Expats in Spain: their biggest culture shocks

With countless beaches, delicious Mediterranean food, exciting nightlife and plenty of history and culture, there are many reasons why foreigners decide to live in Spain.

However, if you are considering moving to sunny Spain, there are a few culture shocks you should be aware of! Click on to read about the ten biggest surprises expats discover (and often struggle to accept) when they move to Spain!

Yes, you heard that right, in Spain it is pretty common to eat supper late at night and many consider 10 pm to be their regular dinner time.

Naturally, with supper so late, lunch is also eaten later, usually around 2 or even 3 pm! This often applies to restaurants as well, and you may be hard-pressed to find a venue that will sell you dinner before 8 pm!

Spain is famous for its "siesta time", and although many modern Spaniards do not actually have time to take a midday nap, in most parts of the country, a split schedule that allows for a long lunch and a rest is still very common.

This midday break applies to businesses, office workers, and even schools! Between 1 or 2 pm and 5 pm, many offices and shops are closed and open back up again in the afternoon.

As for schools, kids often end their morning session sometime around 1 pm and often don't go back until 3 pm to just study for another hour or two! Parents who don't have a split work schedule must pay for their kids to stay at the school dining hall.

In Spain, the custom is to give a person you are greeting a kiss on each cheek. For many expats, this can lead to some embarrassing and awkward moments.

You may be expected to kiss friends, family, co-workers, your child's school teacher, a friend of a friend who you bump into and are introduced to on the street...basically everybody! For those of us who come from less touchy-feeling cultures, this can be a lot to handle!

Depending on the region of Spain you decide to live in, you may very quickly discover that Spanish is not the only local language spoken in Spain!

In the Basque Country, they speak in Basque, in Catalonia, Catalan, and in Galicia, locals speak Galician.

If you make plans to meet up with Spanish friends to go out, don't be surprised if they make you wait. If you are meeting people at 8 pm for drinks, for example, chances are that if you show up at eight o'clock on the dot, you will be the first one there.

Particularly in casual settings with friends, the time you set to meet is usually an approximation, so don't be stressed if you run late, nor should you be upset with your friends if they always show up late as well!

If you come from North America, you may be surprised to learn that many young people live at home with their parents, often into their 30s.

While family is very important in Spain, the reason isn't just because life at home with mom and dad is so good. It has to do with the high price of rent and of purchasing a home and the lower salaries.

If youngsters want to have any hope of one day buying an apartment or house in the future, the best way to do so is to stay at home until they can save up enough for a down payment.

Salaries in Spain, for the most part, are a lot more modest than in many other places in the world.

The difference is particularly striking when it comes to professionals. A school teacher, psychologist, or doctor all more or less make the same amount of money if they work in the public system.

Many people consider a salary of 2000€ (2,130$) a month to be well paid. In fact, the minimum interprofessional wage for 40 hours of work a week is a mere 1,080€ (1,150$) a month!

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