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Telegram Sam · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:58 pm Post subject: cellphones: son necesarios?

I'm about to head to Spain and was wondering if a cellphone was an unavoidable expense. I'm guessing it would be pretty handy for private lesson arrangements (cancellations and times and stuff), but could one get by with just email? Maybe you don't have to get a big contract so it wouldn't be too bad. I don't know.

andeez · Joined: 17 Feb 2006 Posts: 10

Clearly you need a mobile to work in Madrid,pretty obvious I would have thought.But the last thing Madrid needs, with the economic slump etc is more illegal yanks.Son necesarios?Que piensas?

Phil_b · Joined: 14 Oct 2003 Posts: 239 Location: Back in London

Moore · Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 730 Location: Madrid

A mobile phone is essential and getting one should be one of the first things you do on arrival, really, nobody would take you very seriously without one (schools often don't even get back to people without a phone number as it proves you're on the ground in the country and not applying form abroad) and also you your school can send you information about class cancellations, maybe your bus is in a traffic jam and you're going to be late, maybe you can't find the building for a new class etc. etc..

Also, if you want to have any sort of social life...

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Marcoregano · Joined: 19 May 2003 Posts: 872 Location: Hong Kong

I find it amazing (and disturbing!) how quickly we have come to regard a mobile phone and access to the internet as essential. You only have to go back ten years and somehow the world turned OK without. Now I can't walk my dog to the beach without making sure I'm wired up. WTF?!

Have to say I'm glad I did some long distance travelling back in the old days when you'd go maybe a couple of months without contact from friends and family and you'd pick up your old fashioned mail poste restante at an old fashioned correos. Different times, different lives.

ajmci · Joined: 24 Nov 2006 Posts: 27 Location: Edinburgh

I lived quite happily in Barcelona in 2000 / 2001 with a traditional landline & answerphone. But I fear those days are long gone....

Telegraph Sam mentions the possibility of not getting a �big contract�... assuming he means a phone contract, well, I don�t think he�ll be getting one of them til he�s got some kind of legal work status. In the meantime, why not get a nice, simple, cheap pay-as-you-go mobile phone?