s-1
| The first time I was in Barcelona was for the interview. |
s-2
| I wasnt actively looking to move to Spain, its just the opportunity kind of came up to move to Barcelona so I jumped at it. |
s-3
| It looked like a cool city. |
s-4
| Maybe it was a bit of a risk, I dont know…, just moving to a city that I know absolutely nothing about. |
s-5
| It was probably quite easy for me landing down in Spain because I had been brought out there and relocated by the company I work for. |
s-6
| My first impressions of Barcelona were that its quite an easy city to get comfortable in because its such an international city. |
s-7
| I spoke no Spanish before moving to Barcelona and that wasnt much of a hindrance initially, but I then did have the support of my company. |
s-8
| Having lived here for nearly 3 years, my Spanish is quite poor for what it is. |
s-9
| I have enough to get by, but I am nowhere near fluent and Ill probably never be fluent in Spanish. |
s-10
| All my social circles are English speaking. |
s-11
| If I was to start all over again, I would definitely try to make a better effort to learn Spanish, maybe get myself a Spanish girlfriend. |
s-12
| Of the people I work with, the people who became most integrated are those who have a Spanish partner or Catalan partner. |
s-13
| I feel comfortable in Barcelona but I dont feel integrated into Spanish society. |
s-14
| I feel on the periphery of Spanish society, your kind of that foreigner or foreigner group, but I dont have any intention to leave in the near future. |
s-15
| I dont miss a massive amount in Ireland. |
s-16
| I had been living in London for a year before that so I had already got used to living away. |
s-17
| Friends and family: you kind of miss that, but Im only living in Spain and its only a two and a half hour flight back, so its not that difficult for me. |