BenQ

Hello first time poster, relocating to Madrid later this year on a job transfer.

Would anyone here have some ideas on what sort of take home salary would allow a small family of 3 a somewhat comfortable life renting a 2/3 bedroom apartment in say the Alonso Martinez / Colón areas with one child in a British International school ?

Edit : Also considering Valencia

Thanks in advance

Moses2013

No experience personally but have friends who live in Madrid. You can get a good idea what you would need based on rental prices and life in any capital is not cheap. https://www.idealista.com/en/geo/alq...onso-martinez/
I sometimes wonder how families manage and it's no surprise why Spain has such a low fertility rate compared to other EU countries. At the end of the day a comfortable life is different for all and only you can do the math. With the same salary in Valencia you'd obviously be far better off financially and at least have the sea on your doorstep.

Fred James

The Mediterranean is not an ocean!

Moses2013

Deportes acuáticos en Valencia - Ocean Republik - windsurf, kitesurf, surf You have ocean republik close by

agree_to_disagree

I’m totally amazed by the question from the OP!

You state that “relocating to Madrid later this year on a job transfer”, which clearly indicates that the decision has already been made to move here.

I would have expected for you to have at least done a back of an envelope calculation, to ensure that you can break even on a month-to-month basis!

I have just done a quick search and there are lots of resources online which enable the cost of living to be estimated. Have you done this?

chopera

I live in Madrid with a wife and two kids so I guess I have some idea...

If you want the international school then that will probably cost at least 1000€/month/child, depending on ages, bus routes, etc. (e.g.one of the more expensive options: https://www.hastingsschool.com/admissions-fees/fees/)

Colon is central and has many upmarket areas nearby. Renting a 2 or 3 bedroom flat is probably upwards of 1500€/month. Madrid has excellent public transport, and you can find cheaper, decent accommodation slightly further out, where there might also be less hustle and bustle..

I would then budget 2000€/month to live off. So maybe you need a take home salary of at least €4500/month.

Of course this is a very rough approximation, and depends on things like running a car, how many flights home, age of child, etc, etc.

BenQ

Hi chopera

That's about the figure i got to as well ( 5k) , so very happy to see our estimates were not too far off.

Thanks for confirming.

agree_to_disagree

"As of 2021 the average salary in Madrid is of around 1600 euros per month. In Madrid salaries usually range from 1000 and 3500 euros a month."

https://checkinprice.com/average-min...-madrid-spain/

That is a VERY HIGH salary for Madrid, or indeed anywhere in Spain...

chopera

Most experienced white collar professionals I know in Madrid earn between €30k and €60k. Also most Spanish households I know have two people earning those kinds of wages. So a combined takehome of €5k a month isn't that unusual. Also the OP has specified an expensive area in Madrid and an expensive school, so you'd expect to be earning a decent wage to afford that.

agree_to_disagree

Afternoon choppera,

I hate to be pedantic but:

• The OP did refer to “a take home salary” which is very clearly in the singular…
• The range you specify, 30,000 to 60,000 euros, only equates to 1942 to 3530 euros, take home per month.
• Furthermore, a gross salary of 80,000 euros is required to get a take home or net salary of 4500 euros per month.
• But if you do want to do a bit of goalpost shifting, a combined salary from two people holding full- time jobs would make 5k euros a month quite achievable.

Notwithstanding, all of the above it is a no-brainer, Valencia wins hands down against Madrid for numerous reasons!

Not sure if the OP is aware but Madrid get quite cold during the winter.

A salary of 90,620 euros is required to get a take home salary of 5k euros per month, which the OP referenced.

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.

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...

SanNico

Funnily enough I just booked a flight from there to Stansted. Once Wizzair stop cancelling every other flight it's handy for me as they will fly to Luton and the bonus is the free car park.

Valencia is pretty well served for short haul flights. Not as good as Alicante but it's a lot more efficient due to it's small size. For long haul you just fly to Madrid or hop on the train. If you book ahead, 40 Euro return is possible.

chopera

I'm not really sure what kind of point you are trying to make here. All you've demonstrated is that you need a relatively high salary to live in an expensive part of Madrid and send a kid to an international school. Which is what I said. I mentioned the 30k to 60k salary range as an aside, to give an idea of what most white collar salaries are in Madrid, and demonstrate how some households might be able to achieve a 5k net income. Of course some people in Madrid earn more than 60k, and plenty of people earn less than 30k. It's just to give an idea, as a follow up to the link you provided.

chopera

That's about the going rate for the part of Madrid I live in. It's not as upmarket as the Colón area that the OP specified, but still quite central and nice enough.