9 Big Differences Between Life in Madrid and Life in Alicante

Now that we’ve been in Alicante long enough to feel like we actually live here, I’m able to think about how different life is in Alicante compared to life in Madrid. In case you didn’t know this about me, I lived in Madrid for two years from 2018-2020 when I was participating in the NALCAP program as a language assistant. I loved Madrid, and I will always love Madrid! And I had never lived anywhere else in Spain — until now.

When moving to Alicante, I was super curious to find out which things I thought were “Spain” things, that were actually just “Madrid” things. And after two and a half months, here are the biggest differences I’ve noticed so far between life in Madrid and life in Alicante.

1. Level of Friendliness

I’ve always thought that most Spanish people are friendly. Maybe it’s because, when I speak Spanish to them, they’re glad they don’t have to speak English. Maybe it’s just their nature to be friendly. And while people who live in big cities typically have a reputation for being cold and unfriendly, I never felt that to be the case about the Madrileños. Everyone was pretty nice.

In Alicante, I’ve been legitimately blown away by how nice the people are. The rotating cast of landlords and real estate agents we met while touring apartments were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. And here’s one little example that I feel like really illustrates the friendliness: I texted one landlord telling them we wouldn’t be coming to view their place because we’d signed a contract elsewhere. They replied (which wasn’t even really necessary) and said “Oh, congratulations on finding a place. I hope you love Alicante!”

2. Trash/Recycling availability

In Madrid, the trash and recycling bins outside my apartment would appear four nights a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. They didn’t always show up at the same time, so if I wanted to take out the trash on my way out, I’d have to look over my balcony to see if they were there yet. There was one bin for trash, and one bin for “envases,” which is for food containers, including plastic packing, aluminum cans, and milk cartons. And these bins had a big “47” written on them in permanent marker — they were strictly for my building, number 47.

Most buildings have their own bins, and you are absolutely not supposed to use bins that are not yours. Meanwhile, there were large community recycling bins permanently stationed about a block and a half away in a public square — though these were only for cardboard, glass, and clothing.

Here in Alicante, the situation has been entirely different. There seem to be community trash/recycling receptacles on every block, for every type of material. Just steps outside our apartment, we can find every type of bin. Across the street, there are more.

It’s so much easier for a variety of reasons. First, we can take out the trash/recycling anytime we want! If we have visitors in town, we don’t have to worry about it not being the right day to take out the trash. We don’t have to worry about it being the wrong day before we leave for a trip. Also, it’s way easier to throw out trash/recycling when walking around the city — the bins are everywhere and easily accessible!

3. Transportation

Madrid is a massive city. To get to my favorite coffee shop (RIP), I took the metro. To get to my friends’ apartment, I took the metro. To get to the bus station, (where I would then take the bus to school,) I took the metro. Unless I was spending the whole day in my neighborhood, or I specifically felt like walking, I took the metro. Occasionally, I would take the bus. But this was usually only to get to Point A to Point B when the metro was either not an option or not an efficient choice.

Alicante is so much smaller than Madrid that there is no metro. There is a bus system, but we’ve only taken it a handful of times: going to the airport a few times, and once going out to a suburb to check out the mall. For everywhere else we want/need to go, we can walk. I love where we live because almost anything in Alicante is within a 20-minute walk. Considering that one of my favorite things about living in Europe is being able to walk everywhere, Alicante checks that box easily.

(Though I do love a good metro system, and I think the Madrid metro is one of the best in the world.)

4. Siesta/Sunday Shutdown

You may be aware of the concept of “siesta” in Spain. And I’m here to tell you that it is 100% a real thing and definitely not a myth. But it’s not just about taking a nap. It’s where businesses shut down from about 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 or 5 p.m. Every day. Then, they typically re-open until about 8 p.m.

In Madrid, I feel like I didn’t notice the siesta as much as I do here in Alicante. Maybe it has to do with how my own personal schedule has changed since then. But maybe it’s because Madrid is a major city that likely has adjusted more to tourists and the international crowd. Some things in my little neighborhood would close during siesta, but it seemed like life went on pretty normally in many parts of the city.

In Alicante, almost everything really does shut down. I needed to get a prescription refilled last week, and I wanted to take care of it while I was out, but it was 3 p.m. and none of the three pharmacies I stopped by were open.

Similarly, while some things shut down in Madrid on Sundays, a lot are still open. But almost everything is closed in Alicante on Sundays.

5. Grocery Store Monopoly

In Madrid, I had two small-to-medium sized grocery stores within two blocks of my apartment. One was DIA, which was very easy to find around Madrid, and the other was Condis, which was actually pretty uncommon. (It’s no longer there. And I’ve since learned that Condis is a larger chain in Catalunya.) The selection at DIA and Condis wasn’t huge, but I could get most things I needed. If I needed a bigger grocery store, I could walk about 10 minutes to either a Carrefour Market or a Mercadona. On any day out in Madrid, I would be likely to come across any of the brands previously mentioned, or perhaps a Carrefour Express, Alcampo, or Ahorramas.

In Alicante — at least in the city center — there’s one main grocery store to rule them all: Mercadona. There are a few Carrefour Expresses scattered throughout town, and a couple locations of a medium-sized store called Masymas, but Mercadona has definitely cornered the “big grocery store” market. I like Mercadona, and there’s one about three blocks from our apartment, so it’s fine with me! My only complaint is that I’m not able to find this Mercadona-brand ice cream I fell in love with 5 years ago…

6. Cafes/Coffee Shops to Work or Study

I am so, so fortunate to be able to work remotely — or else I wouldn’t be here, obviously. But beyond that, I love going out to coffee shops or cafes and working from there! Even when we’re in Kansas City, I make sure to go to my favorite coffee shop to work at least once a week. I find it so motivating to be out in the world working on my projects, surrounded by other people who are also working or just enjoying life.

One thing that has seemed really hit-or-miss in Spain as a whole, is whether there are places where working remotely is allowed. I can understand why not every cafe would want all their customers to bunker down for hours, especially if they’re limited on space. And there are some cities where that would probably be more of an issue than others. (For example, when we spent August in Sevilla, almost every cafe had a sign stating “no laptops,” which was very sad for me personally.)

When I first got to Madrid, I had a surprisingly hard time finding coffee shops where I could bring my laptop. In my neighborhood, it was mostly that places didn’t have Wi-Fi, or they had like three tiny tables for people to have their toast and coffee and be on their way. In order to find places where working/studying was allowed, I had to venture into the city center.

There were a few “big name” cafes that were famous for allowing laptops, but here was the problem: Everybody in Madrid who wanted to work/study in a coffee shop was there. I mean, it made sense. Madrid is a huge city with lots of universities and students. But those cafes were usually so busy that it was hard to find a seat. And even if I found a seat, there was certainly not an outlet nearby if I needed it.

Here in Alicante, I feel like most cafes are much more chill about letting people work there. And it makes sense. The city is a lot smaller, so not every cafe/coffee shop is filled to the brim all the time. There’s no university in the city center. And most cafes have plenty of space and tables available. While they may not advertise that they are “laptop-friendly,” I get the sense that, as long as a place has Wi-Fi, almost no one would tell you that you can’t use your laptop there — as long as you ask nicely. 🙂

7. Bugs or No Bugs

One of my absolute favorite things about living in Madrid: THERE WERE NO BUGS. No ants, no mosquitoes, no spiders, no beetles. Actually, the only time I ever saw beetles was in a park, at night, at the height of Covid lockdown while I was walking my roommates’ dog. Probably the sustained lack of human activity drew them out from the depths of hell.

Very extremely unfortunately, bugs are definitely a thing in Alicante. And you know what’s not a thing? Having screens for your windows/doors. We have an absolutely beautiful terrace that has a view of the Mediterranean Sea (!!!) and we often have the sliding door open to let the breeze in. And the mosquitoes are taking that as a personal invitation. Not to mention the ants that have decided that my office is their office, too.

And don’t get me started on the cucarachas. (I can’t even bring myself to type the English word.) I know they love warm, tropical climates, and I’ve seen them in the Canary Islands and the Galapagos Islands, but I didn’t think about the fact that they might be here. One day in my Spanish class when I was complaining about the mosquitoes, my teacher told me that the cucarachas are going to start coming around in the spring/summer. I saw one in the middle of the street the other day. 😥

8. Primary English Speakers

In Madrid, Americans are a dime a dozen. Not only are there the study abroad students, but there are all the NALCAP program participants who, like me, chose Madrid as their preferred region. In Madrid’s city center, near Puerta del Sol, I think it would be extremely unlikely to spend more than 5 minutes there and not hear someone speaking English with an American accent.

Alicante, on the other hand, has wayyyy less Americans. If you’re an American, and you’re going to fly all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to take a trip through Spain, you’re probably going to Madrid. Barcelona. Sevilla. Maybe Granada. But definitely not Alicante. To be entirely honest, I never even knew Alicante existed when I lived in Madrid. I only learned about it from an Instagram Reel that was suggested to me a few months before we moved to Spain.

If you hear English in Alicante, there’s a 95% chance it’s a British person instead of an American. British people looooove the Costa del Sol, or the “sun coast” of Spain, which is where Alicante is located. But even more than that, they love a city about 30 minutes north of Alicante called Benidorm. And that’s a story for another day.

9. The Amount of Butter You Get For Your Toast

In both Madrid and Alicante — and probably the rest of Spain — one of the most common breakfasts is pan con tomate, which bread with tomato. It’s basically some toast with some sort of fresh tomato puree, which varies based on where you are in the country, along with some olive oil and salt. Since I don’t like tomatoes, I always order my toast with mantequilla y mermelada, or butter and jam. The butter and jam each come in a little single-serve packet, which is served to you alongside the toasted bread.

It turns out that I was being shorted on butter all my years in Madrid. Every single place in Alicante has given me two butter packets instead of just one. 😋

 

Of course, there are so many things that are different when it comes to life in Madrid vs. life in Alicante. And I’ve only been here for a few months. But I’m excited to keep learning more about the differences between the different cities!

Did anything surprise you? Do you think you would like to live in Alicante or Madrid? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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