[temujin]

How desperate are Spanish men?

http://northbynorthwestern.com/story/sar...anish-men/

Ran across that and it sounds like they jump on any old pudgy American or foreign girl who stays near down in Sevilla at least.

[Acute Angle]

I think her experience is not typical. I spent over four months in Sevilla, mixing with the locals and expats alike. I found Spanish men to be nice-guy betas and highly respectful of women. One foreign female friend commented that she'd made many friends amongst local men and was happy that they didn't seem to want anything from her other than friendship, unlike men in other parts of Europe she's been to (she's widely travelled).

[temujin]

What did you think about the women in Sevilla?

I get they're not exactly hard-up for foreign men, but how were the M-F ratios in general, is there stiff local competition for the women (Spanish and foreign)?

[thegmanifesto]

(01-23-2013 02:09 AM)temujin Wrote:  

How desperate are Spanish men?

http://northbynorthwestern.com/story/sar...anish-men/

Ran across that and it sounds like they jump on any old pudgy American or foreign girl who stays near down in Sevilla at least.

Spanish men hit on American girls aged 18-22 for the same reason every foreign man hits on American girls aged 18-22:

They are easy.

[bojangles]

all these recent Spain threads are making me want to return, it's been a while, i'll see what our lad with the villa in Malaga thinks for hitting town for a week or two in the summer. Maybe drive down there from here and knock some of the east coast out on the way

[Acute Angle]

(01-23-2013 07:14 AM)temujin Wrote:  

What did you think about the women in Sevilla?

I get they're not exactly hard-up for foreign men, but how were the M-F ratios in general, is there stiff local competition for the women (Spanish and foreign)?

There's a wide range of women, from the grungy types who wear parkas to the most stylish pseudo-catwalk types. The former tend not to have tattoos and piercings but a lot of them smoke (weed as well as tobacco). I didn't meet any of the latter personally. It's not easy to meet any women unless you're already in (or on the close periphery of) their social circle. However, I never went to any clubs - it may be different there. I've been to Spain many many times and I've never found them to be easy lays, and Sevilla is no different. Most live with their parents until they marry and do not participate in casual hook-ups. I'd say befriend the guys first - they can be really cool and I have good memories of my times with them - and work your way into social circles, if you have time.

Ratios are not too bad, and I didn't meet any guys I would call players. But Spanish is required to have a decent social life, and in fact they speak Andaluz - a dialect of Spanish - very very fast; it takes a while to get used to it even if your Castellano is good.

All in all, it's not easy if you want to game the local women. Sevilla is a beautiful and characterful city, but I wouldn't go there to game. Maybe the best time to go is for the Feria in April - one huge, long party. I missed it, but I hear it gets quite wild.

[opening23]

I've lived in Seville for many years. This is NOT a city to game in. Not sure how Don Juan did it back in the day. He must have had a VERY tight social circle. As I said, I've lived here for many years and do business here. People are cordial, but it's still insanely hard to break into their tight little circles. Maybe it's me, but I think there is something fucked up about the mentality of Spanish people here. Anything new or different is somehow bad. Conformity is key. What your friends and family and family's friends think of you is key. Stick with what you know, and stick with those who you've known for your whole life. I do have many Spanish friends here, and even they admit to this. People say here..."siempre ha sido asi". Meaning...it's always been this way. It's true. Come to Seville to enjoy the good weather, a few days of tapas, the beautiful architecture and city, and then get the fuck out of dodge. Feria is no better. The Feria of Seville is a CLOSED EVENT. This means that nearly all the casetas (tents with music and dance) are PRIVATE. If you don't know somebody, you won't be invited in. The tents are controlled by friends that have known each other for a lifetime and use the Feria to get together and talk about...who the fuck knows...since they must have already talked about every topic under the sun in a lifetime. The Feria of Malaga, for example, is an OPEN EVENT. All open casetas. The Feria of Seville is representative in my mind of the mindset of people here...CLOSED. And they like to keep it that way. I make my money in Seville, and have my fun in other cities around the world.

One last note...if I had to pick any area of the city to try and game girls, it might be Alameda. This is where the more alternative crowd goes. It's also a gay area. You might have some luck here. Trying to hit up the clubs in the center where all the "pija" (preppy) girls go...good luck! You will def see some hot girls, but you have no chance with them. Even before you see them, you'll need to get past the bouncer. And bouncers at these places are notoriously assholes to foreigners. They like to keep the clubs Spanish only, and a certain type of Spanish person. You'd think they would be happy having some different people in...nope! I've never had any problems because I have a friend who is super connected at all these places, but it's hardly fun for me to go to these clubs and see the same people hanging about...in the fucking same groups as last week and last week and last week...talking about who knows what...pathetic! Good luck fellas!

[opening23]

(01-24-2013 06:29 AM)opening23 Wrote:  

I've lived in Seville for many years. This is NOT a city to game in. Not sure how Don Juan did it back in the day. He must have had a VERY tight social circle. As I said, I've lived here for many years and do business here. People are cordial, but it's still insanely hard to break into their tight little circles. Maybe it's me, but I think there is something fucked up about the mentality of Spanish people here. Anything new or different is somehow bad. Conformity is key. What your friends and family and family's friends think of you is key. Stick with what you know, and stick with those who you've known for your whole life. I do have many Spanish friends here, and even they admit to this. People say here..."siempre ha sido asi". Meaning...it's always been this way. It's true. Come to Seville to enjoy the good weather, a few days of tapas, the beautiful architecture and city, and then get the fuck out of dodge. Feria is no better. The Feria of Seville is a CLOSED EVENT. This means that nearly all the casetas (tents with music and dance) are PRIVATE. If you don't know somebody, you won't be invited in. The tents are controlled by friends that have known each other for a lifetime and use the Feria to get together and talk about...who the fuck knows...since they must have already talked about every topic under the sun in a lifetime. The Feria of Malaga, for example, is an OPEN EVENT. All open casetas. The Feria of Seville is representative in my mind of the mindset of people here...CLOSED. And they like to keep it that way. I make my money in Seville, and have my fun in other cities around the world.

One last note...if I had to pick any area of the city to try and game girls, it might be Alameda. This is where the more alternative crowd goes. It's also a gay area. You might have some luck here. Trying to hit up the clubs in the center where all the "pija" (preppy) girls go...good luck! You will def see some hot girls, but you have no chance with them. Even before you see them, you'll need to get past the bouncer. And bouncers at these places are notoriously assholes to foreigners. They like to keep the clubs Spanish only, and a certain type of Spanish person. You'd think they would be happy having some different people in...nope! I've never had any problems because I have a friend who is super connected at all these places, but it's hardly fun for me to go to these clubs and see the same people hanging about...in the fucking same groups as last week and last week and last week...talking about who knows what...pathetic! Good luck fellas!

One last note. You WILL need to speak Spanish to game here. The level of English is very very bad here. None of my friends speak more than a few words. And people in Seville speak very quickly and use a lot of slang. Here we don't speak Spanish...we speak "Andaluz".

[Acute Angle]

@ Opening23: Thanks, that's very interesting and gives me a bit of clarity about my experiences there. I had something of an introduction to some social circles because I taught English, but even so it was hard work to get people to really open up. I think the Spanish can be friendly, AS LONG AS they're getting something from you. I found the guys a lot more open to friendship than the women. But more than one foreigner remarked to me that Sevillanos are obsessed with their roots: "Mi pueblo" - not the whole city but the small area of it where they grew up. One foreign couple had lived there for three years and had hardly made any local friends - very personable people who learned the language and made great efforts to be sociable. It's deceptive, because Sevilla has a compact centre and feels like the sort of place you can get to know quite intimately in a few months, but the locals, no.

[opening23]

That reminds me of a friend who came here once with his Asian gf. He stayed at my place. Normally when he had been travelling in Europe, people were naturally curious and spoke with him and her. She has a bit of a distinctive look. He told me that when he was in Seville in bars, people actually talked over and around him and her. He's a friendly guy and well travelled, but he was unable to get in one meaningful conversation. You think one person here was curious about her and her looks? That would be no. Most Asians you see here are Chinese, and they are associated with working at these dollar stores. I've seen some terrible racism directed toward them. I had a very good Japanese gf who left Seville because she was tired of all the racism, and especially people yelling things at her and calling her "Chinita". She doesn't look Chinese btw, but you'd have to have a brain to realize that not all Asians look alike.

One thing you will inevitably hear if you live in Seville long enough is..."si, si, pero aqui se vive mejor." Translation..."yes, yes, but the quality of life is better here." Any true Sevillano will have uttered this phrase countless times. I travel a lot and am fortunate to have seen some really incredible cities in the world. I can guarantee you that Seville ain't the best. The funny thing is that the people who utter this phrase will most times have never even left Seville. It's so pathetic that even other Spainairds make fun of Sevillanos in this regard! I've heard other Spanish people jokingly (or not so jokingly say)...the only thing wrong with Seville are the Sevillanos. God Bless em...they live a simple life and are very happy. I guess ignorance truly is bliss...

[Acute Angle]

(01-24-2013 07:34 AM)opening23 Wrote:  

One thing you will inevitably hear if you live in Seville long enough is..."si, si, pero aqui se vive mejor." Translation..."yes, yes, but the quality of life is better here." Any true Sevillano will have uttered this phrase countless times. I travel a lot and am fortunate to have seen some really incredible cities in the world. I can guarantee you that Seville ain't the best. The funny thing is that the people who utter this phrase will most times have never even left Seville. It's so pathetic that even other Spainairds make fun of Sevillanos in this regard! I've heard other Spanish people jokingly (or not so jokingly say)...the only thing wrong with Seville are the Sevillanos. God Bless em...they live a simple life and are very happy. I guess ignorance truly is bliss...

A lot of them don't look that happy - try going to Gelves!

Interestingly, a friend of mine went to Medellin recently (he's married to a local girl but they live in Europe). He said the most irritating thing about the place, that he otherwise likes very much, is that the locals are certain it's the best city on earth. If you dare to question this and their wordliness they look at you with a patronising smirk "How could this guy be so ignorant?" Never been to Medellin, so can't comment, but I suspect this attitude is not uncommon in any insular society throughout the world.

[Nudge]

Hey opening23, do you have any info on Granada? Cheers

[thegmanifesto]

opening23 -

Great posts.

This part is great:

(01-24-2013 07:34 AM)opening23 Wrote:  

One thing you will inevitably hear if you live in Seville long enough is..."si, si, pero aqui se vive mejor." Translation..."yes, yes, but the quality of life is better here." Any true Sevillano will have uttered this phrase countless times. I travel a lot and am fortunate to have seen some really incredible cities in the world. I can guarantee you that Seville ain't the best. The funny thing is that the people who utter this phrase will most times have never even left Seville

Sevilla kind of reminded me of San Diego in some respects.

And it is funny that people say this, because in San Diego people have the same attitude. They say, things like "we are just so laid back here" as an excuse for any flaw in the city.

Example: "Wow, people are dressed like complete sh*t here"

- "we are just so laid back here"

Or

- "F*ck the service in this city is beyond retarted".

- "we are just so laid back here"

Every San Diegan has said this thousands of times in their life. Even transplants will start saying it after a few month in the city, and believe it.

And they will say things, like "the hottest girls in the world are in San Diego".

I will always ask them, "Been to NYC? Been to Miami Beach?" Of course the answer is no or they would never make that statement in the first place.

Or they say they have the best weather or best beaches. Of course they have never been to Spain or Australia or wherever.

---

Since it seems you know Spain, where are some of your favorite cities you like more than Sevilla?

You been to the south, Malaga, Nerja, Almeria etc?

[opening23]

I know it sounds bad, but I have kinda given up on Spain. I don't know if it's the Seville mentality or just Spanish people in general. I find them terribly closed-minded people. Spain is a strange place. You see it from afar and you think...everybody is having so much fun, it's such a fun country. And it is to some extent. But there's more that meets the eye once you get into it. Maybe this can be said about a lot of places, who knows.

I'd say go for places that are a bit more multi-cultural, or that at least have a good influx of tourists. That being said, anybody should check out Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia (have heard is good), even Granada can be better than Seville for being considered a big university town. You probably can't go wrong during summer in San Sebastian. You also have small cities in the south during summer that go off with parties like Tarifa. I'd say check out this area around Tarifa during summer...not forgetting places like Canos de Meca, La Palmera, and Conil de la Frontera. Might be able to run thru some p in these places.

I wish you all better luck than I've had. My ass will be in NYC again this summer. I've learned my lessons!

[opening23]

I should add Malaga of course for the influx of tourists. And perhaps don't sleep on the Canary Islands. I am sure there must be a big influx of tourists during certain times of the year.

[Acute Angle]

I've driven round the entire coastline of Spain, pretty much, and been to most of the major cities. I find the Spanish to be generally uninterested and unfriendly (even actively hostile, in some cases) towards the English. In many ways, I don't blame them - some real scumbag Brits have been holidaying there for decades, they helped cause the property bubble, and most of them refuse to learn Spanish. Or we could blame it on the Franco years. Whatever, there are far friendlier places to go.

A few notes on what opening23 said:

Conil - a pleasant seaside town with a great beach, gets a lot of weekenders from Sevilla.

Tarifa - the windiest place in Europe, so loads of surf-dudes from all over.

Granada - a lovely city, full of tourists because of the wonderful, remarkable, must-see Alhambra.

Valencia - cool city, but only spent a couple of days there.

San Sebastian - part of the Basque country, strange atmosphere, stylish downtown, really ugly outskirts (tower blocks).

Barcelona - plenty has been said already. So many tourists. Catalans not especially friendly and up their own arses about their 'special' culture.

Other than that I'd recommend Salamanca - a great university town. Maybe Toledo (the ancient capital of Spain) - never been but have heard good things. Madrid - has to be done, but choose your time to visit - freezing in winter and hot as hell in summer.

@ thegmanifesto: Malaga - as someone else said, tourists fly in to the airport and then head for the tourist towns either side, leaving Malaga a bustling slice of the real Spain. No idea about gaming potential.
Nerja - one of the tourist towns that Brits head to - nothing special.
Almeria - I only drove through it but it looked quite grotty to me - I think it's the poorest (and driest) area of Spain. Masses of ugly polytunnels west of the city, staffed by immigrants producing fruit and veg for the whole of Europe.

Hope that helps.

[thegmanifesto]

(01-24-2013 03:21 PM)Acute Angle Wrote:  

I've driven round the entire coastline of Spain, pretty much, and been to most of the major cities. I find the Spanish to be generally uninterested and unfriendly (even actively hostile, in some cases) towards the English. In many ways, I don't blame them - some real scumbag Brits have been holidaying there for decades, they helped cause the property bubble, and most of them refuse to learn Spanish. Or we could blame it on the Franco years. Whatever, there are far friendlier places to go.

A few notes on what opening23 said:

Conil - a pleasant seaside town with a great beach, gets a lot of weekenders from Sevilla.

Tarifa - the windiest place in Europe, so loads of surf-dudes from all over.

Granada - a lovely city, full of tourists because of the wonderful, remarkable, must-see Alhambra.

Valencia - cool city, but only spent a couple of days there.

San Sebastian - part of the Basque country, strange atmosphere, stylish downtown, really ugly outskirts (tower blocks).

Barcelona - plenty has been said already. So many tourists. Catalans not especially friendly and up their own arses about their 'special' culture.

Other than that I'd recommend Salamanca - a great university town. Maybe Toledo (the ancient capital of Spain) - never been but have heard good things. Madrid - has to be done, but choose your time to visit - freezing in winter and hot as hell in summer.

@ thegmanifesto: Malaga - as someone else said, tourists fly in to the airport and then head for the tourist towns either side, leaving Malaga a bustling slice of the real Spain. No idea about gaming potential.
Nerja - one of the tourist towns that Brits head to - nothing special.
Almeria - I only drove through it but it looked quite grotty to me - I think it's the poorest (and driest) area of Spain. Masses of ugly polytunnels west of the city, staffed by immigrants producing fruit and veg for the whole of Europe.

Hope that helps.

Great post.

Any smaller towns on the north coast you liked?

[Acute Angle]

@ thegmanifesto: North coast of Spain - I was there in February and mostly looking at natural attractions so didn't go into many cities. If you like mountains I highly recommend the Picos de Europa. Asturias and Cantabria have some beautiful scenery. I drove past Bilbao and it looked like a big, ugly, industrial place, but I think the centre could be decent because it has a fancy Guggenheim Museum. Oviedo is slightly inland and has a character all of its own. They drink a lot of cider (Sidra) and the way the bartenders pour it from way above their heads into a small glass held down by their crotch is pretty cool.

As you go further west it gets a lot greener and wetter - this is the Celtic area of Spain and they have their own language - Gallego - but you can get by in broken Spanish. I remember driving through one coastal town and was amazed at the large number of tarty chicks dressed in short skirts and knee-length boots - maybe Viveiro? The town held no interest otherwise. Not on the coast, but highly recommended is Santiago de Compostela - a beautiful little town which has been a pilgrim destination for centuries. Dozens of walking routes all across Europe end at this little gem of a place. Maybe a good bet for international girls, but you'll have to prize off their walking boots first, haha.

[Brosemite]

(01-24-2013 09:32 AM)opening23 Wrote:  

I know it sounds bad, but I have kinda given up on Spain. I don't know if it's the Seville mentality or just Spanish people in general. I find them terribly closed-minded people. Spain is a strange place. You see it from afar and you think...everybody is having so much fun, it's such a fun country. And it is to some extent. But there's more that meets the eye once you get into it. Maybe this can be said about a lot of places, who knows.

I'd say go for places that are a bit more multi-cultural, or that at least have a good influx of tourists. That being said, anybody should check out Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia (have heard is good), even Granada can be better than Seville for being considered a big university town. You probably can't go wrong during summer in San Sebastian. You also have small cities in the south during summer that go off with parties like Tarifa. I'd say check out this area around Tarifa during summer...not forgetting places like Canos de Meca, La Palmera, and Conil de la Frontera. Might be able to run thru some p in these places.

I wish you all better luck than I've had. My ass will be in NYC again this summer. I've learned my lessons!

Very interesting perspective on Seville. It's definitely a place I'd visit for the sights and architecture, but it sounds like I should leave for Valencia or Granada afterwards as soon as I can instead of taking in the "local vibes," haha.

I've only been to Madrid twice (which is awesome) and then one time to Barcelona. My sister and I felt Madrilenos were much more open, friendly, and welcoming even when it came to getting inside their personal space. Even the Madrilenas were very flirty, curious, and talkative to me as an Asian guy.

As for Barcelona, the handful of nice people we encountered were very legit but it definitely felt more clique-ish, closed off, rude, and semi-discriminated against walking around as Asians. Even the English only speaking ex-pats living there came off as douchey as well. There are however good opportunities to close and mack on chicks at bars, which I could've capitalized on but never did.

[azulsombra]

Any updates on Sevilla, has anyone else rolled through
there?