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How It Works (and Why It Doesn’t)

Rocco Pendola
Tens of paid subscribers

Essays about cities, systems, and everyday life as they actually work

Platform
Substack
PricingFreemiumPublishesDaily
Issues831Founded5 years agoLast Issue9 days ago
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roccopendola.com
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Latest Issues

Why I Cried When I Saw the Eiffel Tower

The other day I spilled some ink (line credit: ) on maybe my favorite paragraph of the year:

I've lived in Valencia for nearly two years and I rub elbows with “grandmas” (nonnas or abuelas) every single day in my neighborhood. They're no...

9 days ago
9
7

Stop Moralizing. Let People Take Their Fucking Vacation

If you read me regularly, you know I'm among the first to shit on shitty tourists.

But we often lose sight of the fact that a shitty tourist is not all that different from your garden-variety asshole in just about any situation.

I recentl...

11 days ago
15
5

When Feelings Don’t Reflect Reality

’s comment on my last post made me feel like a dick.

Point well taken.

As I noted in a reply to Trey, “the problem isn't with individuals as much as with the collective environment all of these individuals combine to produce. I feel like...

16 days ago
8
5

Maybe Spain Isn’t Inconvenient. Maybe You Just Prefer the Suburbs.

Within a five-minute radius from my apartment in Valencia, I counted at least 15 laundromats.

It reminds me of San Francisco—at least when I lived there, circa 1999 to 2006.

In both cities, laundromats have both washers and dryers. Ever...

18 days ago
7
7

Different Doesn't Equal ‘Inconvenient’

I read so many things this past weekend on Substack that illustrate the uniquely American inability to leave their attitude at the border that I almost went on a comment-leaving spree.

The problem turned out to be that I left one comment,...

20 days ago
15
4

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  • Rocco Pendola

    I live and work full-time in Spain, where I write about life abroad, cities, and investing and personal finance. I’m no longer a U.S. resident. I am based entirely in the EU. Using em dashes since 2005.

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