With this entry we inaugurate our category "Living in Spain". We believe that telling our experience of emigration can be useful for many other people who are considering it in the near future, or maybe it will be to another country and want to compare a little with Spain.
We started with the idea of moving at the beginning of 2021. It wasn't until August that we really started to plan it and finally moved at the end of 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was still going strong and the new Omicron variant was generating another wave of infections worldwide.
As this time the plane ticket was "one way", the change of country would mean a change of job, a change of house, a change of routine: the construction of a new home in this new stage of our life together. No change of language, but there were certain terms that we were about to get used to.
The first few days in Spain everything was new. We needed to get back into a routine that would make us feel part of this city.
The first few weeks didn't feel like a holiday, but they didn't feel like "home" either.
We actively played at talking about our initial feelings, things that caught our attention, and surprises on the first steps of our new path. After all, these were our first anecdotes and our way of connecting with the local.
That's why, before talking about the procedures we had to go through both before and after arriving in Spain, we wanted to share with you in this first post what our first impressions were when we arrived in Madrid.
First impressions
1. How people dressed
The first thing we noticed when we arrived was the way people dressed here. People here dress very well! We arrived in the middle of winter, so we saw a lot of women with furry or fur-like coats, long boots, dresses and men with coats, scarves, shoes and long coats. People of all ages go out on the streets very well dressed.
2. People's friendliness
Everyone is friendly. Literally, all the people we had to interact with when we had to do the paperwork treated us with the utmost kindness and were patient when explaining how to do the paperwork. You don't hear shouting or arguments in the street, you don't hear honking, we noticed that compared to Buenos Aires people are much more relaxed. And that calm attitude is contagious when you go out on the street.
3. Senior Citizens
Another contrast is the vitality seen in the elderly. Here retirees take advantage of a new stage in their lives to engage in many activities that keep them healthy in body and mind. They have preferential transport passes, reduced or even free admission to attractions and offers of workshops and courses at cultural centres. All this is encouraged by a city that is accessible to them if they have reduced mobility. That is why we were surprised to go for a walk and see so many "grandparents" strolling around, with friends, doing their own errands, cheerfully dressed.
4. Public transport
Public transport in Madrid is excellent. As we both come from another big city like Buenos Aires, we really appreciated having a way to get around the city. We were surprised how the metro is fast, clean and efficient, making it easy to get around the city and the suburbs. There are also plenty of buses and trains (Cercanías) available. Good transport also helped to make the arrival more "friendly" and to be able to get around in the first few weeks, which were busy with a lot of activity and paperwork.
More things that caught our attention:
Buses have stop request buttons at all bus stops.
Drivers tilt the vehicle at curb level to make it easier to get on and off.
All transport (metro, buses, trains) have USB sockets to charge your mobile phone.
They have an EMT (public transportation network) app to see how soon the next bus is due at each stop and it's on time!
5. Accesibility
While this kind of thing can always be improved, we feel that compared to other cities, Madrid is very well prepared for people with different disabilities.
There are lifts in most metro stations for people with reduced mobility. In addition, escalators are in operation.
The floor of the metro has tiles with different reliefs to indicate if the path is straight, if we are in front of a fork in the road or if we are at the beginning or end of a staircase, this is very useful for visually impaired people.
All buses are prepared to transport wheelchair users, with audio announcing the name of each station (for people with reduced visibility) and for people with hearing loss there is a visual sign with the name of the stations.
At traffic lights and pedestrian crossings there are audible signals and push buttons to stop traffic.
There are supermarkets that implement a 'quiet hour' where lights are dimmed, there is no restocking of merchandise, and they turn off all music and announcements for people who may be overstimulated by these things.
6. Cars stop for pedestrians
We come from a city where you have to look at both sides of the road before crossing (even if it is a one-way street). We were struck by the fact that cars start braking as soon as they see you approaching the pedestrian walkway, something that took some getting used to for several months! Drivers are generally quite cautious, is it because of the ridiculous number of roundabouts all over the city?
7. Avoid Gran Vía during the holiday season
We had to learn the hard way that in the middle of the festive season you shouldn't go along Gran Vía! We had the brilliant idea to visit Primark the day before Christmas ... need we explain what a SEA OF PEOPLE that was? We looked like sardines. Since then we always try to avoid this area at weekends or very touristy times.
8. Supermarkets
We are lucky that there are not so many differences between Spanish and Argentinian food, so it's one less worry. As the snoopers that we are, we wanted one of the first activities to get to know the supermarkets in Madrid. We enjoy going aisle by aisle and seeing what's new in each sector. When we went around, the main differences were:
Prepared food sector, especially useful for those who live alone or do not like to cook. In some supermarkets, there are even seating areas with microwaves and disposable tableware.
Ham is everywhere - some supermarkets even have counters where it is sliced on the spot!
Frozen fruit and vegetables ready to cook. Like chopped onion and peppers, crushed garlic, potato, carrot and pea mix, frozen spinach, frozen red fruit mix and much more!
We also noticed that many vegetables come ready to eat, such as washed lettuce and rocket ready for the salad, grated carrots or washed spinach ready to cook, among others.
Even in small supermarkets there are fishmongers, bakers and butchers.
Following the line that accessibility is important, it is also present in food, as there are special gondolas with organic, gluten-free, lactose-free, sugar-free, vegan products and much more.
9. Lottery everywhere
What is it about the lottery here? One of the things that really surprised us is to see lottery stands everywhere! You can find them in the middle of the street, at the entrance of the metro, in local shops, people selling lottery tickets in their own shops. Until arriving in Spain, we had never seen centres to treat gambling addiction (and several times we saw them right next to betting shops).
10. Pets
All of Madrid (and we dare say all of Spain in general) is super pet-friendly. We saw dogs travelling on the metro, in clothes shops, in supermarkets, on trains, in cafés and restaurants, on the plane. They are all very well behaved, they don't bark, they are always on a leash and the owners clean up after their pets. And that's also something we notice on a general level: people here tend to help keep the city very clean.
🐝 These first impressions helped us to feel comfortable in our new home. Madrid has an energy and charm that make it unique. There is always something new to do, a new exhibition to see, a new market to visit or a new experience to discover.
Procedures for living in Madrid
We know that it is the reality for many other people to emigrate and move to another country, as well as many others who may be considering it for the next few years. That is why we thought of creating the category "Living in Spain" to be able to share with you what our particular experience was like, in case you find it useful as a reference when going through the same procedures.
In the next entries in this category we will address topics like:
How to obtain the Spanish DNI (national ID).
How to apply for the NIE.
How to register on the census.
How to apply for residency.
How to obtain a social security number.
How to obtain the Spanish health card and the European health card.
How to exchange your driving licence.
And much more!
➡️ If you are interested in learning about how to deal with this type of procedure, subscribe to the newsletter to find out as soon as we publish it.
Questions for our readers:
Did you live at any point in your life in a country other than the one you grew up in?
Have you ever thought about living for a while in another country?
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