A Reflection on the Past 5 Months
Have you ever been curious as to what it would be like to move to a new country and be welcomed into their society? I’m publishing this post today as I have just reached the 5-month anniversary of my arrival in Spain. I also recently received my official Spanish ID. Before this new event in my life, all I had was my visa and visa extension for living in Spain and my passport.
September 20th of 2023, is when I arrived at my new home (September, October, November, December, and January, are the 5 months that I’ve been living here). In the time that I’ve been in Spain, I’ve had the opportunity to observe how Spanish culture differs from my upbringing in the United States, and I only have positive observations of my time in Spain, specifically in the Canary Islands on Tenerife. I might return to this post in the future to update it with my new experiences.
1.) Cost of Living
The rent prices for apartments/flats (Depending on what you call them based on your location) and food prices are two elements of my time here that have been interesting to say the least. It may sound like I’m saying that the cost rent and food is horrible by using the word “Interesting”, but that’s the opposite of the truth. For rent each month, I have been paying 400 euros. I am grateful because I get to live in an extremely nice apartment, so paying 400 euros per month does not mean that the apartment isn’t satisfactory.
Food is extremely reasonably priced as well. In fact, if you have a tight budget, it is extremely easy to live off of 10 euros or less per day, depending on where you stay. I say that it depends on where you stay because the rent can be a little more expensive depending on how close you are to the different plazas and city center. Even though this is the case when living in the city center, groceries and restaurant prices still remain pretty consistent in terms of their affordability.
2.) Citizens & City Life
The people in Tenerife are amazing. I live in the northern part of the island, specifically in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and everyone here is super friendly and helpful. If you ever have any questions, the locals are always there to help. I’ve noticed that family is extremely important in Spanish culture during my time here. This observation comes from my experiences with the locals and their friendliness, as I mentioned above.
There’s a saying here that is used frequently. This saying is, “No pasa nada,” or “No problem,” in English. In my time in Spain, I’ve come to learn that this saying is not just a saying. This saying is a way of life in Spain. I’m sure I exclaimed the word “Saying,” a lot here, so my apologies for that, haha :)
The next important element of Tenerife to mention is the atmosphere of the city. Early in the morning on my walks to work, I’ve noticed that the city is bustling with other people. The same could also be said about my returning from work to my apartment at the end of the day. This is amazing in that you can really feel the liveliness of the city in such an immersive way. Maybe “Immersive,” isn’t the best way to describe a real-life city, but the city I live in just feels so alive, and I can’t help having this feeling of complete amazement when walking through the busy city every morning and afternoon.
The observation above may not be surprising to people who grew up in a larger city in the United States, but it is for me because I grew up in an extremely small community and the university that I attended was in a small city as well. The population density is completely different here in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Keeping on the topic of life in the city, the nightlife here is amazing as well. Most weekends, it seems that there’s a concert or some sort of party or event going on in or around the city center.
In February, Carnival will be happening in the city. In fact, it is said that Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s Carnival is the second largest in the world, Brazil has the largest Carnival.
3.) Safety
With a denser population than the cities that I’ve lived in the United States, it might be possible to assume that the crime is more frequent. This notion couldn’t be further from the truth.
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, it’s fair to say that I feel extremely safe. Police, military, and people are everywhere, and since everyone has been super friendly or helpful, I’ve had no reason to stray from this thought or edit this observation regarding the level of safety.
Even late at night, I’ve never been worried about being robbed due to the zero tolerance for crime here and heavy law enforcement presence. Sometimes I’ll be walking back home at 2am due to the fact that nightlife is major here, and I have never had any negative experiences on those walks through the city. I honestly think law enforcement here deserves consistent recognition and thankfulness/gratitude due to their friendliness and strong commitment to their duty of keeping this city the safe haven that it is and that it has been from my observations in the time that I’ve been here.
To conclude this article, I’d just like to say that if you have the opportunity to visit Santa Cruz de Tenerife, do it. This is an amazing city filled with amazing people, and I’m so grateful to have been able to form the friendships that I have with people here. In an upcoming article, I will share my thoughts on other elements of the city, such as the public transport and the cruise ship/ferry that goes to the other Canary Islands. All of these observations are going to be positive (I know that what I’ve had to say in this article is all positive, but I literally have zero negative observations to share).
Thank you for reading this article. I’m looking forward to sharing my next article with you. :)
