Interview with Mette Aagaard Jakobsen
Nationality:
Danish
Age range:
35-44 years old
Landed in:
2003
Languages:
Danish, English, German and Spanish
Neighbourhood:
Sants
Work:
I am the founder of home on earth a beautiful, sustainable deco shop in the Gothic area. All the products in the shop have a story behind and we always work directly with the artesan/family around the world and with artesan from Barcelona. Many of the products are my design.
Introducing Mette aagaard jakobsen, a danish expat in Barcelona.
Why did you choose to relocate to Barcelona?
We wanted to move to a place that would be new for us both.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced after your relocation?
The most difficult thing has been to find out how to start up a company in a new country and at that moment we did not speak any Spanish.
What do you love the most about Barcelona?
I love the overall feeling and vibe of Barcelona. The lifestyle and the option of mountain and sea at the same time.
If you could give one piece of advice to future expats in Barcelona, what would it be?
Just jump into it with both feet. Everything is possible :-).
What are the top 3 things on your bucket list whilst living in Barcelona?
Don’t forget to jump in the sea in January, it’s fantastic.
What do you miss the most about home?
What I miss the most is my friends and family.
What was your greatest fear before moving to Barcelona?
I had already been on the road for 2 years so I was open to everything. I never had any fear.
What were the biggest adjustments you had to make when settling into life in Barcelona?
The biggest adjustment was to slow down.
Did you experience any particular elements of culture shock?
All kind of paperwork, to go to the goverment etc takes toooo long.
How did you meet your main community of friends?
We did live in a close community and it was there that we made our first friends. We were working a lot on different festivals and markets and there we got to know so many lovely people. We have 3 children too so we made a lot of friends with other parents.
How did you find the job seeking process?
We started our own company so I never had to search for work luckily!
Do you use your native language at work?
I use all my language knowledge when I am in my shop, 'Home on earth'. We have clients from all over the world and that makes each day a lot of fun.
How does the cost of living in Barcelona compare to back home?
In the past 17 years the prices have raised a lot. But still the cost of living is much cheaper than Denmark.
How did you find a place to live?
We found our first place to live on the internet.
Did you find the paperwork difficult to manage?
Yes, I'm not fan of paperwork.
How did you prepare your children to move abroad?
When we moved to Barcelona our 3 children were not born yet.
Do you have any tips for other expat parents with children in Barcelona?
It is a perfect place to meet other families because there are so many activities outside and in the nature.
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