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5 Things I Discovered When I Moved to Madrid.

Not your typical guide.

By Anik MarchandPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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5 Things I Discovered When I Moved to Madrid.
Photo by Álvaro Bernal on Unsplash

1. People pee everywhere.

When I first moved to Madrid a few years ago, I moved to a neighbourhood in the centre of the city called Lavapies. It looked cool during the day, people out everywhere walking, going to work, walking their dogs. It seemed really great, vibrant and fun. However, after some time of walking to and from work, I realized that I always smelled the scent of pee everywhere I went. Embarrassingly enough, I somehow thought it was me? Did I pee myself and not know? That’s absolutely ridiculous…Of course I didn’t. Then, as months went on, I realized that it smells like pee everywhere because people here clearly have no shame in peeing anywhere. They will pee on the sidewalk in broad daylight! WTF! I was stunned. The worst is when people go out to clubs and they get drunk and need to pee, they will literally squat next to a parked car and pee. I once was driving near Tribunal metro and say a girl’s whole bum as she squatted down next to car tire to pee…I mean…yeah…not classy.

2. Trash, trash, trash and MORE trash!

I’ve been to New York and it’s cleaner then Madrid. This city is disgusting. I now live in the neighbourhood of Pueblo Nuevo and I swear you’d think I lived in a dumpster. There is so much trash on the ground that when I walk my dog, I need to constantly look on the ground to see what he’s stepping on (mostly broken glass) or what he can sniff and eat. People leave pee-filled beer bottles everywhere. They leave them on parked cars! They leave half eaten food on the floor or again, on parked cars. You can see people throwing their garbage out of their car windows at a red light…it’s shameful. Should I even talk about the kid’s park because…if those parks looked like that back home, some people would be in deep trouble. They’re friggin’ nasty, I wouldn’t let me worst enemie’s kid play there.

3. Please and thank you?

Hmm, I can’t think of a nice way to say this but people in Madrid are generally rude and cold. They rarely hold the door open for you, they don’t really move on the sidewalk to let you by, they don’t have really good manners or aren’t very polite in general. Maybe It’s because I’m Canadian and people back home are a bit more nicer but I have a hard time with the lack of manners in this city.

4. Dog shit EVERYWHERE!

So not only do I keep my head down to see where my dog walks but I also keep my head down to make sure I don't step in dog poop. Yep, It’s everywhere. I don’t know why there’s so much dog shit everywhere on the sidewalks but it’s absolutely disgusting. People are a bit too lazy when it comes to picking up after their pets. I mean, the city provides free poopy bags on the street garbages cans, you really have no excuse not to pick up your dog’s shit…

5. Nothing, and I mean nothing is easy here.

Want to immigrate to Spain and think the process will be easy? HA! Think again. Want to get your husband to help you speak Spanish when calling the bank? NO CHANCE. Want to get a doctor’s note because you’re sick? Get an appointment for next week. Want to get an apartment as a foreigner? Better show them you have tons of cash. Want to buy anything on credit? GOOD LUCK! Want to get a health card as a foreigner? You’re better off paying for private insurance. Want to get help from a tow company when your car breaks down in the middle of summer on the highway? Better start pushing the car yourself or get scammed with the exorbitant amount you’ll have to pay. Want to review your visa? Just move back home, It’s easier. Want to open a bank account? Get ready to hop through hoops! Want to file you taxes? Just…just don’t give yourself that amount of stress. Want help from any Spanish customer service? LOL! Don’t even waste your time. Finally got a job after 5 months of looking and they only gave you a 3 month contract…better keep applying! Want to sleep? Police: let me just start my sirens on and off and on and off and on and off just to make sure you remember where you are.

EXTRA! Puke. Puke everywhere! People have zero shame in throwing up on the street and leaving it there to bake in the sun. Another thing I have to keep my dog from eating…

Enjoy Madrid and remember, watch where your walking.

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About the Creator

Anik Marchand

Anik Marchand moved from New Brunswick to Southern Ontario at a young age, lived some crazy moments in Montréal, and is now based in Madrid, Spain.

E-mail: [email protected]

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