| For Matthew, who is originally from England, learning the local language is of paramount importance in making the most out of the expat experience. His love of languages led him to form his own company in Murcia, Spain, where he's having an exciting time! |
 Matthew Bennett |
August 18 2006
-Where were you born?
In a town called Preston, just north of Manchester, in the UK.
-In which country and city are you living now?
Murcia, which is a city of about 500,000 people, in southeast Spain.
-Are you living alone or with your family?
All alone at the minute, apart from a small cat.
-How long have you been living in Spain?
Without going anywhere else, since March 2003, so three-and-a-half years. I first came to Spain in the summer of 1998 and Murcia in February 1999. In total, around six years.
-What is your age?
29
-When did you come up with the idea of living in Spain?
Well, some of my cousins are French because my aunty married a Frenchman, so the idea has always been around. I first came to Spain to teach English to children in a summer camp in a small village called Cervera de Pisuerga in the northern mountains. Later I had to come back to study as an ERASMUS student in order to complete my degree.
-Was it hard to get a visa or a working permit?
Nope, not at all. EU citizens in Spain don't need one and I think they might even have done away with the need for a residency card for us now, although it's worth getting one anyway because it's easier to carry around in your wallet than a bulky passport.
-How do you make your living in Spain? Do you have any type of income generated?
Words, lots of words. I teach, translate and help people (mostly in companies) with languages and communication. I have been self-employed for three years and I am in the process of turning the business, Doctorlingua, into a proper company.
-Do you speak Spanish and do you think it's important to speak the local language?
Yes, yes, yes. I have a BA in Modern Languages and Linguistics and have almost always loved languages. It depends on how much you want to understand and make yourself understood. There are some terrible examples of expats having lived here for decades and still having shocking Spanish skills, or even no Spanish skills at all.
As far as local customs are concerned, I think participation in these is important if you want to make friends and lasting relationships but, proportionally, this is less important than learning the language as well as you possibly can. The most important thing for both aspects is to always try and try and try again: even if you don't get it right; you will always win people's respect, in Spain or anywhere else, for trying your hardest.
-Do you miss home and family sometimes?
Not really. Even if I did, it's only a three-hour plane ride away. Life in Spain with Spanish people is very, very different on many levels from what would be considered normal life in the UK and I enjoy this much more.
-Do you have other plans for the future?
Yes, I am creating a new languages company called Doctorlingua to do language-related things. It's a very exciting project. I no longer have as big a desire to travel as I used to: I spent eight years traveling around and living in Europe and since I've been here for the last three or so, I've discovered lots of exciting things that I would never have found had I continued to travel.
-What about housing, have you bought, or are you renting a home? How much do you pay for it?
Right now I'm renting a flat in the centre of Murcia which costs me 480€/month for 60m², but I would like, for both financial and personal reasons, to buy my first house in the next 12 months, now that I'm more settled.
-What is the cost of living in Spain?
Hmmmm...depends on what you want to buy. Let's see: a taxi ride across town costs 6€, a newspaper 1€, cup of coffee around 1.20€, a decent meal in a nice restaurant can be had for under 30€, rent 500€/month, a night out including beers, restaurant and the rest will cost you between 30€-60€. Average wages here are very low compared to the US or UK and there is a very strong illegal, underground economy.
-What do you think about the Spanish people?
Mostly great. The more I have traveled and lived in different cultures, the more I've found it's much less about groups or stereotypes and much more about individual people. Nice people everywhere, nasty people everywhere, indifferent people everywhere. The people in Murcia are normally very friendly in bars, very gruff in shops and also very loud! This area is quite conservative and Catholic, which shows through in a lot of people's attitudes.
-What are the positive and negative aspects of living in Spain?
Positive: great people, great weather, cold beer, tasty food, fantastic sunsets, music, life generally, people's passion for life and enthusiasm.
Negative: customer service. It's awful in 95% of shops. The labour market, they just don't understand the idea of human resources very well for the most part, or how if you pay and treat people well you get more out of people. There are some notable exceptions, but they're hard to find.
-Do you have any tips for our readers about living in Spain?
Enjoy yourself as much as possible, which won't be hard, and learn Spanish. It makes a world of difference to how you enjoy and understand Spain.
-Do you have any favorite Web sites or blogs about Spain?
Yep, mine! The Big Chorizo, which is a project I'd been wanting to start for ages and finally got around to creating in April this year. Lately, I've had time to discover many more great blogs about Spain, which you can find on the Spain in English page on The Big Chorizo. They're all worth a read if you're interested in Spain.
