Or, a round-up of heretofore unmentioned tips for expats and expats-to-be: MAIL AND DELIVERIES Almost everything I once ordered through amazon.com stateside is available through amazon.es in Spain. I use the same account and log-in, have received deliveries without incident. An amazon.es CSR called to verify bonafides for my first order. I missed a couple…
All posts by Tim Adams
I introduce Madrid Cercanías commuter rail
Zurich, Berlin, Copenhagen and Munich have their S-trains. Parisians ride the RER; Long Islanders, the LIRR. Torontonians brave snowdrifts on the GO, perhaps while grunting ‘Eh?’ at one another after maple syrup-sogged moose chases. (I haven’t visited Canada in awhile.) Commuter rail is the inadequate and often misleading moniker for transit services of this type. Bigger…
Conversations with Techies
I joined many public hikes in San Francisco, and while thus wholesomely engaged often found myself talking shop with techies: querying a coder about the merits of Java, C, Python while we panted our way up Bernal hill, or absorbing security tips from a sysadmin under the Lands’ End cypress boughs. Two reasons why: IT…
Spanish as Spoken in Spain
Madrid is 4,975 miles from Bogotá, 5,600 miles from Mexico City, 6,200 miles from Buenos Aires. The lingo may have originated in España, but regional differences have evolved among the 400+ million speakers worldwide. I have encountered some in Spain, post this New Year’s Day to tell the tale. Expect little of interest if your…
For Expats: an International Move
Behold, the innards of my 10′ x 15′ locker at Storage Pro in flat, uncelebrated Lathrop, California. I paid CrownWMS about eight and a half grand to cart this gear 5,700 miles east to Spain. Expats-to-be will contemplate similar transactions, may thank me for sharing what I learned. OVERVIEW Imagine hiring a crew for a…
For Expats: Renting a Madrid Apartment
I did it, rented a great place, gained knowledge not seen elsewhere online, think I ought to share it. WHERE TO LOOK Idealista.com or fotocasa.es, and I spent nearly all my time on Idealista. Some will recommend the protections afforded through a search with ‘empresa municipal de la vivienda y suelo.’ They may be right,…
USA to Spain: Going Expat
I completed paperwork for a Spain long-term visa, moved to Madrid, live there now, intend to stay. This morning I feel oddly motivated to sum up what I’ve learned about the process for transitophile readers. I wonder why! Who knows where these weird whims originate? Maybe something happened. The U.S.-to-Spain expat wanna-be must: qualify for…
I Explain Trump to Spain
Spain is interested in Donald Trump. Understandably. I ignored many European squabbles while hailing F cars on the other side of the planet, but paid attention when Britain voted itself out of the European Union. Iberian psychology may be similar. Spaniards have their own canoes to row, little time to fret about Citizens United, Merrick…
Alecciono a España sobre Trump
España está interesada en Donald Trump. Entiendo por qué. Ignoraba muchos conflictos de Europa mientras viajaba en tranvías al otro lado del mundo, pero presté atención cuando Reino Unido votó por el Brexit. La psicología de la Península Iberica podría ser similar. Los españoles tienen sus propios problemas, poco tiempo para preocuparse por Citizens United,…
Madrid: Second Impressions
Now that I’ve been here a month: FANTASTIC PEDESTRIAN LIFE The clip below shows some of the pedestrian streets branching off from Puerta del Sol. I’ve been too busy boning up on my irregular verbs to study recent Madrid history, but gather that callers-of-shots here are determined to put people and transit before cars in…