For those of you who made the challenging decision to leave your motherland for Spain *Cough* MadridMan *cough*

After the passing of X amount of time now,,, do you feel like it's what you expected all along and a bag of chips?

Futbol and politics seems to be a great ice breaker when socializing amongst the locals. Did you have to beef up your knowledge on Partidos de Futbol as well as Partidos Politicos?

Im curious about your experiences and more about knowing what may have been different than expected good and or bad.

good question! I'm making that big move myself so I'm interested in what MM has to say.

Ah! Over a month and no replies? I shall bury this post quietly...

I don't have much interest in fútbol (never did) so I can't use that as a topic of interest except as far as less parking and more traffic during game hours goes. I'll ocassionally watch THE BIG games on TV just to see the thing everyone is talking about but most of the time I don't pay attention.

Regarding politics, well, I don't talk to people outside of my immediate circle about political matters because, as most of us have seen here on the message board, it usually gets you nowhere excepted FRUSTRATED and angry so why bother - unless you share a like-mind with the other.

Has my 9-months experience been all I thought/hoped it would be? I'd say yes. I don't regret coming, that's for sure, and still wake up nearly every morning and stare out my window/balcony, over the rooftops, and a smile invariably crosses my face. I'm quite happy here but my situation is much different than most, much less stressful as I'm self-employed and working at home.

I'd well-prepared myself for this move, though - 10 years of mental & social preparation, in fact, so there was no culture-shock, nor did I feel lonely as I'd already had a good bunch of good Spanish friends here already and have made more (Spanish and English friends) since arriving.

The things I like least about (at least) Madrid is probably the things most Madrileños like least as well: traffic jams, constant public works projects, constant new-building-builds throughout the city, the dust (from the construction projects), the bus/truck smoke/fumes, the lack of rain/clouds, looking down on the sidewalk as you walk to avoid accidentally stepping in doggy-do. Also, TRYING not to walk into people on the street who aren't looking where they're going, hot summer temperatures, the stress which comes with not speaking the language perfectly well (although this stress lessens with time and improving skills), the hours things close in the afternoon and almost no stores are open on Sundays, the traffic jams on Sunday evenings when everyone's returning "home" to the city from a weekend/Sunday in the country/village, the difficulty of cancelling or changing phone/internet/other services, slower connection speeds, lack of selection of food items/brands at grocery stores - because the stores are MUCH smaller, the apparent could-care-less-ness of people who tear off their wrappers and toss them into the street, the need to go to the pharmacy for something simple like EXPENSIVE aspirin, vitamins, or antacid (i.e. Alka-Seltzer), paying cash for dental care.

The things I like/love include the food, the wonderfully casual/social people, people's apparent lack of fear or worry, seeing people on the streets taking walks (including the old people arm-in-arm), hanging laundry in the sun to dry in only 60 minutes, the cheap(er) groceries, the friendly and talkative bartenders/store owners (IF you speak the language), the public transportation (especially if you're lucky enough to have a downtown-bound bus stop in front of your building - like me!), the balcony/rooftop views of the downtown (if you're lucky enough), the large parks and the amount of people actually using them(!), the wood floors in homes (although I prefer carpet because you can't really sit on the wood floors very comfortably), getting a smiling greeting from neighborhood store owners who recognize you when you pass by, the incredible bulk of FRESH seafood and the wonderful smell of fresh seafood when you walk by the markets or when the trucks are unloading the seafood, the existence of shoe-repair stores, the existence of MANY recycling bins (for glass, paper, plastics) throughout the neighborhood, the public healthcare system which is FREE (although you pay more in social security for that privilege), no doctor visit co-pays.

There's much more, I'm sure, which I could include to both categories but that's all I'll write for now. But in short, everything is pretty much as I had expected it to be - but mainly because I've been "studying Spain" for more than a decade so I had few remaining fantasies about the place before arriving.

Saludos, MadridMan :: "Happy in Madrid"

Wow! Very detailed and interesting, thanx for sharing your experiences, sir.

Very interesting. We've been here for 9 months on what was orginally to be a short term project. So my likes and dislikes have changed as I've adjusted to the Spanish way. But like MadridMan I found getting used to the 3 hour seista really frustating. I kept going out around 3 to do everything only to realize everything is closed! As well the language barrier I find people so freindly but I can't really talk with them. But I also found that considering how expensive housing is here that they are of such poor quality (remember I came from Germany where they uberbuild everything) As well it really bugs me that Spanish don't know how to sort their garbage (I think I lived in Germany too long )
When I lived downtown I would often pick out the plastic bottles from the garbage and throw them in recycling. As well from a driving perspective they are round about mad, the nav drives me nuts when I have to go through a bunch of them. But what I miss absolutely the most is not being able to get a good Cappuccino after dinner. I know it seems weird as Cappuccino is Italian but its now part of the German culture. But I miss it terribly and Starbucks is poor substitute for the real thing. Chris made me jealous the day when she was in Germany and ordered a cappuccino in the morning. She said it was heavenly.

Things I like: Love the weather went running today at 10 and it was sunny and glorious. (spoke with friends in Frankfurt cold and overcast) While it's getting cool at night its still lovely during the day. I also just love the cafe culture, here even in Tres Cantos I have probably 10 cafes within a 10 min walk. I love nothing better than stopping in somewhere and getting a cafe con Leche for a euro and watching the locals. And All though the Spanish don't know how to sort their garbage its nice not having to go through you garbage with a find tooth comb to make sure its all sorted properly or getting complaints from the neighbours because you put something in the wrong spot.

I also love the cheap public transport. Even out here in Tres Cantos I have the choice of 8 bus routes and a renfe train every 15 mins all day long. As well I get a real kick out of the spanish habit of parking by sound (back up till you hit the car behind you). What I dislike is the tight parking spots, good god I thought it was bad in Germany, wasn't here two days before I backed into a post and scraped the side of the car. Also I almost hit the neighbours brand new VW. At least I'm in good company there is a nice Mercedes and Volvo in our garbage both with large dents in them :p

Most of all I love how different Europe is from boring North America. Yes that means the good with the bad but your never bored.

Oh yes what I do miss about Germany is the greenness. this may be Madrid specific but everything is so brown due to the lack of rain (not that I'm complaining) it just takes a bit of getting used to. And I also like that Madrid has a huge expat community so making friends is easy.

Tim, can you explain us where do foreigners learn that the afternoon break at shops is for "siesta"? I don't understand why so many people think that. Do you really know any workers taking a 3 hours siesta before they resume they work?.
MM, hopefully this should change in a few months with new consumers act (we'll see...)
I wouldn't buy those things in a supermarket. Even if it's an aspirin, I prefer to buy them in a pharmacy where there is a pharmacist that really knows where he is selling.
I'm not sure about this, but I think you can pay with a credit card.

ha ha ha!! indeed siesta is overworked: anglos think is a way of just lazing off and go to sleep; but they dont realized latins are more family oriented they like to eat with the family do the errants etc this is the afternoon break; expats should know that.
i think the rest Antonio responded ok
have a nice siesta!

Of course. I think most foreigners don't believe that Spaniards are SLEEPING during those 3-hours of "break". If they're lucky and live close to where they work they might take a 15-minute nap but the rest of the time they're doing things. But since MOST Spaniards don't live anywhere close to where they work they might take a nice, long, 2-hour lunch and talk with friends or co-workers over the restaurant dining table.

Saludos, MadridMan

Last Saturday I went to the Alcorcón Shopping Center area (Ikea, Alcampo, PC City, Media Markt, & MUCH more) and arrived at about 1:30pm. We went directly to PC City for some computer-related equipment, but only to look to see if they had the things in stock. Leaving PC CITY at about 2pm, we went on foot (on foot because driving and finding parking is crazy) to the different nearby restaurants for lunch.

The first place, a Steakhouse, was FULL and had a 20-person line, next place was also FULL and had a 30-person line, next place, a little further, was also FULL and had a 20-person line. Finally I broke down, betraying my life-long self-imposed BAN on fastfood, we went to a Burger King :p and there too there was a long line. Next to MacDonald's, same thing. Went further to a Bocadilla sandwhich shop and had a line out the door. We went to about 8 different restaurants and ALL had long lines to the door. I was hungry but not willing to wait 30+ minutes just to get a table and then who-knows-how-long for service so we walk the (now) 1 kilometer back to PC city (which was absolutely empty). There, I had personal one-on-one service and no line at the checkout. Leaving Alcorcón, we went next to the Carrefour in Aluche.

We arrived at the Carrefour, starving to death, at about 4pm and went upstairs next to the cinema and chose a kind of restaurant which served meals. I had the menú del dia and ate the standard fare, satisfying my hunger pangs.

Next to Carrefour for groceries. Yikes. We spent about 2 hours there, loaded with stress. There were SO MANY PEOPLE, none of which watching where they were going, all walking forward and looking left or right, presumably assuming that the seas of people would part for them. Going up and back through the aisles, looking for not only the product I wanted but also searching for a bit of space to "park" the shopping cart put my nerves on end. Then you have the lines..... LONG! After walking out of there I was absolutely SPENT, EXHAUSTED. The ONLY saving grace for this trip was that I chose the "Home Delivery" option for the large purchase so we didn't have to make serveral trips up 4-flights of stairs with the groceries, well worth the 5 Euro extra fee and Monday delivery. (but I did give each of the 3 delivery guys 2 Euros for their trouble)

The shopping experience absolutely emptied my body's tank of energy and patience. It's definitely better (at least for me) to do all my shopping in the neighborhood stores although the prices are a bit higher and you have to walk.

Saludos, MadridMan