Spain: How Do They Do It?

[noela]

Originally Posted by ben86

Even compared to British people Spaniards didn't seem that materialistic and don't have as much pointless stuff. Also, no student loans to pay back, no need for private health insurance, smaller/less need for cars, etc. I would assume home ownership was lower than in the US. Spanish people appreciate simpler things in life like family, parties etc. more.

While it is true that people are less materialistic here in Spain than in some other places, materialism is on the rise IMO. People used to make do with only the basic stuff, and they knew how to have fun without spending any money. Since we were repressed by a dictatorial regime for decades, we knew how to reasonably, and not without caution (and just-in-case savings), appreciate our newly-found freedom. Things have changed however and we're closer, in this respect, to your average Western European nowadays: neurotic, competitive, longing for more and more possessions, buying social status and increasingly unhappy and unhealthy. So: lots of luxuries (as compared with what was usual not so long ago), no savings.

[tvdxer]

Originally Posted by Snort

What do you know about the Spanish lifestyle and how it differs from other places? People buy houses, pay mortgages, buy cars, pay for expensive gasoline, etc... Tell me what's different?

I said it before and I'll say it again: most Spaniards live "smaller" than your average American. Even in small towns, they mostly live in apartments that average under 1,000 square feet; the upper middle class have larger apartments or what they call "chales", in other words attached single-family homes with a tiny yard. Most strikingly, a significant percentage of those over 30 (something like 30% or 40%, if I remember correctly) still live in their parents' house.

Although many Spanish cities made the top of of the list for commuters by car of all cities in Europe (70%+), the "cars" driven by average people in Spain tend to be of the small manual-transmission variety that are not even sold here - simply because they wouldn't meet American demands, though they are very fuel-efficient. Spaniards do without many of the luxuries that are expected here: air conditioning is still not present in many (perhaps the majority of) housing units, few people have cable and satellite TV penetration, etc. In addition, I would make the personal observation that most Spaniards of all ages and sexes spend their free time and disposable income on socializing and partying, while American (at least Midwestern) men spend it on things like hunting and fishing gear, four-wheelers, boats, etc. The simple fact is that Spaniards live with less than most Americans.

[noela]

Originally Posted by tvdxer

I said it before and I'll say it again: most Spaniards live "smaller" than your average American. Even in small towns, they mostly live in apartments that average under 1,000 square feet; the upper middle class have larger apartments or what they call "chales", in other words attached single-family homes with a tiny yard. Most strikingly, a significant percentage of those over 30 (something like 30% or 40%, if I remember correctly) still live in their parents' house.

Although many Spanish cities made the top of of the list for commuters by car of all cities in Europe (70%+), the "cars" driven by average people in Spain tend to be of the small manual-transmission variety that are not even sold here - simply because they wouldn't meet American demands, though they are very fuel-efficient. Spaniards do without many of the luxuries that are expected here: air conditioning is still not present in many (perhaps the majority of) housing units, few people have cable and satellite TV penetration, etc. In addition, I would make the personal observation that most Spaniards of all ages and sexes spend their free time and disposable income on socializing and partying, while American (at least Midwestern) men spend it on things like hunting and fishing gear, four-wheelers, boats, etc. The simple fact is that Spaniards live with less than most Americans.

I agree that the US live more luxuriously than most Spaniards, but that can be applied to a case of the US vs. virtually any European country (Europe is dense and the city centre and the surrounding area are usually a thriving living space and not merely a commercial spot and, btw, most Europeans -not only Spanish people- go for smaller cars because, quite frankly, parking in a medium-sized town is already enough of a nightmare) and, as I said, in my opinion Spain is becoming more and more your average EU member. Regarding other points you've made:

Housing: Yes, most people live in apartments and many dream of a nice house but, I can assure you, in most cities apartments are far from a cheap alternative and are in fact ridiculously overpriced (which might explain, partly at least, why so many 30-year-old folks are still living with their parents and why our ecnomy is in so much deep sh*t). Besides, most cities don't have a suburban network of detached houses, only houses in a fully rural environment or some houses scattered around the city, so living in an apartment is usually much more comfortable and feasible. The trend of "urbanizaciones" (suburban environments) is relatively new for everyday living (as opposed to summer residence) and is catching on but, personally, I still prefer to be closer to centre and not depend on the car or public transport so much. As we've both pointed out, going out and partying is important for many of us (mine is more a case of always wanting to go to cafés, strolling around, visiting museums, etc.) and that's difficult to do on a regular basis when you're living far ("far" by Spanish standards) from what the city offers. And I guess old habits die hard, too.

Air conditioning: most people I know in Madrid and the Mediterranean Coast do have air conditioning, although I'm not sure whether or not they're representative of the overall population, while most people up north (Galicia, where I live, Asturias, Euskadi, Cantabria) don't, mostly because it's not really needed as our summers are mild. Plus, if you live in an apartment and surrounded by apartment blocks you're usually less affected by feelings of excessive heat. I also believe there's a generally negative perception of air conditioning (it causes allergies and illness, it goes against the environment -not that we should care, as we're a country that's largely irresponsible in environmental matters-, it makes people more reluctant to go outside when it's very hot etc. ), owing to ignorance for the most part but with some basis in reality, I guess.

Cable and satellite TV: most people don't have cable or satellite TV not necessarily because of the cost (they pay as much for their ISP, cell phone, outdoor activities... ) but because with the TDT we have quite a few available TV stations and, before that, because we used to have only 2 of them when democracy had to start anew in the late 70s so we were not missing more TV programmes, anyway. Many people are now turning on to subscription TV now that many soccer games are broadcast, though. Also, most people don't want any foreign channels because they're only really fluent in Spanish (and some English, but often not enough to watch TV in this language). Most of the foreign population from Morocco, etc. do have satellite TV so that they can watch Al Jazeera.