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I'm in the process of applying for the language assistant program in Spain next year. In choosing a region, we have to rank 3, with 1 choice from each group. My rankings are:
1. Madrid
2. Castilla La Mancha (chosen for proximity to Madrid, the other open choices are Aragon, Cantabria & Galicia)
3. I must choose one of the regions listed in the posting title
My considerations for choosing the final region are mainly:
- cost of living
- local attractions/nightlife/things to do, since I don't plan on traveling every single weekend
- ease of transportation to Madrid, Barcelona, and the rest of Europe/North Africa
- Castilian/Spanish is the dominant spoken language
any help would be appreciated. I am also open to considering other second-choice regions as well. thank you.
Well, Basque country is out then because they have their own language.
I'd choose Asturias because it is beautiful and a part of Spain that is not often trekked by tourists. You may be better received there and have a more rewarding experience for that reason alone. And the coast looks beautiful. It is in the far west of Spain but there are lots of mid sized towns and cities around. Basque country isn't so far away. Madrid is ~4.5 hours southeast.
Asturias: good landscape awesome food, but it is "far" from the main cities and conections with Europe. Humid and green.
Extremadura: cost of living is good, people are nice, far from main cities but not far from Portugal/Lisbon. Also green landscapes, good food.
La Rioja: I don't know this place, good wine lol, not far from France.
Navarra: the same, north and near France.
Basque Country: less affordable and sometimes Spanish is not used as main language.
- Basque Country and Navarra are the most expensive regions of the country, San Sebastian is spanish most expensive city, even more than Madrid or Barcelona. Extremadura and Asturias are among the cheapest. La Rioja is also expensive for Spanish standards.
-Local attractions and things to do depends on your taste. If you like historical cities Extremadura, if you are interested in wine industry La Rioja, If you like natural landscapes Asturias. Basque Country has interesting cities. Food is really good in all of this regions.
Best nightlife, I don't know wich to choose, but I guess that Asturias or Basque Country.
-I don't know about transportation. Of your options, Basque Country has the biggest airport, Asturias also has one with international flights. La Rioja, Navarra and Extremadura airports only offers flights within Spain.
Go to Madrid by car is easy from every region in Spain.
-Castillian is the dominant language in all of your options. In Basque Country and Navarra, depending on the area, you can find people who doesn't speak Spanish, but in the cities is the main language.
Extremadura has an accent more similar to Andalucia than Madrid, for people who do not speak the language may be more difficult to understand, but for me is a nice accent.
I think overall I would choose Asturias.
During what period of the year would you go?
Which city in Castilla La Mancha would you go? It is a very big region and depending on the city maybe I would change it for Aragón.
- Basque Country and Navarra are the most expensive regions of the country, San Sebastian is spanish most expensive city, even more than Madrid or Barcelona. Extremadura and Asturias are among the cheapest. La Rioja is also expensive for Spanish standards.
-Local attractions and things to do depends on your taste. If you like historical cities Extremadura, if you are interested in wine industry La Rioja, If you like natural landscapes Asturias. Basque Country has interesting cities. Food is really good in all of this regions.
Best nightlife, I don't know wich to choose, but I guess that Asturias or Basque Country.
-I don't know about transportation. Of your options, Basque Country has the biggest airport, Asturias also has one with international flights. La Rioja, Navarra and Extremadura airports only offers flights within Spain.
Go to Madrid by car is easy from every region in Spain.
-Castillian is the dominant language in all of your options. In Basque Country and Navarra, depending on the area, you can find people who doesn't speak Spanish, but in the cities is the main language.
Extremadura has an accent more similar to Andalucia than Madrid, for people who do not speak the language may be more difficult to understand, but for me is a nice accent.
I think overall I would choose Asturias.
During what period of the year would you go?
Which city in Castilla La Mancha would you go? It is a very big region and depending on the city maybe I would change it for Aragón.
I had no idea the Basque Country and Navarra were so costly to live in...I was leaning towards the Basque Country for its cities but I'm going to take a deeper look into Asturias now. Since this is a teaching assistant program, I would be in Spain roughly from September-June.
The program only allows applicants to choose regions of preference and the type of environment (urban, medium-sized city, rural), but not specific cities. So I'm left to the graces of the program to where they assign me.
Extremadura....not that their Castilian is modelic, their accent is somewhat similar to Andalusian but drier. Good weather (cold but sun), good food, nice people, relatively cheaper except some areas in Cáceres. Except for Merida, Caceres and Trujillo, almost no tourists. Relatively near Madrid, borders Portugal.
Navarra, Rioja..well, those are rich provinces, weather can be nasty sometimes, more expensive. La Rioja is nice too. Forget Basque country.
Asturias....another world, beautiful, nice people, good food, scenic beauty...but Atlantic weather, rainy and overcast most of the time.
bmexman it is true that Castilla la Mancha is quite big but I know that working assistan program and it's also true tha you can't choose the city or the village.
If you go to Guadalajara or Toledo it is quite close to Madris, while Ciudad Real is a bit far and more isolated.
I became friend of a French girl who was doing this language assistant job in a school.
I would go with La Rioja due to access to one of the world's greatest wine regions. Wines like Rioja Alta and Lopez de Heredia put the crap churned out by California to shame.
I've applied too and have listed Extremadura, Galicia, & Andalucia as my choices. These three, from what I've gathered, are very affordable to live in with 700 euros per month.
I've made Extremadura my top choice because it seems like Spain's great unknown, I can't find much information about it & that attracts me!
What do I know about Extremadura:
1. Not overrun with tourists
2. Most of the conquistadors of the new world came from there
3. Immigration to this region isn't as prevalent as in others
4. It is authentically Spanish
5. Extremeños are friendly people
6. Cost of living is cheapest in all of Spain
7. Only Spanish is spoken there, albeit its a heavy accent
8. Location-not far from Lisbon, Sevilla, or Madrid.
Anyone with experience in this region, how accurate is my assessment ?
One more thing, Castilla-La Mancha was cut out of the program because of funding issues sometime ago.
Check out, if you haven't already, this site for more info about the regions in Spain
I would go with La Rioja due to access to one of the world's greatest wine regions. Wines like Rioja Alta and Lopez de Heredia put the crap churned out by California to shame.
While I'm all for the great Tempranillo and Grenacha of Rioja, it sounds like you could use some of my suggestions on California wines .
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