The shop are closed on Sunday because the workers of those sites have the same right as other workers to rest on Sunday. You will think that it’s a good idea when you work for Mercadona. Even many bares and restaurants use to have a day off during the week (Unfortunately, every day less and less). I’m not worker for a shop or bar, my working days are from Monday to Friday, but I avoid to do shopping on Sunday. Is my way to say “your workers have the right to rest on Sunday”. It’s a day for your family, for your friends, for yourself. You can’t love the Spanish spirit of calm and relax, and at the same times claim more open hours and days. The two are not compatible.
@@cyndimorgan9792 lo pueden llamar como quieran y si queremos llevar el debate a como la religion, sus normas y tradiciones han moldeado la sociedad occidental actual, también podemos hacerlo. Pero hoy por hoy, y desde el momento que es una tradición que se aplica, aplican y disfrutan tanto creyentes como ateos, pasa a ser un beneficio social.
One needs to be very careful when assessing bureaucracy in a foreign country otherwise there is a risk you are not comparing apples with apples. If you come from your own country, let’s say the U.S., you are most likely not experiencing bureaucracy in your day to day life at the same level that when you are an immigrant (note immigrant and not expat. Made it on purpose) in a foreign country. The paperwork, the things you need to get sorted, etc., are simply not the same when you are living your life as a national compared to a foreigner. To make it fair in your circumstances you will need to compare it with the perception of a foreigner, let’s say a Mexican, trying to (legally) settle in the U.S. By no means this is a condonation of Spanish bureaucracy. It’s indeed awful but I don’t think is massively different to other countries I have lived. And I wouldn’t compare it to my own country (UK) because I don’t really know how is to be foreigner there. It’s not my experience. My intuition tells me that is better but no idea how much better. Btw this is a common mistake made by all sort of content creators in YT. “Country x has awful bureaucracy” but unless they have lived in many countries the comparison is meaningless.
@@thomasmeyer1408 I have lived in France and the bureaucracy is absolutely awful. It’s truly soul destroying. I’m comparing it of course with the Spanish one not with the UK one as I wouldn’t have any idea. And nothing to do with the french language as I’m fluent. No idea about the Dutch or German one but on the latter I have heard some horror stories
@@thomasmeyer1408 this is what I found with a lazy Google search re bureaucracy in Europe and I think it’s absolutely hilarious. And probably there is some truth to it. Belgium: A tangled mess of layer upon layer upon layer of authorities from federal, to linguistic community, to region, to commune. For a foreigner such as me learning who does what and where that is done, is burdensome. When you find the responsible department things are usually smooth. Unless you hit upon a row about authority between two levels or two agencies. And since Belgium is more of less in a state of permanent divorce negotiations, that may very well happen. Germany: An antiquated and absolutely rigid system that is totally adverse to change. The default answer is “NO” whatever proposal for improvement might be made. You constantly get the “It works, so why change it?”. “Because it can work better, faster, with less effort?” “No, it just has to work…” And it does work because there are rules and regulations and Germans are very well trained to follow the rules and are very much aware of them. But get to a situation that has not been described and everything is stuck. You are in constant purgatory because nobody will take an executive decision. And because everything is so procedure and not result oriented (and PCs are just a means to file printed documents) everything takes AGES. BTW this is not only true for the civil service. Opening an account for my son in Belgium took me 30 minutes, in Greece about an hour and in Germany it required the presence of both parents for two and a half hours!!!!! We signed I don’t know how many documents and got them filed in a Bible like dossier at the end!!!! Greece: the opposite of Germany. No rule book, no procedure. You are often lost at sea with the multitude of contradicting regulations. A civil service in disarray. People range from bastards to super helpful (who take you by the hand and guide you through the labyrinth). If you find the right person, there is always a solution. And just so that we can be clear, I do NOT mean a bribe, I mean finding a conscientious civil servant. And there are still many. UK: Only had interactions as a colleague, not a citizen. I will say that based on these interactions (with two or three sectors to be fair) the huge boom in the private sector and the privatisations have left the public sector struggling. Simply it makes more sense not to go into civil service. So whereas I was expecting a perfect civil service led by Sir Humphrey, I saw scant resources and a much lower level of people than even the newcomers in the EU. Or I saw them paying the people from agencies they had privatised to come represent the UK. No wonder they are struggling to keep up with the demands of our times. More so in the area of customs…
If you want free healthcare, education, etc, you need bureaucracy. It is not some whim of stupid old style governments. It is a necessity if the government want to offer adequate social services to the people who really need them. If you are poor and need a doctor, a bit of paperwork will provide you one.
Exactly! I am an immigrant in the US and I did everything correctly and lawfully as it should be (not everyone does and that infuriates me and it's disappointing) and I come from a Mediterrean country and I am used to a slow bureoacracy, so I know in first person what does it mean, but I expereienced nothing but slow and often annoying bureocracy even in the United States, and after my experience I see that as one of these legends or myths.
I have been enjoying your videos for a while. I've a few months living in Barcelona and some time in Valencia. Both are wonderful but I lean towards Valencia because while it is a large city it still maintains a sense of smaller and warmer city. I have felt your frustration about not having restaurants and stores not being open in the afternoon. This is not limited to just Spain because I had the same experience in Italy, especially in the smaller villages. However I take a different approach to this inconvenience . Both countries are very family oriented. Closing in the afternoon allows for workers to eat at home with family or friends. The United States businesses used to be closed on Sundays and we slowly moved to expecting access to what ever we wanted 24-7. There's a great respect for workers and families in Spain. I believe that it is this respect that prioritizes these different working hours over the exaggerated need for 24-7 access to meet our individual desires. The United States is a very individualistic society (as seen in our own covid responses and conflict). Having sit down dinners together get harder and harder to do. Especially for those with the 24-7 work schedules. Of course it's inconvenient but it maybe what allows us to experience the warmth from the locals versus the crazy pressures that we left behind in our hustle and bustle countries. We seem to adore quaint communities, move there and then slowly transform it into the place we just left. Be careful what you ask for.
I agree ,is call lay back ,there can do three shifts , is the mentality.nobody will change that. Bureaucracy? There needs more computers literacy. That's all.
I agree, as an American I adjusted to the local hours when I visited Spain. Stores and resturants closed at 1pm and don't reopen till 4 or 5pm? No problem, I'll go for a walk, relax in my vacation rental... even maybe take a nap. Nothing open on a Sunday? No problem either - that's common throughout Europe. Be careful what you wish for indeed. The EU doesn't need America's 24/7 convience/ "the customer is always right" way of doing business. There's more to life than that anyway.
My only question is how did these restaurants survive financially only working half the day? It’s a tough business as it is to make money on. I guess housing is cheaper there?
As a foreigner, I feel like it would be silly for me to be mad at an official when we make the wrong kind of appointment or go to the wrong office to do something specific. And I can’t be mad at the Spanish people for not keeping American dinner hours, or be upset that they prefer to set aside the afternoon time for their families and friends (remember, after siesta, the shops usually reopen, and they stay open until 9 or even 10 at night). I buy extra water or other staples on Friday or Saturday, so we have it on hand for Sunday. To me it’s all been part of adapting to life here.
I'm sure she knows that...but it's important to talk about this sort of thing so people can prepare for the culture shock if they move to Spain instead of using rose tinte glasses. Foreigners can discuss what frustrates them about living in other countries. I don't care if ppl do that about UK and i'm sure there is plenty to say on that topic. This video has been very useful to me :)
My experince of being in BCN is that shops tend to close by 8pm on weekdays, and on the weekends by 5pm. Resturants and bars, in general might be open until 10pm, however, this time greatly varies depending on how far away you are from the city centre. Compared to the US or the UK, shops are open much later across the entire week (inc weekends) - the difference is night and day (pun intended). Not a complaint at this point, just an observation for those reading through the comments.
Some ppl get used to things better than others. And i dunno if she knows but germans (at least when i lived there) also close pretty early and i think its a good thing to have time for your family and not be an overworked miserable employee. But i guess for US ppl who are used to it its not easy to get….
It seems there are a lot of business opportunities: fast copy print services; open a cafe serving from 1pm-4pm; open a charged restrooms ; sell streamline software to help government manage documents…. What a paradise for entrepreneurs!
That’s the spirit! And tbh I don’t think these quirky things are really good reasons to hate Spain. Spain is Spain, it’s not California, it’s not wherever you or I came from. Saying you hate siesta, as an immigrant here, just isn’t logical. It is what it is, and it isn’t going to change for us - why should it?
Antoanetta, few comments about this video: you are right about the dogs and the bureaucrcy. But with reference to the restaurants schedule and opening hours you are wrong. Here the restaurants are not open all the day long because they don´t prepare few simple dishes as in USA, the food is carefully cooked, healthy, fresh and with great variety. Furthermore, if they open at 12 midday or 6 in the afternoon, they would be totally empty, which is ruinous and has no sense. You alway have Mcdonalds, KFC and similar to eat all day long. And you say that you work "strange" hours to adapt to USA hours, well, that is not the problem of this county, it´s your. So this county will not adapt the hours to you. You are the one that has to adapt. Regarding being out of water in Sunday, my God, are you seriours? You have six days to shop all what you need, from Monday to saturday. Plan your week in advance, buy enough water or anything else. I have the impression that maybe you haven´t chosen the correct country for you. Maybe, the north of Europe will fit you better . Finally, a last comment. Here you don´t need the car and drive 20 miles to go to buy bread or milk, all is walking distance, that is very convenient, isn´t it?
@@lionedheart If you want nordic efficiency, don't go south of the 45th Parallel north. That includes France. Seriously. Spain will kill you if you expect northern european efficiency.
Have you lived outside of Spain? I'm from Canada and now live in USA. I go back and forth between the 2 countries but I need a change. Fresh food and a walkable city is my dream. Sadly, I'm here for at least a few years until I try to find a way to leave. My parents are dead but were born in England so I may be able to get my European passport. Please enjoy the freedom you have there. I have a large house and there's no culture here. I'd prefer a cozy apartment with life outside.
Tienes toda la razon en todo, salvo por los horarios de los restaurantes y la siesta :). En España normalmente se compra una vez por semana, y se deja la comida planificada por dias. De esta forma siempre sabes lo que vas a hacer de comer y organizas mejor el tiempo. Los restaurantes son para uso ocasional, salvo los trabajadores que por su lugar de trabajo no pueden y entonces si recurren de forma habitual a los restaurantes. Ten en cuenta que si los restaurantes tuvieran que adaptarse a todos los horarios no descansarian durante el dia y suelen ser negocios familiares. Ademas las comidas, por lo general, son de calidad y requieren su planificacion. Los trabajadores solemos hacer turnos partidos y salimos tarde sobre las ocho o nueve de la noche por lo tanto es inasumible cenar antes. La siesta por lo mismo, turnos partidos para decansar y comer de forma adecuada. Trabajar y comer de forma seguida es estresante y la siesta suele ser un buen metodo para relajarse. En fin podria darte mas razones y mas profundas sobre esto, pero no voy a engrosar mas esto . Todo lo que se diga son generalidades que varian mucho. Un beso y un abrazo.
Yo pensaba lo mismo. Tiene que planear tu comida para la semana y ir de compras. Me parece que esta persona no planea su horario bien y por eso es que sufre. Entiendo que tiene un horario diferente por el trabajo que hace, pero se puede planear mejor
Gracias, me gusto el video. Es una vision de España que tiene mucha gente de USA. Es cierto que la burocracia es una mierda pero es un mal que afecta a todo el mundo. Mi mujer es alemana y argentina y sufre la misma burocracia (o peor) en esos paises. En cuanto a lo otro, es un tema cultural. Yo tampoco me acostumbre a la vida diaria en USA o en Alemania. Y por eso no vivo alli. Pero hay una cosa que me molesta y es que mucha gente de paises (en especial anglosajones y del norte de Europa) piensa que los que vivimos en el Mediterraneo somos vagos o solo tenemos fiesta. Y eso porque nos echamos la siesta o disfrutamos de la vida de otra forma!. Es injusto, es cruel y en los paises europeos mediterraneos trabajamos mucho y bien. Incluso mejor que el norte de Europa.
Hi! I'm from Scandinavia. A lot of simplification has taken place with the bureaucracy here in the north. You are much more customer-conscious and concerned with good customer service. Good customer service is expected. We have simply put more focus on this. Could the poor customer service be old remnants of dictatorship? At least those are my thoughts. It will probably get better with time.
@@valleskage Hola Grethe, la burocracia se debe simplificar, sin duda. Solo digo que en muchos paises sigue siendo un problema que a veces tiene que ver con el numero de habitantes, despoblacion, sistema administrativo del pais, etc. En cuanto a la atencion al cliente no creo que sea una reminiscencia de la dictadura, creo que es un tema cultural. Se puede mejorar (malos empleados he encontrado en USA, Francia, Suecia, Inglaterra, Alemania, Italia, Portugal y en España), pero hay un sustrato cultural en la forma de relacionarnos que no se puede armonizar. A veces eso choca y nos parece raro. De hecho en España los abuelos estan reclamando a los bancos que les atiendan de forma mas personalizada y en persona. No quieren tratar con maquinas ni ser un numero en una aplicacion de movil. Por último, no quiero abrir un debate, pido disculpas a Antoanetta, el video me gustó y es su opinion personal y su experiencia, que es respetable y valida como cualquier otra.
Toda la razón, lo peor es que piensan que los horarios son por la siesta??? En serio?? Ahora me entero 🤣 yo pensaba que es por horario partido, pero en fin esto pasa cuando vienen aquí y quieren vivir como allí y en vez de relacionarse y adaptarse se ofenden porque los domingos hay tiendas cerradas y bueno no pueden comer a las 12 y cenar a las 5, lo que tiene cuando emigras a otro pais pero pretendes que todo sea como lo hacen en tu país. Definitivamente si quieres emigrar a España lo ultimo que has de hacer es ver estos vídeos, lo mejor es ver de la gente que vive aquí y que te ofrece la realidad
@@gonm Flipa ahora resulta que será por franco,🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️, que paciencia tienes,la burocracia suele ser lenta pero poco a poco ya se va digitalizando todo, esperemos que mejore más, no se lo digas que aprenda sola
Aquí es así, donde fueres haz lo que vieres, no puedes cambiar las costumbres de los lugares por donde pasas, si quieres que respeten las de tu lugar, adaptarte, cambia o vete, pero no impongas ni gruñas. Los anglos teneis otras costumbres, muy diferentes. Todas son buenas, por eso estan, las tuyas no son las mejores, pero como las haces desde la infancia, te has acostumbrado y te llegan a gustar, pero no por que sean mejores o mas convenientes, si no que estas bajo su dominio.
As a spaniard I'm totally agree except for the restaurants and shops, because for me it is not frustrating, but I understand your point For burocracy if I can, I hire a agency for the paperwork And for me the dogs things is very disgusting, If I could would put the dogs owners cleaning all streets Good video, enjoy Spain and greetings 👍🏻
It is the damned habit that we Spaniards have of thinking that we have to work to live, and not live to work, which many foreigners do not understand. It's fantastic to me
You can enjoy life and be efficient, no excuses for burocracy. Also, not picking after your dog is not enjoying life, it’s pure laziness. Other than, she needs to learn to cook and open a bottle of wine. The world doesn’t spin around her needs.
As a Spaniard, when I clicked on this video I thought it would be about actual problems in Spain, but turns out this woman was suffering of culture shock, and still hasn’t gotten over it
She doesn't sound like she's suffering. It's a lighthearted video with her pointing out some things that she finds mildly annoying, and there's nothing wrong with that. Sure, she could have focused on the serious topics but that would have been a different video entirely.
Saludos, los domingos son para descansar, es más, nada debería estar abierto ni domingos ni festivos, no somos esclavos, en lo de la burocracia toda la razón te doy.
Lo peor de esta gente es que hablan desde su punto de vista, no se adaptan y lo peor es que hablan como expertos, lo mejor para saber cómo es un país es ver videos de gente que es de allí, te evitas escuchar cosas como que todo cierra porque se duerme la siesta o que todo es más lento porque vivimos la vida a modo español 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
En los otros temas tienes muchísima razon pero en el tema de los restaurantes siento decirte que estas equivocada. Se marcan unos horarios porque son negocios pequeños con pocos trabajadores. Un restaurante que empieza a dar comidas a la 1 necesita abrir la cocina minimo a las 11. a veces antes Y para las cenas también hay que prepara el servicio. .Si no cerraran no habria tiempo para preparar. Aun asi los trabajadores en hostelería generalmente trabajan entre 10 y 12 horas, seguro que eso nadie se lo pregunta porque no sabe el funcionamiento de los restaurantes. Y ni te imaginas lo duro que se trabaja
La solución no sería que trabajen más sino simplemente si los restaurantes abrieran más tiempo, ganarían más y por ende podrían contratar más gente, diferentes horarios, Antoanetta no dice que deberían trabajar más. En la mayoría de países simplemente hay más horarios de trabajo, más empleados.
En un restaurante en España (no McDonald, KFC, etc) se trabaja cocinando platos elaborados, muchos y muy distintos, no comida rápida. La comida rápida americana es monotona, tres o cuatro cosas simples y todo el día la cocina "funcionando". Hacer eso es sencillo. Lo dificil es tener que preparar a diario 15, 20 o 30 platos buenos y elaborados, sabrosos y sanos. 5 horas la cocina abierta para el mediodía y otras 5 para la noche
@@g.amaliar.s230 yo soy de Ecuador, no estoy comparando con McDonalds 😅 sorry por ofender en todo caso. Solo digo sería una solución para el desempleo que es un problema grave, no? Win win 😉?
@@roxyvelez6828 No ofendes nada, simplemente hay que poner las cosas en su contexto y explico la razón por la cual en España no están las cocinas abiertas todo el día. Y no es cuestión de abrir todo el día para dar trabajo a más personas es que aquí los horarios son distintos y tener un restaurante abierto a las 12 del mediodía o a las 6 de la tarde, significaría que estarían vacios. ¿Vives en Ecuador o en España?
A story from my travels: I planned to move back to Hawaii for a year. I was very excited. After all the dreaming, planning and finally moving I was there. My first morning, I went for coffee, found a great table with a great view, got up to take a picture of this fantastic scene. When I returned to the table with a big sense of satisfaction and a smile, I see tiny ants in a line already formed, going from my coffee to the table. I had to make a choice in that moment. Was I going to see this fantastic scene, or was I going to see the line of ants. I still see the picture I took in my head, and the ants aren’t in it. 🤙🌞🏄🏽♂️
Antonetta, I am Indian and living in NYC for last 42 years and I love Europe so got my german residency five years back but hardly went there and now I am trying to get a Spanish visa and preparing to learn Spanish. But I never complained just jumped over the hoops with my best of my abilities. I never broke the law just bent it little bit to survive. So accept the local system and tide over the difficulties and feel blessed that let you come to their country. In next two years you will love Spain and never live no where else. Best of luck, lots of love from one immigrant to another.
The bureaucracy is true, but for residents outside the European Union. If you come from another EU country, registration is automatic as it is from the Schengen area. On the other hand, in Spain nobody has dinner at 7:00 p.m. That is why meals are not served until 8:30 p.m., at least. And Sundays are considered days of rest. They are cultural issues, and you cannot pretend that we have the USA system.respect the dogs gifts, there are pigs that don't do it, and of course, it's very visible. Each country has its virtues and defects. There are almost no murders here and nobody has to mortgage their house for cancer treatment. But there are cultural factors and you have to accept them. I understand that in the USA it is different, but when one goes to another country, there is the good and the bad. Greetings.
I agree, and she seems aware that there are many good things as she points it out at the beginning. I'd like to specially agree with you about the closing hours. She should have in mind that having the restaurant (or whatever) open generates a decent amount of expenses, if you don't get almost any revenue from a couple of tourists that's not profitable
Well said . I am American , a senior . When I grew up Sunday was for Church , family , rest . Now in the US it is just about making money 24/7. Cultures , values , not what they were .
We live in the USA and eat early. I would just plan on eating at home if we didn’t want to eat at 8:30. Do people not cook and eat at home as well as eat out? 💜
If you think restaurant hours are awkward in Barcelona or Valencia, DO NOT GO to Badajoz! I was there for the first time recently and found that: 1) cafeterias don't open until 10AM; 2) the kitchen in restaurants don't open until 13:30 for lunch and 3) the kitchen restaurants for dinner don't open until 21:00. FYI I've lived in Spain for 43 years and even I don't get it.
Yep! I do empathize. Spain is great. I grew up there and love it. I am looking into retiring there and despite being of Spanish origin, I am given many obstacles to return. The romantic memory allows me to push forward but then the reality of the bureaucracy, the endless toil of obtaining the paperwork, the inefficiency, and some of the attitude in the government makes me want to give up. And this has been happening for a few years. I have opted for considering a long-term rental until I can finally accept and live with these challenges. This video is a good reminder...
You have to understand that you are in a different country, and we follow different times. When I lived in the UK many stores and restaurants closed at 6 pm, which for me made no sense, here, because we do a later "life" places are open until well 10 pm. You cannot expect two completely different cultures to act the same, or for people in another country to fit into your "needs". What many refer to "siesta" time, when shops are closed in midday, is simply lunch, in Spain food is a big thing, and since we are kids and are in school, we are given between 1 and 2 hours for lunch, so we can sit down and eat actual food. Lunch is our 'most important' meal, and the biggest, due to the long time that it will take to eat dinner. Again, while I worked in the UK we had 30 minutes break for lunch, and it was taken off our pay cheque, many of my co-workers ended up in fast food restaurants or with a quick sandwich. For me that was weird, so saying "hate" is quite a big word, when it's just different and something you have to get used to when going to a foreign place. About bureaucracy I'm with you, but it happens everywhere, the amount of paperwork you need to do for the simplest of things is absurd, because you are an immigrant. For what I know, there are places waaay worst that Spain in that department....
So thankful I live in Madrid The regional government issued a law years ago that stated that no administration can request information from you that any other public administration already has. They are the ones who have to take their time to get that info
I loved Valencia and wish to retire there one day. While I was dissapointed with some of the norms like siestas and stores closing for holidays, I learned to work around them because some of those traditions and customs are what make it different, attractive, more relaxed and a beautiful dstination. If I wanted to have everything available all the time I'd stay in NYC or other major Metropolitan cities that run 24/7. In regard to government infrastructure I recommend using an attorney or an agent to do all the running around for you; it's what I would do if I were operating a business from Valencia. I do appreciate your viewpoints. Thanks for your continued information and beautiful tours of different areas of Spain. 👍🏼
El cierre de los fines de semana o la siesta, las vacaciones se producen por la forma de entender la vida, piense que mientras les molesta que una tienda cierre a las 2 esa persona esta comiendo con su familia, quieren la cultura de aqui la vida de aqui, pero sin cambiar sus hábitos
I'm from Spain and I actually work from Mondays to Fridays without having any nap, apart from Fridays afternoon for 30 minutes. Therefore, I can't understand why foreigners think siesta is a rule/norm by large. I'm sure you'll find a lot of shopping centers which open from 9AM to 11PM in weekends which allow you tto do whatever you want
Thanks for the video. Everything you mentioned seems frustrating. Though I know it may not be easy, one must adjust to the culture and customs of the country we are relocating to. I just can imagine what would be the culture shock if I were to move to China or Russia. I would prefer dealding and adjusting to Spainsih way of life.
Yes, you will have culture shock in Russia each time a doctor comes visit you at home for even a simple cold and it is all covered by dirt cheap insurance.. Yes, that's quite shocking. 😊
I'm Spanish but living in the UK. I totally agree with your points excepting the restaurants and the usual shops' time table. Is just different because it always was done like that. Try to work in summer with 37 degrees at 3:30 in the afternoon after lunch, you could faint, specially in the south where air conditioners are taxed as "luxury"/"unnecessary". The shops on Sunday always had been shut, that's a cultural thing (religion) and because workers by law need two days off a week in some sectors. I perfectly could get use to the UK and I believe I will suffer a rever culture shock that will prevent me to live in Spain ever again. Best wishes
It used to be similar in Malta, bounced from one office or person to another, infuriating and often for no good reason. As you suggest, just make a photocopier available for people to use in government departments, they would be happy to pay.
2 года назад+2
What about the banks closing at 2pm and not accepting cash transactions after 11am ???
Definitely agree with you about the dog poop, but was surprised that you did not mention the endless cigarette and cigar smoking. Literally, everywhere you go you can smell it because someone sitting next to , you behind you, walking in front or behind you will have lit cigarette or often cigar in hand. It is just horrible especially when you have allergies or asthma and ofcourse there is the risk of cancer from passive smoking. After two days in Valencia, I felt like I had smoked several packs of cigarettes, just from walking around the city. With regards to shops and supermarkets, I get what you are saying, but if you live in Europe, you usually get used to it by planning in advance and stocking up midweek or definitely by Friday so that you know you have enough water and food to last the weekend. Most people also buy large bottles of water or have them delivered regularly (most supermarkets will deliver for a small fee or for free if you spend over a certain amount and you can order online or buy in store and then leave or things in the cart and they will deliver it the next day for example if you don´t have a car). The biggest thing that bothers me in Spain is a lack of consideration for others, and a lack of manners, respect, and empathy. I believe these things are essential in a civilized society and unfortunately they are often missing in Spain. This goes back to the dog poop issue. If you have respect and considertation for others, you simply don´t walk off leaving your dog´s poop on the pavement or on a beach or in a children´s park, but this goes on all the time, because unfortunately, consideration for others is often not taught, whether by parents, teachers, or employers and so many people grow up into adulthood believing that only they and what they want or need matters and that they don´t need to care about the impact of their actions on anyone else. I see this as the most fundamental problem in Spain, aside from lack of ambition, which is also prevalent, but ofcourse a generalization and does not and cannot describe all Spanish people or people living in Spain. Still, it is very common. The hallmark of a civilized society is not big highways or skyscrapers or big shopping malls and facilities and amenities. It´s how you treat others. Spain is still very behind in this respect. And that´s the main word actually. Respect. There is a lot of disrespect.
Antoanetta, Don't go to Buenos Aires if you hate dog poop. My Ex said next time he goes to BA, he will save a dozen bread bags to put on his feet. He stepped in poop almost every day. Valencia is paradise compared to BA with the poop situation. When I was a small child, stores in the US were all closed on Sunday. Hard to believe but true. That was almost 40 years ago. Damn I'm old.
i can see some of the spanish defects reflected here, yes! just let me point out something: the reason why most businesses are closed on sundays is so that many families can have at least one day together... not a bad reason! otherwise your off-day may be wednesday and your partner's friday, and your son's saturday, and regrettably you may never get together and have a paella :)
Nuestros horarios funcionan acorde a nuestro ritmo de vida, y trabajamos la mayoría de las horas del día evidentemente con jornadas saliendo a las 8 de trabajar, no vas a cenar a las 5 o 6. Yo también odio cuando viajo fuera tener que cenar a las 5 de la tarde porque más allá de cierta hora ya no dan cenas, son simplemente cambios horarios respecto a las costumbres de un país. Incluso estando en mi propio país, en Mallorca me ha tocado adaptarme a los horarios “extranjeros” de los hoteles, cosa que fuera de España no he visto que adapten horarios en muchos sitios. Del resto yo también me quejo, pero no se como es en otros lugares. El que no recoge la caca de perro es un guarro, en España y en Pekín
Si las personas salen del trabajo a las 8 de la noche, ¿a qué hora comienzan a laborar en la mañana? ¿Cómo es el horario regular de una persona en España? Gracias.
Hola Antoanetta. Sigo tus videos y estoy completamente de acuerdo con este. Por si te sirve de consuelo, yo soy español, tengo sesenta y pico años viviendo aquí toda la vida y aún no he conseguido acostumbrarme a la burocracia (ni a las cacas de perro) Lo de la burocracia es desesperante, y puedes llegar a perder los nervios fácilmente. Te recomiendo que pongas reclamaciones. A los funcionarios no les gustan nada y de algo sirven. Por ejemplo, la desesperante costumbre de pedir fotocopias de todo. Hay una ley en vigor que PROHIBE exigir un documento que ya ha sido presentado a la administración anteriormente, pero los funcionarios se la pasan por el forro. Les encanta acumular papel. Nadie mira luego esos papeles. Todo ese papel va a parar a los sótanos donde sirven de alimento a las ratas con el tiempo. He sido funcionario así que hablo con conocimiento de causa. Pide hojas de reclamaciones. A ver si alguna vez cambia esto en este país.
No es cierto, hay un ley que prohíbe hacer fotocopias a los funcionarios, ahora no hace falta hacerlas porque se hace digitalmente por lo tanto ti te quedas el original y la administración se queda la copia digital, no sé cómo será en Valencia o bien si en el caso de trámites para residentes extranjeros si se ha de hacer estos trámites con papel. también varía en cada comunidad autónoma. A los funcionarios ni les va ni les viene, aplican la norma. Igualmente ha de ser todo más fluido y rápido y en esto poco a poco se va instaurando los trámites digitales pero aún hay que hacer una transcision para que la gente se adapte. Igualmente es obligatorio para la administración tramitarlo.
You are right about bureaucracy. It's a nightmare, no, it's criminal here in Spain. The dog poop, I think it depends on the city. Where I live (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) it's unusual to have dog poop on the streets, they almost always pick them up, and every morning there are people cleaning, and special cars that clean with water and soap the roads. On Sundays they do like a deep cleaning with water; if you go out early, it looks like it was raining but it didn't, it was the city cleaning service. I think cities in the north of Spain are the most clean. Also where I live, restaurants usually are opened all the time, non stop, until night, another thing that I'm guessing it depends on the autonomy you are living at (and it's not because it's a touristic area, also rural areas have restaurants opened all afternoon and evening). It's true about sundays not finding groceries, but from monday to saturday, big supermarkets like Mercadona are open from 9:00 to 21:30. I'm sure you can find half an hour one of these days to buy the weekly groceries.
A Spaniard here. Spanish social life (and life in general) revolves around "eating times" let's call it. That's when we all gather (families, coworkers, students...). We talk loudly, we laugh, we bicker and what not (sports, politics, girls/boys, you name it). It's a healing break form whatever you are doing. All that requires time, no less than 1 hour. It would not happen if everybody were eating at any given time. If you are hungry grab a snack and wait for due time. First thing I do when I arrive at my work is asking my coworkers about lunch time and any specific plan like if somebody wants to cook or to order delivery.
Yeah, some stores are closed on Sunday, especially Spanish ones like Mercadona who always closes on Sunday and holidays and it is a good thing, they respect their employees, they deserve a Sunday to spend it with their families, don’t you think? it’s a cultural thing. Foreign supermarket chains like Lidl, Carrefour etc tend to open on Sundays. I respect Mercadona, you can be a little organized and not rely on Sunday for shopping.
here in Rome the RESTAURANTS, those in CAPS LOCK, have opening times + or - in Spain, they are open from 12:30 to 3 and from 8 to midnight, then there are those who cook pasta for you (poop actually) even at 7 in the morning or at 4 in the afternoon and we Romans call them places for Americans.
I am on specific supplements and herbs for my autoimmune disease. I was thinking I could have them shipped. I need to be able to get my medicine 😬Is there no reliable way to receive packages from the US?
Hi Antoanetta, thank you for your opinions about my country, they are always interesting and add value. I do not think that what you say is a problem of this country in particular. They all have pros and cons. It is about deciding where you want or can live based on it knowing that none is perfect.
Spanish bureaucracy has been famous for many years. Larra wrote a piece on it called 'Vuelva Vd manana'. I think the comment on the toilet tapas (meaning cover I guess, not seat?) is a bit precious, at least now we are out of Covid. Something that takes a bit of getting used to is people literally screaming at each other in bars/cafes when they could just be talking moderately. Also, walking three or four abreast when walking along the pavement. Re meals, it's good to go to say El Corte Ingles and get a plato combinado if you don't want to wait for the normal 'midnight banquet'.
croatian here, bureaucracy can't be worse than here, when the person who needs to stamp a document is on vacation and there is nobody to stamp it, lol ... and be sure to bring a copy of birth certificate less than 6 months old, rofl
I’m so glad you made this video, this is an amazing video! I’m excited to share my investment experience for 2021, I believe it will help a lot of people here that are confused on how to start the new year and be productive for the year
From my own point of view, you need to invest smartly, if you need the good things of life. so far i've made over $505k in raw profits from just q4 of the market from my diversified portfolio strategy and i believe anyone can do it you have the right strategy. mutual funds takes long time but investing smartly is the key for short term. Most of us tend to pay more attention to the shiniest position in the market to the cost of proper diversification.
I'm an amateur investor, i have 2 IRAs, I do not like the cookie cutter responses from Fidelity, Vanguard Schwab, etc 7%-9% year on average, how do you invest?
My portfolio is very much diversified so it's not like i have a particular fund i invest in. plus i don't do that by myself. i follow the trades of KAREN GAYE GRAY. She is a popular broker you might have heard of. I can correctly say she's worth her salt as a financial adviser as her diversification skills are top notch/ I say because i see that in her results as my portfolio grows by averages of 10 to 15% on a monthly basis. unlike i can say for my IRA which has just been trudging along. my portfolio just mirrors what she trades and not just on some particular industries of my choosing.
By following trades do you mean copying her trades, as is done in etoro? Are you giving her your money or the money stays in your account? I have heard about copying trades but have not looked into it but i have an idea of what it is.
Yeah exactly. My money stays right in my account. It's all programmatic. plus it's relatively much easier to set up and connect my accounts than creating a financial pan and drafting investment strategies myself. my account just mirrors her trades in realtime
1. Burocracy, agreed. Nothing against it, burocracy it's crap. 2. Dog poop. I don't think it's much different than other countries/cities. I heard that in NY this is a huge problem. This comes down to owners not giving an F about what their dog does out of their house. 3. The toilet stuff.. don't you wash your hands after going to the toilet? Then what does it matter what you have to touch? 4. 5pm it's not dinner time, sorry but it is not.. Dinner time in Spain it's from 8pm to 11pm. Is just part of the culture. If you don't like it, there's many other countries in the north where they have dinner at 6pm. Other people finds it really attractive that our days are this long. Btw, you can actually go to mcdonalds to have a meal around 5pm, nobody will complain. Thing here is that you need to understand that salary wise, is not managable to have a restaurant open from 8am to 11pm, just because you want to have dinner at 5pm(which literally, it will be just you in there). The way they do it is by splitting the day in shifts, so you have the lunch shift and the dinner shift, with just one salary. Ah, I've been living for 7 years in the Netherlands and luch time was between 11:30am to 1:30pm and dinner between 5pm and 8pm. Trust me, I never got used to it(too soon for me) but it's their culture, I respect it and I just deal with it. 6. Sunday. I like that everything is closed on sunday. Let people rest. You can shop during the week or even saturday. Why do you need ALSO on sunday? If some places start to open on Sunday, this will extend to more and more business. I don't want to work on a sunday, I want to rest, have some good time out and that's about it. So yeah, just plan your week to shop from monday to saturday. What's the big deal here? Supermarkets are open until 10:30pm on saturday, 10:30pm!!!!!! are you telling me that's not good enough? I've been in MANY other countries where things will be closed way sooner... So, it feels to me that Spain is just not the right fit for you culturewise. Check the north! Might be great for you.
200% cierto. Muy bien argumentado. ¿A mi me fastidia cuando viajo a otros países no poder comer a las 2 o cenar a las 10.? NO, porque estoy allí y es su forma de vida. O tener que conducir 20 millas para ir a comprar víveres en USA, la cosa más incómoda del mundo, todo el día subido en el coche, que comen, cenan, toman café...todo lo hacen dentro del coche 🤦🏻♀️. Penoso, pero me aguanto cuando voy de vusita y por eso no vivo allí.
I am thinking of moving to Spain and it is good to hear about the negatives too beforehand. The problem with the Spanish bureaucracy I had heard about and it sounds really frustrating to deal with. The different store and restaurant hours I think I can adapt to. I hadn't heard about the dog poop problem but that is bad. The other big negative for me which you didn't touch upon is the much higher taxes than in the US especially on pensions and the high VAT tax on everything you purchase as well as the wealth tax.
Greetings from Asturias.... even after you been living a long time and you get a permanent residence that last for 10 years, when that 10 years is over.... you can't renew or even make an appointment until the first visa has expired. so you will be in limbo for several months. Now I'm renewing it for the second time (in three days I have my appointment) and they will be changing my NIE number to a new TIG number. That means everywhere, every place I had to use the NIE number, I have to go back and change it to the TIG number.... that's a lot of places. So you might want to make a list of places where you had to use NIE for when you have to change it in the future.
When it's siesta, go to a Chinese restaurant. Unless you're in a small town or an outer urban neighborhood, Chinese restaurants are usually always open.
The toilet lid, covering an open toilet when it is flushed keeps bacteria from entering the bathroom environment in the form of tiny droplets, to become airborne and sprinkled around your toilet area, even maybe your toothbrush if it is close enough.
I lived in Nice, France for 2 y.s, the poop problem was bad! Ppl shower less than in the US, lots of them would smell sweat in the transportation. I like to shower every day & my neighbors were shocked, telling me that I can get skin problem from too much water contact. Not true! You can get skin problem from your own stench faster than from anything else. In stores, the sells ppl were too lazy to move around. If you ask them Q, they act like you're attempting to abuse them! They hated the sound of English language. If you need the police & won't talk to them in France, they simply will hang up the phone. A you can die & go to heaven without their help. Also,mid you call on domestic issues (I didn't call, I was told that by the neighbor who called), ey do not respond. They say that they're only for public places. This is a huge difference between the US & FR. I don't know how police works in Spain, but in one of your videos you were saying that if'd leave your phone on the table, someone can snitch it fast. That's very annoying.
Sobre el tema del horario de la Cocina de los Restaurantes debes considerar el hecho de que no puedes tener a los cocineros tantas horas al día trabajando y al resto del personal para que en ciertos intervalos horarios apenas vaya gente a comer. Es un gasto que el dueño del Restaurante NO puede soportar. Generalmente hay unas bandas horarias para Desayunar, Almorzar, Comer, Merendar y Cenar.... Fuera de esas bandas la Cocina se cierra y solo se sirven bebidas y tapas...
This seems to be a very charming place, I hope I can visit sometime in the future. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much! And please keep up the great job! Subscribed!!
😂 you made me laugh a few times mainly because I see myself in you. Those things can be very frustrating I agree. It's like how do we find a happy medium right? Here in the US it's all about money, money, money but that makes for more efficiency overall. But then it sucks to live here and the culture is so cold and lonely. I got a taste of that when I lived in Puerto Rico a few years. In Massachusetts now. I like your videos
I think it’s great for the main meal to be in the middle of the afternoon. That’s enough for many people, then something light later in the evening. But for health reasons eating at 9, 10 or later at night is just not agreeable. No can do. As for grocery stores not being open on Sundays, that’s a tough one.
Yes! I totally felt the struggle with the restaurants topic when I was in Valencia. I was hungry at 6:30pm 7pm... after finishing work and always had to wait to eat.. No way one can go out for dinner and get back home early. I don't think that when one complains about this, one means that they should work more, but simply have other shifts, like anywhere else in the world... Why I miss Nyc! haha in Germany at least we don't have this. BUT here Sundays not only grocery stores close, but EVERYTHING, so going shopping is something you can't do. It is ghost town. And if you work Mon-Fri, then expect all shopping places to be packed on Saturday... Cause Sunday they all close... Again, here they could simply hire more people, provide more work - there is always people looking for work. I am sure we are not saying workers should be working over time. About the paperwork, so I heard! There are funny video going around of people doing million of paper copies of everything lol so crazy. And dog sh* we also got it everywhere in Berlin...
The fact that on Sundays everything it's closed It has nothing to do with hire or not hire staff... it's related to the spanish culture. What i mean is: Sunday it's supposed to be resting, it's related to the catholism: Sunday is the day of the lord. Of course, nowadays, i wouldn't say we are very devoted to the church, god, whatever...but we keep that custom. And I think it's all right...i mean...we have 6 days to go shopping...the world is not gonna fall down because the supermarkets close one day per week, another thing is: people think that Sundays are for rest, not to work...and we usually go shopping 1 time per week for all the week, some for the entire month. So, in conclusion: it's cultural, the same as the time to eat, etc, etc, the same happen with the spanish, when they travel abroad...we think that the rest of the world are very weird 😆
Spent 2 years in Italy, near Brindisi. Far away from the tourist cities, they only come for the ferries to Greece and beyond. Siesta could be a challenge for official business, they close on time. If you are in line, tough. Domani. But after siesta, time for vino and my landlord, Leo Francesca had a winery and never let me run out.
You are so correct on so many levels! My other complaints are the constant cigarette smoking. and People who just stop in the middle of the sidewalk, and the people who are so glued to their phones that they dont watch where they are walking! But I love it here in Valencia!
So, Antoanetta...Is your jewelry line still in LA? Clearly not ordering to ship to Portugal!! How can I see your engagement rings? On another note, in Lisboa it took me 3 months of calling SEF just to get an appointment and that is good compared to others...I moved from France and honestly so far bureaucracy and the dog poop situation are better! Never ever did I think I'd say that! I love Portugal so much that I'll deal willingly and with a smile through it all!! It's the same everywhere...
I am afraid inefficiency is part of the system in Spain, but that inefficiency also exists other countries more or less. However, the system is very slow in Spain for sure. But the most painful part , most people are not helpful at all. It is a painful process and that is the way it is here in Spain. So get used to it and live with it. As for restaurants, that is the way it is , Spain is the country that people eat very late, get used to culture and move on please. There are always fast foods and coffee shops to consume or go to supermarket for God´s Sake. No point of complaining about the way things are in Spain.
I agree with you. In my country, everyone cleans their dog poop. We also have a Public Service Hall everything is in one space. Shops close at ten o'clock, but there are many mini markets which are open 24 | 7.
I agree with all of her points, but I have grown to live with shops being closed on Sundays, and I rarely eat at restaurants. The bureaucracy can be a bit of an issue, but fortunately I have not had too many serious problems with them so far. I agree that Customs is a black box mafia which breaks its own rules and does not interact with the public that it is supposed to serve. I have had some really bad experiences with them and I cannot have items shipped form the US, because the whole thing is an expensive pain to deal with. That is one bureaucracy which I hate and works badly. Doggie crap and urine, as well as general littering all over the place, both in the cities and in the nature really grinds my gears, and no one seems to care. In the worst cases the sidewalks can be filthy and most of Spain rains little to clean it up. Decades ago they used to hose down the main streets, but I have not seen that done in a long time.
I am a foreigner living in Marbella, here bagging and removing the dog poop is mandatory and it’s correct. The Bureaucracy I laughed, it’s exactly like that, the unreasonableness sometimes is very frustrating, especially when you know it’s not necessary, but you just have to suck it up!
You make an excellent video about Spain and really deep thought about very important, human connections about lifestyle. Then immediately turn into the American princess , citing petty details, the exact things you complained about in your previous video. Brilliant.
We are getting accustomed to the mid day closing. Still having trouble with restaurant hours. Sunday closings harken to some small towns in the US. Being retired, I do have to remember to get food before Saturday afternoon! Bureaucracy is a hassle for sure. Only been here 3 weeks and loving it. Thanks for the videos.
Thank you for your video. I am an American and unfortunately Americans think the rest of the world should be like them. . I would like to see more Americans travel and become open minded to other cultures.. It would make the USA a better place. Personally, I find that those Americans who don't travel and accept other cultures could use a bit more education.. I enjoyed the comments and especially reading how Spaniards have reacted to your video.. I love Spain and looking to return to the country. Doing my research first to see if I can accept the cons of another country, what I am used to here in the US. This is the reason for watching your video. But already knew about the red tape. I returned to Spain long long ago to marry someone- a Spaniard I met while living in Spain, but Franco prohibited it. Now that is bureaucracy!
Estoy de acuerdo en cuanto a la burocracia. El horario comercial depende mucho del tipo de comercio. Si es pequeño y de propiedad familiar tiene poco personal y no pueden estar abiertos todos los días todo el día porque probablemente el trabajo se reparta entre 4 personas. Algunas tiendas grandes cierran los domingos, pero otras están abiertas. Para comprar comida sitios como Carrefour abren el domingo. También depende de la zona de España. En algunas comunidades aitonomas el horario comercial está limitado por ley y en otras no y abren más horas todos los días según su capacidad de repartir el trabajo entre sus pocos o muchos empleados. Los restaurantes sólo tienen la cocina abierta en horario de comida y cena. El resto del día al no poder servir comida están cerrados.
Del odio al amor hay solo un paso, por eso pienso que en el fondo de tu corazón quieres a España y a los españoles. Solo es cuestión de echar mano del aforismo: "Donde fueres haz lo que vieres" España y yo señora somos así.
In all Europe, markets and shops don't work in Sunday and I think it is pretty good because they also need a day off. But in Serbia stores work in Sunday and even for 1st May because we have special discounts that you can't miss. 😁
La solución para el horario es muy sencilla: levántate dos horas mas tarde, con lo que desayunarás 2 horas mas tarde, comerás 2 horas más tarde y cenarás 2 horas más tarde. Y también te acostarás 2 horas mas tarde. Problema solucionado. Una expatriada como tu lo explicó en youtube, y que en una semana todo solucionado. Nuestro horario es conforme a Alemania, no es horario solar y no se va a cambiar. Las tiendas pequeñas que cierran de 2 a 5, es porque los empleados se van a comer a su casa. Y eso, evidentemente, tampoco se va a cambiar.
Entiendo que lo vea usted así y que sea muy difícil la burocracia, piense usted cuanto cuesta entrar en estados unidos o una tarjeta de trabajo, tengo amigos que ni lo han conseguido, a mi no me cuesta nada los papeles ,solo algo de paciencia.
Hi, been watching your videos for few weeks now as we are planning to buy a place in Oliva, Spain and are scheduled to visit Oliva, Spain in June 2023. My question is, does your "Your Essential Guide to Living and Loving Life in Spain" includes any recommendations for good lawyers, Real Estate agents and anything else one would need to purchase a property in Spain? If not would you be willing to help us when we are in Spain in June this year?
First item: bureaucracy. I live in France now, how much worse can it get? 😂. For the shops. They have their working hours, period. The people there should not have to adapt because you live on another schedule. And Sunday is family day. We try to avoid going shopping on Sunday anyway so I don’t care. I don’t support a 24/7 economy. People shouldn’t have to work 7 days a week to serve others. It’s a multi national thing from employers who don’t care about their workers. You compare to US but there you have one of the worst working conditions/ contracts of the western world.
I relate to it all, and I am surprised that you did not mention the total absence of customer service. The left hand has little idea what the right hand is doing, and solving customer service problems is virtually unheard of!
Pues mira lo de la burocracia de acuerdo al 100%, pero en los horarios de los restaurantes no, aquí, al contrario que en tu país donde trabajar 16 horas al día está bien hay una jornada laboral de 40 horas semanales que se ha de respetar incluso en la hostelería, porque no es ni para la siesta ni para tomar un vino, es para comprar, limpiar la casa (cosa que los sajones hacéis bien poquito), cocinar comida casera en casa en vez de comer un sándwich en unas escaleras como en USA y acabar todos con obesidad, estar con los hijos etc, así que si te apetece cenar antes del horario te lo haces en tu casa, si te han de servir un trabajador le respetas su horario, sus derechos y su tiempo libre, y da gracias que aquí hay salario mínimo y no necesitan que les des propina para poder llegar a fin de mes
Hahaha you would have a "blast" in Switzerland (where supermarkets only open 8am to 6pm and closed on Sundays) France where they only serve lunch between 12 and 2pm but will stop serving anyone that arrives after 1pm bc "they are closing soon" LOL and Germany where they make you get a bunch of paper work from specific places only, even for printed pictures for ID bc god forbidden they take it there and forget about digital documents , fill up the same form more than once etc etc just because hahaha. I dont know why some European countries are this way still...
Nunca había visto videos de extranjeros hablando de España. Tú fuiste la primera q encontré. Y bien hasta ahora pero...bonita ..habla realmente cuando estés bien informada.. ésto no es una película americana donde se mezclan las Fallas, la Semana Santa y la Feria de Abril..no todos somos tan estrechos de mente ni tan ignorantes. Si vives, trabajas, organizas y respiras como americana en un país q no es EEUU...q esperas??? Hay un dicho español: "Adónde fueres haz lo que vieres". Y si no te gusta, sabes dónde está la puerta. Según tú, llevas más de cuatro años en España y no sabes una "papa" de español. Eso no es vivir, convivir, integrarse ni nada q se le parezca. He visto, después, videos de otras compatriotas tuyas y hablan español mejor q otros nativos. Y,¿ de qué te quejas? ¿Las tiendas cierran un día a la semana? ¿ Dónde está tu eficiencia y organización sabiendo éso?? Nuestros abuelos y padres se deslomaron ( busca el significado) para que los trabajadores dispusieran de sus derechos. Y disfrutamos de un día de descanso completo a la semana q pasamos con la familia, muy muy importante en nuestra cultura, o con amigos , también muy importante. Tenemos derecho a 30 días de vacaciones remuneradas al año. Y en tu país ¿Qué derechos tienen los trabajadores?¿ Qué tal la Sanidad?¿ Q tal la Seguridad en las calles? ¿ Qué tal la educación? ¿ Qué tal la empatía, respeto y educación hacia los demás?? Qué tal la hipocresía de tu sociedad..soy lo que gano..?? Por favor..la "burrocracįa" es éso y punto...en tu país no es precisamente dicho y hecho..y eso q nos vende la parte " romántica" en las películas...otro dicho español dice: "En todos sitios cuecen habas"...otro q deberías aplicarte (busca significado)... q con la prepotencia, arrogancia, chulería, yo soy mejor q todos, soy americana, y yo estoy acostumbrada a hacer ésto...fuera de tu país no vas a conseguir amigos, ni relaciones, ni disfrutar de la vida, ni integrarte ni nada... seguirás viviendo en tu burbuja, en España, disfrutando de todas las ventajas del modo de vida español pero criticando todo aquello que no se ajuste a tus gustos. Eso no es así, bonita. Aprende español que ya tienes tiempo para haberlo hecho y respeta la cultura, tradiciones, costumbres, horarios y demás del país donde VIVES, no de donde ERES ..y al q no le guste..otro expresión española:" ajo y agua" (busca significado)😂😂😂. Y si tienes tanta hambre, vete a tu casa y haz de comer, que es lo que hacemos la mayoría..y si no vete al fritangueo q no te debe resultar extraño.Después de tu derroche arrogancia y prepotencia a la hora de criticar horarios, hábitos y derechos del país donde VIVES no me esperes más por aquí. Deberían cerrar hasta la sábados..a ver cómo te apañas con los horarios americanos 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I love to cook, so if I can't find a restaurant, I cook...but yes, it's nice to be able to eat when you want. I still love Spain. It's my roots and I would love to experience that lifestyle in three month increments.
Yes, the bureaucracy is bad, but luckily, I haven't had a problem, but only because I have staff at my workplace who do it all for me. Others who do what I do have horrific problems. Being in a smaller town in the Valencia Region helps. But it's all-day trip to go to a government office, as I don't have a car and if on my own, would have to take an expensive cab ride to get to the train station that the fast trains don't stop at. Even though 70% of the town is vacant off season, the few remaining restaurants open still charge in season prices for very small meals that I could get for much cheaper in Valencia City. It's a pain that both grocery stores closed on Sunday, as well as almost every business. From 2-5 PM, I really like the down time. I cook great meals and walk miles. Positives DO outweigh the negatives!
The government offices in Spain are only open until about 3 pm, because the government workers only work about 30 hours a week, while earning far more than private sector workers who work under stress for 40 or more hours a week for less money. Of course this problem exists in many countries such as Federal workers in the US, or EU bureaucrats.
The Siësta is a practical event. The afternoon is too hot to go outside.... get your goods before Siësta and enjoy it at home. Dinner is late after Siësta.
Hola, que tal?, como van?, Los mejores y más cordiales Saludos desde puente piedra, lima, Perú, ojalá que puedas venir en algún momento a mi país y que disfrutes mucho de todo por aquí, con la familia y los amigos; Felicidades por tus vídeos...
The dog poop might be the deal-breaker for me. I have a huge cleanliness, health hazard, sanitary, revulsion aversion to dog feces. I cannot even stand the idea of keeping my footwear if I were to come in contact with it. Pet owners somehow don't feel that OTHER people might NOT share their unconditional devotion for their animal. I have yet to see human beings love human children INCLUDING THEIR OWN as much as they lose their minds loving their dogs. I've seen neighbor dispute shows where one neighbor ends up dead at the hands of the pet-owning neighbor who lets their dog defecate on their neighbor's lawn. The offending neighbor sees nothing wrong with that. Repeatedly letting the dog run loose as if no one's SUPPOSED to mind. Dollars to donuts these same people would want you to strictly discipline your two year old beyond its understanding.
Everything you mentioned here is so true about the way of life in Spain. Another thing that I have noticed, when on holiday in the southern part of the region of Valencia near to the Murcia border is the amount of rubbish which is just dumped by the roadside. This doesn't just include beer bottles and fast food rubbish but also industrial waste, e.g. Blocks of cement, broken bricks and old sinks and toilets etc! It is very sad in a beautiful landscape to see a lot of discarded waste. Also, the graffiti, which seems to adorn many walls. Some of it is good and artistic. Some of it, is some kind of political statement or message of public frustration with the way of life. Lastly, for me the overall poor quality of plumbing and builds is frustrating. In the south at least, there doesn't seem to be much care taken in how things are built. I still really like Spain, and I didn't really notice these things until I lived here for a short while. I hope that they can improve in the future, but it will take a while..........................
Don’t generalize…I lived in Uk for years and I had lots of problems with plumbing, and the state and build of the flats I lived in….mould and other problems…back to Spain at least my place is really well built, no big issues in years
Thank you so much for this video! I can't tell you how refreshing it is lol. I mean you see all these videos about Spain and this fairy tale story about how great it is in Spain. I'm not saying it's not wonderful in Spain, I want to live there myself but I want a very realistic point of view before moving anywhere. It's not going to be perfect no matter where you live but at least I can weigh out the pros and cons more realistically. Thanks Antoanetta r another great video. Love your channel 💕
Claro que no es un cuento de hadas, pero señora entienda que hay costumbres que tienen su forma de ser , por nuestra cultura, si usted trabajaría en España y tiene una pequeña tienda, le gusta cerrar al medio dia para comer con su marido e hijos, entonces en en España se cierra los domingos y se sale con los amigos, hay un dicho que decimos aqui, trabaja para vivir no vive para trabajar, supongo que en estado unidos y otros sitio se puede comprar de todo a todas horas, pues eso no es España,.
@@josesosa1654 dejala que ella está en su mundo...y no le digas lo de vivir para trabajar porque aún dira que por eso no somos como ellos y que pasa porque queremos dormir la siesta, yo ya no sigo más a estas youtubers, cada vez que veo un vídeo de estos me río pero cuando ya dan por echo cosas que no són ciertas no puedo evitar enfadarme por la imagen que dan de los que somos de aquí y que no tiene ningún parecido de la realidad, si no les gusta no se para que vienen,🤷🏻♀️
Hey, I get the bureaucracy problem. It's epic in many countries including Spain. I think it is necessary to never be in any kind of a hurry when dealing with the government there and always bring a book. But some of your other things you hate I think need to be thought through better. In the USA for example, many places close so early that if you're hungry after 2100, 9pm, you're out of luck. It's crummy fast food or nothing. Trying to adapt digital nomad time 8 or 9 hours away with a culture that is most definitely local in its outlook will surely be an exercise in frustration anywhere. Here in the USA, the service workers don't hardly get a break, having to work weird hours every day just so people can buy crap they probably don't need on a Sunday or whatever time they "have to have it". When I'm in Spain, I make it a point not to need stuff on Sundays. And I feel thankful, not aggravated that things just stop to breathe for some hours in the afternoons. When I got back to the USA after my first trip to Spain, I longed for a siesta, something we're not generally permitted to have. Just to head off a commenter below, nobody is telling anybody when they CAN eat, just when it is going to be cooked for them, served to them and they don't have to wash the dishes. You can make your own food any hour of any day anywhere in Spain or most other places. You just can't expect other people to serve you when things are closed. The world is not Las Vegas.
The first thing that you need to remember re bureaucracy is that if you expect it, you will get it, because you will find it sooner or later, probably not today, nor tomorrow but sometime, at someplace, you will face it and then your believe will be reinforced. And there is a general belief that Spanish bureaucracy is awful and it is indeed! But it is awful because I just don’t like bureaucracy but it’s not necessarily worse that in other countries around. So that’s the other thing you need to remember about bureaucracy: Unless you have lived in many countries and experience it locally, any ideal benchmark is non existent. It’s a fiction. My point is that it’s probably as bad in your native country you just haven’t experienced it. At least that is my experience after living in 7 countries the majority of them in the EU. It’s crap everywhere. Disclaimer: I haven’t lived in the USA. Last but certainly not least, please please don’t say expat. It’s immigrant. We all are. Only in very specific circumstances one can consider an expat but bear in mind that the machinery of the state sees you as an immigrant. Because that’s what you are
I agree about restaurants and shopping malls . That's seems so strange. In my country people work all the time and they are so happy to have the clients but in Spain things are really different.
The shop are closed on Sunday because the workers of those sites have the same right as other workers to rest on Sunday.
You will think that it’s a good idea when you work for Mercadona. Even many bares and restaurants use to have a day off during the week (Unfortunately, every day less and less).
I’m not worker for a shop or bar, my working days are from Monday to Friday, but I avoid to do shopping on Sunday. Is my way to say “your workers have the right to rest on Sunday”. It’s a day for your family, for your friends, for yourself. You can’t love the Spanish spirit of calm and relax, and at the same times claim more open hours and days. The two are not compatible.
Very correct. Additionally it is to protect some small businesses. So they can also do some business if they chose to open Sundays..
Totalmente de acuerdo.
Well obviously it’s related to biblical teaching of taking the 7th to rest. Here in America the lazy liberals would call that religious fascism!
@@cyndimorgan9792 lo pueden llamar como quieran y si queremos llevar el debate a como la religion, sus normas y tradiciones han moldeado la sociedad occidental actual, también podemos hacerlo. Pero hoy por hoy, y desde el momento que es una tradición que se aplica, aplican y disfrutan tanto creyentes como ateos, pasa a ser un beneficio social.
One needs to be very careful when assessing bureaucracy in a foreign country otherwise there is a risk you are not comparing apples with apples. If you come from your own country, let’s say the U.S., you are most likely not experiencing bureaucracy in your day to day life at the same level that when you are an immigrant (note immigrant and not expat. Made it on purpose) in a foreign country. The paperwork, the things you need to get sorted, etc., are simply not the same when you are living your life as a national compared to a foreigner. To make it fair in your circumstances you will need to compare it with the perception of a foreigner, let’s say a Mexican, trying to (legally) settle in the U.S.
By no means this is a condonation of Spanish bureaucracy. It’s indeed awful but I don’t think is massively different to other countries I have lived. And I wouldn’t compare it to my own country (UK) because I don’t really know how is to be foreigner there. It’s not my experience. My intuition tells me that is better but no idea how much better.
Btw this is a common mistake made by all sort of content creators in YT. “Country x has awful bureaucracy” but unless they have lived in many countries the comparison is meaningless.
@@thomasmeyer1408 I have lived in France and the bureaucracy is absolutely awful. It’s truly soul destroying. I’m comparing it of course with the Spanish one not with the UK one as I wouldn’t have any idea. And nothing to do with the french language as I’m fluent. No idea about the Dutch or German one but on the latter I have heard some horror stories
@@thomasmeyer1408 this is what I found with a lazy Google search re bureaucracy in Europe and I think it’s absolutely hilarious. And probably there is some truth to it.
Belgium: A tangled mess of layer upon layer upon layer of authorities from federal, to linguistic community, to region, to commune. For a foreigner such as me learning who does what and where that is done, is burdensome. When you find the responsible department things are usually smooth. Unless you hit upon a row about authority between two levels or two agencies. And since Belgium is more of less in a state of permanent divorce negotiations, that may very well happen.
Germany: An antiquated and absolutely rigid system that is totally adverse to change. The default answer is “NO” whatever proposal for improvement might be made. You constantly get the “It works, so why change it?”. “Because it can work better, faster, with less effort?” “No, it just has to work…” And it does work because there are rules and regulations and Germans are very well trained to follow the rules and are very much aware of them. But get to a situation that has not been described and everything is stuck. You are in constant purgatory because nobody will take an executive decision. And because everything is so procedure and not result oriented (and PCs are just a means to file printed documents) everything takes AGES. BTW this is not only true for the civil service. Opening an account for my son in Belgium took me 30 minutes, in Greece about an hour and in Germany it required the presence of both parents for two and a half hours!!!!! We signed I don’t know how many documents and got them filed in a Bible like dossier at the end!!!!
Greece: the opposite of Germany. No rule book, no procedure. You are often lost at sea with the multitude of contradicting regulations. A civil service in disarray. People range from bastards to super helpful (who take you by the hand and guide you through the labyrinth). If you find the right person, there is always a solution. And just so that we can be clear, I do NOT mean a bribe, I mean finding a conscientious civil servant. And there are still many.
UK: Only had interactions as a colleague, not a citizen. I will say that based on these interactions (with two or three sectors to be fair) the huge boom in the private sector and the privatisations have left the public sector struggling. Simply it makes more sense not to go into civil service. So whereas I was expecting a perfect civil service led by Sir Humphrey, I saw scant resources and a much lower level of people than even the newcomers in the EU. Or I saw them paying the people from agencies they had privatised to come represent the UK. No wonder they are struggling to keep up with the demands of our times. More so in the area of customs…
this is such a good perspective that I hadn't considered at all!
If you want free healthcare, education, etc, you need bureaucracy. It is not some whim of stupid old style governments. It is a necessity if the government want to offer adequate social services to the people who really need them. If you are poor and need a doctor, a bit of paperwork will provide you one.
Exactly! I am an immigrant in the US and I did everything correctly and lawfully as it should be (not everyone does and that infuriates me and it's disappointing) and I come from a Mediterrean country and I am used to a slow bureoacracy, so I know in first person what does it mean, but I expereienced nothing but slow and often annoying bureocracy even in the United States, and after my experience I see that as one of these legends or myths.
I have been enjoying your videos for a while. I've a few months living in Barcelona and some time in Valencia. Both are wonderful but I lean towards Valencia because while it is a large city it still maintains a sense of smaller and warmer city. I have felt your frustration about not having restaurants and stores not being open in the afternoon. This is not limited to just Spain because I had the same experience in Italy, especially in the smaller villages. However I take a different approach to this inconvenience . Both countries are very family oriented. Closing in the afternoon allows for workers to eat at home with family or friends. The United States businesses used to be closed on Sundays and we slowly moved to expecting access to what ever we wanted 24-7. There's a great respect for workers and families in Spain. I believe that it is this respect that prioritizes these different working hours over the exaggerated need for 24-7 access to meet our individual desires. The United States is a very individualistic society (as seen in our own covid responses and conflict). Having sit down dinners together get harder and harder to do. Especially for those with the 24-7 work schedules. Of course it's inconvenient but it maybe what allows us to experience the warmth from the locals versus the crazy pressures that we left behind in our hustle and bustle countries. We seem to adore quaint communities, move there and then slowly transform it into the place we just left. Be careful what you ask for.
I agree ,is call lay back ,there can do three shifts , is the mentality.nobody will change that. Bureaucracy? There needs more computers literacy. That's all.
Spot on! I would give you 20 thumbs if I could!
if the worst problem you have is stores and restaurants being closed in the PM, you have nothing to worry about -- grow up and adjust
I agree, as an American I adjusted to the local hours when I visited Spain. Stores and resturants closed at 1pm and don't reopen till 4 or 5pm? No problem, I'll go for a walk, relax in my vacation rental... even maybe take a nap. Nothing open on a Sunday? No problem either - that's common throughout Europe. Be careful what you wish for indeed. The EU doesn't need America's 24/7 convience/ "the customer is always right" way of doing business. There's more to life than that anyway.
My only question is how did these restaurants survive financially only working half the day? It’s a tough business as it is to make money on. I guess housing is cheaper there?
As a foreigner, I feel like it would be silly for me to be mad at an official when we make the wrong kind of appointment or go to the wrong office to do something specific. And I can’t be mad at the Spanish people for not keeping American dinner hours, or be upset that they prefer to set aside the afternoon time for their families and friends (remember, after siesta, the shops usually reopen, and they stay open until 9 or even 10 at night). I buy extra water or other staples on Friday or Saturday, so we have it on hand for Sunday. To me it’s all been part of adapting to life here.
it's not cool that other people tell u when u can eat and when u cannot.
I'm sure she knows that...but it's important to talk about this sort of thing so people can prepare for the culture shock if they move to Spain instead of using rose tinte glasses. Foreigners can discuss what frustrates them about living in other countries. I don't care if ppl do that about UK and i'm sure there is plenty to say on that topic. This video has been very useful to me :)
My experince of being in BCN is that shops tend to close by 8pm on weekdays, and on the weekends by 5pm. Resturants and bars, in general might be open until 10pm, however, this time greatly varies depending on how far away you are from the city centre. Compared to the US or the UK, shops are open much later across the entire week (inc weekends) - the difference is night and day (pun intended). Not a complaint at this point, just an observation for those reading through the comments.
Some ppl get used to things better than others. And i dunno if she knows but germans (at least when i lived there) also close pretty early and i think its a good thing to have time for your family and not be an overworked miserable employee. But i guess for US ppl who are used to it its not easy to get….
@@hihtitmamnan you can still eat, you will have fewer options, that’s it!
It seems there are a lot of business opportunities: fast copy print services; open a cafe serving from 1pm-4pm; open a charged restrooms ; sell streamline software to help government manage documents…. What a paradise for entrepreneurs!
That’s the spirit! And tbh I don’t think these quirky things are really good reasons to hate Spain. Spain is Spain, it’s not California, it’s not wherever you or I came from. Saying you hate siesta, as an immigrant here, just isn’t logical. It is what it is, and it isn’t going to change for us - why should it?
Antoanetta, few comments about this video: you are right about the dogs and the bureaucrcy. But with reference to the restaurants schedule and opening hours you are wrong. Here the restaurants are not open all the day long because they don´t prepare few simple dishes as in USA, the food is carefully cooked, healthy, fresh and with great variety. Furthermore, if they open at 12 midday or 6 in the afternoon, they would be totally empty, which is ruinous and has no sense. You alway have Mcdonalds, KFC and similar to eat all day long. And you say that you work "strange" hours to adapt to USA hours, well, that is not the problem of this county, it´s your. So this county will not adapt the hours to you. You are the one that has to adapt.
Regarding being out of water in Sunday, my God, are you seriours? You have six days to shop all what you need, from Monday to saturday. Plan your week in advance, buy enough water or anything else. I have the impression that maybe you haven´t chosen the correct country for you. Maybe, the north of Europe will fit you better . Finally, a last comment. Here you don´t need the car and drive 20 miles to go to buy bread or milk, all is walking distance, that is very convenient, isn´t it?
bit harsh lol but the truth hurts sometimes eh
So does that mean she can’t take a shower 🚿 on a Sunday because of no water?
@@lionedheart If you want nordic efficiency, don't go south of the 45th Parallel north. That includes France. Seriously. Spain will kill you if you expect northern european efficiency.
@@lionedheart she means drinking water dah...
Have you lived outside of Spain? I'm from Canada and now live in USA. I go back and forth between the 2 countries but I need a change. Fresh food and a walkable city is my dream. Sadly, I'm here for at least a few years until I try to find a way to leave. My parents are dead but were born in England so I may be able to get my European passport. Please enjoy the freedom you have there. I have a large house and there's no culture here. I'd prefer a cozy apartment with life outside.
Tienes toda la razon en todo, salvo por los horarios de los restaurantes y la siesta :).
En España normalmente se compra una vez por semana, y se deja la comida planificada por dias. De esta forma siempre sabes lo que vas a hacer de comer y organizas mejor el tiempo. Los restaurantes son para uso ocasional, salvo los trabajadores que por su lugar de trabajo no pueden y entonces si recurren de forma habitual a los restaurantes.
Ten en cuenta que si los restaurantes tuvieran que adaptarse a todos los horarios no descansarian durante el dia y suelen ser negocios familiares. Ademas las comidas, por lo general, son de calidad y requieren su planificacion. Los trabajadores solemos hacer turnos partidos y salimos tarde sobre las ocho o nueve de la noche por lo tanto es inasumible cenar antes.
La siesta por lo mismo, turnos partidos para decansar y comer de forma adecuada. Trabajar y comer de forma seguida es estresante y la siesta suele ser un buen metodo para relajarse.
En fin podria darte mas razones y mas profundas sobre esto, pero no voy a engrosar mas esto . Todo lo que se diga son generalidades que varian mucho.
Un beso y un abrazo.
Bien dicho. Gracias.
Yo pensaba lo mismo. Tiene que planear tu comida para la semana y ir de compras. Me parece que esta persona no planea su horario bien y por eso es que sufre. Entiendo que tiene un horario diferente por el trabajo que hace, pero se puede planear mejor
Esto sería válido si estuviéramos viviendo en el siglo XIX todavía
Gracias, me gusto el video. Es una vision de España que tiene mucha gente de USA. Es cierto que la burocracia es una mierda pero es un mal que afecta a todo el mundo. Mi mujer es alemana y argentina y sufre la misma burocracia (o peor) en esos paises. En cuanto a lo otro, es un tema cultural. Yo tampoco me acostumbre a la vida diaria en USA o en Alemania. Y por eso no vivo alli. Pero hay una cosa que me molesta y es que mucha gente de paises (en especial anglosajones y del norte de Europa) piensa que los que vivimos en el Mediterraneo somos vagos o solo tenemos fiesta. Y eso porque nos echamos la siesta o disfrutamos de la vida de otra forma!. Es injusto, es cruel y en los paises europeos mediterraneos trabajamos mucho y bien. Incluso mejor que el norte de Europa.
Hi! I'm from Scandinavia. A lot of simplification has taken place with the bureaucracy here in the north. You are much more customer-conscious and concerned with good customer service. Good customer service is expected. We have simply put more focus on this. Could the poor customer service be old remnants of dictatorship? At least those are my thoughts. It will probably get better with time.
@@valleskage Hola Grethe, la burocracia se debe simplificar, sin duda. Solo digo que en muchos paises sigue siendo un problema que a veces tiene que ver con el numero de habitantes, despoblacion, sistema administrativo del pais, etc. En cuanto a la atencion al cliente no creo que sea una reminiscencia de la dictadura, creo que es un tema cultural. Se puede mejorar (malos empleados he encontrado en USA, Francia, Suecia, Inglaterra, Alemania, Italia, Portugal y en España), pero hay un sustrato cultural en la forma de relacionarnos que no se puede armonizar. A veces eso choca y nos parece raro. De hecho en España los abuelos estan reclamando a los bancos que les atiendan de forma mas personalizada y en persona. No quieren tratar con maquinas ni ser un numero en una aplicacion de movil. Por último, no quiero abrir un debate, pido disculpas a Antoanetta, el video me gustó y es su opinion personal y su experiencia, que es respetable y valida como cualquier otra.
Toda la razón, lo peor es que piensan que los horarios son por la siesta??? En serio?? Ahora me entero 🤣 yo pensaba que es por horario partido, pero en fin esto pasa cuando vienen aquí y quieren vivir como allí y en vez de relacionarse y adaptarse se ofenden porque los domingos hay tiendas cerradas y bueno no pueden comer a las 12 y cenar a las 5, lo que tiene cuando emigras a otro pais pero pretendes que todo sea como lo hacen en tu país. Definitivamente si quieres emigrar a España lo ultimo que has de hacer es ver estos vídeos, lo mejor es ver de la gente que vive aquí y que te ofrece la realidad
@@gonm Flipa ahora resulta que será por franco,🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️, que paciencia tienes,la burocracia suele ser lenta pero poco a poco ya se va digitalizando todo, esperemos que mejore más, no se lo digas que aprenda sola
Gonm no ha vivido nunca fuera de España. Aqui la burocracia es una mierda y el pais esta maldito, os deseo mucha suerte.
Aquí es así, donde fueres haz lo que vieres, no puedes cambiar las costumbres de los lugares por donde pasas, si quieres que respeten las de tu lugar, adaptarte, cambia o vete, pero no impongas ni gruñas. Los anglos teneis otras costumbres, muy diferentes. Todas son buenas, por eso estan, las tuyas no son las mejores, pero como las haces desde la infancia, te has acostumbrado y te llegan a gustar, pero no por que sean mejores o mas convenientes, si no que estas bajo su dominio.
¡Bien dicho!
La información que ha presentado, te ha pasado por encima.
As a spaniard I'm totally agree except for the restaurants and shops, because for me it is not frustrating, but I understand your point
For burocracy if I can, I hire a agency for the paperwork
And for me the dogs things is very disgusting, If I could would put the dogs owners cleaning all streets
Good video, enjoy Spain and greetings 👍🏻
It is the damned habit that we Spaniards have of thinking that we have to work to live, and not live to work, which many foreigners do not understand. It's fantastic to me
You can enjoy life and be efficient, no excuses for burocracy. Also, not picking after your dog is not enjoying life, it’s pure laziness. Other than, she needs to learn to cook and open a bottle of wine. The world doesn’t spin around her needs.
As a Spaniard, when I clicked on this video I thought it would be about actual problems in Spain, but turns out this woman was suffering of culture shock, and still hasn’t gotten over it
I still haven't gotton over it, it's been 3 years in BCN lol. The sensible thing is to move away right?
She doesn't sound like she's suffering. It's a lighthearted video with her pointing out some things that she finds mildly annoying, and there's nothing wrong with that. Sure, she could have focused on the serious topics but that would have been a different video entirely.
@@snowangelnc Yeah, ig it´s hard to listen to someone trash your country
@@CondeDeBarca Not if you don't have some weird and inexplicable sense of patriotism.
@@newbeginnings4933 americans
Saludos, los domingos son para descansar, es más, nada debería estar abierto ni domingos ni festivos, no somos esclavos, en lo de la burocracia toda la razón te doy.
Lo peor de esta gente es que hablan desde su punto de vista, no se adaptan y lo peor es que hablan como expertos, lo mejor para saber cómo es un país es ver videos de gente que es de allí, te evitas escuchar cosas como que todo cierra porque se duerme la siesta o que todo es más lento porque vivimos la vida a modo español 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
You are lucky. We are slaves in the US.
@@auradb1140 Yes I agree with you . People go to another country , and then expect it to be what they came from .
@@rutherfordbhayes423 si y es triste, uno ha de abrir la mente y integrarse de esa manera crece como persona 👌🍀
@@auradb1140 Do you have any recommendations of Spanish RUclipsrs that talk about life in Spain? Thank you 😊💗
En los otros temas tienes muchísima razon pero en el tema de los restaurantes siento decirte que estas equivocada. Se marcan unos horarios porque son negocios pequeños con pocos trabajadores. Un restaurante que empieza a dar comidas a la 1 necesita abrir la cocina minimo a las 11. a veces antes Y para las cenas también hay que prepara el servicio.
.Si no cerraran no habria tiempo para preparar. Aun asi los trabajadores en hostelería generalmente trabajan entre 10 y 12 horas, seguro que eso nadie se lo pregunta porque no sabe el funcionamiento de los restaurantes. Y ni te imaginas lo duro que se trabaja
La solución no sería que trabajen más sino simplemente si los restaurantes abrieran más tiempo, ganarían más y por ende podrían contratar más gente, diferentes horarios, Antoanetta no dice que deberían trabajar más. En la mayoría de países simplemente hay más horarios de trabajo, más empleados.
En un restaurante en España (no McDonald, KFC, etc) se trabaja cocinando platos elaborados, muchos y muy distintos, no comida rápida. La comida rápida americana es monotona, tres o cuatro cosas simples y todo el día la cocina "funcionando". Hacer eso es sencillo. Lo dificil es tener que preparar a diario 15, 20 o 30 platos buenos y elaborados, sabrosos y sanos. 5 horas la cocina abierta para el mediodía y otras 5 para la noche
@@g.amaliar.s230 yo soy de Ecuador, no estoy comparando con McDonalds 😅 sorry por ofender en todo caso. Solo digo sería una solución para el desempleo que es un problema grave, no? Win win 😉?
@@roxyvelez6828 No ofendes nada, simplemente hay que poner las cosas en su contexto y explico la razón por la cual en España no están las cocinas abiertas todo el día. Y no es cuestión de abrir todo el día para dar trabajo a más personas es que aquí los horarios son distintos y tener un restaurante abierto a las 12 del mediodía o a las 6 de la tarde, significaría que estarían vacios. ¿Vives en Ecuador o en España?
@@g.amaliar.s230 en Alemania :) pero viajo todo el tiempo :) entiendo tu punto de vista.
A story from my travels: I planned to move back to Hawaii for a year. I was very excited. After all the dreaming, planning and finally moving I was there. My first morning, I went for coffee, found a great table with a great view, got up to take a picture of this fantastic scene. When I returned to the table with a big sense of satisfaction and a smile, I see tiny ants in a line already formed, going from my coffee to the table. I had to make a choice in that moment. Was I going to see this fantastic scene, or was I going to see the line of ants. I still see the picture I took in my head, and the ants aren’t in it. 🤙🌞🏄🏽♂️
you find what you look for, look for something wrong, you find it, or accept it, adjust, and move on -- most things can be lived with
Antonetta, I am Indian and living in NYC for last 42 years and I love Europe so got my german residency five years back but hardly went there and now I am trying to get a Spanish visa and preparing to learn Spanish. But I never complained just jumped over the hoops with my best of my abilities. I never broke the law just bent it little bit to survive. So accept the local system and tide over the difficulties and feel blessed that let you come to their country. In next two years you will love Spain and never live no where else. Best of luck, lots of love from one immigrant to another.
The bureaucracy is true, but for residents outside the European Union. If you come from another EU country, registration is automatic as it is from the Schengen area. On the other hand, in Spain nobody has dinner at 7:00 p.m. That is why meals are not served until 8:30 p.m., at least. And Sundays are considered days of rest. They are cultural issues, and you cannot pretend that we have the USA system.respect the dogs gifts, there are pigs that don't do it, and of course, it's very visible. Each country has its virtues and defects. There are almost no murders here and nobody has to mortgage their house for cancer treatment. But there are cultural factors and you have to accept them. I understand that in the USA it is different, but when one goes to another country, there is the good and the bad. Greetings.
I agree, and she seems aware that there are many good things as she points it out at the beginning. I'd like to specially agree with you about the closing hours. She should have in mind that having the restaurant (or whatever) open generates a decent amount of expenses, if you don't get almost any revenue from a couple of tourists that's not profitable
Well said . I am American , a senior . When I grew up Sunday was for Church , family , rest . Now in the US it is just about making money 24/7. Cultures , values , not what they were .
We live in the USA and eat early. I would just plan on eating at home if we didn’t want to eat at 8:30. Do people not cook and eat at home as well as eat out? 💜
If you think restaurant hours are awkward in Barcelona or Valencia, DO NOT GO to Badajoz! I was there for the first time recently and found that: 1) cafeterias don't open until 10AM; 2) the kitchen in restaurants don't open until 13:30 for lunch and 3) the kitchen restaurants for dinner don't open until 21:00. FYI I've lived in Spain for 43 years and even I don't get it.
Yep! I do empathize. Spain is great. I grew up there and love it. I am looking into retiring there and despite being of Spanish origin, I am given many obstacles to return. The romantic memory allows me to push forward but then the reality of the bureaucracy, the endless toil of obtaining the paperwork, the inefficiency, and some of the attitude in the government makes me want to give up. And this has been happening for a few years. I have opted for considering a long-term rental until I can finally accept and live with these challenges. This video is a good reminder...
You have to understand that you are in a different country, and we follow different times. When I lived in the UK many stores and restaurants closed at 6 pm, which for me made no sense, here, because we do a later "life" places are open until well 10 pm. You cannot expect two completely different cultures to act the same, or for people in another country to fit into your "needs". What many refer to "siesta" time, when shops are closed in midday, is simply lunch, in Spain food is a big thing, and since we are kids and are in school, we are given between 1 and 2 hours for lunch, so we can sit down and eat actual food. Lunch is our 'most important' meal, and the biggest, due to the long time that it will take to eat dinner. Again, while I worked in the UK we had 30 minutes break for lunch, and it was taken off our pay cheque, many of my co-workers ended up in fast food restaurants or with a quick sandwich. For me that was weird, so saying "hate" is quite a big word, when it's just different and something you have to get used to when going to a foreign place.
About bureaucracy I'm with you, but it happens everywhere, the amount of paperwork you need to do for the simplest of things is absurd, because you are an immigrant. For what I know, there are places waaay worst that Spain in that department....
Norways bureaucracy scandal is a life threatening.
So thankful I live in Madrid
The regional government issued a law years ago that stated that no administration can request information from you that any other public administration already has.
They are the ones who have to take their time to get that info
I loved Valencia and wish to retire there one day. While I was dissapointed with some of the norms like siestas and stores closing for holidays, I learned to work around them because some of those traditions and customs are what make it different, attractive, more relaxed and a beautiful dstination. If I wanted to have everything available all the time I'd stay in NYC or other major Metropolitan cities that run 24/7. In regard to government infrastructure I recommend using an attorney or an agent to do all the running around for you; it's what I would do if I were operating a business from Valencia. I do appreciate your viewpoints. Thanks for your continued information and beautiful tours of different areas of Spain. 👍🏼
El cierre de los fines de semana o la siesta, las vacaciones se producen por la forma de entender la vida, piense que mientras les molesta que una tienda cierre a las 2 esa persona esta comiendo con su familia, quieren la cultura de aqui la vida de aqui, pero sin cambiar sus hábitos
@@josesosa1654 i can’t wait for that style . Saving money to retired in 2024 .
I'm from Spain and I actually work from Mondays to Fridays without having any nap, apart from Fridays afternoon for 30 minutes. Therefore, I can't understand why foreigners think siesta is a rule/norm by large. I'm sure you'll find a lot of shopping centers which open from 9AM to 11PM in weekends which allow you tto do whatever you want
Retire in Benidorm or Torrevieja! Velencia is for young people!
Thanks for the video. Everything you mentioned seems frustrating. Though I know it may not be easy, one must adjust to the culture and customs of the country we are relocating to. I just can imagine what would be the culture shock if I were to move to China or Russia. I would prefer dealding and adjusting to Spainsih way of life.
At last someonene with common sense
Yes, you will have culture shock in Russia each time a doctor comes visit you at home for even a simple cold and it is all covered by dirt cheap insurance.. Yes, that's quite shocking. 😊
I'm Spanish but living in the UK. I totally agree with your points excepting the restaurants and the usual shops' time table. Is just different because it always was done like that. Try to work in summer with 37 degrees at 3:30 in the afternoon after lunch, you could faint, specially in the south where air conditioners are taxed as "luxury"/"unnecessary". The shops on Sunday always had been shut, that's a cultural thing (religion) and because workers by law need two days off a week in some sectors. I perfectly could get use to the UK and I believe I will suffer a rever culture shock that will prevent me to live in Spain ever again. Best wishes
It used to be similar in Malta, bounced from one office or person to another, infuriating and often for no good reason. As you suggest, just make a photocopier available for people to use in government departments, they would be happy to pay.
What about the banks closing at 2pm and not accepting cash transactions after 11am ???
Love the fact retail is shut on Sunday! Anyone who works for retail will appreciate that a lot
Definitely agree with you about the dog poop, but was surprised that you did not mention the endless cigarette and cigar smoking. Literally, everywhere you go you can smell it because someone sitting next to , you behind you, walking in front or behind you will have lit cigarette or often cigar in hand. It is just horrible especially when you have allergies or asthma and ofcourse there is the risk of cancer from passive smoking. After two days in Valencia, I felt like I had smoked several packs of cigarettes, just from walking around the city.
With regards to shops and supermarkets, I get what you are saying, but if you live in Europe, you usually get used to it by planning in advance and stocking up midweek or definitely by Friday so that you know you have enough water and food to last the weekend. Most people also buy large bottles of water or have them delivered regularly (most supermarkets will deliver for a small fee or for free if you spend over a certain amount and you can order online or buy in store and then leave or things in the cart and they will deliver it the next day for example if you don´t have a car).
The biggest thing that bothers me in Spain is a lack of consideration for others, and a lack of manners, respect, and empathy. I believe these things are essential in a civilized society and unfortunately they are often missing in Spain. This goes back to the dog poop issue. If you have respect and considertation for others, you simply don´t walk off leaving your dog´s poop on the pavement or on a beach or in a children´s park, but this goes on all the time, because unfortunately, consideration for others is often not taught, whether by parents, teachers, or employers and so many people grow up into adulthood believing that only they and what they want or need matters and that they don´t need to care about the impact of their actions on anyone else.
I see this as the most fundamental problem in Spain, aside from lack of ambition, which is also prevalent, but ofcourse a generalization and does not and cannot describe all Spanish people or people living in Spain. Still, it is very common. The hallmark of a civilized society is not big highways or skyscrapers or big shopping malls and facilities and amenities. It´s how you treat others. Spain is still very behind in this respect. And that´s the main word actually. Respect. There is a lot of disrespect.
Antoanetta, Don't go to Buenos Aires if you hate dog poop. My Ex said next time he goes to BA, he will save a dozen bread bags to put on his feet. He stepped in poop almost every day. Valencia is paradise compared to BA with the poop situation.
When I was a small child, stores in the US were all closed on Sunday. Hard to believe but true. That was almost 40 years ago. Damn I'm old.
i can see some of the spanish defects reflected here, yes! just let me point out something: the reason why most businesses are closed on sundays is so that many families can have at least one day together... not a bad reason! otherwise your off-day may be wednesday and your partner's friday, and your son's saturday, and regrettably you may never get together and have a paella :)
Nuestros horarios funcionan acorde a nuestro ritmo de vida, y trabajamos la mayoría de las horas del día evidentemente con jornadas saliendo a las 8 de trabajar, no vas a cenar a las 5 o 6. Yo también odio cuando viajo fuera tener que cenar a las 5 de la tarde porque más allá de cierta hora ya no dan cenas, son simplemente cambios horarios respecto a las costumbres de un país. Incluso estando en mi propio país, en Mallorca me ha tocado adaptarme a los horarios “extranjeros” de los hoteles, cosa que fuera de España no he visto que adapten horarios en muchos sitios. Del resto yo también me quejo, pero no se como es en otros lugares. El que no recoge la caca de perro es un guarro, en España y en Pekín
Si las personas salen del trabajo a las 8 de la noche, ¿a qué hora comienzan a laborar en la mañana? ¿Cómo es el horario regular de una persona en España? Gracias.
Hola Antoanetta. Sigo tus videos y estoy completamente de acuerdo con este. Por si te sirve de consuelo, yo soy español, tengo sesenta y pico años viviendo aquí toda la vida y aún no he conseguido acostumbrarme a la burocracia (ni a las cacas de perro) Lo de la burocracia es desesperante, y puedes llegar a perder los nervios fácilmente. Te recomiendo que pongas reclamaciones. A los funcionarios no les gustan nada y de algo sirven. Por ejemplo, la desesperante costumbre de pedir fotocopias de todo. Hay una ley en vigor que PROHIBE exigir un documento que ya ha sido presentado a la administración anteriormente, pero los funcionarios se la pasan por el forro. Les encanta acumular papel. Nadie mira luego esos papeles. Todo ese papel va a parar a los sótanos donde sirven de alimento a las ratas con el tiempo. He sido funcionario así que hablo con conocimiento de causa. Pide hojas de reclamaciones. A ver si alguna vez cambia esto en este país.
No es cierto, hay un ley que prohíbe hacer fotocopias a los funcionarios, ahora no hace falta hacerlas porque se hace digitalmente por lo tanto ti te quedas el original y la administración se queda la copia digital, no sé cómo será en Valencia o bien si en el caso de trámites para residentes extranjeros si se ha de hacer estos trámites con papel. también varía en cada comunidad autónoma. A los funcionarios ni les va ni les viene, aplican la norma. Igualmente ha de ser todo más fluido y rápido y en esto poco a poco se va instaurando los trámites digitales pero aún hay que hacer una transcision para que la gente se adapte. Igualmente es obligatorio para la administración tramitarlo.
Pero la cacas 💩 de perro nada mas son chocolates fabricado natural 😂
You are right about bureaucracy. It's a nightmare, no, it's criminal here in Spain. The dog poop, I think it depends on the city. Where I live (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) it's unusual to have dog poop on the streets, they almost always pick them up, and every morning there are people cleaning, and special cars that clean with water and soap the roads. On Sundays they do like a deep cleaning with water; if you go out early, it looks like it was raining but it didn't, it was the city cleaning service. I think cities in the north of Spain are the most clean. Also where I live, restaurants usually are opened all the time, non stop, until night, another thing that I'm guessing it depends on the autonomy you are living at (and it's not because it's a touristic area, also rural areas have restaurants opened all afternoon and evening). It's true about sundays not finding groceries, but from monday to saturday, big supermarkets like Mercadona are open from 9:00 to 21:30. I'm sure you can find half an hour one of these days to buy the weekly groceries.
A Spaniard here. Spanish social life (and life in general) revolves around "eating times" let's call it. That's when we all gather (families, coworkers, students...). We talk loudly, we laugh, we bicker and what not (sports, politics, girls/boys, you name it). It's a healing break form whatever you are doing. All that requires time, no less than 1 hour. It would not happen if everybody were eating at any given time. If you are hungry grab a snack and wait for due time. First thing I do when I arrive at my work is asking my coworkers about lunch time and any specific plan like if somebody wants to cook or to order delivery.
I came to the US when I was 16 years old. One of the things that blew my mind........30 minutes for lunch!!!!!! Inconceivable !!!
You can have breakfast at 12:30. No problem.
I’m Spanish. I live in California. Everything you said is spot on.
Yeah, some stores are closed on Sunday, especially Spanish ones like Mercadona who always closes on Sunday and holidays and it is a good thing, they respect their employees, they deserve a Sunday to spend it with their families, don’t you think? it’s a cultural thing. Foreign supermarket chains like Lidl, Carrefour etc tend to open on Sundays. I respect Mercadona, you can be a little organized and not rely on Sunday for shopping.
here in Rome the RESTAURANTS, those in CAPS LOCK, have opening times + or - in Spain, they are open from 12:30 to 3 and from 8 to midnight, then there are those who cook pasta for you (poop actually) even at 7 in the morning or at 4 in the afternoon and we Romans call them places for Americans.
I am on specific supplements and herbs for my autoimmune disease. I was thinking I could have them shipped. I need to be able to get my medicine 😬Is there no reliable way to receive packages from the US?
La gran mayoría de trámites administrativos se pueden hacer vía internet.
Hi Antoanetta, thank you for your opinions about my country, they are always interesting and add value.
I do not think that what you say is a problem of this country in particular. They all have pros and cons. It is about deciding where you want or can live based on it knowing that none is perfect.
Exactly 👍🏼
He vivido en Alemania, donde también hay burocracia, pero lo de España es varias veces peor. Y es perfectamente evitable.
Spanish bureaucracy has been famous for many years. Larra wrote a piece on it called 'Vuelva Vd manana'. I think the comment on the toilet tapas (meaning cover I guess, not seat?) is a bit precious, at least now we are out of Covid. Something that takes a bit of getting used to is people literally screaming at each other in bars/cafes when they could just be talking moderately. Also, walking three or four abreast when walking along the pavement. Re meals, it's good to go to say El Corte Ingles and get a plato combinado if you don't want to wait for the normal 'midnight banquet'.
croatian here, bureaucracy can't be worse than here, when the person who needs to stamp a document is on vacation and there is nobody to stamp it, lol ... and be sure to bring a copy of birth certificate less than 6 months old, rofl
I’m so glad you made this video, this is an amazing video! I’m excited to share my investment experience for 2021, I believe it will help a lot of people here that are confused on how to start the new year and be productive for the year
From my own point of view, you need to invest smartly, if you need the good things of life. so far i've made over $505k in raw profits from just q4 of the market from my diversified portfolio strategy and i believe anyone can do it you have the right strategy. mutual funds takes long time but investing smartly is the key for short term. Most of us tend to pay more attention to the shiniest position in the market to the cost of proper diversification.
I'm an amateur investor, i have 2 IRAs, I do not like the cookie cutter responses from Fidelity, Vanguard Schwab, etc 7%-9% year on average, how do you invest?
My portfolio is very much diversified so it's not like i have a particular fund i invest in. plus i don't do that by myself. i follow the trades of KAREN GAYE GRAY. She is a popular broker you might have heard of. I can correctly say she's worth her salt as a financial adviser as her diversification skills are top notch/ I say because i see that in her results as my portfolio grows by averages of 10 to 15% on a monthly basis. unlike i can say for my IRA which has just been trudging along. my portfolio just mirrors what she trades and not just on some particular industries of my choosing.
By following trades do you mean copying her trades, as is done in etoro? Are you giving her your money or the money stays in your account? I have heard about copying trades but have not looked into it but i have an idea of what it is.
Yeah exactly. My money stays right in my account. It's all programmatic. plus it's relatively much easier to set up and connect my accounts than creating a financial pan and drafting investment strategies myself. my account just mirrors her trades in realtime
1. Burocracy, agreed. Nothing against it, burocracy it's crap.
2. Dog poop. I don't think it's much different than other countries/cities. I heard that in NY this is a huge problem. This comes down to owners not giving an F about what their dog does out of their house.
3. The toilet stuff.. don't you wash your hands after going to the toilet? Then what does it matter what you have to touch?
4. 5pm it's not dinner time, sorry but it is not.. Dinner time in Spain it's from 8pm to 11pm. Is just part of the culture. If you don't like it, there's many other countries in the north where they have dinner at 6pm.
Other people finds it really attractive that our days are this long. Btw, you can actually go to mcdonalds to have a meal around 5pm, nobody will complain. Thing here is that you need to understand that salary wise, is not managable to have a restaurant open from 8am to 11pm, just because you want to have dinner at 5pm(which literally, it will be just you in there). The way they do it is by splitting the day in shifts, so you have the lunch shift and the dinner shift, with just one salary.
Ah, I've been living for 7 years in the Netherlands and luch time was between 11:30am to 1:30pm and dinner between 5pm and 8pm. Trust me, I never got used to it(too soon for me) but it's their culture, I respect it and I just deal with it.
6. Sunday. I like that everything is closed on sunday. Let people rest. You can shop during the week or even saturday. Why do you need ALSO on sunday? If some places start to open on Sunday, this will extend to more and more business. I don't want to work on a sunday, I want to rest, have some good time out and that's about it. So yeah, just plan your week to shop from monday to saturday. What's the big deal here? Supermarkets are open until 10:30pm on saturday, 10:30pm!!!!!! are you telling me that's not good enough? I've been in MANY other countries where things will be closed way sooner...
So, it feels to me that Spain is just not the right fit for you culturewise. Check the north! Might be great for you.
Amen
200% cierto. Muy bien argumentado. ¿A mi me fastidia cuando viajo a otros países no poder comer a las 2 o cenar a las 10.? NO, porque estoy allí y es su forma de vida. O tener que conducir 20 millas para ir a comprar víveres en USA, la cosa más incómoda del mundo, todo el día subido en el coche, que comen, cenan, toman café...todo lo hacen dentro del coche 🤦🏻♀️. Penoso, pero me aguanto cuando voy de vusita y por eso no vivo allí.
I am thinking of moving to Spain and it is good to hear about the negatives too beforehand. The problem with the Spanish bureaucracy I had heard about and it sounds really frustrating to deal with. The different store and restaurant hours I think I can adapt to. I hadn't heard about the dog poop problem but that is bad. The other big negative for me which you didn't touch upon is the much higher taxes than in the US especially on pensions and the high VAT tax on everything you purchase as well as the wealth tax.
What is different how much VAT is included if last price still much cheaper?
@@LU-jo2jz Because it is not cheaper. And the more you centralize power, the less power you have to change ANYTHING.
@@ellasoes8325 IT is much cheaper! Go and Check yourself .
Greetings from Asturias.... even after you been living a long time and you get a permanent residence that last for 10 years, when that 10 years is over.... you can't renew or even make an appointment until the first visa has expired. so you will be in limbo for several months. Now I'm renewing it for the second time (in three days I have my appointment) and they will be changing my NIE number to a new TIG number. That means everywhere, every place I had to use the NIE number, I have to go back and change it to the TIG number.... that's a lot of places. So you might want to make a list of places where you had to use NIE for when you have to change it in the future.
When it's siesta, go to a Chinese restaurant. Unless you're in a small town or an outer urban neighborhood, Chinese restaurants are usually always open.
The toilet lid, covering an open toilet when it is flushed keeps bacteria from entering the bathroom environment in the form of tiny droplets, to become airborne and sprinkled around your toilet area, even maybe your toothbrush if it is close enough.
I lived in Nice, France for 2 y.s, the poop problem was bad! Ppl shower less than in the US, lots of them would smell sweat in the transportation. I like to shower every day & my neighbors were shocked, telling me that I can get skin problem from too much water contact. Not true! You can get skin problem from your own stench faster than from anything else. In stores, the sells ppl were too lazy to move around. If you ask them Q, they act like you're attempting to abuse them! They hated the sound of English language. If you need the police & won't talk to them in France, they simply will hang up the phone. A you can die & go to heaven without their help. Also,mid you call on domestic issues (I didn't call, I was told that by the neighbor who called), ey do not respond. They say that they're only for public places. This is a huge difference between the US & FR. I don't know how police works in Spain, but in one of your
videos you were saying that if'd leave your phone on the table, someone can snitch it fast. That's very annoying.
Sobre el tema del horario de la Cocina de los Restaurantes debes considerar el hecho de que no puedes tener a los cocineros tantas horas al día trabajando y al resto del personal para que en ciertos intervalos horarios apenas vaya gente a comer. Es un gasto que el dueño del Restaurante NO puede soportar. Generalmente hay unas bandas horarias para Desayunar, Almorzar, Comer, Merendar y Cenar.... Fuera de esas bandas la Cocina se cierra y solo se sirven bebidas y tapas...
This seems to be a very charming place, I hope I can visit sometime in the future. Seeing and sharing places like this is why I love traveling and make videos so much! And please keep up the great job! Subscribed!!
😂 you made me laugh a few times mainly because I see myself in you. Those things can be very frustrating I agree. It's like how do we find a happy medium right? Here in the US it's all about money, money, money but that makes for more efficiency overall. But then it sucks to live here and the culture is so cold and lonely. I got a taste of that when I lived in Puerto Rico a few years. In Massachusetts now. I like your videos
This is why I love Honest greens restaurant in Barcelona. Always open, great food and great service.
I think it’s great for the main meal to be in the middle of the afternoon. That’s enough for many people, then something light later in the evening. But for health reasons eating at 9, 10 or later at night is just not agreeable. No can do. As for grocery stores not being open on Sundays, that’s a tough one.
Yes! I totally felt the struggle with the restaurants topic when I was in Valencia. I was hungry at 6:30pm 7pm... after finishing work and always had to wait to eat.. No way one can go out for dinner and get back home early. I don't think that when one complains about this, one means that they should work more, but simply have other shifts, like anywhere else in the world... Why I miss Nyc! haha in Germany at least we don't have this. BUT here Sundays not only grocery stores close, but EVERYTHING, so going shopping is something you can't do. It is ghost town. And if you work Mon-Fri, then expect all shopping places to be packed on Saturday... Cause Sunday they all close... Again, here they could simply hire more people, provide more work - there is always people looking for work. I am sure we are not saying workers should be working over time.
About the paperwork, so I heard! There are funny video going around of people doing million of paper copies of everything lol so crazy.
And dog sh* we also got it everywhere in Berlin...
The fact that on Sundays everything it's closed It has nothing to do with hire or not hire staff... it's related to the spanish culture. What i mean is: Sunday it's supposed to be resting, it's related to the catholism: Sunday is the day of the lord. Of course, nowadays, i wouldn't say we are very devoted to the church, god, whatever...but we keep that custom. And I think it's all right...i mean...we have 6 days to go shopping...the world is not gonna fall down because the supermarkets close one day per week, another thing is: people think that Sundays are for rest, not to work...and we usually go shopping 1 time per week for all the week, some for the entire month. So, in conclusion: it's cultural, the same as the time to eat, etc, etc, the same happen with the spanish, when they travel abroad...we think that the rest of the world are very weird 😆
Thanks for the video! Useful for people considering to relocate to Spain. What are your thoughts/ experience on income taxes to expats? Thanks!
Spent 2 years in Italy, near Brindisi. Far away from the tourist cities, they only come for the ferries to Greece and beyond. Siesta could be a challenge for official business, they close on time. If you are in line, tough. Domani. But after siesta, time for vino and my landlord, Leo Francesca had a winery and never let me run out.
You are so correct on so many levels! My other complaints are the constant cigarette smoking. and People who just stop in the middle of the sidewalk, and the people who are so glued to their phones that they dont watch where they are walking! But I love it here in Valencia!
Te tienes qué acostumbrar como se vive en España igual qué un español se va a EEUU tiene qué adoptar sus costumbres y no al revés.
Someone who lived in Rome in the 70s said the dog poop was a huge problem at the time. Now it’s resolved, but also everything is expensive there now.
I live in Canadá and the same thing happen with the stores and restaurantes, they close at 5pm 😢
So, Antoanetta...Is your jewelry line still in LA? Clearly not ordering to ship to Portugal!! How can I see your engagement rings? On another note, in Lisboa it took me 3 months of calling SEF just to get an appointment and that is good compared to others...I moved from France and honestly so far bureaucracy and the dog poop situation are better! Never ever did I think I'd say that! I love Portugal so much that I'll deal willingly and with a smile through it all!! It's the same everywhere...
Can you reach on Instagram antianettanow
omg!!!! most relatable video for me ever! I've been/had all the situations you've mentioned.
I am afraid inefficiency is part of the system in Spain, but that inefficiency also exists other countries more or less. However, the system is very slow in Spain for sure. But the most painful part , most people are not helpful at all. It is a painful process and that is the way it is here in Spain. So get used to it and live with it. As for restaurants, that is the way it is , Spain is the country that people eat very late, get used to culture and move on please. There are always fast foods and coffee shops to consume or go to supermarket for God´s Sake. No point of complaining about the way things are in Spain.
I agree with you. In my country, everyone cleans their dog poop. We also have a Public Service Hall
everything is in one space. Shops close at ten o'clock, but there are many mini markets which are open 24 | 7.
I wonder why they don’t put up poop bag stations for owners and maybe accompany that with an ordinance about cleaning up or paying a fine?
I agree with all of her points, but I have grown to live with shops being closed on Sundays, and I rarely eat at restaurants. The bureaucracy can be a bit of an issue, but fortunately I have not had too many serious problems with them so far. I agree that Customs is a black box mafia which breaks its own rules and does not interact with the public that it is supposed to serve. I have had some really bad experiences with them and I cannot have items shipped form the US, because the whole thing is an expensive pain to deal with. That is one bureaucracy which I hate and works badly. Doggie crap and urine, as well as general littering all over the place, both in the cities and in the nature really grinds my gears, and no one seems to care. In the worst cases the sidewalks can be filthy and most of Spain rains little to clean it up. Decades ago they used to hose down the main streets, but I have not seen that done in a long time.
I am a foreigner living in Marbella, here bagging and removing the dog poop is mandatory and it’s correct. The Bureaucracy I laughed, it’s exactly like that, the unreasonableness sometimes is very frustrating, especially when you know it’s not necessary, but you just have to suck it up!
You make an excellent video about Spain and really deep thought about very important, human connections about lifestyle. Then immediately turn into the American princess , citing petty details, the exact things you complained about in your previous video. Brilliant.
We are getting accustomed to the mid day closing. Still having trouble with restaurant hours. Sunday closings harken to some small towns in the US. Being retired, I do have to remember to get food before Saturday afternoon! Bureaucracy is a hassle for sure. Only been here 3 weeks and loving it. Thanks for the videos.
Thank you for your video.
I am an American and unfortunately Americans think the rest of the world should be like them. . I would like to see more Americans travel and become open minded to other cultures.. It would make the USA a better place. Personally, I find that those Americans who don't travel and accept other cultures could use a bit more education..
I enjoyed the comments and especially reading how Spaniards have reacted to your video.. I love Spain and looking to return to the country. Doing my research first to see if I can accept the cons of another country, what I am used to here in the US. This is the reason for watching your video. But already knew about the red tape. I returned to Spain long long ago to marry someone- a Spaniard I met while living in Spain, but Franco prohibited it. Now that is bureaucracy!
Estoy de acuerdo en cuanto a la burocracia. El horario comercial depende mucho del tipo de comercio. Si es pequeño y de propiedad familiar tiene poco personal y no pueden estar abiertos todos los días todo el día porque probablemente el trabajo se reparta entre 4 personas. Algunas tiendas grandes cierran los domingos, pero otras están abiertas. Para comprar comida sitios como Carrefour abren el domingo. También depende de la zona de España. En algunas comunidades aitonomas el horario comercial está limitado por ley y en otras no y abren más horas todos los días según su capacidad de repartir el trabajo entre sus pocos o muchos empleados. Los restaurantes sólo tienen la cocina abierta en horario de comida y cena. El resto del día al no poder servir comida están cerrados.
Del odio al amor hay solo un paso, por eso pienso que en el fondo de tu corazón quieres a España y a los españoles. Solo es cuestión de echar mano del aforismo: "Donde fueres haz lo que vieres" España y yo señora somos así.
Sabes algo de derechos laborales de los trabajadores?
Viene de un país donde la sanidad es privada, le pides demasiado
In all Europe, markets and shops don't work in Sunday and I think it is pretty good because they also need a day off. But in Serbia stores work in Sunday and even for 1st May because we have special discounts that you can't miss. 😁
La solución para el horario es muy sencilla: levántate dos horas mas tarde, con lo que desayunarás 2 horas mas tarde, comerás 2 horas más tarde y cenarás 2 horas más tarde. Y también te acostarás 2 horas mas tarde. Problema solucionado. Una expatriada como tu lo explicó en youtube, y que en una semana todo solucionado. Nuestro horario es conforme a Alemania, no es horario solar y no se va a cambiar.
Las tiendas pequeñas que cierran de 2 a 5, es porque los empleados se van a comer a su casa. Y eso, evidentemente, tampoco se va a cambiar.
Entiendo que lo vea usted así y que sea muy difícil la burocracia, piense usted cuanto cuesta entrar en estados unidos o una tarjeta de trabajo, tengo amigos que ni lo han conseguido, a mi no me cuesta nada los papeles ,solo algo de paciencia.
So many illegals have crossed our southern border lol get all freebies no problem
Hi, been watching your videos for few weeks now as we are planning to buy a place in Oliva, Spain and are scheduled to visit Oliva, Spain in June 2023. My question is, does your "Your Essential Guide to Living and Loving Life in Spain" includes any recommendations for good lawyers, Real Estate agents and anything else one would need to purchase a property in Spain? If not would you be willing to help us when we are in Spain in June this year?
We almost made a whole video on dog poop! Great points!❤️ Hodu says hi!
Haha yes and believe it or not I started seeing it more after I posted my video! Hi sweet Hodu 😍
First item: bureaucracy. I live in France now, how much worse can it get? 😂. For the shops. They have their working hours, period. The people there should not have to adapt because you live on another schedule. And Sunday is family day. We try to avoid going shopping on Sunday anyway so I don’t care. I don’t support a 24/7 economy. People shouldn’t have to work 7 days a week to serve others. It’s a multi national thing from employers who don’t care about their workers. You compare to US but there you have one of the worst working conditions/ contracts of the western world.
I relate to it all, and I am surprised that you did not mention the total absence of customer service. The left hand has little idea what the right hand is doing, and solving customer service problems is virtually unheard of!
I am ok with this one just open the restaurant up 😎
Sorry, to say, but they're really not customer friendly at all - this from the south to the north:(
What about the Banks? Opening hours, services, ... they drive me mad 🥰
Pues mira lo de la burocracia de acuerdo al 100%, pero en los horarios de los restaurantes no, aquí, al contrario que en tu país donde trabajar 16 horas al día está bien hay una jornada laboral de 40 horas semanales que se ha de respetar incluso en la hostelería, porque no es ni para la siesta ni para tomar un vino, es para comprar, limpiar la casa (cosa que los sajones hacéis bien poquito), cocinar comida casera en casa en vez de comer un sándwich en unas escaleras como en USA y acabar todos con obesidad, estar con los hijos etc, así que si te apetece cenar antes del horario te lo haces en tu casa, si te han de servir un trabajador le respetas su horario, sus derechos y su tiempo libre, y da gracias que aquí hay salario mínimo y no necesitan que les des propina para poder llegar a fin de mes
Hahaha you would have a "blast" in Switzerland (where supermarkets only open 8am to 6pm and closed on Sundays) France where they only serve lunch between 12 and 2pm but will stop serving anyone that arrives after 1pm bc "they are closing soon" LOL and Germany where they make you get a bunch of paper work from specific places only, even for printed pictures for ID bc god forbidden they take it there and forget about digital documents , fill up the same form more than once etc etc just because hahaha. I dont know why some European countries are this way still...
Welcome to Finland here we have some stores open 24/7 :D
Nunca había visto videos de extranjeros hablando de España. Tú fuiste la primera q encontré. Y bien hasta ahora pero...bonita ..habla realmente cuando estés bien informada.. ésto no es una película americana donde se mezclan las Fallas, la Semana Santa y la Feria de Abril..no todos somos tan estrechos de mente ni tan ignorantes. Si vives, trabajas, organizas y respiras como americana en un país q no es EEUU...q esperas??? Hay un dicho español: "Adónde fueres haz lo que vieres". Y si no te gusta, sabes dónde está la puerta. Según tú, llevas más de cuatro años en España y no sabes una "papa" de español. Eso no es vivir, convivir, integrarse ni nada q se le parezca. He visto, después, videos de otras compatriotas tuyas y hablan español mejor q otros nativos. Y,¿ de qué te quejas? ¿Las tiendas cierran un día a la semana? ¿ Dónde está tu eficiencia y organización sabiendo éso?? Nuestros abuelos y padres se deslomaron ( busca el significado) para que los trabajadores dispusieran de sus derechos. Y disfrutamos de un día de descanso completo a la semana q pasamos con la familia, muy muy importante en nuestra cultura, o con amigos , también muy importante. Tenemos derecho a 30 días de vacaciones remuneradas al año. Y en tu país ¿Qué derechos tienen los trabajadores?¿ Qué tal la Sanidad?¿ Q tal la Seguridad en las calles? ¿ Qué tal la educación? ¿ Qué tal la empatía, respeto y educación hacia los demás?? Qué tal la hipocresía de tu sociedad..soy lo que gano..?? Por favor..la "burrocracįa" es éso y punto...en tu país no es precisamente dicho y hecho..y eso q nos vende la parte " romántica" en las películas...otro dicho español dice: "En todos sitios cuecen habas"...otro q deberías aplicarte (busca significado)... q con la prepotencia, arrogancia, chulería, yo soy mejor q todos, soy americana, y yo estoy acostumbrada a hacer ésto...fuera de tu país no vas a conseguir amigos, ni relaciones, ni disfrutar de la vida, ni integrarte ni nada... seguirás viviendo en tu burbuja, en España, disfrutando de todas las ventajas del modo de vida español pero criticando todo aquello que no se ajuste a tus gustos. Eso no es así, bonita. Aprende español que ya tienes tiempo para haberlo hecho y respeta la cultura, tradiciones, costumbres, horarios y demás del país donde VIVES, no de donde ERES ..y al q no le guste..otro expresión española:" ajo y agua" (busca significado)😂😂😂. Y si tienes tanta hambre, vete a tu casa y haz de comer, que es lo que hacemos la mayoría..y si no vete al fritangueo q no te debe resultar extraño.Después de tu derroche arrogancia y prepotencia a la hora de criticar horarios, hábitos y derechos del país donde VIVES no me esperes más por aquí. Deberían cerrar hasta la sábados..a ver cómo te apañas con los horarios americanos 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I love to cook, so if I can't find a restaurant, I cook...but yes, it's nice to be able to eat when you want. I still love Spain. It's my roots and I would love to experience that lifestyle in three month increments.
Yes, the bureaucracy is bad, but luckily, I haven't had a problem, but only because I have staff at my workplace who do it all for me. Others who do what I do have horrific problems. Being in a smaller town in the Valencia Region helps. But it's all-day trip to go to a government office, as I don't have a car and if on my own, would have to take an expensive cab ride to get to the train station that the fast trains don't stop at. Even though 70% of the town is vacant off season, the few remaining restaurants open still charge in season prices for very small meals that I could get for much cheaper in Valencia City. It's a pain that both grocery stores closed on Sunday, as well as almost every business. From 2-5 PM, I really like the down time. I cook great meals and walk miles. Positives DO outweigh the negatives!
The most important thing is that the total benefits outweigh the negatives. In America, the negatives are growing pretty massively right now.
All is true! I did hire someone a lawyer to do my official papers Yes it cost but time is money too
The government offices in Spain are only open until about 3 pm, because the government workers only work about 30 hours a week, while earning far more than private sector workers who work under stress for 40 or more hours a week for less money. Of course this problem exists in many countries such as Federal workers in the US, or EU bureaucrats.
The Siësta is a practical event. The afternoon is too hot to go outside.... get your goods before Siësta and enjoy it at home. Dinner is late after Siësta.
Hola, que tal?, como van?,
Los mejores y más cordiales Saludos desde puente piedra, lima, Perú, ojalá que puedas venir en algún momento a mi país y que disfrutes mucho de todo por aquí, con la familia y los amigos;
Felicidades por tus vídeos...
The dog poop might be the deal-breaker for me. I have a huge cleanliness, health hazard, sanitary, revulsion aversion to dog feces. I cannot even stand the idea of keeping my footwear if I were to come in contact with it. Pet owners somehow don't feel that OTHER people might NOT share their unconditional devotion for their animal. I have yet to see human beings love human children INCLUDING THEIR OWN as much as they lose their minds loving their dogs. I've seen neighbor dispute shows where one neighbor ends up dead at the hands of the pet-owning neighbor who lets their dog defecate on their neighbor's lawn. The offending neighbor sees nothing wrong with that. Repeatedly letting the dog run loose as if no one's SUPPOSED to mind. Dollars to donuts these same people would want you to strictly discipline your two year old beyond its understanding.
Everything you mentioned here is so true about the way of life in Spain. Another thing that I have noticed, when on holiday in the southern part of the region of Valencia near to the Murcia border is the amount of rubbish which is just dumped by the roadside. This doesn't just include beer bottles and fast food rubbish but also industrial waste, e.g. Blocks of cement, broken bricks and old sinks and toilets etc! It is very sad in a beautiful landscape to see a lot of discarded waste.
Also, the graffiti, which seems to adorn many walls. Some of it is good and artistic. Some of it, is some kind of political statement or message of public frustration with the way of life.
Lastly, for me the overall poor quality of plumbing and builds is frustrating. In the south at least, there doesn't seem to be much care taken in how things are built.
I still really like Spain, and I didn't really notice these things until I lived here for a short while. I hope that they can improve in the future, but it will take a while..........................
Thanks! Yes I agree with the plumbing too 😤 and I miss dryers haha
Don’t generalize…I lived in Uk for years and I had lots of problems with plumbing, and the state and build of the flats I lived in….mould and other problems…back to Spain at least my place is really well built, no big issues in years
Thank you so much for this video! I can't tell you how refreshing it is lol. I mean you see all these videos about Spain and this fairy tale story about how great it is in Spain. I'm not saying it's not wonderful in Spain, I want to live there myself but I want a very realistic point of view before moving anywhere. It's not going to be perfect no matter where you live but at least I can weigh out the pros and cons more realistically. Thanks Antoanetta r another great video. Love your channel 💕
Claro que no es un cuento de hadas, pero señora entienda que hay costumbres que tienen su forma de ser , por nuestra cultura, si usted trabajaría en España y tiene una pequeña tienda, le gusta cerrar al medio dia para comer con su marido e hijos, entonces en en España se cierra los domingos y se sale con los amigos, hay un dicho que decimos aqui, trabaja para vivir no vive para trabajar, supongo que en estado unidos y otros sitio se puede comprar de todo a todas horas, pues eso no es España,.
@@josesosa1654 dejala que ella está en su mundo...y no le digas lo de vivir para trabajar porque aún dira que por eso no somos como ellos y que pasa porque queremos dormir la siesta, yo ya no sigo más a estas youtubers, cada vez que veo un vídeo de estos me río pero cuando ya dan por echo cosas que no són ciertas no puedo evitar enfadarme por la imagen que dan de los que somos de aquí y que no tiene ningún parecido de la realidad, si no les gusta no se para que vienen,🤷🏻♀️
Hey, I get the bureaucracy problem. It's epic in many countries including Spain. I think it is necessary to never be in any kind of a hurry when dealing with the government there and always bring a book. But some of your other things you hate I think need to be thought through better. In the USA for example, many places close so early that if you're hungry after 2100, 9pm, you're out of luck. It's crummy fast food or nothing. Trying to adapt digital nomad time 8 or 9 hours away with a culture that is most definitely local in its outlook will surely be an exercise in frustration anywhere. Here in the USA, the service workers don't hardly get a break, having to work weird hours every day just so people can buy crap they probably don't need on a Sunday or whatever time they "have to have it". When I'm in Spain, I make it a point not to need stuff on Sundays. And I feel thankful, not aggravated that things just stop to breathe for some hours in the afternoons. When I got back to the USA after my first trip to Spain, I longed for a siesta, something we're not generally permitted to have. Just to head off a commenter below, nobody is telling anybody when they CAN eat, just when it is going to be cooked for them, served to them and they don't have to wash the dishes. You can make your own food any hour of any day anywhere in Spain or most other places. You just can't expect other people to serve you when things are closed. The world is not Las Vegas.
The first thing that you need to remember re bureaucracy is that if you expect it, you will get it, because you will find it sooner or later, probably not today, nor tomorrow but sometime, at someplace, you will face it and then your believe will be reinforced. And there is a general belief that Spanish bureaucracy is awful and it is indeed! But it is awful because I just don’t like bureaucracy but it’s not necessarily worse that in other countries around. So that’s the other thing you need to remember about bureaucracy: Unless you have lived in many countries and experience it locally, any ideal benchmark is non existent. It’s a fiction. My point is that it’s probably as bad in your native country you just haven’t experienced it. At least that is my experience after living in 7 countries the majority of them in the EU. It’s crap everywhere. Disclaimer: I haven’t lived in the USA.
Last but certainly not least, please please don’t say expat. It’s immigrant. We all are. Only in very specific circumstances one can consider an expat but bear in mind that the machinery of the state sees you as an immigrant. Because that’s what you are
I agree about restaurants and shopping malls . That's seems so strange. In my country people work all the time and they are so happy to have the clients but in Spain things are really different.