Tulip

My husband and I are considering moving to Madrid (probably end of next year) as he has the opportunity to apply for a transfer with the company he works for.

I was just looking for some general information on what life is like in Madrid. Neither of us speak Spanish but we would definitely learn it if we decided we wanted to move there. I'm a PA at the moment so would be looking for office work, is this hard to come by? Also wondering what house prices are like in Madrid or outskirts in comparison to the South Coast of England.

Any info or tips would be greatly appreciated.

5thbeatle

i found madrid to be a fantastic place but to work there you will really need to have a very good knowledge of spanish. i spent several weeks living there whilst on a don quijote spanish course staying in the centre but i did visit several 'immobiliarios' to gain an idea of property prices.
madrid like any other capital city is very expensive if you are looking to buy in the city and even then they are only small cramped apartments. best trying the outlying districts which have a renfe connection into the city such as leganes, tres cantos, mostoles. from what i read you can find spacious 3 bedroomed town houses in a quiet district with maybe a communal pool for less than €200.000
highlights of madrid for me was the nightlife obviously, especaily the tapas and wine bars, the metro (clean, efficiant and cheap), the architecture and the football ( a visit to the santiago bernabau is a must ) and also thanks to easyjet i can be in madrid from john lennon airport, liverpool in less than 2 hours !.

as for work for yourself, what about teaching english ? they are always in demand especailly in the large spanish cities.

good luck

Tulip

Thanks very much, I hadn't thought about teaching English but its a good idea, I'm not too bothered about what I do as I'll probably only need to work part time. I think the outskirts would be ideal for us, wouldn't fancy an apartment in the city. You couldn't buy a 3 bedroomed property where I live for the equivelent of €200,000 so that sounds very promising, our buget would probably be around €300,000 so should get something decent.

ironporer

As you have heard, housing in most (desireable) areas of Madrid proper are very expensive- at least from my US point of view. 200,000-300,000 sterling should be able to buy you a very nice place in my estimation, and if you look at the surrounding communities, within 1 hour of downtown Madrid, you will find some great deals for that price. Look on the subway routes- the subway there is fantastic and cheap. Forget trying to drive in Madrid- it is one huge traffic jam most of the time.

As far as Madrid life itself, it is a wonderful city. The night life is among the best in the world, you have all the culture- theater, opera, museums galore, historical points of interest, great resturants and bars (can you say "tapas"?). I wouldn't think twice- but I am heavily predjudiced in Spain's favor.