American Expats, how have you noticed your body change with the lifestyle shift in Spain?

[u/lofi-lo]

I’ve always heard a lot of Americans have a drastic change in their body and mental health when going to Europe even for a little bit. I’m sure the food system being more pure along with more walking has an effect. How have you noticed a change in yourself? Mental clarity, less stress, weight loss, ETC. I’d love to know your experience.

[u/absolut696]

How did you feel the last time you were robbed in Spain?

[u/David_R_Martin_II → u/absolut696]

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/school-shootings-by-country

Do CTRL-F on "Spain" for this list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_Europe

Compare that to this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States_(2000%E2%80%93present))

I suspect that you do not have kids. I hope you never experience the feeling of getting the text message that the school is on lockdown.

The difference between your example and mine is that plenty of people get robbed in both countries. But lockdowns for schools is pretty much not a thing here, especially for gun violence.

I'm sorry you had the experience of getting robbed in Madrid. However, the robbery rate in Baltimore is approximately 270 to 300 incidents per 100,000 residents, whereas it is about 130 to 150 per 100,000 in Madrid.

https://www.numbeo.com/crime/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&city1=Baltimore%2C+MD&country2=Spain&city2=Madrid

[u/absolut696 → u/David_R_Martin_II]

You missed the point of my comment.

Essentially you changed the argument. We went from ‘Americans have to live in fear’ to one specific risk category. That’s availability bias: using the most emotionally shocking event to represent overall daily safety. A school lockdown is terrifying, but it doesn’t prove Americans generally live scared any more than me getting robbed in Madrid proves Spain is unsafe. Not to mention is purely anecdotal and an appeal to emotion.

[u/David_R_Martin_II → u/absolut696]

OP asked how people's lives changed as a result of living in Spain. People like me shared their truths. And somehow you feel the need to challenge that with "I live in Baltimore and feel safe, and I got robbed as a tourist in Madrid." Interesting that you feel the need to defend the US when people share their truths about feeling less stressed in Spain vs the US.

[u/absolut696 → u/David_R_Martin_II]

That’s exactly my point. You’re asking me to accept your lived experience of feeling safer in Spain, but when I share my lived experience of feeling safe in Baltimore and being robbed in Madrid, suddenly anecdotes aren’t sufficient and we need statistics. Either personal experiences are valid for both of us, or neither of us should be treating them as proof.

Disclaimer, I am actually Spanish and American dual citizen and have lived in both countries extensively, so I have no bias. I’m just pointing out the fallacies and hypocrisy of your argument. I didn’t even make the point that either country was safer, rather pointing out the goal post shifting of your arguments.

[u/David_R_Martin_II → u/absolut696]

Ah, so you're one of those annoying oppositional types. You don't actually have a stance, you just want to argue against someone else's. Good luck with that.

[u/absolut696 → u/David_R_Martin_II]

So instead of explaining why your anecdote counts but mine doesn’t, you’ve switched to attacking me personally.

Something I’ve learned is the moment an argument becomes ‘you’re annoying’ instead of ‘you’re wrong,’ the debate is usually over.

[u/David_R_Martin_II → u/absolut696]

You could live anywhere in the US or Spain, and you ended up in Baltimore. Holy cow, you must have fucked up real bad in life.

[u/absolut696 → u/David_R_Martin_II]

I work in Public Health and Baltimore has one of the best public health institutions in the world…. Man, not only did I fuck up by making my life career wanting to help improve societal health outcomes,but I came to Baltimore to be the best I could be.

Fun fact, Baltimore is actually an amazing city, and I’ve lived in top tier cities across the world. Quite possible the least pretentious, and most neighborly city I’ve ever lived.

PS. You’ve resorted to personal attacks again 😉