An American mom who moved to Spain has broken down four major differences she's noticed since relocating.
TikTok user Emily, who goes by the handle @mominmadrid on TikTok and Instagram, shares updates about 'navigating motherhood and life abroad' with her followers after she moved to live in Spain's capital, Madrid.
Originally from Oregon, Emily has two children with her husband, who is Spanish, as well as a stepson.
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She first moved to Europe when she went to work as an au pair, and a decade after she first experienced living in Spain, Emily is now working as a recruiter and HR professional.
In a video shared on TikTok, Emily pointed out the differences she's noticed in being a working mom in each of the countries, starting with the vacation time.
"In Spain, by law your company has to give you 22 days of vacation every year. That's the minimum," Emily said, highlighting the stark differences for full-time employment in comparison to the US, where many workers have to accumulate their personal time off over years of working for a company.
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"On top of this, Spain is a culture that very much encourages you to use every single one of those days," she continued.
Second on Emily's list is government support and maternity leave, as she explained both parents have 16 weeks of maternity or paternity leave to take while being fully paid, as well as an additional 15 days which can be taken for breastfeeding.
Emily continued: "On top of this, if your child ever needs to go to the hospital, or have a surgery procedure, or is really sick, you don't have to use vacation or sick days to be able to stay home and take care of your kid."
The third difference Emily noticed when moving abroad is how much more affordable it is to have help in the house for cooking, cleaning and assisting in childcare, making daily life more manageable for her.
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Finally, the TikToker drew attention to women having children later in life, explaining that she 'blew people's minds' by being a mom of two with a 'bonus son' at the age of 30.
Emily said she was asked 'all the time' about the differences of being a working mom in Spain versus the US, and many American viewers were quick to respond to her video to joke they were 'ready to move to Spain'.
One viewer responded: "*Cries in American* injust [sic] had my 3rd baby and my husband was “able” to take 3 days off."
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Emily welcomed her two children after marrying her husband in 2016.
Emily Brown