barefootcontessa

I´m here, I´m immersed in the Spanish language & culture, but where-oh-where do I find my countrymen for a little R&R in my native tongue every once in a while.

Is anyone in the 30-45 age range that is also here in Madrid that can tell me some good places to go out to meet fellow Brits?

The Guardiana

Hi Barefoot

First thing you need is a publication called In Madrid. It's monthly and it's written by expats living in and around Madrid. Have to say it's not my favourite read, but it does the job in terms of getting you acquainted with the foreign community in Madrid.

The obvious places to try are the Irish Pubs - be careful here as it needs to be a genuine one. A few years back when Madrid bar owners noticed that all the Irish Pubs were full and charging high prices, they decided to cash in so Bar Luis became O'Lewis Irish Pub (fictional but you get the idea) - a bit of green paint, guinness on tap and away you go. Thing is they were doomed to fail as they forgot the vital ingredient - multi-lingual staff.

There are two types of Madrid Irish Pub in my opinion: the tourist ones - O'Neills, Moores Plaza Mayor, then there's the worker ones - Moores Tribunal, Finnegans, Kitty O' Shea, Triskel Tavern. For a newcomer, I would suggest starting in Moores on c/ Barcelo opposite the Tribunal Metro stop (Line One, if memory serves). This is a good place to start as someone should be able to direct you to Triskel Tavern which is definitely even more so expat territory. Trouble is Triskels can be a bit tricky to find on first visit hence the idea to start off in Moores. They are about 4 minutes walk apart. Not sure if he's still at this branch or at one of the others but jovial Irishman Maurice in Moores has been in Madrid for years and years and is a good source of info.He is one of Moores' Managers and tends to move round the branches every couple of years. Still, you'll find them all friendly and helpful there.

Another factor is where you live. For example, around Cuatro Caminos there are quite a lot of 30 & 40 something Brits but a lot of these tend to hang out in some of the stylish local Tapas bars, shunning the Irish Pub crowd (unless there's a game of Football or Rugby they want to watch on Sky!!!)
In La Latina there's a good expat presence all mingling with the hoardes of Madrileños that make this area a good, buzzing place - thankfully not in a teen/juvenile way; there's always a good crowd here and most bars have great selections of wines and tapas. Try Taberna La Chica - very small place, but has a certain bohemian quality to it. Run by a Scandinavian woman with her Spanish Husband/Partner/Significant Other.

I think "In Madrid" is online if you can't find a copy. Apart from ads for the type of bars I've mentioned, the classified section has info about groups that meet up.

Nige

I am not in your age range nor do I live in Madrid BUT
I would recommend that you visit Jeremy Reines web site http://www.multimadrid.com/ and specifically his Message Board. Cruise through the enormous number of messages and even do a search for any threads that may be of interest. I know that the board does have a large number of American students but nowadays it is fairly international and you can meet other board members. Jeremy is great at moderating the messages and promoting meetings.

barefootcontessa

Thanks, Nige! Appreciate the info! Will check it out.

barefootcontessa

Guardiana,

Thanks, too, for the info -- whenever I try to pick up a copy of InMadrid (live near O´Neills) they are out of it. I will check out the Taberna La Chica, though & see what it is like.

I was also wondering if the British Embassy here has any social functions or an email list I can get on re upcoming events...

coralsoft

Hi barefootcontessa,
We got most of our ex-pat contacts through the international/British schools systems. Hanging around the international schools might look a bit odd if you've not got children, mind. There are some international churches around, too, including one outside Madrid along the A6 (that runs also toddler group) that seems to have a connection to quite a few people.

I hear the odd English voice around the big finance districts too - there are a quite a few banking offices around Ortega y Gassett/Velasquez.

What about language schools? I'd expect there to be quite a few ex-pats there. Or curry houses? There's a group of us that get out to one every so often. Or VO cinemas like the Yelmo complex?

I know these are really chance meeting ideas rather than 'hang out and socialise' places, but you never know.

cheers,
coralsoft