This post was written by Maria (cool name, don’t ya think?). She is a friend of mine who grew up in Spain, went to university in France and studied abroad in the US. She will share her experience on the differences between living in Spain and the US.
Differences between living in Spain and the US
As a Spanish citizen that has spent 10 months living in the USA, I am going to share with you the similarities and differences between living in Spain and in the US.
National Language
First of all, Spain has a national official language Spanish, while the United States does not have any official language even though the most spoken language is English. As a matter of fact, there is over 10% of Spanish speaking population in the American territory and 25% of non-native English speaking population in the United States.
This means understanding each other can sometimes become a cultural problem, depending on the state or region where we are in each country.
Living Life Late in Spain
Secondly, timetables are very different in Spain than in the U.S. In the everyday life, there is a 2 hour gap between the American and the Spanish timing. So as to say, Spanish people have breakfast between 9 and 10am, lunch between 2 and 3pm and dinner between 9 and 10pm. Americans do most things much sooner throughout the day.
Going out is also very different in both countries. Spanish people are used to go out much more often than Americans, no matter what age. In Spain you can see 6 years old children at 12 or 1am in the evening with their parents in a restaurant or a bar enjoying each others company. This would be very shocking for Americans.
Businesses and public places have different timetables too. Businesses in Spain, only stores and boutiques, open from 10am to 2pm and from 5pm to 8pm, while they are usually open from 10 am until 7pm in the U.S. That is what is defined as the “siesta”, but mainly by foreigners. This custom is becoming less and less popular in Spain. Also, restaurants serve dinner until 11pm or even 12am while kitchens normally close around 9 or 10pm in the U.S. And bars and clubs close at 5 or 6 am in Spain while at 1 or 2 am for the Americans. This makes a huge difference in the night life style between these two countries.
Everything is bigger in the US
A very big difference of consumption is the sizes of goods sold in the U.S.A comparing to those sold in Europe as a whole. Americans buy enormous bottles of shampoo, for example while those sizes do not even exist in Europe. At the same time, housing is not also the same. Houses are smaller in Spain because they are more expensive. In big cities the majority of people live in apartments while in houses in the U.S. This is a notable difference.
The cultural disparities, such as food, music or art are different, but like between any other country in the world. Clothing is “owned” by multinational companies like Zara, Gap or luxury companies in both countries so this is not a shocking difference.
Even though there are many differences between living in Spain and the US and clichés from both countries, living in the U.S has been an amazing experience for me. I know that living in Spain for an American will be as a valuable experience as it has been for me to live in the U.S.A.
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MariaAbroad is a Travel Blog to inspire you and show you cool places around the world. I'll share articles about travel, culture, and craft beer. Follow me along, as I adventure through the world, one beer at a time. Cheers!
You must also realize that in the cities in the US, nobody owns a house, but rather, apartments. When I go up to Asturias…. houses are everywhere, much like the US… You are a bit mistaken.
gimme some answers fool. I gots a proj due in a few days and i wants some differences:l
“First of all, Spain has a national official language Spanish”
In fact ,we have FOUR official languages, Spanish, Basque, Catalan, and Gallego.
Greetings.
Actually I must disagree their are 5, the one you didn’t mention and I take a personal offense because the people and living is excellent. Asturias, Spain they speak Asturiano. Lived there an loved a precious moment people good everything is ecellent.
Valenciano also
The official language in the USA is English. Spanish is the second language.
Throughout the work week people do not go out in the USA, we go out on the weekends.
English is not the official language of the USA…we don’t have an official language…
People go out in the US any day of the week. The times are very accurate and apartments are common, but mostly used in larger cities as the major home choice. Houses are more common in suburban areas.
Everything Maria lists as differences are valid from my long experiences, both as an American in the U.S. and as a foreigner in Spain.
Yes, a numerical majority of Americans do live in houses, but the responder mentioning cities was accurate, too. In New York City most people live in apartments because that’s how the city is laid out, and in San Francisco many people also rent apartments because of the costs of owning. In other parts of California, as well, the costs of owning are prohibitive to many people so renting is common in that state.
Another rental option in the U.S. is becoming more common — renting rooms in houses or sharing apartments or houses.
Americans do go out every night of the week, but Fridays and Saturdays are much more common. In certain areas, especially in the suburbs, people rarely go out during the week. In some high-cost areas like southern California, it is simply too expensive to go out so people entertain at home. Americans entertain at home far more frequently than do Spaniards.
I would much prefer to entertain friends, colleagues or clients in cafes and restaurants, as in Spain. That’s one of many reasons I prefer to live there. And I will again someday, this time for good.
Oh, and while housing is indeed generally smaller in Spain than in the U.S., again in certain locales such as New York, apartments can be very small because they are very expensive.
Excellent piece, Maria — and excellent site! Keep it up!
Some of you guys leave rhude comments. Nobody said that this essay was accurate. I’m just saying
Rude
Also, J. Perry, English is not the “official” language of the U.S. Maria was right there. We don’t have an official language. English is the “prevailing” language, but it was never made official.
Several conservative politicians have wanted to make it official, but were never able to get that off the ground.
Good Article. Thank you for posting.
JLS
Spain is a very interesting place America is just kind of boring
this is a great website love it thanks for whoever put it together it helped on my college essay. now i can go to Spain knowing the differences. thanks. RMJL
to whoever said English was the official language and Spanish is the second in USA, you are wrong.
USA does not have an official language. English is the de facto language.
What about Hispanic crime?