Spain is an incredibly popular destination among Britons expats who flock to the European country to soak up the sun and enjoy a beachy, leisurely lifestyle.
However, moving abroad is a big adjustment and there are some things people should know before they relocate to Spain. A woman who moved from Scotland to Madrid, Spain, warned potential expats that phoning someone between the hours of 2pm and 5pm is considered impolite.
Louisa Dubickas took to YouTube to share an important tip for living in Spain – and being popular with the locals.
She advised: “Do not call anyone between 2pm and 5pm. Spanish people will normally eat between 2pm and 3pm, and then between 3pm and 5pm, sometimes they have a siesta.”
Spain is an incredibly popular choice for British expats
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A siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal.
Louisa continued: “And if they don’t have a nap, they have their resting time. So after they finish eating at 3pm, they might spend two hours lying on the sofa, watching TV or reading a book.
“And it’s considered very rude to phone someone or try and make plans or try and do anything between these eating and resting hours.”
To fit in with the locals, it is advisable to reserve your correspondence for before 2pm or after 5pm.
But the expat did make a distinction between calling for business and calling for pleasure.
She said: “Obviously, Spanish people have their normal working hours between 9am and 8pm during the week, so if you need to phone a large company you can do that during those hours because people will be working.
“But on a personal level, if you were going to phone a friend or phone someone on the weekend, don’t ever phone between the hours of 2pm and 5pm.”
Louisa admitted that she did not know this unwritten rule when she first relocated and consequently made some phone calls during these frowned upon hours.
Britons in Spain are advised to make their phone calls outside the hours of 2-5pm
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“But the response I got was not great,” the expat said. “I mean, people will pick up the phone and talk to you, but you can tell that they’re thinking, ‘What is this person doing phoning me at this time?'”.
Expat Alastair Johnson spoke exclusively to GB News about his move to Spain, revealing that while the relaxed attitude to the time “bugged” him at first, he soon realised the Spanish have “got it right”.
He also weighed in on where you should live in Spain and why “it really is very personal”.
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