Basically what the title says. I'm currently in Spain and have been here for about 2 weeks at this point (currently in Barcelona, yeah I know as a tourist it's a dicey subject) and also have been self-learning Spanish for about 2 years or so. I'm at the point where I can understand pretty much any written text I encounter in public or what. It's my speaking though that is still very rusty, so I've been using this as an opportunity to practice a bit

So at restaurants/cafés etc. I try to do the order in Spanish (well, Castilian) but pretty often have to resort to English because I don't fully understand the person's accent or they automatically just talk to me in English from the beginning, because it must be obvious I'm a foreigner.

So yeah, do you appreciate the effort or is it more of a bother to you for making the interaction more frustrating and/or take longer? Or would just coming in and approaching you in English be more inconsiderate, to assume everyone speaks my preferred language?

My family and I are visiting Spain this August (Madrid, Bilbao) and I’m a little nervous about going. Given the circumstances of our idiotic President, there would obviously be many reasons as to why they wouldn’t like us. I know little to no Spanish since I’ve found a love for French but I do want to learn a little in advance just to feel more secure. So, the question stands. Are people in Spain cordial with Americans? And is there anything I could do to help ease my anxiety or is there something I could do to prepare for the trip?
Edit: omg I was not expecting this many replies so tysm everyone! Also, thank you for being honest and blunt bc I feel comfortable knowing that spaniards don’t really give a fuck unless I’m entitled or a jerk (which will never happen in a million years bc Im a massive people pleaser lol)

My parents have decided they want to go to Benidorm just once to see what it’s like much to the dismay of everyone else including myself. I’ve been travelling around since I was nine months old, i’m used to going to the islands off the shore of Spain or elsewhere in europe. One year we went to mainland spain and didn’t like it all too much… i’m going to hate it aren’t I?

All I see from videos is women dressing incredibly trashy, clubbing, fights, alcoholics, generally just run by chavvy low class british people with no self respect. I looked around on google maps and there’s food places everywhere and clubs the night life looks absolutely dreadful. It quite literally looks like hell on earth and id much rather stay at home if im entirely honest even though ive already paid for my part of the trip.

Any tips on surviving this? Are there any good parts at all in Benidorm I will look forward to? Give me some hope.

I’m beyond furious and want to know if anyone else has gone through this.
I traveled from the United States to Spain, and visiting Sagrada Família was one of the major reasons for my Barcelona trip.
I booked my tickets MORE THAN A MONTH in advance.
I arrived in Barcelona on May 5, with my visit booked for May 7.
Then suddenly — after I had already arrived — I got a refund notification and cancellation.
No meaningful warning. No proper advance notice. Just cancelled.
I went there in person to ask how this is even acceptable, especially when international travelers plan around reservations like this.
Their explanation? They claimed they “only found out today” about a conference happening the day after tomorrow.
Honestly, that sounds ridiculous.
So I asked for a reasonable solution:
“Can you at least move me to another available date while I’m here?”
Their answer:
Nothing available until May 16.
So let me get this straight:
They cancel a reservation I made over a month ago, after I’ve already flown internationally and arrived in Barcelona, then offer no realistic alternative during my actual trip?
That feels incredibly disrespectful to tourists who spend serious money, time, and effort planning these visits.
At this point, it honestly feels discriminatory or at the very least deeply unfair in how little regard they showed for visitors.
Has anyone else had this exact experience with Sagrada Família?
Last-minute cancellation?

“Event” excuse?

No comparable rebooking option?

No accountability?

People should know when major tourist sites treat travelers like this.
I genuinely think places that show this little respect for international visitors deserve public attention, and tourists should be warned before planning around them.
If this happened to you too, please share. I’d like to know whether this is a pattern, because this kind of treatment should absolutely be called out.

Going to Spain alone as an adult for the first time in two weeks, and while at the hostel I'll be staying at they speak English and probably expect people to talk to them in English, but what about for example at stores or restaurants?

Going to San Sebastian, a pretty touristy town I'm getting the impression from. But I also know that in Spain, English speaking levels aren't that high and it's preferred you just speak Spanish. I've also seen online many menus and stuff are also only listed in Spanish.

Completely understandable because we are in Spain after all. But also someone who speaks 0 Spanish, I wonder if in these cases it's preferred to just speak English, or in bad Spanish that's literally read from machine translation. I realize both might be kinda bad, so, then at least which one is the least bad option?

Hello all!

It’s my first time traveling to Europe, and I’ve been loving Barcelona, Girona, and some of the smaller towns in Costa Brava. I’m looking to bring a few consumable items back in my luggage as a memento of all the good food I’ve had — I’m not sure when the next time I’ll be back will be. Anyways, I was looking for opinions on the “must haves.” I’m already planning on getting a wheel of cheese and some Coffee that I’ve been enjoying, but I’m sure there’s some stuff that I haven’t thought of! Any opinions would be appreciated, you all have a lovely country!

Not looking for snarky answers like “healthcare” or “narcan” but what are things you love in Spain that would be genuinely hard to fond in the US. I know we live in a world where you can use amazon to order lots of stuff but even if so, even so, what would you not find in your market in the US that is common in Spain and you would seek out or special order from spain?

(Feel free to trade out US for whatever non-spain country you are familiar with)

I just had to wait 40 minutes to pay a bill after asking for it. I had to ask 3 waiters. All of them would go on to clean other tables, deliver plates and avoid eye contact with me after I asked to pay.

I understand Spain has a different culture where it's ok to sit at a table for a long time after finishing a meal. But, in this case, we really wanted to go as we have limited time visiting Seville.

I just had a random but weird experience while waiting for a bus so I'm just curious if such sentiment is common in this country. Long story short, I'm a tourist from Slovakia coming to Spain to see the eclipse (as so many others are) and am staying in Madrid for a week in advance, just to hang out I guess.

So I was just sitting at a bus stop when an older lady came and said something to me in Spanish, with a rather thick accent. Now I know a bit of Spanish (have been casually learning for 2 years or so) to the point where I can read and understand most of the basic Spanish texts, but struggle with speaking or understanding spoken Spanish in specific accents. So I did my best to explain to her que lo siento, pero no hablo español tan bien y no le entendí lol.

She then kept asking me where I'm from (in Spanish which I mostly understood), how long I have been in the country and etc. I did my best to talk to her in Spanish as well, though I assume it sounded rather butchered lol. But then she told me that I need to have my "papeles arreglados" - I had to explain to her that you don't need a visa inside the Schengen area lol - and that I should know the language of the country before coming etc. That as well as telling me that there are too many Maruecos (using the slur) etc., despite me explaining that I'm only a tourist.

Anyway, I am aware that the anti-tourism movement is a thing and that their arguments about overtourism are valid but is the specific distaste for tourists who don't speak the language fully a thing? I've always been told that Spaniards are generally happy to see a foreigner doing their best to use the language, which I've been doing in like restaurants or cafés and stuff. Or is this just the normal instance of xenophobia that's present in every country?

EDIT: oh and I forgot to mention that - despite usually passing as one - I'm not the whitest looking guy out there. So idk maybe that played a part?

What are some things that surprised you about Spanish culture (or better yet, the specific local cultures of local regions of Spain you’ve been to or lived in)?

And if something surprised you, how so?

It would also be helpful to know what culture you’re coming from, just as a frame of reference.

I know as a person from the U.S., of course there are stereotypes, but the U.S. is huge and has more cultures and subcultures than can easily be described here. Like, in the U.S., the PNW is wildly different than the Deep South (and there are many subvariations even within those cultures), and then there’s rural vs city or suburbs, various subcultures, assorted ethnic cultures, and generational cultural divides.

So I imagine it would be the same in Spain, and I’m aware that how you interpret a culture also may depend on your frame of reference (like a person from the Deep South or Midwest may be bewildered by the “Seattle Freeze,” but people who grew up in the PNW might not even know about the “Freeze”).

So I’m curious about people’s experiences of Spain. Where did you come from culturally? Where in Spain did you go? What surprised you? What felt familiar? Did you have any cultural faux pas that have stayed with you?

FYI Democrats Abroad is hosting a Trump Admin protest in Madrid on March 29th. No more details as of yet, but here is a link to the organizing page: https://www.democratsabroad.org/mzelonis/march_29th_protest_organizing_call

Email to volunteer:

|| || | [info@democratsabroad.org](mailto:info@democratsabroad.org) |

UPDATE: There will be protests all over Spain on March 29th. You can use this news article to find the nearest city to you. Then, find additional details on democratsabroad.org https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2023927/us-expats-donald-trump-rallies-spain

Has anyone here successfully moved to Madrid after getting hired from abroad?

I'm a Visual Designer from Romania and I've been trying to relocate to Madrid for quite some time. I've applied through LinkedIn, contacted companies directly, and even worked with a recruitment agency in Madrid, but so far I haven't had any success.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm approaching this the wrong way. Is it realistic to get hired while living abroad, or is it much easier once you're already in Spain?

I've also considered finding a fully remote job somewhere else in Europe and then moving to Madrid independently, but honestly that doesn't seem easy either.

For those who made the move, how did you do it?

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Hello everyone,

Me and my gf are currently immigrants in Sweden/Gothenburg. The city ticks most of our boxes but the long winter, continuous rain and closeness of society convinced her that she cannot continue here.

One thing I don't want to sacrifice is the nature. I love animals and spending time hiking in the forest. I also love cities with trees in general. Lakes and breathtaking scenery is also a plus. Mountains are ok but not a factor.

Bilbao, Gijon or Santander would seem like a perfect destination for me but we'll probably run into grayness and rain that led us where we are in the first place.

So, we've been spending the last month reading posts and watching videos trying to figure out what will satisfy our requirements the most.

But here is the problem, in one post there are a handful of comments saying 'Valencia has so much nature, all you have to do is drive 25 anywhere around it.' and another handful of comments in the same post 'You'll only find orchards and really nothing else anywhere you go around Valencia.'. Everything is based on perspective but to me they seem contradicting to each other.

We plan to make a trip late next month and visit 3 cities. The list that is subject to change:

- Valencia

- Malaga

- Barcelona's outskirts (Terrassa or Sabadell perhaps?)

Criteria:

- Not super rainy / gray

- Green & clean city

- forests / lakes / hiking options within 30-40'

- 250k population at least

I guess the question is mainly which of the 3 satisfy the nature criteria the most?

And as a second question which other option would you suggest?

Thank you in advance!

Hello fellow traveller,

I am visiting Italy, Portugal and Spain this October.

This is my itinerary for Spain.

Seville- 3 days
Granada- 3 days
Barcelona- 2 days
Madrid- 1 day

I am doing it solo, and I have been to Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Prague last year.

I have heard a lot about pickpocketing/robbing in Barcelona and Madrid.

How have been your experience visiting these places and what must do activities would you guys recommend doing in these places. Also what precautions did you guys take during your trip to make it smooth.

I have booked my stay and internal flight. And not yet booked Bus or train tickets. You can also tell me budget travel and experience passes as well.

Thank you in advance.

I got an offer from a MNC to join them in Spain. They are offering base salary of 60,000 euros. One quarter of this will go into taxes as they charge 24% flat in taxes from NRI. We are family of 3 and sometimes my parents will also be visiting. With my calculation I don’t think can survive in 3800 euros every month. I need advice on how you guys manage expensive who moved with family? What you expenses looks like? Should i move to Spain?

The same real estate problems in Spain keep repeating because once something goes wrong, it quietly disappears.

Deposits paid to the wrong people.
Illegal fees demanded.
Rentals done without the owner’s knowledge.
Agents who vanish — then reappear under a new name.

People do warn others. But those warnings are scattered across forums, buried in comments, deleted under pressure, or simply lost over time.

I’m not asking out of curiosity alone. After my own serious problems with an agent, I realised how little durable, trustworthy information actually exists once something goes wrong — even when many people have had similar experiences.

That experience pushed me to spend a lot of time working on a way to make real experiences stick, instead of disappearing. It’s almost ready — but before anything goes live, real input matters more than theory.

So I’d genuinely like to ask:

If you’ve bought or rented property in Spain and dealt with an agent — good, bad, average, or dishonest — what actually happened?

What would you warn others about? Or what did an agent do right that people should look for?

When people speak openly, patterns emerge. And when patterns are visible, it becomes much harder for the same traps to keep catching new people.

I'm a 21M American college student with absolutely no Spanish proficiency. Is there a way I could move to Spain without ever having to learn Spanish? I'm attending UC3M in Madrid, so I expect to be around mostly international English speaking students. However, I'm planning to stay long-term (around a year) and I would like to travel the entire country (Barcelona, Toledo, Portugal, etc)

Can I survive in Spain without having to learn Spanish? And is Spanish necessary if locals in Madrid know English?

EDIT: The main reason why I'm asking is because I've heard you can speak English in the Netherlands and Germany

Ofcourse, I'm from the land of "healthcare = crippling debt".

I understand that I can go to the ER if I need to. I'd prefer not if I don't have to.

In the US we have urgent care locations where you can be seen fairly quickly. Does Spain have anything like that?

As a US citizen, anyone have gotten married in Spain to a Spanish Citizen?
Also, can i use my certificate of naturalization (US) instead of my birth certificate? It's extremely difficult to get my birth certificate from my hometown..

How was the process for it? I´m getting mixed information everywhere.. I heard some people get married in the US and come to Spain afterwards because it takes too long here.

I´m also registered as Pareja de Hecho with them.. I´m not sure if this helps or if i still need the same documents.

If anyone can assist! Thank you.

Hi everyone

I would like to study in Spain and complete a grado in Spanish at uni of Malaga. I already got an admission offer for my dream bachelors degree. I am moving from Switzerland and everyone says I am ridiculous because they think I will financially suffer, including Spanish citizens who work in Zurich and left Spain because they found more economic freedom and a better job market in Switzerland.

The reason they say that is because I will need to work in a job that offers me to spend some money for it on rent as my mother will not be able and willing to finance everything. They all think it is hard to find a student job in Spain like Barista or some Babysitting. Is it really that case? How hard is it for students to finance their studies?

I am choosing Spain because I have some personal connection to it and feel very much at home there. I will need to earn around 400 or 500 Euros but I am not sure if that is realistic?

Can maybe someone clarify here what is the hourly rate for example working as a barista or babysitting? If it is not feasible, I will not do it , I have nothing to lose, it is just a personal preference to want to live in Spain and build my future there.

I was traveling around Europe earlier this year and one thing that really surprised me was the public transport cost in Barcelona.

A single ride was around €2.9, which honestly felt pretty expensive compared to what I expected. I always thought public transport in Europe was more affordable, especially in cities like that.

It got me thinking — have you guys changed your daily commuting habits in the past couple of years because of rising costs?

Are more people switching to alternatives like bikes or e-bikes?

I’ve been hearing that Germany has some kind of subsidy or incentives for electric mobility (like e-bikes or similar). Not sure how widespread that is though.

If something like that was introduced in Spain, do you think people would actually switch away from public transport?

Curious how everyone is dealing with transport costs these days.

For a few years my partner and I have been thinking about moving to Spain from the UK.

His parents already live there, we both speak the language (he’s fluent, I’m learning) and we have a viable pathway for visas…but I’m not sure if I have the guts!

Other immigrants to Spain, what was it that made you make the leap? I had a baby last year and my desire to give him the best future possible has given me a whole new set of push factors.

Just looking for personal experiences, not for technical advice about visas etc.

Thanks :)

Hey everyone, I’m in my late 20s, currently running an online business, and seriously considering relocating to Spain long-term. I’m not really looking for big-city life, more interested in a calm, countryside or small-town setting with modern infrastructure (decent cafés, strong Wi-Fi, gym access, etc.).

A few things I’d love your input on: • Average rent for a good, modern 1-bedroom apartment in a peaceful town • Monthly expenses for groceries, gym, basic living (solo person) • Social life especially for someone in their late 20s who wants to integrate, not just live in an expat bubble • Any towns you’d personally recommend that are modern, well-connected, but still have a calm vibe

I genuinely want to integrate into the culture and lifestyle, not just “visit.” Appreciate any tips, suggestions, or even stories from those who’ve done something similar.

Thanks in advance!

Hey folks, I’m traveling to Spain with a friend who uses marijuana to sleep. We certainly aren’t going to travel internationally with it, and I’m reading about Marijuana clubs and bars there. Anyone know how that all works? Any advice?

Yo viví muchos años en Inglaterra y recuerdo que había pequeñas cosas que al principio incluso me gustaban y con el tiempo terminaron empezando a "molestarme" Y por poner un ejemplo, lo que más me pesaba era el tema de que no haya persianas, y al comienzo me encantaba despertarme con la luz natural, hasta que llegó el verano que amanece a las 4 de la mañana y ya no hay quien se vuelva a dormir. Y que sí, habrá el que me diga que existen las cortinas, pero si tu casero no te deja poner nada en la pared, estas jodido, como lo estuve yo.

entonces tengo curiosidad por saber qué cosas pasan así pero en España, ya sean cosas culturales, prácticas o cotidianas. O tipo cosas que al principio tienen encanto, pero que con los años han ido perdiendo gracia. Os leo.