‘We were always starving’: Expats in Spain say ‘eating hours’ make it hard to adapt

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Ex-pats Josh and Vicky relocated to Valencia, along with their dog Hodu. The couple told Express.co.uk about the experience and their ex-pat life in the Med.

Josh and Vicky film their lives and share the details of ex-pat living on their Youtube channel, A Couple of Nomads. 

The couple travels extensively around Europe, also documenting their passion on their Instagram account @a_couple_of_nomads.

They love their life in Spain, but the couple did discuss some of the harder elements of Spanish life to adapt to.

Eating hours was one of the biggest struggles for the pair.

They said: “We would say the hardest thing other than the layers of bureaucracy, is adjusting to the eating hours.

“Once we arrived we were always starving.”

The couple blamed the large gap between lunch and dinner for this.

“Lunch is at 2 pm and dinner is not until after 9 pm,” they said.

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However, the pair have managed to adapt now and really enjoy the later dinners.

They said: “We have gotten used to the schedule now, and our dog, Hodu is ready for the terraza at 7:00 pm for tapas and beer.

“She loves the peanuts and is more Spaniard than us now.”

In fact, eating later is a great way to eat the best food in town, the couple advises.

“There are some touristy restaurants and fast food open during non-traditional eating hours, but now that we are locals, we prefer to eat when we are supposed to,” they said.

“And the time that locals eat is the best time to get the best food.”

The couple has described Valencia as the best place in Spain. 

According to the Valencia City Hall Statistics Office, as of 2019 over 100,000 non-Spanish nationals were living in the city.

The couple explained: “We chose Valencia because it’s the third-largest city in Spain, yet not overrun by tourism.

“Then you get beautiful weather, a comparatively low cost of living, the beach, laid back lifestyle, bike lanes, big parks, great food, the list goes on.

“You can have a quick weekend trip to Barcelona or Madrid without their mass tourism and high cost of living.

“For us, it’s the best place in Spain.”

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