Living in Madrid

Norrin Radd

Looks like I could be relocating to Madrid next month.

Anybody got any advice on where's good to live, general cost of living etc

Any help would be much appreciated....

arch_stanton

Hi,

The general cost of living is cheaper than in Ireland. Supermarkets, public transport, entertainment etc. are all lower. Unfortunately the salaries are even lower again :-(

As for where to live it depends very much on what you want to do and how much you're willing to pay. Do you want to live alone or share? Would you prefer to live right in the centre or in a slightly quieter area? Have you a rough budget in mind? Prices can vary by area and the quality of the accommodation but as a rough guide the starting price for a relatively central 50m2 apartment would be around €600 per month. Sharing in a larger place you could expect to pay anything from €300 to €550. Have a look at this site to see what's on offer - www.idealista.com

Norrin Radd

Thanks for the advice so far.

I'd be hoping to live somewhere on the Metro line to the airport, I'll be working quite close to Barajas but obviously don't want to be too close.

I've budgeted 550 - 600 a month for an apartment.

Also, is there much part-time work available teaching english, bar work etc. I'd like a supplementary income at the weekends if it was at all possible.

arch_stanton

The metro line to Barajas gives you a good degree of flexibility. All of the stops along the way are in good areas. The journey time from even the further station, Nuevos Ministerios, is only about 10-15 minutes. Even if you were on line 4 or line 9 near the metro line it's very easy to change trains. Changing in Nuevos Ministerios could be a pain as it's huge.

Living in more or less all of the north/north east of centre would be a short commute. The metro itself is excellent. It can be a tight squeeze on some lines at peak times but you have a train every 2-3 minutes. A monthly all you can eat combo train/bus ticket is around €45.

I'm not so sure about the situation for extra work. Unemployment is over the 20% mark and I imagine bar work is low paid. The place is full of irish bars. Many of them are Irish in name only and staffed by non-english speakers but if you have any experience I'm sure being a genuine Paddy (tm) could be an advantage looking for work. As for english classes, it's possible to give private classes to people looking to improve their english. I don't know about work in the language schools.

Have a look at this - http://www.in-madrid.com/index.html It's a montly free paper aimed at the english speaking community. They have a jobs and classified ads section.

Elirlandes

Norrin Radd wrote: »

Thanks for the advice so far.

I'd be hoping to live somewhere on the Metro line to the airport, I'll be working quite close to Barajas but obviously don't want to be too close.

I've budgeted 550 - 600 a month for an apartment.

Also, is there much part-time work available teaching english, bar work etc. I'd like a supplementary income at the weekends if it was at all possible.

If you've got a little Spanish and have worked out where you want to live, the way to find accommodation is on www.idealista.com . It also does flat-shares. Excellent service.