Latest news with #Villamar
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
We ditched the UK to live in a €3,000 caravan in Benidorm - now we pay no council tax, energy is cheap and it costs just £24 to pop home on a flight
A British couple have ditched living in the UK full-time to move to sunny Benidorm in a caravan. Gemma and Nicky purchased an old caravan for €3,000 - or £2,500 - and have since transformed it into their 'home from home' in Alicante's Villamar camping site. The couple have raved about the benefits of uprooting to the coastal city on their TikTok account @ including 'cheaper living' with 'no council tax, no energy bills, [and] no TV licence.' Worlds away from rainy England, the couple now spend their time sunbathing in hot temperatures and enjoying the area's dining scene. When they're not relaxing, the duo are putting their DIY skills to use and refurbishing the once-derelict caravan, which was out of use for seven years before they bought it, into their dream holiday home. While they currently use the caravan as a holiday home for up to 90 days within a 180-day period, they hope to obtain a Spanish residency to live there full-time. Before they put their stamp on the home, the caravan featured drab interiors and a dirty exterior. Now, it boasts two modern bedrooms, a kitchen fit with a breakfast bar, a living room with a television, and a toilet. Gemma and Nicky have also added an air conditioning unit to help combat Benidorm's often-balmy temperatures. Taking to TikTok, the duo revealed that low costs are a big reason why they love staying in Benidorm. The pair claimed to pay just '£24 to £40' for 'cheap flights' from the UK to Benidorm, adding that it costs 'more in a taxi at home to get to town'. Next, the couple raved about the warmer weather, which allows them to sit out and enjoy 'sunshine 300 days a year'. Gemma and Nicky added that they've also found a community at the Villamar camping site, thanks to its 'friendly staff and residents'. They added that it has, 'Lovely cheap food, no big bills, no stress, [and] no problems'. The pair also said they enjoy its 'cheap beer', 'three beautiful pools, and onsite supermarket and hairdressers'. In another clip, the couple broke down their costs for one trip to Benidorm for an unspecified amount of time. The pair said that they spent £33 per flight, just £60 on food, and £10 on electricity, adding, 'Happiness [is] priceless.' However, they pay an additional £5,000 per year for site fees to use the amenities, including an indoor, heated pool. Among the site's facilities is also a supermarket. Discussing the shop and sharing footage of its well-stocked interiors, the pair said, 'It has everything you need. English brands available, including beers.' Now their caravan is almost complete, they can enjoy all the area has to offer, including a wide range of restaurants and bars. Since first sharing their journey, the content creators have racked up over 95 thousand likes on their videos. Viewers have taken to the comment section to share their thoughts on Gemma and Nicky's Spanish lifestyle, with one writing, 'Amazing. Wishing you lots of happiness in your new home.' A second said, 'Absolutely brilliant, I have started saving right now. Be over early next year for a look.' A third wrote, 'These are amazing guys excited to follow along. [It's] very inspiring to me.' Gemma and Nicky have impressed viewers with their caravan renovation, with one dubbing it 'inspiring' Another added, 'Wow guys it looks like a new caravan. I wish you all the happy memories to be made for years to come in your beautiful caravan.' It comes as multiple British women are flocking to Australia to work in mines and earn up to £4,400 for just two weeks of work. As an increasing number of young people complain about the lack of career opportunities in the UK, others have found a solution Down Under as FIFO workers, which stand for Fly In Fly Out. FIFO, an employment type where professionals fly to and from remote locations for shift work, has grown in popularity in mining and resources sectors, particularly in states such as Queensland and Western Australia, according to Bravus. While it may not seem like a typical career path, multiple individuals have left their lives behind in England and Ireland to work a blue-collar mining job in sunny Australia. Hardcore manual labour might not be for everyone, but the hefty sums of cash on offer after just hours working on the sites have lured countless Britons to give the job a go. After struggling to find opportunities with her Film Degree from Queen's University in Belfast, Caithilín Hughes, 26, left Ireland's Derry for a machine operator job in Perth 's mines. The lifestyle change was admittedly not a passion but part of the 'money game', she told the Irish Independent. Caithilín told the newspaper, 'The average hourly wage for a machine operator is around $55. We work 12-hour days for 14 days straight. That's around $9,240 before tax.' Given that she's on a working holiday visa, she's taxed 15 per cent on her first $45,000. She added, 'Now I spend my days driving huge machines in the mines of Western Australia, earning in two weeks what would take some at home in Ireland, nearly two months to earn.'
The Independent
02-04-2025
- The Independent
Fugitive leader of violent Ecuadorian drug gang is indicted in New York City
The fugitive leader of a violent Ecuadorian gang that relied on hitmen, bribes and military weapons to do business has been indicted in New York City on charges he imported thousands of pounds of cocaine into the United States, authorities said Wednesday. José Adolfo Macías Villamar escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and is not in U.S. custody, federal prosecutors said. He led Los Choneros and its 'network of assassins and drug and weapon traffickers' since at least 2020. 'The defendant was a ruthless leader and prolific drug trafficker for a violent transnational criminal organization,' U.S. Attorney John Durham said in a news release. The seven-count indictment unsealed in Brooklyn charges Villamar and an unidentified co-defendant with international cocaine distribution, conspiracy and weapons counts, including smuggling firearms from the United States. Los Choneros employed people to buy firearms, components and ammunition in the United States and smuggle them into Ecuador, according to the indictment. Cocaine would flow into the United States with the help of Mexican cartels. Together, the groups controlled key cocaine trafficking routes through Ecuador. 'Los Choneros operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America through Central America and Mexico to the United States and elsewhere,' the indictment said. 'The vast majority of drugs trafficked by Los Choneros were imported into the United States, where the drugs were consumed.' In January 2024, Macias Villamar was discovered missing from his prison cell in Quito, Ecuador, where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. Earlier this month, the Ecuadorian government announced the reward for the capture of Villamar, whose nickname is 'Fito,' would be increased to $1 million. Authorities in Ecuador have classified the gang as a terrorist organization.
