Living In Spain
Why I Prefer Living In Spain Compared To The UK
Recently on Twitter, I’ve been reading a lot of tweets from unhappy people within the UK who are ready to start life afresh in a brand new country. If this is you, then this is your sign to do it. Living in Spain (Madrid to be precise) has honestly been one of the best things to happen to me and significantly improved my wellbeing. Now of course this is by no means any disrespect to the UK, both countries have their own pros and cons (which I guess is another story…)
But I just personally prefer living in Spain and I’ll tell you why.
(If you prefer audio/visual, I’ve got a link to a video version of this article at the bottom of the page!)
1. Let’s start with the obvious…the weather
The main and probably the most obvious reason is the weather. Obviously, most people prefer the sun to constant rain… but it’s way more to it than just feeling the good old Vitamin D on your skin. The good weather means that people are constantly outside, you can go for drinks or some food outside. You don’t have to worry about picking a day with good weather to go on a walk or for a hike. And I just love being and doing things outdoors. Personally, I think in this sense the social way of life, living in Spain is a lot better because you don’t have to worry about thinking of things to do indoors or cramming things in before it rains and spending the rest of the day indoors. It just gives you more options of ways of living than hiding away indoors! Can you believe it!
2. The mentality
The second thing I prefer is their mentality, arguably the most important thing to a good way of life.
In all honesty, at first, I was not a fan, because (now, of course, this is a generalisation), they’re honest and blunt with what they think and say. At first, I thought it was quite rude and was taken aback. But then I started enjoying it. I’m pretty sure I’ve always known this… but it became apparent that in the UK, we’re fake polite. We say things we don’t mean for the sake of politeness. It’s totally bizarre! I like that they just cut to the chase with what they want or think and say things directly to your face. It honestly saves so much time and confusion, it doesn’t make sense to not do this. I try to incorporate that habit into my own life and try not to slip into old habits! I feel happier because of it.
3. Spain transport links are so DREAMY
Another thing I love is that everything is very well connected. Madrid being in the middle of Spain means it has really good connections to other parts of Spain via trains and buses that are fast and affordable (I went to Malaga and back for €35!). Apart from this Madrid itself is very well connected and affordable, something that the UK could never do! The transport is so cheap it’s actually a joke. A very enjoyable joke. If you’re under 26 it costs €20 to use the metro, buses, trains and trams in the entire region of Madrid, not just the city for the entire month. Are you hearing this? 20 EUROS?! Meanwhile, monthly travel cards for just central London cost £142.10 for the month? I tested the price of London to Newcastle and Madrid to Valencia because they’re similar distances. The cheapest ticket in Spain is £26, fair enough though this train is 7 hours long at least the options for poorer folk (hello) are there and on average it’s £41 in England. Do I need to say anymore?
4. Cost of living in Spain
So I guess this leads on to say that although the salaries are lower, the cost of living in Spain is really affordable in comparison to London prices which take the mick. So when eating and drinking in Spain. Food (tapas) comes for free with your drinks so dinner is taken care of. I recently went out for some drinks in London and when they brought out the drinks I was looking at the tray for at least a little bit of nuts or crisps or something. And then I remembered where I was…and humbled myself very quickly. In Spain alcohol more often than not is the same price or cheaper than soft drinks on the menu. I’ve spent as little as €3 on very strong and delicious margaritas and mojitos! And here I’m forking £8-10 for a watered-down daiquiri!
5. Alcohol friendly
I guess another point is the level of stinginess within the UK on alcohol. Here we are very stingy with the measurements (because you know strict guidelines and whatever, I’m not rolling my eyes I swear. But in Spain, if you do not say stop they will literally pour it to the top of the glass. Sometimes when you say stop, they will keep going just for fun and will laugh at you when you try to say stop. True story. And this was in a civilised restaurant.
6. Slow pace of life in Spain
Another thing I enjoy about living in Spain is that there is a slow pace of life. I’ve just started a job where I feel bad if I take the whole hour off for lunch because I should be working as much as possible and end up rushing and not enjoying my food whereas in Spain and was just finishing a task that would have taken me 5 minutes extra into my break they were like oh no no no what are you doing stop it’s break time. Go and have your break. So it’s really nice that they appreciate life outside of work and it’s not going to go all the time until you burn out.
7. Their genetics!
Another great thing is how attractive everyone is… it HAS to be said! And they dress really well… so English high streets have nothing on them.
8. Fruit actually tastes like fruit
The fruit is a lot tastier like the difference is ridiculous. Maybe if our fruit didn’t taste like coloured water cubes we would be a healthier nation. I guess the blandness comes from the exportation. I did read an article that said it was because fruit imported to England has to be frozen so it doesn’t go bad and then we get sold defrosted fruit. Not entirely sure if that’s true but I’m sure exporting does play a role in the tastelessness of our fruit.
9. Spain actually has culture
But overall probably the most important is how culturally different Spain is. Each region is unique to one another. There’s a famous film called Ocho Apellidos Vascos or Spanish affair is its English title about the cultural differences between an Andalusian man of the south and the woman he loves, who is from the Basque country in the North. It’s really funny and I totally recommend it if you’re into Spanish culture. But it’s really nice to see a country that is so completely different across. In England, we don’t have that much of a culture or a culture that is that different across. Universally, we go to the pub, eat fish and chips and a curry? Anyway, I guess I like to learn about new cultures and immerse myself in them and being in the centre of Madrid you could kind of see it all.
So what can you take away from this? I guess you could say that even if you’ve grown up living in a particular way you’re whole life, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best way to do so nor is it wrong for you to think that it’s not the best way because there are so many different ways to live rather than what you were brought up and told what was the correct way to be in society. And you can still appreciate other peoples cultures and the way that they live life. I do think that the Spanish way of life is better than what we have.
So if you’ve ever been tempted to make the move, whether that’s living in Spain or just seeing what’s out there. What’s to lose?
Video version of living in Spain:
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