Spain: What can you tell me?

[motion]

I can speak survival Spanish. Weather looks decent (parallels NorCal).

Cost of living? Quality of life? Cultural experience? How does it compare to France & Italy?

[A930Rocket]

The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.

It's all I got.

[stomachmonkey]

"well Senor, the bull, he does not always lose."

Trying to avoid blondes?

[jriera]

Motion, vacation, work, living?

I was born in Barcelona and lived in Madrid for a bit over a year ...

What do you need to know?

[Evans, Marv]

Visited there four times for three to five weeks each time but haven't been back for decades, so I can't comment on the current cost of living. I would like to live there if it could happen. I liked the people, the food was great, and I liked the old buildings people lived in - although Europe is older than here by a long shot so that has to be expected. Italy would be my second choice. Spain has nice mountains and coastlines. Life there seemed to be a nice mix of old and new and not too fast, which can't be experienced here for sure. France is beautiful, but some of the people are a PITA, and for that reason wouldn't be a choice for me. For me spanish in Spain is easier to understand and speak than Mexican spanish. I can't make an extensive comparison since I've only been to England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, & Portugal as far as Europe is concerned.

[LWJ]

Sort of hot. Nice people. Not as fun as Italy but not as crazy either. Good cheap wine. They have a thing for Pork. Pretty liberal for a Catholic country.

That is all I got. 10ish days on vacation 7 years ago. Neat place.

I am curious to see what real experts have to say.
Larry

[masraum]

"well Senor, the bull, he does not always lose."



Trying to avoid blondes?

There are plenty of blondes in Spain.

My father was stationed in Rota which is a small town in Andalucia near Jerez and Cadiz. It's a beautiful place, and the culture is awesome. I could easily see living there if I had the means. It's very warm, but also very dry, at least where I was. The best indicator of the culture to me is that if they couldn't say anything else in English, they could ALL say "take it easy".

[masraum]

Oh, and the sangria is very yummy, you'd better like garlic and olives, and you need to like wine.

[M.D. Holloway]

They say Spain is pretty, though I've never been. Well Daniel says its the best place that he has ever seen. Oh and he should know, he's been there enough. Lord I miss Daniel. Oh I miss him so much.

[stuartj]

Madrid and Barceleona- great places to visit. But Valencia and Seville, especially Valencia with its stunning mix of medievel and Jetsons- id move there tomorrow.

Dear jesus though, the Spanish can talk. God they are noisy, especially the women. They all talk, all at once, constantly.

[Dottore]

Great country. The essentials—climate, food and womenfolk—are really as good as it gets.

Present economic troubles present a great opportunity with real estate bargains everywhere.

My favorite cities are Barcelona and Seville. Either one would be a perfect place in which to re-invent oneself. I'm also very fond of the island of Mallorca—which has every imaginable amenity, but also a surprisingly large rural hinterland in which to disappear.

[Geronimo '74]

My folks have a place there.
Love the country, love the food, the women. I could live there easy.
Economical climate sucks right now. Maybe some great real estate deals to be made?

[Paco Anton]

Originally Posted by motion

I can speak survival Spanish. Weather looks decent (parallels NorCal).

Cost of living? Quality of life? Cultural experience? How does it compare to France & Italy?

There are several climates and cultures in Spain:

- The north is rainy but winters are mild (little or no snow)
- The centre is sparsely populated (except for Madrid). The climate is very cold in winter and the summers are hot and dry
- The Mediterranean coast is where you want to be. Summer is hot and winter is mild.

Currently the economy is worse than bad. Unemployment is over 20% and increasing. Housing prices reached a peak in 2008 buy have not reached the bottom yet because our laws do not allow to walk away from upside down mortgages, so we will need 3-5 more years to reach the bottom. Perspectives are bad asthe industrial base is weak and we do not have good exporting businesses.

Most places in the coast have been developed too much, so there are few quiet places. Also there are a few places where the foreign colonies (British, Germans, Norwegians, even Russians) are so big that they do not need to learn Spanish to go on with their lives.

Culturally you have a lot of history, museums, theaters, sights, etc. Food is very nice, and even world-class in some places.

Comparing to to France and Italy I'd say that it is more open than France although less modern and it is more civilized than the South of Italy, but much less developed than the north (Milan, Florence).

I'll be glad to help you with whatever you need. PM me and I'll give you my email and phone number if you wish.

[Joe Bob]

Don't fergit to lisp.....

[Evans, Marv]

Glad Paco spoke up. One place I really liked was Santander on the north coast of Spain.

[masraum]

When my parents lived there, for a short period, they lived off base. Theft was pretty bad. They were advised to have a dog. Many/most of the places don't have AC so you left your windows open, and often there were no screens but there were bars. They arrested a guy in my parent's neighborhood off base who had been using a long pole with a hook on the end to grab stuff out of houses. They were advised to never leave anything in view in your car because they would break into your car to steal the stuff out of it. I don't think the more serious crimes were prevalent.

I loved the place. My parents were down towards the southern tip, but on the Atlantic side. They had hot, dry weather sort of an average of Cali and AZ temp-wise. I think they got some serious winds through a certain time of the year that they called "levante".

[svandamme]

Expect to be robbed on the metro in Madrid.
Everybody i know who went there, got pickpocket'ed.

[Paco Anton]

I have never been robbed in the Madrid subway, although I admit I only use it occasionaly nowadays. Also the in the Ramblas in Barcelona I have heard of several cases of tourists being robbed. In any case I would say you have a far greater chance to be pickpocketed that to be assaulted with violence anywhere in Spain. And, obviously, tourists get robbed more often than locals.

My car has been broken into a couple of times whan I was younger and they got away with a bag full of sweaty soccer clothes and a $20 car stereo. Nevertheless everybody lock their cars when parked, even in front of their houses.

By the way, there is a strong difference in housing comparing Spain to the US. Here most people live in apartments or flats, especially in the cities. The few areas where people live in houses with a tract of land are very high end and expensive. So do not expect to have a private garage to work on your car!!!

Regarding the Atlantic coast in the South, the "levante" winds can be very strong. The city of Tarifa down there is the Mecca of windsurfing for that reason.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Paco Anton

Regarding the Atlantic coast in the South, the "levante" winds can be very strong.

Yes. Still, I find the Atlantic coast more charming than the Med. side—which has been horribly overdeveloped. Cadiz has very charming quarters by the sea—and a brilliant central fish market. And of course the Basque coast has many gorgeous spots—with San Sebastian being one of the most civilized cities in the world IMHO.

In my next life I will dance flamenco and run with the bulls.

[Damian in NJ]

Don't expect to eat dinner before 9:30 pm, the hours people live are quite different than in the US.