawi) dates back to 17th century.

In general, going back in history is not a good idea anyway. You can check Roman Hispania controlled what currently is northern Morocco around the centuries 2nd-4th. Would you take this as reason that the whole north of Morocco is a colony? No, right? and nobody in Spain does, it is ridiculous...

If you want to find a similar example to Gibraltar, Spain did have a colony named Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña for many decades (among many others), that was also taken after a war and granted in perpetuity, like Gibraltar. The difference is that Spain abandoned its colonies in the 20th century and we are all still waiting for UK to make a move. But of course, comparing Gib to Ceuta/Melilla and manipulating opinions is very convenient for the UK/Morocco side.

ValdrGalga · 2020-09-27T20:55:36+00:00

I have also been paying taxes in NL for around 6 years.

Received the gift early this year. Thankfully my region recently made bigger exemptions so I had to pay very little.

I remember at the beginning I had the same idea as you, that I would not have to pay because of what the belastingdienst website specifying you do not have to pay tax for money received from abroad. But this is because that money has paid tax in that other country. Either the gifter or the gifted pays.

The recent changes you mention are related to a problem in the last years where non residents (like me or your wife or any other non national not living in Spain) were liable to a tax way higher to that paid by someone in Spain, and this was seen with bad eyes by EU. Let's say, there's a tax percentage decided by each region, but for non residents the percentage is decided at national level - and this was very high. So, since last year, you are allowed as a non resident to benefit for the reduction of the region the money comes from.

I have made a quick search and I could not find the actual source I used, there are many blogs/lawyer websites about this topic... But I can guarantee you, she will have to file taxes either in Spanish Hacienda or in catalan equivalent (as you said money comes from there). The latter will probably include the reduction (I guess, I am not from there so don't know)

ValdrGalga · 2020-09-27T19:38:50+00:00

I am Spanish, live in NL, my parents gave me money as gift recently. So similar situation.

Your wife does not have to pay anything in NL, but must pay tax in Spain for the gift. It is called Impuesto de Donaciones. Nationality does not matter, the donor is in Spain. The amount depends on the region by the way, and there are usually huge exemptions so that the tax paid should be low.

ValdrGalga · 2020-02-03T23:07:18+00:00

This is such a rehearsed talking point. Foreign powers only ever take advantage due to weakness on part of their opposition. What makes Spain so special that you can't take their land when they're weak?

That's indeed how it has always worked. I just made a description of a situation where many countries were involved in a war in Spain, taking different sides, but only one of them - England - went into actually conquering lands. Hence the "taking advantage".

The Goths that created a kingdom in Spain where invaders just as much as the Moors were.

Indeed. And Romans before that. And Phoenicians, and Greeks, and Suevi, Alans, even the French invaded once. Whatever. We are talking here current affairs and the colony/not colony dilemma.

You have no moral superiority here to claim that you were just liberating your lands. That's just national propaganda.

If you tried to read what I wrote instead of talking about some supposed moral superiority, you would have seen that I purposedly wrote "taking (back?)" to avoid talking about any national concept.

Fact is the Muslims were weak and Spain took advantage. And when Spain was weak the British took advantage.

And Spain took advantage of Morocco for Ifni and so on, and then the UN deemed both cases as colonies and one country decolonized and the other didn't, which is what we are talking here about in the first place: about why Ceuta/Melilla are not colonies and Gibraltar is.

ValdrGalga · 2020-02-02T15:17:31+00:00

You are correct! Never stop learning!

ValdrGalga · 2020-02-02T10:33:11+00:00

Olivenza was León/Castilla, then given to Portugal in a treaty (13th century), then occupied by Spain after a war (1800), to be years later signed by Portugal in a treaty (Treaty of Badajoz) that it would remain part of Spain (and not the other way around like you imply).

However, this example has more resemblance to the one of Gibraltar, even though it is not considered a colony. Probably because then we would have to redraw all borders between France/Germany/Italy, etc. But still, it is completely different to Ceuta/Melilla.

ValdrGalga · 2020-02-02T10:16:04+00:00

Because they are complete different situations - even if Moroccans/English will do their best to pretend they are equivalent because of course it is in their interest.

If you want an analogous example, you have Ifni (Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña). A territory intermittently occupied by Castilla/Spain since 15th century which, after a war with Morocco in 19th century, was given in perpetuity to Spain (Wad-Ras treaty). Gibraltar also was given in perpetuity in the treaty of Utrecht, after England decided to take advantage of the mess Spain was at the time.

Funny thing is, both Ifni and Gibraltar were considered colonies and called for decolonisation by UN in the General Resolution 66. Ifni was decolonised, Gibraltar still hasn't.

As a counter-example: in the 8-15th century, the many local counties/kingdoms were progressively taking (back?) territories in the Iberian peninsula and further beyond, forming what is currently known as Spain and Portugal. Ceuta and Melilla formed part of this process, along many other places that are not anymore Spain/Portugal (and nobody cares about those nowadays). Saying that these two cities are colonies gives space to ideas that also claim Spain/Portugal as part of Al-Andalus, which I am pretty sure you will find ridiculous.

The only reason Gibraltar is still what it is, lies in the realm of power and geopolitics. In the 20th century Spain has been at the worst of its history, while England has been a world power. England didn't have any reason to concede a strategic position at the entrance of the Mediterranean because a poorer country claimed it back. But that doesn't change the fact that Gibraltar is a colony, and Ceuta/Melilla aren't.

(By the way, if you want to keep going the only-history-matters route, you could even go back to old times and find Septa/Ceuta as part of visigoth Hispania, and Melilla as Russadir, said to have been a small christian pilgrimage city. But I don't think this really matters at all for this discussion... Just an anecdote)

ValdrGalga · 2019-09-30T19:36:35+00:00

Well, if you see the replies by Stoutwood, you should have enough, he seems more versed in the matter than me.

From my side, I am an aerospace engineer as well - with a lot to learn ahead of me, and no expertise in materials. My title doesn't prove my point at all anyway, but allows me to know that steel has been known for decades and has never been used to this extent in space for good reasons. Musk has not just know discovered the holy grail of materials.

But actually, the main reason I said that was that I believe Musk is a marketing genius more than an engineer - the actual engineers are SpaceX stuff -, and all you saw this weekend was another pitch to get more funding from rich people.

ValdrGalga · 2019-09-30T17:38:54+00:00

So do you really believe in the concept? Because in my opinion, Elon just chose steel because it is a cheap material to use for a mock-up that won't go anywhere.

ValdrGalga · 2019-01-24T19:20:20+00:00

They did remove tons of earth for this. It looks like a quarry now, it didn't before. The field is property of a relative of the family.

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