Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree

The only reason I can think of that makes Madrid better is its airport has more connections than Valancia.

And as for that airport at Castellón de la Plana, someone for sure took a bribe for it to be located where it is.

But then again that seems to be fairly common here in Spain...

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree

Regardless, the OP specified a monthly expenditure of 5k euros which equates to 90,620 euros per annum. CEOs and Directors don't get that here in Spain...

.

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree

chopera, you're definitely not a maths teacher and logic isn’t a strong point of yours either. I guess you must be the creative type.

As you say chopera, lots going on in Madrid. But like everywhere else, Covid has put a spanner in the works when it comes to 'what on'.

Work is the big magnet for Madrid. But this is not an issue for the OP, as they can relocate to either Madrid or Valencia.

Not sure what the OP does, as the OP has been rather elusive on that point.

Regardless, the OP specified a monthly expenditure of 5k euros which equates to 90,620 euros per annum. CEOs and Directors don't get that here in Spain...

However, assuming the salary will be the same regardless of location in Spain then the OP will get more bang for his buck, if he goes to a lower cost location like Valencia.

All things being equal, the OP appears to have done a Houdini.

Originally Posted by chopera

What an arrogant conceited little troll you are. The OP has probbably disappeared because (unlike you) I answered his/her question and they don't want to engage with idiots who have nothing to offer apart from starting arguments with other posters, trying to insult them, and generally derailing the thread. As it happens I managed to earn over €50k in Madrid as a software developer (is that "logical and mathematical" enough for you?), and I got nowhere near CEO level. Plenty of developers I know got a lot more than me at companies like Accenture, Santander and Microsoft. To suggest that CEOs and Directors don't get €90k in Spain demonstrates you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Do you really think the CEOs of companies like Zara, Santander, BBVA, etc don't earn well over €90k?

Originally Posted by agree_to_disagree

Lynn, good information you posted. I was just yanking choperas chain, a little bit.

I think the point being that 90k is a rather high salary for madrid.

But I do suggest you take a look at this...

https://teleport.org/cities/madrid/salaries/

The highest salary here is the executive salary which has a median salary of 83,781 USD, so when converted from bucks to euros is 71,448.877 euros!

Regardless, we deviate from the point. The OP never specified his profession, but has estimated he would require 5k euros per month to live.

O well, I was getting that back in 2010, in Spain, when I was on the Beckham scheme. I don't suppose the OP even knows what that is... Be worth his time finding out...

Originally Posted by SanNico

I wouldn't think 90k is high for an exec in Madrid. That number will be low because the the small and medium tech firms give executive titles to lower paid workers. The Tik Tok generation are motivated by their title. Most executive expats would be earning more than that. You have to consider they're relocated for a reason and get a whole load of benefits including housing and education grants. The freedoms we lost in Brexit mean you're unlikely to see a new expat employee earning a low salary. The others are the digital nomads and IT consultants, they aren't working for less than 400 per day and with the social security and tax breaks given to newcomers they're sitting pretty.

Anyway, I'm sure the OP came for advice instead of a peeing contest and green eyed monsters. If you want any real life experiences of Valencia city life and schools, send me a message. Chopera sounds like your best option for Madrid.

Originally Posted by SanNico

To give you the Valencia comparison. Rent will cost 800 upwards but if you're considering private schools as well I guess you want to live somewhere nice. City centre apartments with 2/3 bedrooms in nice areas start around 1200. Parking spaces 100-150 each but the infrastructure is good enough not to need a car unless you need to leave the city. Rental cars are still cheap enough plus you can rent Smart cars and mopeds by the minute. For utilities, home internet with 2 unlimited SIMs and TV around 60. Gas water and electric around 150 all in, that's running 2 home offices and a/c when required plus a teenager who doesn't know how to switch off the lights. Cleaners and babysitters are 10 per hour. A decent meal in the city is about 25 per head, you can find menu del dia for 9. The Michelin star restaurants start at 45. My son attends BSV, it's around 8k but that depends on the age of the child. There's a buy one get one half price deal on the admission fee and I believe there's a reduction for the fees as well. 5k would be very comfortable, depending on your lifestyle.

Originally Posted by Rosemary

To the OP...... you have two very knowledgeable, reliable and helpful people happy to answer your questions and provide you with an insight into living in Madrid and Valencia so ignore all of the unwanted and unwarranted additional argumentative posts and concentrate on the information from SanNico and Chopera.
Rosemary.

Originally Posted by BenQ

My wife and moody teen are both quite keen on Valencia, so your insights will come in handy, thank you.

Originally Posted by Rosemary

I am very biased towards Valencia but must say that I love Madrid too and that is from someone who dislikes large places. Have you all experienced both cities? Why are they keem on Valencia? Agree with those who mention that Valencia is not as cold as Madrid in the winter but also wanted to say that in the summer many people from Madrid head to the Valencia coastline as it is cooler for them than their city.

Rosemary