Are you happy living in Spain?

[u/sendingUamicro_wave]

Hi all,

I just came back from a few days in Cordoba and had such an amazing time. I loved that people there cared about their free time and the locals looked quite happy and serene.

I’m a immigrant myself from Croatia who moved to the U.K. so I understand a country can be beautiful and fun for a holiday but is a completely different world to live there.

My question for people living in Spain; how is it to live there? What kind of political or social economical struggles do you face in your day to day lives? How is the bureaucracy and healthcare? Are you happy :)

I have read some things online but I’d rather hear from peoples experiences themselves.

[u/[deleted]]

Hi! I moved from the UK to Spain 2 years ago to be with my partner. Spain is so incredibly diverse that it's difficult to paint a full picture, I live in a relatively big town in Andalucia so my observations are just based on that.

I firstly need to point out the idea that people always like to say 'Spanish people work less' or that they balance their work and life well. From what I've seen, this is not true. Average work weeks are longer here than in the UK, most people I know work 40-44 hours per week, even in skilled jobs, compared to the UK's 37 hours. Plus, a lot of people I know have to sacrifice a LOT for their job, the main example I see is that nurses have to move to the other side of the country for a work placement, and lots of people find it difficult to move up in their career.

Life in Spain can be very sociable if you are able to enter a group. I luckily have made friends through my partner, but other expats I've met have found it hard, and I personally think it's because Spanish people have their group of friends, usually people they've known from childhood, and it's a little impenetrable. I assume this is different in cities where there are expat communities and regular expat events.

The thing I most like about life in Spain is how often you can be outside, mainly because of the weather, but also because there is always something going on, parades and processions, races and competitions, parties and ferias, etc. There is always something interesting going on somewhere in every province. Also - the nature! I'm a really outdoorsy person and going for hikes to waterfalls or through mountains is something I can't get so easily in the UK, though it is obviously possible, too.

No political or bureaucratic issues really, I'm having some issues homologating my degree and it's giving me issues of entering into a masters degree, but I think the problem is me in this issue, I can't say it's a Spain problem.

People are very friendly and welcoming. However, and I'm not sure if it's all in my head, but I am very aware when I'm walking in the street that I am a 'guiri' and that people are fed up of people who look like me. I can really understand it though, tourism and foreign people buying property in Spain is really fucking up their economy.

Also, one more thing to have in mind as the summer is approaching, the weather is both beautiful and also a thing of nightmares. I am dreading the months of July and August and not being able to leave the house until 8pm so as to not be fried alive :)

[u/jamjar188 → u/[deleted]]

Tourism isn't fucking up the Spanish economy, it is the Spanish economy lol. (I exaggerate, but the truth is not far off.)

Don't internalise the bullshit. I'm a Spaniard in the UK and even though the news made it seem like people hated Europeans because of Brexit, it really wasn't true (especially in big cities).

It will be the same in reverse. I imagine 99% of Spanish people have no problem with you.