145 - Top 7 reasons you should NEVER move to Spain

The main points here were taken from Mikel Thorup's blog, expatmoney.com. Like I said, I don't think he's technically wrong about the points.

I just think that whether or not you should move to Spain is a more complex decision.

The first point that he makes is that the Spanish siesta is a myth.

So let's talk about it, because actually, I agree.

The Spanish siesta is something of a myth.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say that the idea of the siesta comes from a time when people lived in small towns and a lot worked in agriculture or, you know, people were fishermen.

There used to be a lot of jobs where you would start before dawn, work all morning in the heat, and then have a siesta.

So if you're up harvesting grapes at 5:00 A.M., you might be able to relax under an olive tree after lunch and sleep through the hottest part of the day.

If you're in a small town, you can probably close your shop and walk home at midday.

But if you live in a big city like Madrid or Barcelona, your commute is longer.

You're probably not taking regular naps because it's just something you can't work into your weekday schedule.

The siesta myth is part of a larger laid-back Spanish life myth, which assumes that you're not working 50-hour weeks for just above minimum wage.

A lot of Americans move to Spain because they're retired or retiring, and in that case, your life might be quite laid back.

But that is not the case with most of the locals.

So I would say that the siesta and the laid-back life in general is largely a function of who you are, where you're living, and how you're getting by.

I used to have a flatmate who worked in a pretty nice restaurant.

He worked from 12:00 to 5:00 maybe, then he would come home and have a siesta, and then he would go back to work from 8:00 P.M. until midnight or 1:00 A.M.

So yes, he had a daily siesta, but I don't think his life was any more laid back than mine was, probably quite a bit less.

The main points here were taken from Mikel Thorup's blog, expatmoney.com. Like I said, I don't think he's technically wrong about the points.

I just think that whether or not you should move to Spain is a more complex decision.

The first point that he makes is that the Spanish siesta is a myth.

So let's talk about it, because actually, I agree.

The Spanish siesta is something of a myth.

Maybe it would be more accurate to say that the idea of the siesta comes from a time when people lived in small towns and a lot worked in agriculture or, you know, people were fishermen.

There used to be a lot of jobs where you would start before dawn, work all morning in the heat, and then have a siesta.

So if you're up harvesting grapes at 5:00 A.M., you might be able to relax under an olive tree after lunch and sleep through the hottest part of the day.

If you're in a small town, you can probably close your shop and walk home at midday.

But if you live in a big city like Madrid or Barcelona, your commute is longer.

You're probably not taking regular naps because it's just something you can't work into your weekday schedule.

The siesta myth is part of a larger laid-back Spanish life myth, which assumes that you're not working 50-hour weeks for just above minimum wage.

A lot of Americans move to Spain because they're retired or retiring, and in that case, your life might be quite laid back.

But that is not the case with most of the locals.

So I would say that the siesta and the laid-back life in general is largely a function of who you are, where you're living, and how you're getting by.

I used to have a flatmate who worked in a pretty nice restaurant.

He worked from 12:00 to 5:00 maybe, then he would come home and have a siesta, and then he would go back to work from 8:00 P.M. until midnight or 1:00 A.M.

So yes, he had a daily siesta, but I don't think his life was any more laid back than mine was, probably quite a bit less.