most veganfriendly country/town?

[berta_the_aspie]

does anyone have a list of veganfriendly towns/countries that are non-english speaking? i mean personal experiance or something. we should make a guide (for people who want to move or something) here on the forum sort of more extensive.
oh and why isnt there a category for south america? sob sob sob is it really THAT vile down there..

[Pisces]

I'm afraid I couldn't offer any personal experience(s). Not yet at least.

However I have been to Wales (I love that country), including areas where more Welsh than English is spoken. Aberystwyth (a city/town) in Mid Wales has 3 good shops to get vegan necessities. In terms of food, you could get everything at this shop called The Tree House. The Tree House has a restaurant too, but it offered limited vegan options (luckily I brought my own food, as I am used to doing that whenever I go out).

I like your idea of making a guide, Berta. From what I've researched on the Happy Cow website, Sweden looks like a pretty vegan-friendly country---at least in terms of shops and restaurants, particularly in Malmo and Stockholm. Considering Sweden borders Norway, have you been to Sweden and/or those areas in Sweden?

[berta_the_aspie]

yeah. maybe i cud become a welsh language nerd or something? i actually have a thing for obscure languages. i tried finnish actually as in Finland. i'd do that again. dunno the happy cow site just isnt workin for me, not to extensive for my OCD mind!

[Pisces]

Welsh is a beautiful language. It's the oldest living one in all of Europe, dating back to 5 B.C. I've been an "on and off" Welsh language nerd myself. I also have an interest in languages that aren't so commonly spoken. How similar and/or different is Finnish from Norwegian? What part(s) of Finland have you been to?

I understand completely what you mean. I have plenty of OCD tendencies myself.

[berta_the_aspie]

oh finnish and norwegian are waay apart. norwegian has the same base as sweedish danish and icelandic. finnish is like saami, russian and that kinda mixture. REALLY difficult which explains why i didnt even finish 1 level of it hahaha.
oh havent been to finland.
wanna travel soon tho goin crazy up here

[Pisces]

That's interesting about the languages' characteristics. Are you able to speak Icelandic? I'd love to go to Iceland at some point too. Though if I were to stay there, my best bet would to stay within the Reykjavik area, considering they have an organic/health food shop. If I'm remembering correctly, it's called "Yggdrasil". There actually used to be a member on this forum who lives in Iceland. Have you been to Iceland?

By the way, that's really cool that you're moving to Spain. Whereabouts of Spain will you move to?

[berta_the_aspie]

i can sorta read icelandic. but havent been there since it is the exact same as tromsø my current town. except we dont have vulcanoes and hot springs. sob sob sob.
uhm yeah i am moving, just need to go on the debt diet first.. kinda overestimated my budget. i wanna go to cordoba or madrid, i've lived in Barca and Malaga before it was awesome! but i dunno. its scary to walk the streets and stuff and its like the culture thing is annoying i guess maybe i shud take a more western country like france or something but its more expensive. this is the dilemma im always facing and my thoughts go around and around like this thinkin of every possible country.
then i end up right where i started with the plan to move abroad and stuff.
my perfect place has to have:
another language
better climate than arctic norway
vegan friendly
aspie friendly
cheap
safe
in the EU

maybe i just have too many criterias?

[Pisces]

I wouldn't say you have necessarily too many criterias. Though at least with some of your criterias, maybe you could rate on a "priority scale" from 1-5 or something (1 being "least important" and 5 being "crucial").

I'd definitely say that "in the EU" and "Aspie-friendly" overlap in many ways. "Vegan-friendly" can overlap with those too for the most part. I know a few members from other countries on this forum who can surely give some personal insight. With Spain, I would personally look into the Catalonia and/or Basque region (in northern Spain) with places such as Barcelona. I'd look there because unlike southern Spain, they don't do bullfighting and (in addition to Spanish) speak some old languages/dialects such as Catalan, which is actually of Celtic origin.

Barcelona is generally a relaxed place from what I hear. For instance, the roads are narrow, but there is generally little to none--if at all--traffic and aggressive drivers, so to speak. Also, there are places there to get vegan essentials. Therefore, I would look into the northern areas of Spain, as it is Spain (cheaper prices, in the EU, non-bullfighting areas, cool language(s)/dialect(s), warmer weather, etc.).

Those are my thoughts at least. It is ultimately your decision, of course (and a much easier process in your case).

[berta_the_aspie]

yeh i already lived in barcelona actually. in the very centre! that was 3 years ago. not sure if i cud do that now tho. i wasnt a vegan and i was in denial about being aspie so i didnt even consider those things as important.

[Pisces]

Is that what you meant when you said you've lived in "Barca"? My ex went there on holiday (and he's been vegan for 12 years).

[berta_the_aspie]

yep its the slang. but yeah its a great town.

[Pisces]

Sort of on a bit of a tangent---but from what I've heard (on an expat forum that I'm on), the Netherlands is reasonably cheaper as far as Western European countries go. This is the case practically anywhere---living outside of the cities is cheaper (in terms of cost of living). Additionally, there seem to be a fair number of vegan-friendly shops and (in some places) even restaurants, though I prefer cooking for myself. Even the less populated places in the Netherlands have vegan-friendly places (from what I've researched).

[Toro Rosso]

I think Belgium would be an ideal place, French/Flemish speaking, friendly people; Brussels is a very multicultural, safe, and one of the cheapest capitals in Europe ...