Moving to Spain

It’s a beautiful summer’s day as we sit looking out of the window of our apartment in Madrid, reflecting on the last seven months. It feels much longer since we left South Africa, family and friends and moved across the world to Spain.  Spain will be our base for the next 18 months.  We hope to travel as much as we can, while living and working part time in Madrid.

We arrived in the middle of the biggest snowstorm Spain had experienced in 50 years! Our flight was the last one to land, our taxi ride from the airport the last fare the taxi driver would pick up from the airport for days to come! Spain had shut down! No transport, no open shops, barely anyone on the streets – the country had come to a standstill.

We just managed to make it to the Airbnb that would be our home for the next five months and get some food from the Supermarket across the road.  We trundled through the snow to the nearest supermarket to get some groceries only to find that most of the produce had already flown off the shelves!

Leaving a Life Behind

This was one of the hardest decisions we ever had to make and one we did not take lightly. My father passed away four months after we arrived in Tres Cantos, Madrid. I will be forever grateful for the quality time we could spend with him before we left, knowing that he understood our decision to move and supported it wholeheartedly.

Settling into Daily Life

So what’s it like living in Madrid?  Moving to a country where you can’t speak the language (apart from a few sentences) brings about its own challenges!  We lived in Belgium for six years but we both speak French and Flemish so language was never an issue.  This time things are very different!

Settling into a new routine was relatively easy. A bit more challenging though was figuring out the day-to-day activities that we took for granted in South Africa. Who knew that having documents copied, arranging a new mobile phone contract and having a haircut could be so challenging? At the root of our problem – the language barrier! Contrary to popular belief, many Spaniards do not speak English and why should they? The onus is on us to learn to speak Spanish.  Very soon Google Translate became our new best friend! A few months in we did realize that as fantastic as translation apps are, they make you lazy. It’s too easy to let Google do the hard work. Not being able to speak Spanish limits the experiences you can have and you miss out on a lot without even knowing it.  As you can imagine, the number one priority for the coming months is to master some Spanish.

We used to go everywhere by car so one of our biggest adjustments has been to rely solely on public transport. Madrid has one of the most integrated transport systems in the world – bus, metro and rail work together seamlessly! We are yet to find a place that we can’t reach via public transport. It took a while to figure out where and how to get tickets, but once we nailed that it all became fairly simple.

We sometimes lament our lack of local expertise and just knowing instinctively what to do and ask for in any given situation, or where to go for specific products and services! A silly example- headache tablets (which we used to buy in supermarkets) can only be bought from a pharmacy.  In some restaurants there are no menu’s (digital or otherwise) – the waiter explains, in Spanish only, what the dish of the day is. This has led to some interesting food choices, some not to be repeated, others wonderful, delicious finds!

Not having transport of our own has led to a different kind of lifestyle – a much healthier one! We walk wherever possible, shop at the local stores and buy only the groceries we can carry. We now understand the value of the “Siesta”! The heat in the afternoon In Madrid can be unbearable and many people retreat to their homes to rest! We now do the same! It is only later in the afternoon or early evening that people appear on the streets again. Most shops are open until 21h30 or later and the evenings are a busy, popular shopping time. In the evening many people go for a walk and some Tapas at their local Pub or Bar – a snack before their dinner which is served around 21h00. In the summer months the sun sets after 22h00 and nothing really opens before 10h00 in the mornings. It really is a great way of life, one we are settling in to!

Was it Worth it?

At the time we boarded the plane we were all psyched up – what an adventure! After all these months a healthy dose of realism has set in.  However, after seven months we can say, without a doubt, that our decision to move to Spain was the right one. Yes, it’s been challenging. Yes, we’ve been lonely at times. Yes, we miss our family and friends.  However, what you get in return is a country that has so much to offer the traveler that you could spend a lifetime exploring the Iberian Peninsula and its rich culture and still only scratch the surface.  Tres Cantos is a beautiful town with a lovely park.  A chance encounter led to new a friendship when we met a fellow South African, who lives nearby, in our local supermarket.  What a blessing to befriend such a wonderful compatriot so far from home who is also a wealth of local knowledge!

We’ve forced ourselves out of our comfort zone, and I believe we are the better for it! We’ve had to learn to be inquisitive again. We’ve been forced to cope on the fly, to ask questions like children again and even look silly at times.

We may not know where the coming years will take us but, once you get used to it, the life of a nomad can be very rewarding.  What is certain is that we are privileged to be on this journey. Fate may intervene, but for now we have the freedom to craft a future.  The dream we’ve had for twenty years of travelling around the world is becoming a reality, even though it’s unfolding differently than expected. We’ve taken the first, most difficult step – the adventure has begun!