What is Spain like ?

Question

I hope to visit Barcelona & Madrid -

I heard bad things about Spain - like people are very cold to foreigners and not very friendly . I also read that there's a rivalry between certain districts - because of the dialects they speak.

Is this true ?

Answer 1

Spain has a lot of "regionalism" but each different region brings their own positive cultures to the table.

For better or worse, there is a lot of xenophobia in regards to immigrants, but this is not a feeling just in Spain, its in most European countries including Britain, Italy, etc. Even some white French hate that their country has been invaded by millions of immigrants.

Tourism and immigration is a different thing completely though. Go to Spain and enjoy the culture, and have a good time!

Answer 2

what is spain famous for?

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Answer 3

It is true as you suggest Spanish are both racist and strongly nationalist, a comfortable byword we all preefr to use for this is "patriotic" but if you are only on holiday you will never get to know the politics of a country which until 1975 was a military dictatorship and whose leader allowed Hitler to bomb his own people for "practice" (sorry its true!). That said the climate is great and food and booze cheap. How do I know? I lived here for 20 years and have kids born and bread Spanish nationals.

Answer 4

i have lived in Spain 6years (since i was 12 so i went to school too) the people are lovely, in fact where i lived the guys made more of a fuss over the English girls than the Spanish lol. the rivalry thing is true, but there aren't fights or bad things going on between these places. its just some people want the mayors of there town to change sign posts etc.. into their district language. this year i moved back to England for uni and i hate it, I'm moving back straight after graduation!!! :D

Answer 5

Lets just say that I moved here from the U.S. and I dont plan on ever moving back.

There it is in a nutshell.

Answer 6

I lived ther for 3 years I have regreted comming back to the US ever since I hat ethe fact that my children will grow up here and never experience the beautiful people I did.

I'm not trying to put this country down but I left my heart and soul over there.

Answer 7

I don't know how I do it, but I always seem to answer the same questions as Sue up there.

I agree with everything she said except the part of entering Catalunya like a different country. It would be the same if you go from Sevilla to Santiago or from Madrid to Bilbao. Spain is country of mixtures, you can find Mediterranean, Arabic and European influences but it's all the same country. Oh, and there are dialects, but there are also languages. I know it doesn't seem relevant but it is for Catalonians, Galicians and Bascs. Andalusian for example, is a dialect, as it's not recognised by the Constitution or European Union as language. On the other hand, Catalonian, Basc and Galician all are considered languages. This doesn't mean people from this Autonomus Communities hate others, most people feel Spanish, it's just a political and social fact.

As a girl-sorry, I don't remember her name- said up there, lot's of tourists end up staying for good. My mum came for a short holiday when she was 22, and she never returned to England. Lot's of people seem to think it was my Dad's fault, because she was so in love she stayed. But actually she met him when she was 28 and she has felt so welcome she has even renounced to her English nationality and embraced the Spanish one. Which  I frankly don't understand, because I have kept both.But that's another story.

It highly surprises me to hear you've hear we're cold. We may be lot's of things-loud, cheeky...-but I would never say cold or mean towards tourists. In fact, Spain welcomes tourism, we're one of the most touristy-if that makes any sense-countries in the world. Anyway, you will have to experience it yourself and check if these people were or not right.

Answer 8

I have lived here for 26 years, I am married to a spanish guy, you must have your wires crossed someplace, from the day we came here we found folks very helpful, loved to hear us hang ourselves at first grappling with the language, but we had so much fun trying........life is much more relaxed, my husbands family had no quarms about accepting me into the family, nor any of my relatives and friends,  as for the dialects, I came here from Leicester, work out all the dialects in the UK you might find there are even more than here in Spain,  the only draw back for anyone at first can be the paperwork, there might seem mountains of it, but then again the spanairds are NO different, they still have oodles of legal papers to keep in order, on the plus side you can live as cheap or as expensive as your bank balance takes you..........in general things are much cheaper here, much less heating bills, car taxes, car ins. so give it a try if you like, you will never go back to the UK I can tell you..............

Answer 9

Are we COLD? Indeed we're famous of being friendly with everybody, including foreign tourists!!! Who the  f*** tell you that??? He/She is not a good source!.

About rivalry... yes, it happens, but I think it happens in every country!!! I do not think that foreign tourists can be affected for that reason, it only involves Spaniards, and you have to be conflictive to have more than words with people from other regions. Only a minority practice that rivalry. Most Spaniards are little interested on fighting for such a stupid reason!. There are just a few regions with distinctive languages, and nevertheless, are co-official together Spanish.

Hope it helps.

EDIT: To Kamikaziggy: it's VERY UNFAIR to say that Spaniards are racist. You MUSN'T generalize. Yes, there are racist Spaniards too, like in EVERY country. So, I hope you take back that wrong and unfortunate remark.

Answer 10

Where on earth did you hear that Spanish people are COLD???  No.  I have found them to be among the warmest, and kindest people on the planet.  All you have to do is observe normal courtesy, and try to learn a couple of phrases, and they will bend over backwards to make your stay a good one.  Well, that's my experience, but I have heard the same from pretty much everyone else I've ever spoken or written to about their experiences.  

The rivalries between Autonomous Regions (correct term) has less to do with lanugages than the divergent cultures, and the fact that those are the most productive (in terms of GNP) reigions in the country.  Franco, especially, did not support their autonomy because he was afraid they would eventually break off and take all their income with them.  Modern Spain is working with these regions to make them WANT to stay a united country.  (I'm simplifying politics greatly, here, so don't thumbs down me cause it isn't complete).  

Still, while there is definitely a feeling of having entered a different country when you enter Cataluña, (Barcelona is the capital), and there is some terrorism in (Okay, can't remember their own language name for) the Basque Country, it rarely touches tourists, and is usually aimed at the government, and you can travel with confidence that you aren't likely to be affected by it.

The other two regions that are most seperatist, Andalucía (and I don't really believe they are...they just want recognition that their language is different, which it isn't), is very safe, and I have heard very little of trouble in Galicia.  Ever.  Though there could be something that I'm not aware of.  Galicia DOES have a seperate dialect, but they don't make a terribly big stink about it.

One thing you DO have to beware of is pickpockets.  Barcelona is one of the worst cities in the world for pickpockets, so be very aware in crowded places, including terminals of all sorts.  

Go ahead.  Have a great trip.  Learn a few greetings in Spanish, and have a blast!

Answer 11

I have been to Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona, three times and found them to be very nice  in general.  I do speak some Spanish so I am sure that helps.

I did find the Hotel clerk in Barcelona to be a bit chilly, but that was just one person.

People in Madrid and among the best I have ever encountered anywhere.