I may not be an expat, but I am thinking about becoming one. I was hoping to maybe have some of my questions answered before hand, to help me make my decision.

Essentially, I am a student looking at doing my Masters degree abroad (in Physics).

1. What are the various Universities in Spain? And, if possible, anyone know which ones have good Physics departments (ties with CERN definitely a plus - particle physics)?

2. What is rent like in Spain, if, say, I was looking for a 1 bedroom apartment? I would furnish my own place, I think. (Since it is probably city dependent, I am really only interested in the cities with good Universities)

3. How difficult is it to get by with little to no Spanish? Will I be able to pick it up quickly?

4. I liked the articles about obtaining Visas and such, but, from personal experience, just how much of a hassle is it to take care of the paperwork involved?

Anyways, thanks very much in advance, and kudos on the great website.

~Travis

(PS: I hope I posted this in the right section!)

TawM - 23 June 2006 06:32 AM

1. What are the various Universities in Spain? And, if possible, anyone know which ones have good Physics departments (ties with CERN definitely a plus - particle physics)?

2. What is rent like in Spain, if, say, I was looking for a 1 bedroom apartment? I would furnish my own place, I think. (Since it is probably city dependent, I am really only interested in the cities with good Universities)

3. How difficult is it to get by with little to no Spanish? Will I be able to pick it up quickly?

4. I liked the articles about obtaining Visas and such, but, from personal experience, just how much of a hassle is it to take care of the paperwork involved?

Hi Travis,
1. If I were you I’d check out the Polytech University in Barcelona. They must have a pretty decent Physics dept as I heard they have the world’s 2nd fastest computer.

2. Rent is pretty cheap I’d say, depends though. If you’re in Barcelona or Madrid it’s kinda expensive, especially lately. Usually you rent a place that’s already furnished though, so you don’t need to worry about that and it’s not that much more money for these places. but yeah, about 500-700 euros per month in those cities. I know salamanca has a bit U too, not too sure about the physics programs there though. But it would be much cheaper I’d assume.

3. Um, you should probably start learning spanish now, although its one of the most forumlaic languages I’ve see. Nice regular verb conjugation most of the time, etc. With a math-type brain (if you’re in physics) it’d be easier I assume.

4. I don’t know, I haven’t gone through it yet 😉 but from what everyone else says it’s not fun. talk to your embassy.

3. How difficult is it to get by with little to no Spanish? Will I be able to pick it up quickly?

Hi TawM 😊
You may be able to pick up the language before too long if you are either a quick learner when it comes to languages or highly motivated.  I learned to speak Spanish in about 6 months but I was living in Mexico at the time.  I went the “motivated” route, as I was living in a town where I was the only English speaking person for miles around.  I can tell you that during the process of my learning the language there were lots of tears involved - most of them mine - but I made it to the point where I could converse
with everyone (they enjoyed my mistakes for the most part) and even started thinking in Spanish by the time I left.  This was years ago, and I have still have not been formally taught, but I am still able to speak Spanish, understand most of it if someone is speaking to me directly, and read and write a bit.  I can tell you that I would not be able to translate important documents but my grasp of the language gets me by. 

Like Andy said, start learning now, and even if you don’t move to Spain, you will have begun to learn a great language.  If you don’t want to start with a class, go to Barnes & Noble and get a book called “Spanish in 10 minutes a day” and then spend more than 10 minutes each day reading it.  The book will help you get started with conversational Spanish and teaches you how to pronounce the words correctly.  I can tell you that Spanish is more methodical and organized than English.  Once you
learn the sounds of the alphabet, you will be able to pronounce every word correctly and sound like a local….almost. 

Good luck, and let us know how everything goes.

As regards learning some everyday Spanish to “get you by” I would recommend an 8 CD set marketed by the late Michel Thomas. It’s available widely in Europe.

See:...... http://www.michelthomascourses.co.uk/

HTH

Hi TawM,

I agree with what everyone else has written so far.  You should be able to pick up on a lot of Spanish, but it would help to do some sort of basic CD based or Audiotape course before you move.

The Visa process for me was okay - it was relatively pain free and fast after we waited 5 months for our work permit to be approved.  So, I would suggest just getting everything in order early and using all of your available resources through whatever school you decide to attend.

Spain is awesome though - I am sure you will enjoy it!

😊

kmco001 - 06 July 2006 06:43 PM

Hi TawM,

I agree with what everyone else has written so far.  You should be able to pick up on a lot of Spanish, but it would help to do some sort of basic CD based or Audiotape course before you move.

😊

Yes, the CD idea is a good one, but I have to be able to see the written word when I am learning something like a new language.  My brain just works best that way. 😊  Otherwise, I will just plug my ears, start humming and exclaim, “Lalala I’m not listening until you write it down on paper for me!”

I never said I was mature about it, lol. 😉