I told my mom I'd renewed for a third
year in Spain, to which she replied, “You must really love it
there.” She has a good point. Most people do the auxiliary thing
for no more than two years, then return home to start the careers
they studied for, pay off student loans, make more money than what
NALCA pays us, or because they miss friends and family too much.
I can understand people wanting to stay
for several years in Spain. It's an exciting country, so different
from our lives back home. What I don't understand is why my friends
have chosen Jaén, year after year, over more popular cities like
Granada, Sevilla, Málaga, Madrid, or Barcelona. I know many
foreigners in Jaén who have chosen to be here for three years or
more. The usual reason is that the foreigner has met a local, and
wants to stay for the sake of the relationship. However, amongst my
friends in Jaén, that is the exception rather than the rule. 95% of
us are single, and have been for a while (I'm talking about a minimum
one-year drought, y'all).
It certainly isn't money making us stay
here. Sure, Jaén is one of the cheapest cities to live in in Spain.
Rent is extremely low, and you can literally walk out of the house
with 5E and eat and drink like a king. However, our low salaries as
English teachers match that cost of living.
We also aren't exactly overblown by
awe-inspiring monuments. We have some, albeit on a much smaller scale
than the mezquita of Córdoba or the Alhambra of Sevilla. Jaén's
cathedral is okay, and the Santa Catalina castle is worth the
strenuous hike, but that's all that comes to mind. True, the entire
province is littered with fantastic castles, but not everyone has a
car nor is interested in that sort of thing (I am a nerd so the
castles make me very happy, but not having a car puts a serious dent
in my plans).
Travel can be a nightmare. The closest
airport is Granada, but it has limited flights. There's Málaga, but
that is 2.5 hours (by car) or almost 4 hours (by bus) away. Buses
take even longer. Trains are the same, plus expensive.
Wanna dance? If you're old like me,
Jaén gets a thumbs-down. Mind you, I tend to ignore the youngness of
the crowd and dance my heart out, 'cause that's why I go, not to take
someone home. But there are only THREE places here to dance, and the
music is not great. We also don't normally get exciting bands coming
to town to perform. (I heard recently that Bob Dylan came to Jaén
several years ago. Who the heck convinced him to come here?)
With all of my complaints about this
city, in terms of personal goals this place suits me. Firstly, I love
that very few locals speak English, which has helped me reach my goal
of having high fluency in Spanish. Also, as a food lover, you can't
beat the (somewhat) complementary tapas that come with each beverage,
alcoholic or not. Last but not least, I (almost always) like Jaén's
small-town feel, rather than the craziness that comes with big
cities.
And you? What's your reason for
choosing Jaén? Comment below.
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