# Before moving to Spain...



## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

A friend posted this on facebook, so I thought I'd post it here???

10 things you need to know before moving to Spain…Seriously. | Indefinite wanderers

Jo xxx


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## Allie-P (Feb 11, 2013)

Brilliant - the video was hilarious


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Love it, although of course some of it is to be taken with a pinch of salt.
The take on August is still true, and is something to be put in the other thread about things that surprise you. Even in Madrid, certain sectors close down or go slow in the summer and I am still amazed that the Heath Service is one of them! Silly me...
The best imo is the last phrase though. I might change "normal people" though
_Normal people eat and drink because they are hungry. A Spanish person eats and drinks, as an excuse to be with his family and his friends._


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

An entertaining post by two British 20-somethings - a lot of it is spot on. But I wish they'd called it "10 Things to Know before moving to the Costa Blanca" (assuming that's where they are) because these stereotypes aren't nationwide. For example 3, 4, 5 and 9 don't apply where I live. We bought our house in August, nothing shuts down, you don't have to shout to get a waiter's attention, and as for coffee and pastries at 6 am? You must be joking!!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> An entertaining post by two British 20-somethings - a lot of it is spot on. But I wish they'd called it "10 Things to Know before moving to the Costa Blanca" (assuming that's where they are) because these stereotypes aren't nationwide. For example 3, 4, 5 and 9 don't apply where I live. We bought our house in August, nothing shuts down, you don't have to shout to get a waiter's attention, and as for coffee and pastries at 6 am? You must be joking!!


The coffee and pasteries is certainly not a feature of life around here, even though there are a lot of commuters who go to Madrid to work. There _*are*_ lot of people who pour a coffee down their throat at around 6:30 and then have a luxurious second breakfast (as referred to in the article) after they've started work.
I wonder where all these people who are having breakfast at 6:00 and starting work at 7:00 are actually working?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> We bought our house in August,


Did the estate agent that you used cater for foreigners?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Did the estate agent that you used cater for foreigners?


Yes, but we had a Spanish solicitor and he sorted out various irregularities with the land registry during August (I believe he actually worked during his official holiday). We completed on 12 August (the Glorious 12th) and the notary, solicitor and agent were all present.

Some small businesses, gestors etc here only open in the mornings during August, but they don't close completely.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Pesky Wesky said:


> The coffee and pasteries is certainly not a feature of life around here, even though there are a lot of commuters who go to Madrid to work. There _*are*_ lot of people who pour a coffee down their throat at around 6:30 and then have a luxurious second breakfast (as referred to in the article) after they've started work.
> I wonder where all these people who are having breakfast at 6:00 and starting work at 7:00 are actually working?


I would have said it probably refers to site workers; that would tie in with early starts and high alcohol consumption. Certainly not office workers. I used to start at 8:00 and I was usually the first one in the office.

I am surprised that there are any site workers still employed in Oct 2015 though...


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Overandout said:


> I am surprised that there are any site workers still employed in Oct 2015 though...


Actually it appears there are more than there were in October 2013.


La construcci?n de nuevas viviendas toma impulso | Vivienda | EL MUNDO

Alcalaina, things here in August are exactly the same as you describe - they may slow down, with some businesses closed in the afternoon and fewer staff working in offices, but they certainly don't grind to a halt altogether.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> Actually it appears there are more than there were in October 2013.
> 
> 
> La construcci?n de nuevas viviendas toma impulso | Vivienda | EL MUNDO
> ...


Building seems to be picking up in this area, although unnecessarily so it seems to me with many houses still on the market. Maybe the writer lives near a building site, but


> Business is done in the morning before breakfast. Coffee and pastries at 6am, work at 7am


 would be news to my clients!


> Lunch tends to be a two hour affair, from 1 maybe 2, till 3 maybe 4.


is way off mark for offices here, although smaller shops often keep to a 2 hour break.
Regarding the August activity I think it very much depends, but a business which caters to foreigners, like an estate agent's in the south would have to include solicitors in its network or there'd be little point in sweating "la gota gorda" in August. In Madrid I'm sure there a few still showing houses in August, but the great majority have put up the shutters to keep their sanity more than anything. I sincerely hope I never have to house hunt in Madrid in August because it would finish me off.


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## yurtinglife (Feb 12, 2015)

Alcalaina said:


> An entertaining post by two British 20-somethings - a lot of it is spot on. But I wish they'd called it "10 Things to Know before moving to the Costa Blanca" (assuming that's where they are) because these stereotypes aren't nationwide. For example 3, 4, 5 and 9 don't apply where I live. We bought our house in August, nothing shuts down, you don't have to shout to get a waiter's attention, and as for coffee and pastries at 6 am? You must be joking!!


Lol, We live in Ontinyent, Valencia! x


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