As a European emigrant, one of the most odd things that we experienced when we moved to Europe was their concept of BYOB (Bring your own bulbs).
It is common practice in California, that when you rent a house or apartment, it will come equipped with light fixtures and bulbs. That is in addition, in most cases, to basic appliances like a fridge and stove.
That was not so in Spain. Moving to Spain was quite a shock, there were too many things that were new to us. So paying attention to all of them initially was impossible. But after viewing several potential homes for rent we noticed a pattern, they all lacked light fixtures and only had bulbs where absolutely required.
We asked about this to the real estate agent, he was surprised by our question, with a simple: “of course there are not light fixtures, you have to bring your own with you“.
Here we came from a place where the landlord takes care of everything related to the upkeep of the home, including the interior cosmetics, to a place where the light bulbs are hanging by wires coming through the wall.
