Long time looker but first time poster...anyways I thought I'd add to this forum since it hasn't been used in a few days it looks like.
Anyways, I'm going to Madrid May 2nd until July 30th and I was looking at rooms to share. And with most sites, the apartments very near Sol are obviously much more expensive than outside Centro (Getafe, Mostoles, etc.). So I was wondering if the areas on the outskirts of town, like further south of Puerta del Sol or near the airport or by Las Ventas, are any good?
I've read about all the neighborhoods in the Centro but I've never heard anything about the areas further outside. Anyone have any info. on any of them? There are some good deals on rooms like for around 250/month outside Centro.
My main objective is to learn Spanish (on my own, interacting with people, roommates, etc. no classes). For a little pocket change I want to teach private students English, as I've done before in Portugal. Also, I want to do the touristy things too and party a bit. Is there much of a night life outside Centro? Thank you...
Posts: 8 | Location: California | Registered: 14 April 2007
imho, if you will be here just 3 months, you will want to really live the city so the closer to the center you stay the better.
the outer areas like ventas are easily accessible from the center so if you can save a good amt. of cash, that is fine too but no matter what you do, DO NOT STAY IN A SUBURB (mostoles, getafe, etc...).
if you stay out there you will regret it and will not get the madrid experience.
250 is a pretty low budget. with that amt. to spend your best bet is looking at the shared apts./rooms to rent section of segundamano (the newspaper and also online)
where it says "Provincia:" choose "Madrid" and "Zona:" choose "Madrid Capital". you can also choose the neighborhood under "Distrito / Barrio:" if you like.
you can also set your budget in the "Precio Hasta" field.
yes, it is in spanish but you shuld be able to get through it.
the are other good sites for renting rooms like http://madrid.loquo.com with your budget i would not advise it since it is flooded with foreigners and the prices are higher since those who list there assume that foreigners have more budget.
I've lived in Ventas before and really liked it. I found it to be well communicated. I also think Cuatros Caminos would be ok, or anywhere by the gray line, though to be honest I've never looked in the west or south of Madrid.
If you want to save money and avoid the crush of the center just make sure you are well communicated in terms of bus and metro. Like Jer said, if your only here for a month you'll probably spend quite a bit of time in the center as thats where many of the hottest clubs and bars are.
If you want to have a truly authentic Spanish experience skip Madrid all together. The city is so international that in my opinion it's not a great representive of Spanish life. It would be like trying to get that 'real American'feel by living in NY or LA. Your experience would be more authentic in say Ohio. I personally adore it's international flavor and it's still possible without looking too hard to find those great bars where all the locals hang out. However even most of the locals aren't from Madrid.
Posts: 435 | Location: Italy | Registered: 25 November 2003
Thanks guys for the responses. I downloaded the Metro map and now the areas are much more clearer to me. OK, so stay away from suburbs, and if you can't live as close to Sol as possible, make sure you are close to a metro station, right? But what about the bus system? is that efficient in Madrid and, for example, would it be more efficient to take the Metro or bus from Ventas to Sol, for example?
And another quick question, I plan on booking a hostal for the first few days while I'm here to look for an apartment. But I don't speak Spanish well enough to have a functional phone conversation with the renter, so what do I do? How do I go about contacting the flatmates if I don't Speak Spanish well, if at all?
Also, I want to stay with other Spaniards to help me with my Spanish, preferably younger ones in their 20s. How do I go about figuring out who the roommates are? And now that I told you I want to live with other young Spaniards, are there certain neighborhoods I should look in and also to stay away from?
I've also heard a lot about Atchoa; is that a good area to stay in? It seems well connected by the blue line and Calle de Atchoa?
Posts: 8 | Location: California | Registered: 14 April 2007
Also, I want to stay with other Spaniards to help me with my Spanish, preferably younger ones in their 20s. How do I go about figuring out who the roommates are? And now that I told you I want to live with other young Spaniards, are there certain neighborhoods I should look in and also to stay away from?
Try the areas around Bilbao/Iglesia on line 1 and also Quevedo.
The areas are very well connected via bus and metro. Lots of young students and great bars and restaurants. You might also want to try around Moncloa (yellow and gray lines) since that is where a lot of university students live.
As far as your question regarding bus vs. metro. It's really a crap shoot. The bus can take longer at times, especially in rush hour traffic, but you get to see/learn the city much quicker. The metro runs more frequently and you don't have the issue of traffic but some stations are really deceiving as you might have to walk a bit through the underground tunnels to make your connections...or travel down deep (as deep as 4-5 escalators) in some stations. It really depends on the connections that you want to make and the time of day you are traveling.
continuing with what Chica was saying, it also has to do with where you need to go. I'm pretty lucky that there is a bus that goes directly in front of my house that takes me directly to a majority of my classes. It ends up being faster and it's direct (meaning I don't have to walk the five minutes to the metro, go down five levels, transfer, go up four levels, then walk 10- 15 minutes to get the classes). It could take me over 1/2 an hour to get there by metro when it takes me ten to fifteen minutes by bus. But alot of this depends on the bus. They don't always come as often as they are supposed to (so if you miss one you could end up screwed), if they are crowded they won't stop, and there is often traffic. This means you have to leave yourself plenty of time whereas with the metro you have a much clearer idea of when you need to leave the house as the metros usually run much more frequently than the buses. Though i've been screwed by complications in the metros as well. A trip that should take 20 minutes taking 45 because the metro just stops. This is infrequent, but it occurs often enough that you should always take it into consideration when considering travel time. Thats one reason why I prefer the buses. If one doesn't arrive when it should you always have taxi's as a backup, but if you get stuck in the metro, your just stuck.
Posts: 435 | Location: Italy | Registered: 25 November 2003
If one doesn't arrive when it should you always have taxi's as a backup, but if you get stuck in the metro, your just stuck.
Good advice, Bonnie, and not to mention that in a bus, if it's in a mermelada de tráfico ( ) you can at least call the person you have an appointment with and let them know the situation.
Suerte,
Shawn
"Wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down" - SONG OF SOLOMON, Toni Morrison
Posts: 1255 | Location: Richmond, VA but in MADRID now | Registered: 10 February 2002
- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
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