I just wanted to know if the following area is a safe/good area for two single women to live in by themselves: it is very close to Puerta del Sol and Plaza del Angel and is on Espoz
y Mina street.

Hi Katherine,

That are is very popular amongst teenagers and early twenties. So basically as far as not getting mugged I am sure it is very sure, but any day you plan on getting home past 11pm, you can probably count on getting hit on about 5+ times by drunken people outside the bars. If you are looking for calm and safe, I would focus my house search more towards the "Chamberi" and "Salamanca" neighborhoods. If what you are looking for is safe and very centric, then around that area you are doing well.

I would consider that to be a safe area. The only thing you might have to watch out for is pickpockets, since it's pretty touristy and crowded. It might also be noisy, depending on what floor your apartment is on and if your bedroom is on the street side.

I'd say that area right there, Plaza del Angel, and in that street Espoz y Mina, is too noisy, too much traffic, pollution etc, often too many people around there, epsecially at the weekends, okay for a short visit, but you said you want to "live there", What do you mean, live there? How long are you thinking of staying there? 2 weeks, a month, longer?

I'd say no to living there, but okay for a week or two. There's a lot Policia around most of the time, so no real problem as far as your safety is concerned, except for the Sirens that they use can be a real pain at night, as was mentioned above, pick-pockets are all over the place, especially in crowded places like the SOL area.

I seem to recall that most of those buildings in that street have got a few front-side/facing bedrooms, which I've tried and hate, and so urge caution when accepting a reservation, check and make absolutely sure that it will be at the back, or forget about it and look elsewhere, because at the front is (una mierda)...not good!!

Try the other areas as mentioned above.

Good luck.

Santiago.

hey KatherineC, welcome to the board.

all of the advice and observations above are excellent. i also think it is important to know how long your stayill be as Santiago asked above.

i would only add that there is also quite a bit of prostitution on the north end of that street as well as on the north end of calle cruz where they meet the plaza de jacinto benavente and where they cross calle barcelona.

by the way, there is a good map of the area HERE in case you are interested.

saludos,
jer...

My roomate and I are planning on living in Madrid for 13 months. Thank you for all the advice on the area. So far it doesn't sound like a place I would like to live. Are there any areas that are rather central with good access to the Metro that are safe and relatively calm?

Hey Kathy, Well, basically, in a word, No!! Like with all big Capital cities around the world, in the central areas of Madrid you will always get a hell of a lot of hustle & bustle, traffic chaos, general noise & pollution, both vehicular and humanoid. Try and imagine what it would be like going to live on one of the busiest streets of New York City, which is not only one the most powerful tourist magnets, but also bit of a Red-Light zone, would you want to live there for a year? Well that's most of the streets in the area of the Puerta del Sol unfortunately, just like in London England, you've got Piccadilly Circus, Leicester square, Trafalgar square, Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Hyde park Coner, Victoria, Buckingham Palace , and so on, well central Madrid is like all of those places, but all in one place, and it's VERY, VERY, BUSY, all the time, so the best advice that anyone could give you, if you are really going to be living in Madrid for over a year, is to look at places outside of the city centre, and there are some very nice & easily affordable studio apartments in many of the surrounding barrios/districts, and are within easy reach of the city centre by the fabulous Metro system that Madrid has, (the Metro in Madrid, knocks the socks off of the Tube system in London, believe me) Londons transport system SUCKS big time in comparison to the Metro, and all rail networks in Spain for that matter, as do the Busses, (just avoid the Taxi's like Anthrax & you'll be okay).

Hope that helps a bit.

Saludos.......Santiago

I live in NYC now, so I know what you mean about there always being noise. But like any big city, there are areas or neighborhoods that are somewhat quieter. I don't mind some noise (I'm used to it by now). But we are looking for an area that would be convinent to the Metro, would have access to Madrid's nightlife and cultural attractions, and would be somewhere you could relax when necessary. We won't have a car while in Madrid.
OK, so if central Madrid is not really an option, what are the names of a couple of neighborhoods you all would recommend I check out? We are looking online at apartments but the neighborhoods that are listed really have no meaning for us.
Reading this board has made me realize Lavapies is not a neighborhood I would want to live in, and that Chamberi and Salamanca are places to consider. I was hoping you could give me a few more ideas.

Having lived in Mexico City, Washington DC, and spent a good amount of time in London and New York, I can say that Madrid is definitely among the safest. There are quite a number of muggings, purse snatchings, and pickpockets but I don't see the level of violent crime that all the other cities (except London) suffer from.

Madrid is definitely not the quietest or cheapest. However, you can find reasonably quiet areas within walking distance (i.e. within 1 mile) of the center. Juliette and I currently live in Acacias between Puerto de Toledo and Embajadores and pay around 700� for a one bedroom flat with a fantastic view. Public transportation from there is excellent being near both the green (5) and yellow (2) Metro lines and a plethora of bus routes including the Circular. Plenty of life and excitement and no disreputable folks hanging around.

Our first place in Madrid where we stayed about 7 months was a first floor flat just a couple of blocks from Callao and Sol and it was also reasonably quiet (except for the times when the tour busses would get stuck on our street and the resulting line of cars would being honking en masse). That place was a 3 bedroom affair which cost us 1000� a month.

So don't discount living in the center as being too noisy or dangerous. The only good I can see for looking at a place in the suburbs is cost. You can save around 25% if you decide to live outside the city proper but it may not be nearly as convenient or lively.

On the subject of taxis, I disagree with Santiago about avoiding them. I've never found any to contain anthrax . They are cheap (compared to other big cities), have relatively new cars, and are generally helpful and courteous. I've never had a problem with them since I arrived almost 2 years ago.

- Roland

Although there is already a lot of good advice here, I figure I'll throw in my two cents after living here for 7 months.

The center of Madrid is definitely hectic and crazy, but like NYC, there are nicer/quieter areas. If you're looking to live in the center (walking distance to Sol, close to metro, etc.) you have a lot of options. I would avoid anything immediately north of Gran Via/Callao and anything directly around Sol (Montera, etc.).

I live next to Plaza de Espana and love it here. I can walk to almost everything, and it's absolutely silent 90% of the time (5-6am Saturday and Sunday morning the nearby clubs let out).

Madrid is incredibly safe compared to some cities, so I wouldn't worry too much no matter where you live. You can spot the bad areas as you approach them and steer clear (the plaza with Cines Luna off Gran Via springs to mind). Never had a problem with the taxis here either, and they are fairly cheap.

Thank you all for the advice. I appreciate it. Like I said, I live in NYC now, so I'm used to being around a lot of action and noise (I rather enjoy it most of the time). I also like to live somewhere where you can get away from it all once in a while. Any other advice on neighborhoods would be welcome.

I can certainly recommend Salamanca as a good place to live. I live just outside (or inside if I want to impress ) in Diego de Leon and regard it as delightful area. It has a lot of the hustle and bustle of the city centre but retains its own unique identity. There are cinemas, gyms, leisure centres, great (clothes) shops in C/ Goya with little boutiques and jewelry shops along all the side streets that sell the most wonderful things (sorry boys).

It�s home to the business centre so instead of hooligans loitering around street corners you see men in sharp suits :s: talking down their mobiles. The buildings are nice and with the high �comunidad� most residents pay, it always appears clean. In winter it resembles a catwalk/who�s who�s when all the woman over 60, with their facelifts, expensive hairdos and miniature dogs don their fur coats to show off to the world.

With regards to the position, it�s great. If you were to live near me you would have 3 metro lines with Diego de Leon and 4 with Avenida de Am�rica (as well as a bus station to take you to Barcelona for example). Within Salamanca there are plenty of metro station and scores of buses to take you to the centre. The centre itself is about 50 minutes away on foot.

Best of all, being a female, I feel safe at night. I have even walked home alone from Gran Via (crazy I know, it was the redbull and vodka drunk beforehand that "gave me wings") and not once felt the need to look behind me or keep my head down to avoid the hissing sound the old men make :y:

Last of all, I share a flat with 2 others and pay under 300 euros a month. Bargain!

:cheers:

Katherine, my tuppence worth...

If you want somewhere safe and fairly central and lively then either Opera or La Latina are good bets. I live in La Latina and it's a very nice neighbourhood, lots of cool bars and restaurants, a very hip and happening place and some shops too. Also it's within 10 minutes walking distance of La Puerta del Sol (the very centre of the city) and well connected for public transport with Metro Lines 1 and 5 both within walking distance.

Opera is also a very nice area and is probably a little quieter, well certainly towards the Palace it is.

Hope this helps.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice. I am sure it will help me find a good area to live in. At least, now I know what some of the neighborhoods are called.