# First impressions after a month



## scharlack (Nov 21, 2008)

Hey,

I though I could post my first impressions in Spain (Madrid) after a month here. Please note that this does not intend to offend anyone.

WORK: 

People do not arrive and do not leave at the "right" time (I haven´t seen people staying late - btw, half hour is not stay late!). Most of them seem to have their own flexibility and as long as they deliver what they are supposed to then it´s time to go out for a smoke and/or a coffee. Environment is laid back (in comparison to what I had in Brazil) and folks are friendly. 

They talk out loud at the office aisles and they also talk out loud on their cel phones and who cares if someone is being disturbed?  An argument always ends up in a very loud conversation!

They curse a lot... "joder" is widely used 

SOCIAL:

Apparently "tomar unas copas" is part of the Spanish life after work and possibly during the weekends with friends. 

I like the idea that the Spaniards show a lot of appreciation when you speak their language.

The only thing that has REALLY bothered me so far is the general lack of sense of urgency. And I am Brazilian... I thought things went slow down there. Here, everything is "mañana, mañana"... and a simple thing will take you a week to get done - TERRIBLE!

STREETS:

I don´t like the idea that people sometimes step on you, hit you (or even push you) and the lack of the words "disculpa", "perdon" and "con permiso" at the supermarkets, metro, stores, etc. 

The place I live is quite clean and quite. Can´t complain at all.

Services here are bad in general.

Women are good looking. Probably the best looking women I have ever seen outside of Brazil.

WEATHER:

Madrid is very dry and cold during the winter... very, very cold... at least for me as South American. I have seen beautiful days here with no clouds which seems to be the case lately. Furthermore I have noticed it doesn´t rain much here during the winter.

FOOD:

I like it very much. Good variety and it´s not very expensive all in all. I get good cereal, veggies, salad, meat/chicken, milk, juice, cookies, sauces, etc and it truly doesnt cost me a lot. I only buy groceries for myself.

Eating out seems a bit expensive althouh you can get a full course (primero, segundo y postre) for 10€ in some restaurants... I havent seen many though... usually around €20+ .

TRANSPORTATION:

Very efficient and quick. Metro is 500m from my apt and it gets me anywhere in Madrid. Very happy with that. I want to stay away from driving for a while.

HOSPITALS/HEALTHCARE:

I have not used it yet.

BANKING SYSTEM:

I have only used "LC" (Barcelona) and it´s not good. As usual, things are slow and their personnel is quite trash (i.e. giving out wrong info or simply not knowing things and not seeking a solution for a problem). Good deal for me is that I have an ATM less than 20m from my apartment.

It´s all mixed and not very well organized... I just wanted to post my 1st impressions ... 

This is all for now. I gotta get back to work!

Cheers


----------



## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

Back to work - You really have only been here a month then. Go and have a coffee - or your colleagues will acuse you of not fitting in!

You did arrive after the snow/sleet of Jan. But Feb _is_ generally cold and dry. You may wish for return to these Halcyon days when spring hits!

It's all VERY well organised imo - you just have to learn the system.


----------



## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

Mmmm - Weather is changing again - Sleet & snow forecast later in the week.


----------



## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Well it seems to be mostly negative by the sounds of it, but a lot is down to living in a city I guess. Is it very impersonal like most cities?


----------



## scharlack (Nov 21, 2008)

*re:*

Yes, I do believe there are more negatives when you live in a city. I would really be grateful to find a job at a medium to small sized town, but I work in the IT field in as I understand there is not much outside of Madrid/Barcelona.

Furthermore, I believe we get wrong impressions on the "great places to live" types of advertisement and as such I would have expected to see less corruption, less unemployment, less assaults/stealing, less burocracy, etc. (I do bear in mind that we are under a huge crisis period).

Anyhow, just thinking I used to have a better life in a small town (generally speaking - better food, people, work, entertainment and $) in South America where there is also A LOT burocracy, crime and corruption but it is not advertised such as a "great place to live".

This is very personal and I don´t really expect to stay here for very long, although my impressions could change.

Cheers!


----------

