An American woman moves to Spain and reveals why she will never be 100% happy if she returns to the US: “The food makes me sick”
Life in the Spanish city has shown the young woman a very different vision of work than the one she had during her time in North America.
Christina Davis, 32, moved to Barcelona three years ago and is determined to continue living abroad. Originally from New Jersey, the American studied in Madrid in 2015 and spent the pandemic in Asia after leaving her job in medical device sales in 2019. Her experiences abroad gave her an appreciation for a different lifestyle—one she couldn’t maintain in her home country.
The main reason she left her job in the United States was the immense pressure and demands she faced. She recalls refusing to accept only 10 days of annual vacation while working in America. When choosing a new destination, she was clear that she wanted to remain within the Western world. Europe, she says, “was a kind of middle ground—close enough to home to visit, but not in the United States.”
Taking advantage of her ten days of vacation, the former sales manager researched which European country best suited the lifestyle she hoped to lead. Barcelona emerged as the ideal choice, and she now works there as a podcast producer. She cites several positive aspects of the Spanish city, including lower living costs compared to the United States and the warmth and friendliness of the people.
Living in Spain doesn’t stop Davis from occasionally traveling back to the United States to visit family and friends. “I fly a few times a year, but the lifestyle and cost of living are truly astronomical right now, and you don’t get any better quality of life in return,” she explains, according to the Daily Mail. Her first year in Barcelona, however, was full of surprises and setbacks as she adapted to Spanish culture, navigated the country’s healthcare system, and settled into her new apartment.
“I think the biggest challenge is probably the first year; settling in is really difficult,” she says. “At first, you might feel a little alone because you’ll be talking to your friends from home, and they might not understand what you’re going through.” Davis views the city as somewhat transient, noting that most people don’t live in the Catalan capital for more than four years on average.
Making friends has also been a challenge. The ease with which she meets new people, only to see them leave the city, complicates her ability to form a stable social circle. Her close relationship with her family and this difficulty in establishing long-term friendships motivate her to return to the United States regularly. Still, she admits she misses Barcelona when she’s away, particularly for its food.
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Davis confesses that American food often upsets her stomach, “and I eat pretty clean.” Politics is another concern, as she worries about the strong polarization and the direction her home country is taking.
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