Featured Image Credit: Jeronimo Noriega / MIGUEL RIOPA/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Mental Health, Money, Travel
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Mental Health, Money, Travel
A student has revealed why he's not planning on returning to the US anytime soon after relocating to Spain.
Jeronimo Noriega grew up in San Antonio, Texas but later agreed with his siblings and parents to move to Oviedo, Asturias in Northwest Spain.
He'd never been to Europe, let alone Spain before, but the 27-year-old's grandparents alternated between Spain and Mexico and his family wanted a change.
Fourteen months into his new life, Jeronimo has now opened up about the pros and cons of the move and ultimately, why he doesn't think he'll 'ever move back to the United States' again.
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If you've been weighing up ditching your desk job and moving abroad for a slower pace of life, this might just help make your mind up once and for all.
Jeronimo told Business Insider while he's 'fluent in Spanish', his ability to speak the language was 'rusty' when he first moved after having lived in the US for so long.
However, he quickly became 'more comfortable' with the language and his comfort increased in many other areas of his life too, from being able to take public transport or 'walk everywhere' in Spain opposed to being 'constantly' sitting in traffic in the US, to the 'sense of community' being 'so strong' too.
Jeronimo noted that people 'say hi to each other' when you walk around your neighborhood in Spain which is 'lovely' and a stark difference from his experience living in the US.
The student explained the 'work culture' in Spain is also an aspect of his new life that he 'love[s]' from 'three-hour lunches' to 'leisure espresso break[s]' in the afternoons.
"In America, I felt like my only options were to rise and grind and get beat down by the machine, but everything is different here," he continued. "In Spain, they seem to value their lives over their work - it's not even a work-life balance."
And the slower pace of life in Spain isn't the only high contrast to life in the US, with the cost of living much more affordable too.
As well as being able to take 'four or five hours' eating at restaurants without feeling pressured to leave, Jeronimo claimed you can get a 'wonderful dinner for $11 per person in Spain'.
So, despite 'definitely' missing his friends and - in a move which may surprise some - missing 'the American customer service', Jeronimo said 'never say never' to moving back across the pond, but he doesn't 'see it in [his] future'.
He resolved: "I've lived here for 14 months and I have a much better quality of life in Spain than I had in the US.
"[...] Now that I've had a taste of what life is like outside the rat race, I'm not eager to get back on the wheel. Life is long, and you never know what will happen, but I'm staying here for the foreseeable future."
So, what do you say?